RECORD - September 03 2011

SEPTEMBER 3 2011

ISSN 0819-5633

Week of Prayer Issue

God’s Saving Grace

The heart of Adventism

SOUTH PACIFIC

Official news magazine of the South Pacific Division

Introduction Message From the President

Seventh-day Adventist Church ABN 59 093 117 689 Vol 116 No 18 Cover credit: Steve Nazario Stained-glass illustrations from the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Dear Church Family:

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n these Week of Prayer readings we explore together the heart of Adventism—God’s saving grace. All of the sermons explore the heavenly sanctuary as a place where saving grace was and is mediated to us. The message of the sanctuary is not a theological exposition but a personal journey as we discover and realize God’s grace.

We begin this journey not at Mount Sinai but in our first home in Eden, where we discover that the message of the sanctuary was already present.

Following the terrible entrance of sin that cut us off from God and His presence, we discover in the sanctuary some of the magnitude of the love of God who wants to come and dwell among us.

In the sanctuary we find the good news of atonement through the Lamb of God. We can rely on the fact that in our deepest need help is always available through our Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. This message should have a positive impact on our lives as we live in the presence of a loving and forgiving God, and are constantly growing into the likeness of our Savior.

I pray that as we study these readings we can live positive lives and not fear God’s presence; that we will find in the heavenly sanctuary an assurance in the judgment, because God’s judgment seat is a throne of grace.

May we anticipate the joy of God’s permanent presence with us when Eden is once again restored on earth. May God guide your life and mine as we plead with Him for revival and reformation leading to the latter rain of the Holy Spirit and Christ’s soon second coming.

With kind Christian regards, sincerely yours, Ted N. C. Wilson President

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| www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011

First Sabbath

Sanctuary, Grace, and Eden God’s designs for His people will not be thwarted.

BY TED N. C. WILSON

W

hen you hear the word “sanctuary,” what mental picture comes to mind? Do you see the tent tabernacle built by Moses, the beautiful Temple constructed by Solomon, or perhaps the church sanctuary in which you worship each week with fellow believers?

The book of Genesis introduces us to a unique sanctuary, the most beautiful that ever existed on Planet Earth—the Garden of Eden.

Have you ever asked yourself, What is the purpose of a sanctuary? Here are some suggestions: A sanctuary is (1) a place where humans communicate with God, (2) a place where religious instruction is given, and (3) a place where God’s grace is experienced. A sanctuary is also (4) a place of refuge. Eden was all of these.

The Garden of Eden As the earth came into existence under the creative hand of God, it was beautiful to behold. It was the model of perfection.

Genesis tells us: “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (1:31, NKJV).1 This perfect world

was, also, an expression of love. Love was written on every tree and shrub, on every leaf and flower. The various forms of life were a picture of beauty—the animals, the birds, the fish, and other forms of life in the waters. Man, the crowning act of Creation, was made perfect and upright.

He bore the image of His Creator. His character was noble, without bias toward evil, and in harmony with the will of God. When the creative act was complete, God looked upon what He had made and was satisfied. Everything was perfect only as a perfect God could make it.

Ellen White describes this moment: “God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 47).

Amid the beauties of the new creation, God gave Adam and Eve another expression of His love. He gave them a home—the Garden of Eden. It was here that God communed with our parents, angels gave instructions, and they began to understand God’s grace. The truth of

Creation and a correct understanding of God’s grace and redemption are inseparable. As the renowned church historian Philip Schaff said more than a century and a half ago: “Without a correct doctrine of creation there can be no true doctrine of redemption.”2 As is clear in the record of Genesis, Eden was not only the home of Adam and Eve, it was also their sanctuary.

Eden, a Place of Communion With God In their innocence Adam and Eve had the privilege of seeing God and talking with Him face to face. God often visited them in the Eden sanctuary. Upon these occasions they didn’t realize what a blessing was theirs. Only after their expulsion from Eden did they understand what they had given up. Then with the vivid memory of their open communion with God they presented themselves in worship at the entrance to Eden, unable to pass by the “flaming sword” to enter their former sanctuary and experience once again the thrill of seeing God’s face. The experience once enjoyed in the sanctuary of Eden was

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now denied them and their descendants—only to be restored in the earth made new.

Eden, a Place of Religious Instruction According to Ellen White, “the holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 50).

The Maker of the sun, moon, and stars revealed to them the laws and operations of nature. But there were other things they needed to know that related directly to their existence. Angels were sent by God to explain the great controversy to Adam and Eve. They were told of Lucifer, his rebellion against God, His law, and His government. They learned of his expulsion from heaven and that he was currently in God’s Eden sanctuary. Because Adam was God’s representative and vice-regent on Planet Earth, Lucifer had set all of his wisdom and skill to deceive Adam, lead him into sin, 4

and usurp his position. Thus, Lucifer reasoned, the earth would be his, and he would establish here a government to rival God’s government and His law.

Adam and Eve must have shuddered as the instruction given them by the angels sank into their consciousness. But what they did not fully realize at the time was that God’s approach to the resolution of the great controversy was to be another demonstration of His unchanging love (ibid., p. 33). After Adam’s fall the outcome of the great controversy was decided on the very turf that Lucifer claimed as his when Adam surrendered his position to the great deceiver.

An overview of the great controversy was given to Adam and Eve as part of the instruction they received in the Eden sanctuary. “Thus were revealed to Adam important events in the history of mankind, from the time when the divine sentence was pronounced in Eden, to the Flood, and onward to the first advent of the Son of God” (ibid., p. 67).

It was vitally important that Adam

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and Eve understand the root cause of the great controversy—a refusal on Lucifer’s part to obey God’s law. By rebelling against God’s law, Lucifer was rebelling against God’s government.

Angels carefully explained “the history of Satan’s fall and his plots for their destruction, unfolding more fully the nature of the divine government, which the prince of evil was trying to overthow” (ibid., p. 52).

In addition to this, it was imperative that the holy pair understood the nature of God’s law—it is another expression of God’s love. It was also important that they understood that they, like the other inhabitants of the universe, were on probation. Their happiness was based on the condition of obedience to God’s law. “They could obey and live, or disobey and perish” (ibid., p. 53). They must also understand that obedience to God’s law on the part of His creatures is a statement of love and gratitude for all He has given to them. “Obedience, perfect and perpet-

ual, was the condition of eternal happiness” (ibid., p. 49). This Adam and Eve needed to know, and all of the important details were given to them in the Eden sanctuary.

Eden, a Place of Refuge and Finding God’s Grace The Eden sanctuary was a place of refuge for Adam and Eve. Lucifer was bent on their destruction, but he could not have access to them except at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as the inhabitants of Eden stayed away from that tree, they were safe. Lucifer could not follow them to various parts of the garden and tempt them to turn away from their Creator. Eden was a refuge from his evil plans.

God’s instruction regarding the forbidden tree was absolutely clear: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16, 17, NKJV). But as we know, Eve strayed from the refuge and became a victim of Lucifer’s deceptions. Adam, faced with the reality of losing his beloved wife, followed her in disobeying God’s instruction, and as a result the human family has been brought under the bondage of sin.

But God did not abandon the human family. For the first time the Eden sanctuary became the location for a sermon on redeeming grace: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” God told Lucifer, “and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15, NKJV).

In this reassuring declaration the typical services of Moses’ tent tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple were foreshadowed.

The bruising of the heel foreshadowed the animal sacrifices that pointed forward to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The bruising of the head pointed to the fate of the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, which assured the final destruction of Lucifer and the termination of sin.

In the Eden sanctuary God began to reveal His plan for the salvation of the human family and the end of sin. Lucifer had portrayed God as being inter-

ested only in His own glory and gratification. The question addressed on that fateful day in Eden was, Did the Father and the Son have sufficient love for humanity to exercise self-denial and a spirit of sacrifice in order to rescue it from the clutches of Lucifer (ibid., p.

70)? In Genesis 3:15 we see the answer to that challenging question, a resounding yes! And the yes was confirmed and became a reality when Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished!”

When Adam and Eve were created, they occupied a position just a little lower than the angels. But God’s plan for the restoration of the human race includes an amazing experience for those who remain loyal to Him: “Those who in the strength of Christ overcome the great enemy of God and man, will occupy a position in the heavenly courts above angels who have never fallen” (Ellen G. White, General Conference Bulletin, Apr. 1, 1899). Lucifer plotted the destruction of the human race in a fit of jealous rage. Adam and Eve lived in a state of happiness sharing God’s love for them.

Lucifer was miserable, facing the prospect of external extinction. Once Adam fell into sin, was cut off from communication with God, and was expelled from their Eden sanctuary, Lucifer determined that in the future he would keep Adam’s descendants out of any sanctuary that might offer the prospect of restoration.

Conclusion The experience of Adam and Eve in their Eden sanctuary has much to teach us. First, as God in His love for our first parents did everything He could to make their lives happy, so He deals with us now within the context of His love.

The evidence of this love is the gift of His Son to the human family. God gave His Son “not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the fallen race. . . . God gave His onlybegotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain His human nature” (The Desire of Ages, p. 25).

Second, as God pronounced redemptive judgment before removing Adam and Eve from Eden, so now He judges the human family within the context of

the redemptive grace provided by His Son. In view of the sacrifice God has made for us and the prospect of judgment, it is important for us to complete the experience that the sanctuaries of the Old Testament teach us. We must humble ourselves in the presence of our Creator and Redeemer and seek a living relationship with Him by true revival and reformation relying completely on Christ for our salvation and every need.

Through the grace of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we will have the wonderful privilege of seeing and entering into the garden that Adam and Eve once called home. What a privilege to proclaim the three angels’ messages through God’s power so that we can see the final fulfillment of God’s plan to return His children to their rightful new Eden home. n 1 Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 History of the Christian Church (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903), vol. 2, p. 540.

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. God’s creation came from His hand perfect in every way. What might Adam and Eve have missed most when they were forced to leave the garden?

2. Do you suppose God ever considered walking away from His marred creation? If so, why? If not, why not?

3. How is the Garden of Eden a model for what God has planned for His people? What are you most looking forward to?

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Sunday

The Two Gardens In them sin and salvation meet

BY WILLIAM G. JOHNSSON

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ur salvation comes from a God who loves us so much that He spares no effort to win us back to Himself. The account of His saving activity in the struggle between good and evil is the greatest story ever told; it is indeed the drama of the ages.

In this story two gardens set the stage for crucial developments. From the first garden come sin, loss, shame, and death.

From the second flow hope, joy, and life.

God planted the first garden. It was beautiful, it was perfect, it was Eden. And in this flawless environment God placed the first humans, also made by His own hand (Gen. 2:8, 9), and communed with them. Eden was Paradise, the Paradise of innocence. Adam and Eve were sinless, but they were like children. They had not yet developed characters: they had not made choices. And choices would soon be placed before them.

The Entrance of Evil Behind the tranquillity of the garden lurked a sinister figure. Evil, something altogether outside Adam’s and Eve’s experience, was not far away—it never is! A fallen angel, once known as Lucifer the daystar but now as Satan the deceiver, awaited his opportunity.

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How long our first parents lived in the garden we do not know. But one day a shadow fell over Paradise. Satan, using the medium of the beautiful serpent, dangled before them the allure of a new experience that would make them like God Himself.

God had instituted a simple test of obedience: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16, 17). But the serpent said: “You will not surely die . . . for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4, 5).

Many years have passed, but the tempter still comes to people today in the same way. He glamorizes disobedience, making it seem attractive. He paints adherence to God’s commands as boring. He promises thrills, new experiences. He covers up the path of ruin that he invites us to enter upon—a path littered with drunkards in the gutter and bodies wasting away.

Always the devil seeks to insert doubt.

He attributes to God his own character and pretends to take the true character of God. God wants only what is best for

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us; He withholds nothing from us that leads to health and happiness. Satan, on the other hand, offers us a poison package that looks attractive but ultimately degrades and corrupts us.

Satan is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). “You will not surely die,” he persuaded Adam and Eve. But it was a big lie. They did die, and their offspring have been dying ever since.

“You will be like God,” he promised, but it was a promise he could not keep.

He had tried to be like God in the heavenly courts (Isa. 14:13; Eze. 28:2-5), but his self-delusion got him cast out of heaven.

Only God can be God. He is the Creator of all, whether angels or humans. The creature can never become Creator. God made men and women in His image to live in Him and render loving obedience.

Only in God do we find our true selves.

“Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee,” as Augustine well expressed.

Sin is irrational; it is the ultimate madness. It grasps at the impossible—to be like God. It casts aside the fact of our existence as being made by God and dependent upon Him for our every breath.

Yet how many men and women today

follow in the steps of our first parents!

The great majority of people succumb to the tempter’s enticement “You will be like God” by putting God out of their thinking, denying that He exists, or rejecting Him outright.

Results of the Fall The consequences of the Fall began to be manifest almost immediately. After the initial rush of pleasure, our first parents began to feel shame (Gen. 3:7). Hearing God approaching in the garden, they were seized by feelings of guilt and tried to hide (verse 8). But they could not hide from God, any more than we can hide today. They began to blame each other for their disobedience: “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it,” Adam whined (verse 12).

Does it sound familiar? Blame anyone, blame even God, but don’t admit your own fault. Likewise with Eve: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate,” she tried to defend herself (verse 13).

These attempts to put the blame somewhere else and to justify their actions were as flimsy as the garments of fig leaves they had sewn to cover their nakedness. And still today fig-leaf excuses and self-justification abound.

Then the Lord sketched the future that lay before them. They would be banished from Paradise to a life of painful toil.

Henceforth nature would produce thorns and thistles. Eve would give birth to children in pain and at last, after a lifetime of struggle to win their daily bread by the sweat of their brow, they would return to the dust from which God had formed them (verses 16-20).

The poet John Milton, at the close of his epic work Paradise Lost, movingly described their final moments in Eden: “ The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide: They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.”

God to the Rescue But God didn’t leave Adam and Eve

without hope. Although banished from the garden, they were not banished from His presence. Wherever their new life would take them, God would be there.

Further, God left them a promise for the future. While they were still in the garden He had declared to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (verse 15).

This “enmity” is not a natural human reaction. It is something put within us by God; it is grace at work.

Wrote Ellen White: “It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above” (The Great Controversy, p. 506).

The work of grace came to a climax in the Offspring of the woman—Jesus Christ. At the conclusion of His sinless life and loving ministry, He went to a garden to pray—the Garden of Gethsemane.

This garden was planted by man, not God. It was a favorite place of retreat for the Master. On the final Thursday night of His earthly life, with the cross staring Him in the face, Jesus went there to wrestle with the Father.

As the weight of the sins of the world pressed heavy upon Him, Jesus implored: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

In that garden the destiny of the human race hung in the balance. Jesus craved the support of His closest friends, but they all fell asleep. He drank the cup of woe alone. Another being was there,

the same deceiver who had been in Eden.

Now He tempted Jesus to abandon His mission to save the world: They aren’t worth it. None of them care. Look at them —all sleeping!

Unlike our first parents, Jesus refused to listen to the malevolent voice, refused to entertain doubt. Accepting the bitter cup from His Father’s hand, He went forward to Calvary.

The two gardens call us to prayerful contemplation of the price of our salvation. There we see how much was lost, but also how great is the grace of our wonderful Lord. Ellen White urges us to carefully study and compare “the Garden of Eden with its foul blot of disobedience . . . with the Garden of Gethsemane, where the world’s Redeemer suffered superhuman agony when the sins of the whole world were rolled upon Him” (manuscript 1, 1892).

Hallelujah! What a Savior! n

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. W hat was Satan’s original lie to our first parents, and how is it repeated in the community where you live?

2. W hich of the results of sin—evil, sickness, poverty, corruption, etc.—most burden you? What sustains you in your struggle?

3. B efore He died for our sins, Jesus lived to bless others. How is His church in your community blessing others?

Unless otherwise indicated, all the readings for this year’s Week of Prayer were written by William G. Johnsson, Ph.D., longtime editor of the Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines. In retirement he works as a Presidential assistant for Interfaith Relations at the General Conference.

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Monday

His Saving Presence Jesus didn’t just tell us how to live; He lived it.

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ne of the most amazing truths we find in the Bible is that God is not just willing to dwell with His people—He wants to be among us. Although He is the Maker of heaven and earth, He desires to fellowship with the creatures of His hand. “ For this is what the high and lofty One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’ ” (Isa. 57:15).

Today a militant atheism is abroad. At one time unbelievers were content to live in quiet doubt; today they aggressively proclaim that there is no God and heap scorn on Christians and all followers of religion. Among the leading voices advocating atheism are Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. Interestingly, Anthony Flew, who set the agenda for atheism for 50 years, late in life 8

underwent a philosophical conversion.

His book There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, published in 2007, scandalized his former colleagues.

For those who know Jesus as their Savior and Lord, however, arguments like Flew’s, while helpful in certain contexts, are unnecessary. We know that there is a God because we know Him as our Friend. “ And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known” (C. Austin Miles, “In the Garden”).

The entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, witnesses to this fact of the God who delights to befriend humanity. He walked and talked in the garden with Adam and Eve. He walked and talked with Abraham and the patriarchs. And when He led the 12 tribes out of Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai, He instructed Moses: “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8, KJV).

The Israelites had seen and heard the

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thunderclap, lightning, and trumpet blast that came from the sacred mountain. They knew that Yahweh was real— He was there on Sinai—and they were terrified. Now God longed to draw closer to them, in a manner that would invite them to come into His presence.

He would dwell in a tent.

God gave Moses a blueprint for the sanctuary, and the Israelites constructed it to the letter. It was beautifully appointed, with gold, silver, precious stones, and colored fabrics.

Because it had to be portable, it was small. Its Most Holy Place was a cube of 10 cubits (about 15 feet) to a side; the holy place was double the size, 20 cubits by 10 cubits (about 30 feet by 15 feet).

Think of it—the Majesty of heaven, Creator of the universe, condescending to dwell in a tent!

A Symbol of God’s Presence For the Israelites, the sanctuary was the heart of their life together. Their identity as a special people chosen by God centered there.

The sanctuary was the place of refuge.

There the Shekinah glory—the very

presence of the Lord—was manifested between the cherubim in the Most Holy Place. With the sanctuary in their midst and going on before them during their journeys, they could be safe, secure from whatever foes they might have to face.

Centuries later, after settling in the Promised Land, they still looked to the sanctuary for refuge, as the psalmist prayed: “May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion” (Ps. 20:2).

The sanctuary was a place of instruction. From time to time Moses went out to the tent to talk with God. Here God gave Him counsel for leading the people. After Moses returned to the camp, his face shone and the people could not bear to look at him, so “when Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face” (Ex. 34:33).

The sanctuary was a place of divine guidance. All the time the children of Israel were in the wilderness a cloud rested over the sanctuary during the day and a pillar of fire shone at night.

When the cloud or fiery pillar lifted, the people broke camp and followed. When it came to rest, they set up camp. “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” (Ex. 13:21).

The sanctuary was a place of worship.

The Israelites’ sacred year revolved around a series of festivals—Passover, Wave Sheaf, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles—and for each the sanctuary played a key role.

Finally, the sanctuary was a place of forgiveness. Here the sinner brought his or her sacrifice—a lamb, a goat, a bird— to be presented by the priest as atonement. Forgiveness was through the sanctuary.

No wonder the Israelites considered the sanctuary so precious. When in later years the Temple that replaced the wilderness tent was desecrated by invading armies, to them that was the ultimate loss, the worst calamity that could be imagined. (See Ps. 74:1-7.)

We do not have an earthly sanctuary today to which we may look for God’s

presence. But we are not placed at a disadvantage: we have the heavenly sanctuary, which we enter by faith (Heb. 10:19-22). And we have Jesus. The God who so desired to dwell with the 12 tribes that He instructed them to build a sanctuary went further—much, much further! He took on the form of a human being. He became flesh and blood, one with us.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,” prophesied Isaiah. “And the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

Of Him the beloved John wrote: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt [literally, “pitched his tent”] among us, (and we beheld his glory . . .) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This Man, devoid of all the trappings that people use to draw attention to themselves—wealth, fame, power, education, influence—was God incarnate. He was Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23).

Jesus is our great high priest, ministering on our behalf in the courts above.

That heavenly sanctuary, which is not made by human hands and is more glorious than we can imagine, is the true sanctuary, the pattern of which the wilderness tent was but a faint representation—“a copy and shadow of what is in heaven” (Heb. 8:5).

Concerning this sanctuary and Jesus’ work in it we will study more closely in a later reading this week. Just as the children of Israel found in the wilderness tent their identity as the people of God, so we can look to our great High Priest for refuge, instruction, guidance, worship, and forgiveness.

And there’s more! Jesus dwelt among us for only a short time, some 33 years.

But before He left, He promised to send the blessed Comforter, the Holy Spirit: “I will not leave you as orphans;” He said, “I will come to you” (John 14:18).

The Holy Spirit carries on the loving ministry of Jesus. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13). He brings to our remembrance the teachings of the Savior (John 14:26). He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John

16:8-11). And best of all, He is with us!

We don’t have to go to a temple to find God. We don’t have to make a pilgrimage to some far-off shrine where the divine presence is manifested. God is already here, right here. God is with us!

Just before Jesus left us, He promised: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). The apostle Paul testified, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Dear friend, can you join with Paul in that witness? Do you know that Jesus lives within you? Is He with you, even as He promised?

Long ago Moses prayed: “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Ex. 33:16).

Likewise David implored: “Do not cast me from your presence” (Ps. 51:11).

If you have been running away from God, pray that prayer of David. God wants to dwell with you. He earnestly desires that you will know His saving presence. He wants to be your refuge, your guide, your teacher, your Savior, your Lord! n Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. Of the five things represented by the earthly sanctuary—refuge, instruction, divine guidance, worship, and forgiveness—which is most needed in your community? How are you providing it?

2. If you wanted to reflect Christ’s incarnational ministry to your community, how would your life be different?

3. How is the ministry of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in your life as an individual and as a congregation?

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Tuesday

Behold, the Lamb of God Only He can provide what we need.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

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his declaration of John the Baptist went to the heart of Jesus’ mission. Beyond all else that He had come to accomplish—to reveal the character of God, to seek and to save the lost, to proclaim good tidings, and more—He had come to be the divine Sacrifice for sin.

Jesus’ very name pointed to the preeminent purpose of His ministry.

Before He was born, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, who had pledged to marry Mary, and told him: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

“Jesus” is the Greek form of Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” Later the title “Christ” was attached to His given name; it means “the Anointed One,” that is, “the Messiah.” So when we say “Jesus Christ” we really are saying Sav-

ior-Messiah, or the Messiah who saves.

Unfortunately, for millions of people today “Jesus Christ” is no more than a profanity. How little do they realize what the words really mean when they take His name in vain! Thus does the evil one, the hellish foe of Jesus in the great controversy between good and evil, seek to divert attention from the saving work of Jesus!

His Divine Purpose Jesus was born to die. For almost all people death is the last, sad act in the drama of life. But not for Jesus: death was the climax of His coming to earth.

By dying He would save the world. “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself,” He said (John 12:32). And also: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14, 15).

One might have expected the followers of Jesus to be ashamed of His death.

Crucifixion was the worst way to die: it was a slow, agonizing execution carried out in a public place. Rome reserved it

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for the worst criminals; no Roman citizen could be condemned to die in this despised manner. Jesus was not a Roman citizen; He could be and was crucified. Oh, how far did the Savior stoop to win our salvation! So the apostle Paul writes: “He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:8).

The early Christians, however, were not ashamed. They never tried to cover up the manner of Jesus’ dying; they weren’t embarrassed by it; they made no excuses for it. Rather, they proclaimed it boldly: “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed” (Acts 4:10); “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:22, 23); “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).

Ellen White explained Christ’s saving work like this:

“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed’” (The Desire of Ages, p. 25).

False Expectations The disciples of Jesus did not immediately grasp the divine purpose behind Jesus’ death. When John the Baptist, speaking with divine insight, declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NKJV),* those who heard him must have been puzzled as to his meaning.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry the Twelve expected Him to function as a political Messiah, one who would deliver the Jews from the yoke of the hated Romans. They found incomprehensible Jesus’ predictions of His impending sufferings and death in Jerusalem (Matt. 16:21-23; 20:17-19).

Only after Jesus’ resurrection did His followers begin to understand what the cross meant in God’s purpose. The light began to dawn on the road to Emmaus: “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

In the light of Calvary we also see more clearly portions of the Old Testament that, without Jesus, puzzle and even trouble us.

The sanctuary services, for example: Why so much killing of innocent animals? Why so much shedding of blood?

Looking back on the sacrificial system through the lens of the cross, we realize that it served a divine educational function. It taught the Israelites that sin is costly—that it is not a light matter; and that sin could be dealt with only through the taking of life, as the book of Hebrews makes explicit: “Without the

shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).

The wilderness tent and the later Temple focused salvation by grace for a particular time and place. The person who was sorry for their sins found peace by doing what the Lord had instructed, not by following a course of their own devising.

Ultimately, however, animal sacrifice could not provide atonement. “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4).

Only the death of the God-man Jesus Christ could deal with sins decisively.

Thus, every lamb or other animal brought by the penitent as an offering was efficacious only because of the offering up of the Lamb of God, to which it pointed.

Because of Calvary we also begin to understand the amazing but perplexing story found in Genesis 22—of Abraham and his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. The account has long troubled students of the Bible, both Jewish and Christian.

Here is Yahweh commanding the aged father: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (verse 2).

How can a God of love issue such a command? It sounds like the words of one of the pagan deities that were worshipped by the inhabitants of Canaan.

They offered up human sacrifices, but Yahweh strictly forbade the children of Israel to imitate their diabolical practices: “Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord” (Lev. 18:21).

The instruction must have cut Abraham like a sword in his heart. Somehow he found faith to go forward. He didn’t understand, but he had walked with God for too long to disobey Him now.

When the boy asked the soul-piercing question “The fire and wood are here . . . but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Gen. 22:7, 8).

And God did provide. As Abraham

raised the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord called him to stop. “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns” (verse 13). It had been there all along, but the grieving father had been too overwrought to notice it.

Abraham called that place Yahweh jireh, which means “The Lord will provide.” Nearly 1,000 years later, when King Solomon built the Temple, he placed it on that same site, Mount Moriah (2 Chron. 3:1). And about 1,000 years after that Jesus died close by.

The Lord who provided for Abraham provided for all humankind.

Finally, in light of Jesus the Lamb of God we understand the meaning of the wonderful fifty-third chapter of the book of Isaiah. Here is Someone who was “led like a lamb to the slaughter” (verse 7), who was “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (verses 5, 6).

Friend, those sins He bore are my sins—and yours. Don’t you love Him, this Jesus, this Lamb of God who died in your place? n * Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. “Jesus was born to die,” according to the author. What role did His life and teachings play in His earthly ministry?

2. How does the biblical emphasis on blood sacrifices affect your twentyfirst-century sensibilities? Be honest.

3. What do the words “the Lord will provide” mean to you?

www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

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Wednesday

The Mediator Our salvation is in His hands.

O

n October 12, 2010, the world held its collective breath as a daring rescue operation reached its climax. Sixty-nine days earlier 33 men had been trapped more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) underground in a massive rock slide at the gold and copper mine where they worked in Chile.

For weeks rescue workers drilled an emergency shaft ever closer to the entrapped miners, and a 28-inch-wide rescue capsule was readied. Now the shaft had reached the miners. Would the plan work?

The story of the miners and the rescue attempt galvanized the attention of people everywhere. Television crews from more than 200 nations, including North Korea, had gathered at the site.

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera waited to greet the men as they emerged from their hot, foul dungeon.

Just after midnight expectation turned to jubilation as the escape capsule brought the first miner to the surface. Lights flashed, bands played the Chilean national anthem, hugs were exchanged, tears of joy flowed. During 12

the course of the next 21 hours more and more men surfaced until all 33 had been restored to spouses and friends.

It was a wonderful moment, a brief respite from the bad news that the media usually carries. And yet it was nothing compared to the day all heaven held its breath. Long ago the fate of not just 33 people but the whole world hung in the balance. We too were trapped, doomed in a foul pit of sin without any way of escape and without hope. But the Son of God, boring His way through the hard rock of despair, launched a daring rescue mission. As His work reached its climax and He faced the agony of Gethsemane and the shame of Calvary, the universe looked on in amazement and apprehension.

Wrote Ellen White: “The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ’s thrice-repeated prayer. Angels had longed to bring relief

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to the divine sufferer, but this might not be. No way of escape was found for the Son of God. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ” (The Desire of Ages, p. 693).

The One and Only Oh, what a Savior is Jesus! Because He became genuinely human, taking our flesh and blood, He became our great high priest, the mediator between God and man. He is the God-man, bridging in Himself the chasm between heaven and earth that the fall of our first parents had brought about.

The earthly sanctuary had pointed to Him. Its services centered in sacrifice and priest. The blood of lambs, goats, bulls, and oxen, offered by the penitent sinner, foreshadowed Jesus, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world. And the ministry of the priest—

especially the high priest, who alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place on one day of the year, the Day of Atonement—looked ahead to the greater ministry of the God-man in the heavenly sanctuary.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” wrote the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 2:5). “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Heb. 9:15).

One mediator—only one! No one else can bridge heaven and earth. No one else can forgive our sins. No one else can or should claim for themselves what Jesus alone can be and do.

We do not need to confess our sins to a mere human being who claims to function as a go-between for us, taking our supplications to God. No! “We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense— Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2).

Our Mediator in heaven is Someone who understands our struggles. He has been there, done that. He has suffered and been tempted. He has felt the pain of sorrow, the sting of rejection. Anything and everything that may befall us—He has already experienced it.

In a marvelous exposition the book of Hebrews develops the truth of Jesus as our great high priest. In the first chapter it shows that He is truly God, superior to the angels. “The Son is the radiance of

God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’ ” (Heb. 1:3, 8).

The Wonderful Implications Let the glorious truth sink into our beings: In coming to Jesus, we come to God. Jesus isn’t a stage on the road between heaven and earth; He is God. All that God is, Jesus is; always has been, always will be. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

Jesus loves us so much that He calls us His friends (John 15:14, 15), just as Abraham in the Old Testament was called the “friend” of God (2 Chron. 20:7). We can come into precious fellowship with Him, but let us never forget who He is—God!

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13

In our prayers, in our songs, in all our talk about Jesus, never should we treat Him as a “buddy,” just like us.

Back to the book of Hebrews: just as chapter 1 argues that Jesus is truly God, so chapter 2 portrays Him as truly man.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14, 15).

Here it is again—the great rescue mission. Jesus didn’t send someone else, He came Himself because no one else could do the job. He became one with us, entered into the ultimate horror from which we all shrink—death. He entered the realm of death and destroyed its power, broke its fear. He rose from the dead, leaving the tomb empty!

Truly God, truly man—Jesus is the God-man, completely unique in the universe. And so He became our high priest, serving in the courts above: “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (verse 17).

Throughout human history and still today, men and women have felt the need for priests. Conscious of their unworthiness, they have reached out to other humans whom they regard as close to God and therefore able to present their prayers and other needs in a manner that God will accept. In reality, however, there has been, and is, only one real Priest, the God-man, who in His own person brings us into the presence of God. All others were but shadow priests. They themselves stood, and stand, in need of the Mediator, Jesus Christ. That is why even the high priest in the earthly sanctuary had “to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people” (Heb. 5:3).

The teaching of Jesus as our great high priest in the heavenly sanctuary is a precious truth given to Seventh-day Adventists to share with the world. In essence it 14

gives us assurance in four vital areas: 1. The reality of our hope. For many Christians today, heaven has faded as a real place. Even some ministers no longer believe in life after death; they hold that immortality consists in the life of our children and grandchildren. But Jesus’ ongoing ministry makes certain that heaven is real and that He will come again to receive us unto Himself. “The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man” (Heb. 8:1, 2).

2. The reality of forgiveness. No matter what our feelings may suggest, we have a Mediator who “always lives to intercede” for us (Heb. 7:25). Feelings are fickle, but not Jesus. Though all others prove unreliable, “He will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).

3. Heaven is a welcoming place. We belong: we don’t come cringing, hat in hand. Jesus is there for us; He makes us welcome. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are— yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16).

4. The sanctuary is a place of power. Jesus not only understands and sympathizes with us in our struggles; He gives us overcoming power: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18).

Dear friend, do you know that you have a Mediator, one who stands up for you in the heavenly courts? No matter what your past life may have been, no matter how far you may have wandered from God’s holy purpose for your life, He accepts you. You are His

| www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011

son, His daughter. Come to Him and lay all your cares before Him; He will take them and grant you His peace.

During a testimony meeting at the close of a recent meeting of Adventist Church leaders, an administrator told a gripping personal story. Seven months prior he and his wife had alighted from a plane in Los Angeles, California. As they made their way to the car rental desk, he suddenly experienced terrible pain in his chest. The major artery of his heart was totally blocked; he was about to die. His wife, a registered nurse, desperately called out to see if anyone had aspirin available. Fortunately, one of the attendants had put an aspirin tablet in his pocket that morning, and he gave it to her. Even so, the pastor’s heart stopped beating; his wife performed CPR and brought him back to life.

“Do you know what it’s like to die?” he asked his transfixed audience. As he hung between life and death, all he could think was: “ Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling” (Augustus M. Toplady).

If I don’t live to see Jesus returning in the clouds, if I must enter the cold waters of death, may my last thought be the same. Jesus, only Jesus; He is all we have in this life; He will be all we want in the life to come. He is our Savior, Lord, Q u Coming estions forn Friend, King—and Mediator.

Reflection and Sharing

1. What does it mean to you that Jesus is “one of us”? What difference does it make in your life?

2. Of the four realities listed by the author—hope, forgiveness, heaven, power—which means the most to you at this moment in your spiritual experience?

3. When did you finally realize that your only hope of salvation was your relationship with Jesus? What event capsulized that realization?

POSITION VACANT

Media Ministries Director

The Adventist Media Network (AMN) is seeking a full time media ministries director, based at the Wahroonga office in NSW, working with our media ministries.

This senior management position provides strategic leadership to the media ministries at AMN. The ministries involved include: Signs of the Times, It Is Written Oceania, Hope Channel, Discovery Centre, Christian Services for the Blind, Psalter music and the South Pacific Division’s Institute for Public Evangelism.

The successful applicant will have skills and experience in: Leadership and management Strategic planning Understanding of the evangelism process Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

The successful applicant will hold suitable qualifications or have equivalent experience in similar roles. Commitment to quality and service, together with a respect for Christian values and ethics are essential. Applications close September 26, 2011.

Please send application and CV to: Kalvin Dever +61 2 9847 2222 or email kalvin@adventistmedia.org.au

Adventist Media Network reserves the right to fill this vacancy at its discretion. Overseas applicants must already qualify for a working visa in Australia.

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Thursday

Living Grace Changed by beholding

W

hen we allow Jesus to be our Lord, He changes us. Grace, God’s saving love, transforms us as we walk with Jesus every day.

Wrote the apostle Paul: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).

This passage sets out the nature of a life lived by the grace of God. Everything changes—our choices, our hope, and our motivation.

Day by day we are confronted with choices. The world is ever with us with its “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16, KJV), but grace teaches us to say “No!” and to choose the noble way, the way of

Jesus. Further, grace sustains us as we wait for Jesus to come back. We don’t know when He will come, but we know that He will because He promised: “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” (John 14:3, KJV). Already in this life He fills our hearts with joy and peace, but the best is yet to be when we shall see Him face to face. Further, His grace motivates us to be all that He wants us to be—a purified “people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

To the people of Israel in the wilderness, God commanded: “Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8). His Shekinah glory between the cherubim in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle demonstrated that He had kept His promise: He did indeed dwell among them.

God’s Desire God still wants to dwell among His people. We have no wilderness sanctuary, no beautiful Temple in Jerusalem, but we have a more wonderful way of knowing that God

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is with us. The great I AM, Creator of the universe, now condescends to dwell within us! No longer a tent, no longer a temple of gold, silver and precious stones, but a body! “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” asks the apostle Paul. And he goes on: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).

How God can dwell in us is a mystery, the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27, KJV). But every man or woman, boy or girl who has accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord knows it to be fact. Jesus is as real as our best friend; He is our best friend.

Therefore, we seek to honor God in all we do. Our bodies aren’t just living temples; they are living sacrifices offered up in praise and worship to the Lord whose grace has saved us. “In view of God’s mercy . . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be trans-

formed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1, 2).

Not only are we temples of the Holy Spirit individually, but God designs that His people collectively be a holy dwelling place where His presence is manifested. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple,” writes Paul (1 Cor. 3:16).

God wants the church to reflect His holiness. It is to be a cosmic display of the love, wisdom, and grace of God. What a high ideal!

Peter elaborates on the theme: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Anciently, the Temple in Jerusalem was a wonder that amazed people from near and far. That is the sort of witness that God wants His church to be in these last days of earth’s history—something that will draw people to Jesus.

The glory of the church doesn’t consist in magnificent buildings and expensive facilities. Our houses of worship should be attractive and representative of the Lord who dwells within, but never let us fall into the trap of worldly display and pride. The glory of the church consists in the people who gather there, in the sincerity of our devotion and praise to the Lord, and in the love and acceptance we show to one another.

Moving Humbly Forward Although our church started in a most humble way, born out of disappointment with few believers, we have spread to the ends of the earth. We now number more than 17 million baptized members, and every year another 1 million or more people swell our ranks. We operate more than 100 universities and colleges, plus many hospitals, clinics, and publishing houses.

I praise God for what He has done and continues to do in our midst. Let us

pause to give all glory and praise to Him. Let us beware, however, lest, even while mouthing pious phrases, in our hearts we begin to think like Nebuchadnezzar: “Is not this the great Babylon I have built” (Dan. 4:30)?

When someone steps into an Adventist church, what do they find? Do they immediately sense that God is in this place? Do they feel warmth, care, and friendliness from welcoming saints? Do they hear the Word of God preached from the pulpit? Is Christ uplifted for grace, salvation, and hope?

My heart trembles at how far short we often fall in what we demonstrate by our actions. We make fine prayers and sing fine hymns, but too often pride of display, a desire to impress others, and ugly feelings toward those who are different from us—in race, gender, education, or social status— turns on its head our profession to be the remnant people of God. The church is precious in God’s sight.

It is the theater of His activity where living grace is demonstrated to the world through a body of believers. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27).

Ellen White likewise gave much counsel about God’s ideal for the church: “The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men [and women]. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.

From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God” (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 9).

“Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts” (ibid., p. 12).

Elsewhere Ellen White writes that the church is carried on Christ’s heart (Christian Service, p. 243), is a case that contains God’s jewels (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 261), is Christ’s fortress in a revolted world (Medical Ministry, p. 89), is Christ’s representative on earth (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 122), is the dearest object on the earth to God (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 166), and is God’s property (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 19).

What a privilege to be part of God’s family on earth! Let us never treat membership in the church lightly as though the church were a club that we choose to join or drop at will.

Jesus, our great high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, is Lord of the church. As He ministers in heaven above in our behalf, let us yield moment by moment to His transforming grace, glorifying Him in our body temple and building up “the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:22, 23). n

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. What does holiness mean to you?

How does God’s grace color your understanding of holiness?

2. How can we appreciate the way God has led this movement without falling prey to pride?

3. How does God’s view of His church compare with your own? What’s different? What’s the same?

www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

17

Friday

Judgment Day Is Coming!

It’s not a threat; it’s a promise.

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30, 31).

T

he apostle Paul is standing on the rocky hill opposite the Acropolis in Athens.

Among the crowd gathered to hear what he has to say are philosophers and passersby eager to catch any bit of new, titillating information. Paul begins to talk about the religious practices he has observed in the city and points them to the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, the source of life for all. Then he brings the address to a climax with the warning: judgment day is coming!

It is a message that rings throughout the Bible. God, the moral arbiter of the universe, will call men and women to account. None can escape; none can hide. People may try to deny it, try to block it from their consciousness, but the fact remains: judgment day is coming!

“We must all appear before the judg-

ment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). “For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord” (Isa. 66:16).

Likewise Jesus, who spoke so much about the Father’s love, also taught that judgment day was coming: “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt.

12:36).

In our present fallen world, injustice abounds. Very often the poor do not receive their dues while those who can afford high-priced lawyers go free. We live in an age when iniquity abounds, when man’s inhumanity against his fellow man knows no limits, when evil seemingly goes unchecked, when “truth [is] forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne.”* But the Lord tells us as He tells all humankind: judgment day is coming! Evil will not go on and on forever. Justice will not continue to be denied or perverted. God will take matters in hand;

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He will call all humankind to account.

Standing Firm After the Holocaust, many Jews abandoned faith in God. In the face of what seemed the divine silence, they could no longer believe. The problem is much older, however. It surfaces in several places in Scripture, notably in Psalm 73.

Here the psalmist candidly acknowledges his struggles as he sees how those who reject God seem to prosper. “As for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold,” he confesses.

“For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (verses 2, 3).

People who give no thought to God seem to enjoy a good life—healthy, carefree, wealthy, proud, violent, scoffers, malicious, arrogant (verses 4-12). They say: “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” (verse 11).

It was a heavy burden for the psalmist to understand, and it is a heavy burden for us also. But the answer, for him and for us, comes in these words: “till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (verse 17).

For the psalmist, the sanctuary assured him that God was alive and well. God was still on the throne, and in His own time and way He would call a halt to the reign of sin and evil. God would make everything right.

For us, the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus ministers as our great high priest gives the same assurance. The world will not go on forever. The crimes that permeate modern society, the base acts of men and women one day must come under the scrutiny of the Lord of the universe. Judgment day is coming!

In many Christian churches, the doctrine of the judgment has all but disappeared. Even though worshippers may mouth the words of the ancient creed— “He [Christ] comes to judge the quick and the dead”—the idea no longer has meaning in their experience. Seventhday Adventists, however, retain this biblical truth as a vital component of our theology. We see our message pictured in the three angels of Revelation, who go to all the world with the proclamation: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.

Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water” (Rev. 14:7).

Note the correspondence with Paul’s address on Mars Hill. He challenged his skeptical audience to repent; our message calls everyone to “fear God and give him glory.” Paul spoke of God’s setting “a day when he will judge the world with justice”; we preach: “the hour of his judgment has come.”

Changed by Grace Finally, Paul stated that God will judge the world by the Man whom He appointed, the One whom He raised from the dead—Jesus Christ. The message Adventists are to tell the world centers in Jesus. It is “the eternal gospel,” the good news of the God-man who wrought our salvation and who is soon to come again. He is the one who made “the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water” (Rev. 14:7), because “through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).

In the judgment, the crucial issue involves our relationship to Jesus. We cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try. When our name comes up in the heavenly courts with the unerring record of our life laid bare—all that we have done and failed to do, all our words, all our innermost thoughts—one question will take precedence over all others: What have we done with God’s Son? “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17, 18).

The heavenly record of our lives, while it alone cannot provide hope, nonetheless is important because it shows the direction of our lives. We are weak and erring; we try, but we fall and fall again. With all the stops and starts, however, the grace of Christ is transforming us. The change occurs silently, daily as God’s image is being renewed in us. As we walk with Jesus, giving ourselves to Him each day, feeding on His Word and seeking to live for His glory, we become like Him. As a husband and wife who deeply love each other begin to resemble each other in habits and even appearance, so people who love Jesus take on His likeness.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with everincreasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Some Seventh-day Adventists are afraid of the judgment. They live in doubt and apprehension that they will not be found good enough to be admitted to heaven at last.

Dear reader, are you among these fearful ones? Let me give you a straight answer from the Bible: You are not good enough. You will never make it on your own.

But Jesus is good enough. If you have taken Him as your Savior and Lord, He stands in your place. The Father sees only His Son’s perfect righteousness when He looks at you,

not the spotty record of your life.

Could it really be true? Trust God’s Word, which assures us: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16).

Ellen White’s final message, written in 1914, was addressed to a person who was troubled by doubts and fears regarding their acceptance by Jesus. She wrote: “It is your privilege to trust in the love of Jesus for salvation, in the fullest, surest, noblest manner; to say, He loves me, He receives me; I will trust Him, for He gave His life for me” (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 517).

What comfort! What certainty! God’s throne in heaven is a throne of grace!

Grace is our living hope; grace is our salvation.

This is good news indeed. Judgment day is coming! Praise God! n * From James Russell Lowell, “The Present Crisis,” 1844.

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. Of the many injustices in the world today, which are most in need of being rectified? List at least five.

2. What keeps you hopeful and optimistic despite the evil, violence, and corruption so evident in the world?

3. In what ways should the church be involved in promoting justice in the world as we await Christ’s return?

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Second Sabbath

Home to Eden Closer than ever to our final destination

BY ELLEN G. WHITE

N

ow the church is militant, now we are confronted with a world in midnight darkness, almost wholly given over to idolatry. But the day is coming in which the battle will have been fought, the victory won.

The will of God is to be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. Then the nations will own no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of Christ’s righteousness. All nature in its surpassing loveliness will offer to God a constant tribute of praise and adoration.

The world will be bathed in the light of heaven. . . .

We must have a view of the future, and of the blessedness of heaven. Stand on the threshold of eternity, and hear the gracious welcome given to those who in this life have cooperated with Christ, regarding it as a privilege and an honor to suffer for his sake. As they unite with the angels, they cast their crowns at the feet of their Redeemer, exclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,

and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. . . . Honor and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”

The Redeemed Saved by Grace There the redeemed ones greet those who directed them to the uplifted Savior. They unite in praising him who died that human beings might have the life that measures with the life of God. The conflict is over. All tribulation and strife are at an end. Songs of victory fill all the heaven as the redeemed stand around the throne of God. All take up the joyful strain, “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again, a triumphant conqueror.” . . .

Will you catch the inspiration of the vision? Will you let your mind dwell upon the picture?1 The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the

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curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died—here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, “and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift—Immanuel, “God with us.”2 “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.

One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet,

beholding Christ in His glory: “He had bright beams coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power.”

Habakkuk 3:4, margin. That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God—there is the Saviour’s glory, there “the hiding of His power.” . . . And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power.

Eden Restored by Grace “O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” Micah 4:8. The time has come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from

Eden, the time for “the redemption of the purchased possession.” Ephesians 1:14. The earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored. “Thus saith the Lord . . . that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited.” Isaiah 45:18. God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the redeemed. “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” Psalm 37:29. . . .

In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called “a country.” Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd

leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home. . . .

Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: . . . for the former things are passed away.” “The

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inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.

God Dwells With Us There is the New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, “a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” . . . Saith the Lord: “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people.” “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Isaiah 62:3; Revelation 21:11, 24; Isaiah 65:19; Revelation 21:3.

In the City of God “there shall be no night.” None will need or desire repose.

There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close. “And they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.” Revelation 22:5. The light of the sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide.

The glory of God and the Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The redeemed walk in the sunless glory of perpetual day.

“I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22. The people of God are privileged to hold open communion with the Father and the Son. “Now we see through a glass, darkly.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. We behold the image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of nature and in His dealings with men; but then we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and behold the glory of His countenance.

The Joy of the Saved There the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure

communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15)—these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.

There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.

All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s redeemed.

Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar—worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God’s handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator’s name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with

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Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

Revelation 5:13.

The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.3 n The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Dec. 17, 1908.

The Desire of Ages, p. 26.

3 The Great Controversy, pp. 674-678.

1 2

Q u estions

for

Reflection and Sharing 1. What makes heaven real for you?

2. How is your daily life colored by the reality of the life God has prepared for His people?

3. What do your friends and neighbors see in your life that would make them want to be saved in God’s heaven?

Ellen G. White (1827-1915) was one of the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Adventists believe that she exercised the biblical gift of prophecy during more than 70 years of public ministry.

Children’s Readings

BY CHARLES MILLS

First Sabbath Words of Love “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go” (Gen. 28:15).

A Home for God

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t was kinda scary. Even my horse seemed to be just a little bit nervous as we stumbled and clumped down the narrow gorge between the high rock cliffs towering on each side. But I had come to this part of the Middle East to see some interesting houses, and I wasn’t about to let any silly fear turn me around.

Suddenly we were there. The narrow gorge opened up and deposited my horse and me at the base of a tall, beautiful structure some call “The Treasury”—a building complete with stately columns, statues, and perfectly cut awnings. But this wondrous marvel wasn’t made of brick or wood or steel.

This building, and the hundreds of others I’d see in this extraordinary valley, was cut into pure rock—carved into the very face of a cliff. When you walked through the tall front door of The Treasury, you didn’t enter a room.

You entered a cave.

Petra was a very worldly place when it existed as an occupied city. The people there worshipped many gods, some of whom, they insisted, demanded human sacrifices. I know this is true because I saw stone altars high on the hilltops surrounding the city where people were killed in the name of one deity or another. I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to live in Petra, among those stony houses and stony hearts. It was a city without God.

The Home in the Garden Before God made Adam and Eve, He built them a home. He didn’t exactly visit the local building supply store and stock up on lumber, nails, paint, and window frames. But Adam and Eve seemed to be perfectly happy with their garden home—at least, for a while. The Creator loved to walk and talk with them, showing them the beauty of their amazing world.

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God has always wanted to live with us. He’s always wanted to move into our home and set up housekeeping right in the middle of all of our stuff—whether that stuff happens to be a simple table and cot in a hut, or stacks of video games in a modern, Internet-accessing, cable-ready, richly appointed, brightly painted bedroom. He just loves settling in, putting on His royal slippers, stretching out on the couch, and saying, “So, what’s for supper?” He wants to eat with us, sleep with us, play with us, even laugh with us when we hear a funny story. He just can’t get enough of us!

That’s why, when Adam and Eve listened to the evil serpent and disobeyed God’s direct order to NOT EAT OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT, God’s mighty heart was broken. His children chose to move from God’s house to Satan’s house.

The Home in the Desert Many years later we find Moses and a multitude of complaining, angry ex-slaves living in the middle of a hot desert after escaping from Egypt.

The people are confused, uneducated, and totally fed up with wandering around looking for some “Promised Land.”

So what did God do? He decided to move in with them!

God told Moses, “Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).

It was the first time that God had actually lived with His people since Eden. “Then,” the Bible says, “the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). In other words, God moved in. “So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels” (verse 38). In other words, God moved in . . . to stay.

What’s it like to have God living with you?

We’ll find out this week. n

Draw a picture of the type of sanctuary you’d build for Jesus today. Decide what materials you’d use and what design would show your love for Him to the world. Keep in mind that Jesus loves nature and would want you to enjoy worshipping Him there. Title your drawing “My Sanctuary for God.” www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

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Children’s Readings Sunday Words of Love “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).

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“Where’s My Mommy?”

I

could see the terror in her eyes, and I knew that if I didn’t do something fast, she would go absolutely wild with fear.

Anyone who has ever been to a General Conference session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church knows what a huge gathering looks like.

This was the scene in the Georgia Dome not too long ago. I was sitting off to one side watching the tide of people flow by when I caught sight of a little girl—probably about 6 years old—moving in the opposite direction of the crowd. There were tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, and her hands were trembling as she stumbled along. I heard her call out in a hoarse voice, “Mommy?

Mommy, where are you?” but her words were swallowed whole by the noise and commotion.

I hurried after her, trying to determine the best way to offer help. I knew she’d probably been taught not to trust strangers. But desperate times call for desperate measures. “Excuse me,” I said, kneeling beside her, “have you lost your mommy?”

She nodded between sobs.

“Well, if you’d like, I can help you find her.” I motioned for a woman passing by to join us.

The lady took one look at the little girl and knew immediately the situation. I smiled and pointed.

“This kind woman will be happy to take you over to that security guard, and together you can find your mommy. Would that be OK?” The lost girl looked at the woman, then at the security guard, then at me. “OK,” she whispered.

“Now, don’t be afraid,” I told her. “I’m sure your mommy is looking for you right this moment, and she’ll be so happy to see you.”

I hurried back to my post beside the stream of people and waited. If I knew mommies—and I

think I do, because I grew up with one of the best—I’d soon be seeing a desperate woman stumbling in the opposite direction of the crowd with the same look of panic on her face that I’d noticed on the little girl.

Sure enough, about five minutes later, there she was, bumping into people, her hands trembling, searching the crowds, hoping to see the most precious person in the whole world to her.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” I called out. “Are you looking for a little girl with brown eyes and a yellow dress?” I thought she was going to faint.

“Yes,” she said.

“Have you seen her?”

“She’s just around the corner out in the quiet hallway waiting with a security guard and a kind woman.

She’ll be so happy to see you!”

I wish you could have been there to witness that reunion.

There were tears of joy, words of love, and plenty of tight, tight hugs.

The nightmare was over. The separation had ended. Happiness returned to two hearts that day in the Georgia Dome.

The Fall When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they did more than choose Satan’s way of life over God’s way of life. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve had to move out of God’s garden home. Sin and rebellion can’t live where God lives. It would be like trying to mix oil and water.

Immediately our heavenly Father was hard at work, organizing a plan to bring them back—they and everyone who would want to live again in God’s house. God wanted the nightmare to be over.

He wanted the separation to end. He longed for happiness to return to all sin-sick hearts. But there would be a price to pay to end the separation. n

Sometimes, when people can’t find their favorite pet, they put up posters around the neighborhood asking others to look for the missing pet and call if they find it. Divide up into groups and have each group create a “missing persons” poster that God would put up if He were looking for your group. Include a picture (or drawing) of each person in the group. Remember, you are God looking for you. What would you say on the poster?

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Monday Words of Love “Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you” (Deut. 6:18).

God’s Laws of Love

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ear my grandparents’ home was a community swimming pool with lots of sparkling waters and laughing kids. It was divided into two sections—shallow end and deep end. I found that the shallow end was where most of the action was, with boys and girls playing games, tossing big inflatable balls around, and standing on their heads underwater with their feet sticking out in the air.

However, there was something amazing waiting at the far edge of the deep end. It was a high dive unlike any I’d ever seen. It towered up, up, up into the blue sky like a ladder to the clouds.

My grandfather would drive me to the pool, drop me off for the afternoon, and before leaving say the very same thing: “Have fun, Charlie. Play nice, be safe, and don’t jump off the high dive.”

But this particular day, my eyes kept wandering to the deep end, to the towering high dive, and the breathtaking sight of screaming bodies hurling through space before splashing down majestically in the cool waters.

Grandpa has no idea how much I’ve grown since last year, I thought to myself.

It’s time for me to experience new adventures reserved only for boys who are almost men.

The High and the Mighty I made my way along the side of the pool until I stood at the base of the towering dive. Slowly, steadily, I climbed the stairs leading up the structure. In my world, with my rules, I was the bravest, most daring person alive. I was about to show my grandfather and anyone else who happened to be watching that Charlie Mills was the

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servant of no one, and a force unto himself.

With a nervous smile on my face, I raised my arms and stepped out into space.

Down, down, down I fell, feeling the wind whistling by, unable to breathe, unable to move, unable to do anything but fall.

Seconds before I slammed into the water, some boy decided that he needed to be swimming right where I was going to land. I saw his body approaching fast, but there was nothing I could do. CRASH-SPLASH! I hit the water and the boy at the same time.

I apologized as best I could with gallons of water sloshing in my mouth and hurried to the ladder at the edge of the pool. I stumbled back to the shallow end and dove into its welcoming waves.

When Grandpa returned, I took my place beside him on the front seat of his car. “Did you have a good time?” he asked.

“Grandpa,” I gasped, “how did you know what would happen?”

He looked at me for a long moment. “Charlie,” he said, “did you jump off the high dive?”

“Of course I did!” I blurted. “That’s why you made the rule. You knew I was going to land on someone, didn’t you?”

Grandpa shook his head as a look of love and understanding shone from his eyes. “Charlie,” he said softly, “I didn’t know you were going to jump off the high dive. I made the rule because I thought you might.”

Laws of Love When God moved in with the children of Israel in the desert, He brought with Him a suitcase full of rules and regulations.

Why did He do that? Because the children of Israel were a bunch of bad people who wanted to do bad things all the time? No. He knew that some might want to follow Satan and his rules, which would bring them great pain and suffering. He did it because of what they might do, because He loved each one of those desert wanderers, just like He loves us. n

What type of laws would you make for your group in order for each one to enjoy worshipping God together? Come up with a list of 10 suggestions and write them on the board. Be sure to include why you made that law and how that law would improve your worship of the Creator. www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

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Children’s Readings Tuesday Words of Love “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4).

The Big Double Doors

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our-year-old Bobby wasn’t used to being sick. He was used to running around the house and yard playing fort with his older brother, Billy.

“Bobby?” his mother said as she watched her normally hungry child push away from the supper table. “Are you OK? You didn’t eat much.”

Bobby shook his head. “My throat hurts.”

Mother gathered her young son in her arms.

“I’m taking you to see Dr. Rue,” she announced.

The warm evening air felt good on Bobby’s face as the car hurried along the road leading to the Seoul Sanitarium and Hospital on the outskirts of Seoul, Korea. Mother and Father served as missionaries in a beautiful country filled with wonderful people.

Dr. George Rue took one look down Bobby’s throat and shook his head. “I can see the problem clearly,” he stated. “A simple operation and he’ll be fine.”

“No!” Bobby said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But it’s a simple operation,” Mother reasoned. “You’ll be asleep and won’t feel a thing.”

“NO!” Bobby repeated, even though saying the word hurt his throat.

Older brother Billy was standing nearby listening to the conversation. He knew that Dr. Rue was a good man and could help his brother stop hurting. He knew that Bobby wouldn’t get well if he didn’t have the operation, so he stepped forward and said something that shocked everyone.

“I’ll go with you, Bobby,” he announced in his best big brother voice. “I’ll let Dr. Rue operate on me, too. That way you won’t have to be afraid.”

Bobby studied his brother for a long moment.

“Really?” he asked.

Billy nodded. “I’ll be right there with you.”

Through the Big Double Doors The very next day, Dr. Rue walked into the hospital waiting room smiling broadly. “You ready, Bobby?”

“Ready,” the little boy stated. Then he paused,

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“Billy’s coming too.”

“I know,” Dr. Rue said. “We’ve decided that since Billy will someday need the same surgery, we have a bed all ready for him. You’ll wake up right beside him after the operation.”

Confidently Bobby and the doctor walked through the big double doors of the operating room. The little boy’s fears were gone. His big brother was going to share the experience with him.

When it came time for Billy to walk through those big double doors, it took every bit of courage he had to rise to his feet. Making a promise was one thing. Keeping that promise was proving to be a very, very big challenge.

At long last those doors swung open again and a smiling Dr. Rue walked out with the older boy held snugly in his arms. “Here’s your brave child,” he said, handing the sleeping form to his father.

“You can carry him to his room and put him right beside Bobby. They’ll both be fine in a few days.”

Father smiled and glanced down at his firstborn son. But what he saw made him feel suddenly weak. There were tearstains running from Billy’s eyes, over his flushed cheeks, and back into his hair. The bravery. The confidence. The courageous words. They’d all been an act! In truth, his son had been terrified of the surgery, even though he’d made his younger brother believe all was well.

“Thank You, God,” the man whispered.

“Thank You for giving me a son who showed me what Jesus did for me.”

Substitute in the Desert The children of Israel were instructed to offer daily, weekly, and yearly sacrifices at God’s desert sanctuary. These sacrifices were designed to remind each man, woman, and child of a terrible sacrifice to come. Eventually it wouldn’t be a lamb or goat that died. It would be Jesus. He would pay the price for our sins so that we could live forever with Him in heaven.

Jesus walked through His own big double doors so that, someday, we could walk through the pearly gates of heaven. n

Think about the neighborhood around your school or church. What are some ways that your group could help that neighborhood? Choose one project and do it together with the adults in your school or church leading the way.

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Wednesday Words of Love “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4:15).

Mediator

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ou’re in your favorite sporting goods store, checking out stuff that interests you.

Since you’re into bird-watching, the binocular display catches your eye.

One particular pair grabs your attention. Lifting them to your eyes, you begin to scan the store’s nooks and crannies.

You discover your friend Justin standing by the fishing reels and are about to call out to him when you see him take a small box of lures from the counter and slip them into his coat pocket.

Across the aisle you see your other friend Dave look around the store for a moment, then hide a pair of leather gloves in his schoolbag.

You can’t believe they actually did it. They’d been talking about how easy it would be to steal stuff from Mr. Larson’s sporting goods store. You thought it was just talk.

Now, through those powerful binoculars, you witnessed your friends making good on their word to help themselves to some merchandise.

They stare back at you expectantly, waiting for you to make your move. You know stealing is wrong; however, you want them to like you and think you’re cool. So you glance around and see that Mr. Larson is helping another customer by the cash register, then sneak the instrument into your schoolbag.

Sleepless That night you can’t sleep. You’ve committed a crime and you feel awful. That’s when you decide to return the binoculars first thing in the morning.

Mr. Larson greets you with a smile as he unlocks the front door of his place of business. “What brings you out so early?” he asks.

You laugh self-consciously and make some excuse about wanting to see if the canoes are still on sale.

Once inside, you move

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quickly to the binocular display and, while Mr. Larson is unlocking his cash register on the other side of the store, you slip the binoculars out of your satchel and return them to their rightful place on the counter display.

Then you hear Mr. Larson calling, “I’ve got to go upstairs to the store office for a minute. If you need anything, I’ll be right back. Gotta turn on the video surveillance system I installed last week. Oh, and the canoes are over there.”

The blood drains from your face as your hands turn suddenly cold. Mr. Lawson has videotape of you and your friends stealing his merchandise.

What he doesn’t have is videotape of you putting the binoculars back just moments ago.

A minute later Mr. Larson returns from the store office and finds you waiting by the cash register. Approaching him with head bowed, you say, “Sir, I need to tell you something.”

Evidence Eventually the videotape of the day you stole the binoculars is reviewed by the town’s sheriff.

He sees your friends pocket the loot. He sees you slip the binoculars into your schoolbag.

But then Mr. Larson turns off the video player and points at the tape. “There’s something you didn’t see, Sheriff,” he says. “The boy who stole the binoculars brought them back the very next morning. He asked me for forgiveness.”

The sheriff grins broadly. “Oh, that’s good news!” he says.

Mr. Larson became your “mediator”—someone who represents you to someone else.

In the Desert In the desert sanctuary, the children of Israel had mediators called “priests.”

Today we have just one mediator between God and humankind: Jesus Christ. He’s constantly in the presence of His Father working shoulder to shoulder with Him making sure that when you ask forgiveness for a sin, that request blots out the evidence of that sin. n

Divide into groups of two and have each member learn about their partner: what fun things do they like to do, what are they afraid of, what do they want to become later in life, what talents do they have? Then have each member stand before the group and introduce their partner, explaining how they are going to be an effective worker for God and how they will share God’s love with others, taking into account their skills and limitations. www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

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Children’s Readings Thursday Words of Love

Cleaning Inside Out

S

aul wrapped his headdress tightly around his forehead and squinted into the brilliant glow of the sun. He was behind schedule and knew it. “Faster,” he told his traveling companions as horses’ hooves and chariot wheels crunched over the rocky soil. “I want to reach Damascus by sundown.”

The group’s pace quickened as animals and men continued their journey northward, leaving a trail of dust to mark their passage.

Their leader, Saul, was on a mission—a mission to silence those who dared preach about the man Jesus. He’d heard about this supposed “savior of mankind.” He’d listened to people talk about His supposed miracles and how He rose from the dead after being crucified. Saul chuckled to himself. Imagine believing such nonsense—normally smart people wanting to worship a god who could be so easily killed.

Suddenly Saul noticed that the desert seemed to be brighter than it was a moment ago. It was as if the sun was moving closer, its burning glow intensifying with each second. Then the light became blinding and Saul found himself slipping from his saddle and onto the ground as he shielded his face from the mysterious, brilliant glow.

“What’s happening?” he called out.

“Saul,” a voice echoed from within the light.

“Saul, why do you persecute Me?” “Persecute You?” Saul responded, his voice trembling with fear. “I don’t even know You. Who are You?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The voice in the light continued to speak. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Then, as quickly as it had come, the light faded, leaving Saul kneeling on the ground, surrounded by questioning eyes. Those traveling M. Le e © Revi e w a nd He ra ld Pub. Ass n.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?”

(1 Cor. 6:19).

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with the man had heard a noise, but had seen no person or recognized any words. They just noticed that their leader had fallen to the ground and was talking to the air.

As Saul was helped to his feet, he opened his eyes. But now, instead of a brilliant light, he saw only darkness. “Help me,” he gasped. “Please help me.” Then, trembling with fear, blind Saul was led, groping his way toward Damascus.

Changed Person In Damascus Saul met a man named Ananias.

Ananias told Saul that God had sent him to heal Saul’s eyes of their blindness. And not only were Saul’s eyes healed—his heart was healed of the anger and hatred he felt against God’s people.

Saul was so affected by his encounter on the road that he even changed his name. He would no longer be known as “Saul, the persecutor of God’s people,” but rather “Paul, the leader of God’s people.”

Something happens to people when they come face to face with Jesus. That meeting is seldom as dramatic as having a brilliant light shine down on you on a desert road or hearing a voice talk to you. It’s usually more like a quiet voice echoing in your thoughts, making you realize things you never realized before, understand things you never understood before, and helping you deal with troubling situations at school or home.

Here’s an interesting idea. If God wants to live in our hearts (that means in our thoughts and actions), what does that make us? That’s right.

We become a “house of God”—a temple; a walking, talking, ball-playing, bike-riding, iPodlistening temple of the Most High God. This means two very important things. One, we have to make sure our “temple” is a fit place for God to live, and, two, we have the privilege of representing (mediating—remember?) God’s love to others.

Thank You, Jesus, for wanting to live in our hearts! n

Turn your room into a restaurant called “The New Earth Restaurant.” Then create a menu on the board with only food items that you’ll find in heaven. Ask someone to draw the dish of food on the board beside its name. Remember, nothing will hurt nor destroy animals in heaven. Create fun foods like “New Jerusalem Stew” or “Pearly Gates Grillers.” Don’t forget dessert!

28 | www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011

Friday

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Cleaning From the Inside Out

H

e was small both in stature and in character. As chief tax collector, he went around forcing his neighbors to pay taxes to the despised Romans who forcefully occupied their land. Not only that, he wasn’t honest, and often collected more than necessary, making himself very wealthy. Is it any wonder that his neighbors hated him?

One day as Jesus was entering Jericho, Zacchaeus was in town doing what he did best— cheating people out of their hard-earned money.

Hearing about the famous rabbi who healed the sick and—most amazing of all—actually spoke to the poor and needy, taxman Zacchaeus decided he want to see this Guy. Being someone who never let his lack of height interfere with his tall plans, the tax collector glanced around and discovered a sycamore-fig tree just down the road. It had sturdy branches and enough leaves to hide his curiosity. So up he went, until he had an unrestricted view of the road on which Jesus was traveling.

Along came the Master Teacher surrounded by attentive disciples, a group of recently healed sick people, the gaggle of questioning admirers, and even a few hecklers. Zacchaeus smiled inwardly. He’d found the best seat in the house.

Reaching the tree, Jesus stopped. Slowly, with a smile spreading across His rugged, sun-tanned face, He looked up—right at Zacchaeus. The taxman grinned self-consciously. “Hello,” he called down.

“Hello, Zacchaeus,” Jesus responded.

The taxman blinked. He knows my name. He probably knows what I do for a living. He probably knows that I’ve been cheating people out of their hardearned money. I’m going to get it now!

“Zacchaeus,” the Master Teacher continued, “come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

What? Did He just say what I think He said?

Amazed, the short man made the long journey from his tree limb to the ground. “You want to come to my house?” he gasped.

Christ nodded.

“This way,” Zacchaeus stammered, pointing down the road.

The people couldn’t believe their eyes. “Look at that,” they said. “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

Later, after Zacchaeus and Jesus had spent some time together, an incredible thing happened to the little man. He grew up. Not in height, but in character. “Look, Lord!” he announced: “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8).

That day in Jericho, Zacchaeus the tax collector met Jesus the judge face to face, and a sinful life changed forever. joe l D. Spri nge r © revi e w a nd he ra ld Pub. ass n.

Words of Love “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come” (Rev. 14:7).

Before the Judge There will come a day when you and I will stand in judgement before the King of kings and Lord of lords. This will happen in order to reveal to the universe who is king of our hearts. Like the dishonest tax collector Zacchaeus, we’re going to stand before God the Father and God the Son. It is important for us to invite Jesus now into our hearts so that in the judgment He may grant us what He granted Zacchaeus: permanent fellowship with Him. I like what Saul—who became Paul—says about that moment. He writes: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

The judgment? Bring it on. We’re ready.

Because God is living in us! n

Ask someone in your group to be the father of everyone in the group (that would make everyone else brothers and sisters). Then have each member make up a sin that they have committed (lying, cheating, making fun of someone, being violent, etc.) and have each member come to their “father” and admit to that sin. Have the “father” deal with that sin as a real father—one who loves Jesus—would. That’s how God judges us. www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011 |

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Children’s Readings Second Sabbath Words of Love “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isa. 11:9).

Reunion

W

e’ll be happy to give them a home,” we told the girl from our church who stood looking up at us expectantly. “We don’t have snapping turtles in our pond, and we’ll do our very best to keep the foxes and dogs away.”

That’s how Daisy—a young, white, energetic duck—and her sister came into our lives. It was late autumn in West Virginia, and many of the creatures that inhabit our property had already left for the winter, so we were happy to have some new ones join us.

But death stalked the two guests on our property as well. One night a fox grabbed Daisy’s sibling and injured Daisy badly. I quickly built a safe enclosure in our backyard. We had to keep her alive long enough so she could grow up and face the world without us.

On Her Own The day finally arrived when we felt Daisy was ready to live on her own.

We carried her from the enclosure to the side of the house where I placed her gently on the ground. Then my wife and I climbed the steps to our side porch, and I sat down on the bench to see what would happen.

Daisy took a few steps into the gathering darkness and stopped. Then something happened that I’ll never forget. She turned around and began running—running!—back in our direction. She climbed the steps, clambered right up onto my lap, and pressed herself against me as tight as she could.

I realized that this wasn’t just a hug. It was a message to me from one of God’s creatures. Daisy was saying, “You’ve been the only kindness in my life, and I’m more afraid of living without you than living with you.”

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“Sure,” Mr. Visco said when I asked him if he’d like one more duck.

Later that day I placed Daisy on the ground just beyond the fence surrounding the beautiful pond. She hadn’t seen the pond or the ducks living there yet.

Slowly Daisy began to climb the small hill overlooking the pond. When she reached the top, she saw it . . . water sparkling in the winter sun, and ducks swimming, playing, moving about, enjoying the abundant food waiting on the shore.

That’s when it happened. That’s when I saw what heaven will be like. That’s when the ducks in the pond caught a glimpse of Daisy.

With a joyful chorus of quacks, squawks, and flutters, dozens of ducks hurried in Daisy’s direction. They welcomed our little friend into their family like a father welcomes a long-lost son, like a mother embraces a long-lost daughter, and exactly the way God’s people will welcome you and me to the courts of glory. They surrounded Daisy with affection and walked with her to the edge of the pond. They ate together, swam together, and played together. For Daisy the long months of separation from her kind was over. At long last she’d found a safe home.

Someday Up There Someday Jesus is coming back to this world.

Just as His sacrifice on the cross erased the need for an earthly sanctuary for God’s people, His coming will erase forever the need for Him to live in our world, because we’ll begin living in His. When we reach that Promised Land, you and I will walk along the beautiful sea of glass. Then, we’ll see them—our families, our friends, our loved ones. They’ll see us and run to greet us, and we’ll all hurry away together to be forever with Jesus, living in a land where there’s no fear, death, or crying. n

The Homecoming

The son of missionary parents, Charles

Weeks later I happened to drive by the home of a very nice man who lives in my town. His name is Mr. Visco, and on his property is a large, tree-lined, fenced-in pond filled with ducks of all kinds. This would be a very safe place for Daisy!

Mills owns and operates Christian Communications, a media production service based in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. He’s author of more than 45 published books and hundreds of magazine articles.

Bring a pair of binoculars into the group. Pretend that these are very powerful binoculars that can look all the way into heaven. Then invite all the members of the group to look through the binoculars and describe what they see in detail.

30 | www.AdventistReview.org | September 3, 2011

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