Adventist World English - July, 2019

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God’s Healing Love in Action

The Center of Gravity

A Seeker of Truth

July 2019

The Church I Want to Belong to Is...

HEALTHY

COURAGEOUS

SAFE

READY FOR JESUS

PROPHETIC

Leaning Into God’s Future

BY BILL KNOTT

JOIN THE CONVERSATION In this new series we’re exploring ideas about the kind of church that we want to belong to. As you read the articles associated with every month’s topic, we would love to hear from you. First, take a moment to “Like” our Adventist World magazine Facebook page and comment on the articles. Next, share your thoughts on the church to which you want to belong at: www.facebook.com/ AdventistChurchAroundTheWorld

The Church I Want to Belong to Is...

HEALTHY 10 Be Honorable 12 God’s Healing Love In Action 14 Spiritual Health, Total Health The Word 18 Your Future Is Behind 24 The Center of Gravity 27 Bible Questions Answered My Church 16 Global View 22 Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy 26 Millennial Voices

“If we will talk faith and hope and courage, our souls will be strengthened, and our hope and courage and faith will increase. Let us seek this great gift of the Sun of Righteousness, that it may shine forth in our lives to others.”1 With this edition, the men and women who bring you Adventist World each month inaugurate a new series focused on the future to which God is leading His people.

We’ve called the series “The Church I Want to Belong To,” and each month we’ll highlight a particular quality of the biblical message about the characteristics of God’s end-time people.

There is no shortage of critics who will castigate God’s church today for its adherence to Bible teachings, for its challenges and struggles to live the values of the gospel, or for the weakness that is sometimes visible in its witness to the world. But we believe that this movement, and specifically this special series, is intended to encourage God’s people with a message of hope, growth, and possibilities.

This emphasis begins where most people around the world first encounter Seventh-day Adventists. For more than 150 years, the Bible’s message of healthful living has been a distinctive feature of Seventh-day Adventist presence. Millions of people are treated and encouraged at Adventist hospitals and clinics each year.

Millions more first learn about our faith by discovering healthy lifestyle seminars, classes, and events in their local communities.

Adventist health professionals repair broken bodies, coach people toward better diet and exercise options, and present a vision of wholistic health as an integral part of God’s plan for human beings to flourish.

As Ellen White so aptly described it, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s positive, life-giving message about healthful living is “the right arm of the body.”2 It meets modern men and women at their point of need and introduces them to a way of following Jesus that prepares them for eternal life and brings greater joy and deeper fulfillment to everyday life.

As you read this month’s edition of Adventist World, pray that you and those you love will lean forward as members of a church that shares a message of wholeness and restoration in Jesus Christ.

1 2

Living Faith

Ellen G. White, Our Father Cares (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1991), p. 229.

Ellen G. White, in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, June 20, 1899.

20 Cooking on a Mud Stove 28 May I Tell You a Story?

30 Growing Faith—Children’s Pages We believe in the power of prayer, and we welcome prayer requests that can be shared at our weekly staff worship every Wednesday morning. Send your requests to prayer@adventistworld.org, and pray for us as we work together to advance God’s kingdom.

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July 2019 AdventistWorld.org

News Moment

A group of Pathfinders and leaders set up camp on opening day of the first Chiapas Mexican Union camporee held at Ebenezer Camp in Chiapas, Mexico, April 17, 2019.

It was the largest union-wide camporee held this year throughout the Inter-American Division territory, with more than 10,600 campers.

Photo: Daniel Gallardo, Inter-American Division News

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News in Brief

“I’m hoping that many young people realize that we are counting upon them.”

—Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in an interview during the 2019 Global Youth Day broadcast. Wilson emphasized that young people should not be taken for granted, and that they are a crucial part of sharing God’s message for the end-times. This year’s Global Youth Day challenged thousands of young people around the world to serve their communities by living out the theme “Adopt.”

“Yes, these numbers are dismal and alarming and even discouraging. But I assure you there is hope on the horizon for the people of these countries and others facing dire constraints by recent natural disaster crises.”

—Jonathan Duffy, president of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), speaking about recent natural disasters such as Cyclone Idai, called the worst tropical cyclone on record to affect the Southern Hemisphere.

Damage assessments indicate that more than 1,000 lives were lost across Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, more than 161,000 people sought refuge in shelters, more than 239,000 houses were destroyed, countless crops and livestock were left underwater, more than 3,500 schools were damaged.

More than 4,000 cases of cholera have been reported, and in Mozambique alone nearly 1.5 million people struggle to survive the cyclone’s aftermath.

33 The number of new bicycles, complete with helmets, gloves, lights, and water bottle holders, that were distributed as part of a project proposed by Adventist church members on the Caribbean island of Saba, responding to the Dutch government’s recent anti-poverty initiative. The bicycles were given to a group of children and young people in need by the 20 members of the Adventist Church on Saba, a territory of the Netherlands with a population of approximately 2,500.

600 The number of Adventist women from around the Pacific who came together in Tonga to march against violence. Wearing colorful traditional dresses and waving the flags of their nations, the women carried banners and posters promoting EndItNow—a global Seventh-day Adventist campaign aimed at ending violence against women.

Photo: Adventist Record 4

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News in Brief

“We have come to thank God for the remarkable things He has done for us by using Manoah, who showed compassion devoid of tribal, ethnic, or religious affiliation.”

—Sylvester Dalong, a leader representing more than 300 people, mostly youth, who are now employed in the Plateau State Civil Service in Nigeria through the efforts of Yohanna Manoah, an elder at the Gada Biyu Seventhday Adventist Church. He is credited with helping unemployed youth to find a position in the state’s civil service. Manoah explains that his initiative was borne out of his love for Jesus and his desire to serve humanity.

Adventist Church Members and Their Diet Read more about the study at bit.ly/AdventistDiet 5%

14%

11%

32%

24%

14%

Vegan

Eat meat once a week or less

Vegetarian

Pescatarian

Eat meat a few times a week

Eat meat most days

Source: Seventh-day Adventist Global Membership Survey 2018

“I hope I’ll still be an Adventist by age 40, but I’m not so sure about next year.”

—An 18-year-old member of the Adventist Church in Scotland, responding to a question by Scottish Mission president Paul Tompkins. Tompkins and hundreds of Adventist Church leaders grappled with the topic of member retention at the 2019 Nurture and Retention Summit held at the Adventist Church headquarters.

Multiple presentations from around the world highlighted both the latest research and practical approaches to identifying and addressing reasons that members decide to leave the fellowship of the church. Among the conclusions reached: members are more likely to stay if they are somehow engaged in mission.

GCMS 2018 Q46, n=63,756

8,000 The number of baptismal robes intended for former members recently purchased by an Adventist region in Brazil. The initiative seeks to invite former Adventist members by offering them a baptismal robe as a gift, with the encouragement to bring it with them when they return with a decision to be rebaptized. Returning members are then invited to pass their baptismal robes to other former members.

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News in Depth

ADRA Colombia Provides Assistance to Thousands of Venezuelan Migrants

More than 1.1 million have crossed into the country in recent weeks.

By Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

Since September 2018 the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Colombia has been assisting thousands of Venezuelans who have crossed into eastern Colombia to escape the economic and political instability in their homeland. The effort represents assistance worth more than US$2.5 million, the largest project the Adventist agency has managed in the country, according to ADRA Colombia officials.

Recent government statistics estimate that more than 1.1 million Venezuelans have migrated into Colombia recently, making up 30 percent of the population in the regions bordering Venezuela.

Some 23 percent of those migrants have settled in the capital city of Bogotá, and 41 percent are living in irregular or unstable conditions, explained Gabriel Villarreal, ADRA Colombia director.

“We noticed the influx of people, and noticed that many came into the country without proper documentation, and were not able to have medical access in Colombia for a designated period. So we came up with a project to offer free health assistance to thousands of Venezuelans,” Villarreal said.

So far, ADRA Colombia staff and

volunteers have provided medical consultations to thousands of people in migrant communities settled in the city of Bucaramanga, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the main Venezuela border crossing at Cúcuta, Colombia. These consultations include free medical checkups, lab tests if necessary, and medications for thousands of families across Bucaramanga and Medellín, the second-largest city in Colombia, some 390 kilometers (240 miles) west of Bucaramanga.

The medical screenings are led by staff from two Adventist medical centers in each city, where they have cared for an estimated total of 10,200 individuals—5,000 consultations in Medellín and 5,200 in Bucaramanga.

Each medical team in Bucaramanga and Medellín sees approximately 500 to 600 individuals per month, thanks to organizing by ADRA staff. They are coordinating with local government officials to seek out Venezuelan migrants in need of the medical services, Villarreal explained.

“Many Venezuelans come to Adventist churches seeking assistance, and they are led to the registration process in community centers and Adventist churches

A father from a Venezuelan migrant community in Bucaramanga, Colombia, fills out registration forms so that his family can receive medical consultations and hygiene and cooking kits provided through a special project led by ADRA Colombia.

Photo: ADRA Colombia 6

July 2019 AdventistWorld.org

near them to receive free medical checkups,” Villarreal said.

In addition, ADRA Colombia, through a donor, is providing basic hygiene kits and cooking and housing kits, he said. “When we were studying to come up with this project we noticed that Venezuela migrants in Bucaramanga were in desperate need of basic hygiene kits. They were sleeping in parks and on the streets. So we knew we had to extend the assistance.”

ADRA has already distributed 2,500 basic hygiene kits, 2,500 cooking kits—which include pots, plates, and utensils—and 2,500 housing kits, which include mattresses and sheet sets. Assistance is released on an average of 500 to 600 kits per month, Villarreal said.

In addition, recipients are taught, and receive a flyer on, how to wash their hands regularly, how to practice safe family planning, and more.

“Parts of the border with Venezuela have recently been closed, and some of the influx has decreased,” Villarreal said. “Many are still walking for miles through the cold for days to cross into Colombia, so we know there is much need for this project intervention.”

Villarreal said that ADRA is planning to appeal for another phase of the assistance project beyond the 12 months that end in August.

“We want to expand and help more Venezuelans as they transition from their country into Colombia,” Villarreal said.

ADRA Colombia has also been supporting other projects to assist Venezuelans migrating into Colombia through ADRA fund-raising campaigns throughout the country.

News in Depth

Adventist Church Financial Report Framed in a Spirit of Gratitude and Trust

World church treasurer highlights what he called “God’s ongoing blessings.”

By Adventist World and Adventist News Network

Adventist Church treasurer Juan Prestol-Puesán highlighted his team’s sense of deep gratitude to church members and God in his presentation of the 2018 Financial Report to the members of the church’s Executive Committee on April 9, 2019. His report, entitled “The 2018 Financial Story,” told a story of trust in what he believes is God’s past, present, and future leading.

“The audited financial statement indicates the blessings we received, and the guidance of the Lord,” he told church leaders from around the world who met at the Adventist Church world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. “I am glad to report . . . positive operating results for the year 2018,” he announced.

HOW THE CHURCH DID IN 2018

In a year marked by volatility in financial markets and weakness in some key foreign currencies, PrestolPuesán said the finances of the world church headquarters did well thanks to an increase in worldwide tithe and a consistent control of expenses.

“Tithe increased 3.6 percent, or US$89 million, for a total of US$2.5 billion,” he said. “It includes a US$55 million increase in tithe in the North American Division, for a total of US$1.077 billion.” Prestol-Puesán’s report also highlighted that mission offerings reached more than US$88 million, a figure that does not include church members’ contributions to their local churches.

On the other hand, General Conference expenses—or money spent to run the world church headquarters—are down for the second straight year, reported Prestol-

Juan Prestol-Puesán, treasurer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, presents the world church financial report at Spring Meeting 2019.

Photo: Adventist News Network

Puesán. This includes savings of more than US$1.1 million in travel expenses, he said.

Ray Wahlen, Adventist Church undertreasurer, reminded Executive Committee members, and those following the proceedings online, how this works.

“The General Conference operates on a cap of 2 percent of total gross tithe,” he said. “In 2018 the world church headquarters operated US$4 million under the budget and more than US$7.2 million under the 2 percent cap.”

Wahlen also referred to total operating expenses, noting they were significantly less than the maximum allowed per voted policy.

“In percentage terms, actual office operating expenses were only 85.64 percent of the cap,” he said.

Overall, Prestol-Puesán reported that the average giving per week in tithe and mission offerings (excluding offerings for the local church) reached US$50million.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN 2019 AND BEYOND

Church financial leaders anticipate that currency volatility might

still affect financial operations in 2019 and beyond. “We will continue doing our best to anticipate and minimize the negative currency fluctuation impact on our income,” Prestol-Puesán said. “Expenses and allocations will be carefully monitored as well.”

But beyond market cycles and currency fluctuations, Prestol-Puesán said that he felt “a deep sense of gratitude” for the faithfulness of church members and God’s guidance.

“We thank [God] for His blessings,” he said. “And we thank our members for their generosity.” He added, “If we are faithful and we are careful, we believe the Lord is going to bless us, and we’ll be OK.” Prestol-Puesán also renewed his trust in what he called “God’s ongoing assistance.” “He understands our seasons, our times, and our needs,” Prestol-Puesán said. “He will guide us, and He will provide for us according to what He considers to be the best for us.”

Prestol-Puesán emphasized that leaders should sleep well at night and be energetically engaged during the day. “[God] will keep us in perfect peace,” he said.

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News Focus East-Central Africa Division (ECD)

4,212,049 ECD membership as of March 31, 2019

5,400

Number of mosquito nets distributed by a team of Seventh-day Adventist health professionals in South Sudan to combat malaria. According to the World Health Organization, malaria is the leading cause of death in South Sudan. The deadly mosquito-borne disease accounts for 65 percent of all illnesses reported in health facilities across the country.

Every week it infects more than 77,500 people and kills nearly 220, most of them children under the age of 5.

“Even if the threats were strong, we didn’t surrender. We continued to worship near our demolished church site.”

—Fidel Nimpagaritse, an elder at the Baidoa Camp Adventist Church in Somalia. A group of Adventist soldiers from the country of Burundi, stationed in Somalia on a peacekeeping mission, continued to gather for Saturday (Sabbath) worship despite discrimination and the demolition of the small Adventist church ordered by a chaplain of another faith denomination. Eventually several critics became baptized members of the Adventist Church.

30,000

The approximate number of church leaders, government officials, religious liberty advocates, and Adventist church members who attended a religious freedom festival called “Religious Freedom for All.” The event took place in the Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda. Special guests included Judith Uwizeye from the Office of the President of Rwanda; Johnston Busingye, Rwandan minister of justice; and David Maraga, chief justice and president of the Supreme Court of Kenya, who is a Seventh-day Adventist. (^-)

“Looking at the past, we must face the future with hope. Time is running out, but the work we are doing today is opening a new way of doing mission.”

—Blasious Ruguri, president of the church in East-Central Africa Division, speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a new field known as the Central Tanzania Field (CTF), which is part of the Southern Tanzania Union Mission (STUM). Leaders shared that the new field will oversee the work of the Adventist Church in the Dodoma and Iringa regions of the country.

It will also include the Kiteto district. The CTF has 21,000 baptized church members.

Photo: Abraham Bakari 8

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Perspective

By Melissa Pereau, M.D., a psychiatrist at Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center

Photo: Dose Juice

Are You Eating Too Healthfully to Be Healthy?

Understanding orthorexia: when trying to be too healthy can become harmful.

The 14-year-old patient sitting in front of me insisted that her decision to become a vegan was unrelated to being bullied and called “chubby” in elementary school.

Instead she cited reasons related to animal rights and a desire to become “healthier.”

Nothing about this straight-A student with severe muscle wasting, skeletal limbs, and a protruding abdomen heralding liver failure was healthy. She brought to my mind images from global health posters depicting starving children. This local teen was unlike any eating-disordered patient I had ever encountered.

That was nearly 10 years ago.

Since that time I have encountered a number of patients at the Loma Linda Behavioral Medicine Center’s Eating Disorders Program with orthorexia—an eating disorder driven by an obsession with healthful eating. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual doesn’t formally recognize this as a separate eating disorder.

By understanding the warning signs, symptoms, and health conse-

quences, mental health professionals can better treat patients who present with orthorexia.

The term orthorexia was coined by physician Stephen Bratman in 1996 to better express the obsession with eating healthfully. Over time, vigilant focus on proper nutrition can evolve into an increasingly restrictive diet. Patients with orthorexia can no longer eat out at restaurants with others, must rigidly shop for food ingredients, and have ritualized patterns of food preparation and eating. These individuals spend a substantial amount of time researching food, preservatives, or additives. Their diet eventually becomes so restrictive that their physical health becomes compromised.

There is a significant crossover between orthorexia, anorexia, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Of patients with anorexia, up to 30 percent simultaneously have OCD. A recent study of patients with orthorexia showed limited abilities to process information and problem-solve on neuropsychological testing. Additionally, like patients with anorexia and OCD, those with orthorexia struggled with memory, planning, and being able to transfer from one task to another (“set shifting”). As the field of psychiatry advances, we hope to better understand the underlying neurobiological causes of orthorexia.

People who have an obsession

with eating healthfully are likely to compulsively check the ingredients of each thing they eat, being overly concerned with the health of the ingredients they’re consuming. They also may avoid eating things they do not deem “healthy” or “pure,” and become visibly distressed when healthful foods aren’t available.

Those who suffer orthorexia also restrict the amount and type of foods consumed, making malnutrition a possibility.

Among the warning signs of orthorexia, experts mention rigid eating patterns and extreme inflexibility with diet, serious emotional distress when firm eating rules are broken, and extreme and drastic weight loss.

Some of the potential health consequences of the disorder are permanent health damage, such as osteoporosis, kidney failure, or infertility; a lowered immune system and nutritional deficiencies; and emotional instability and a low sense of self-worth.

I still remember my first orthorexia patient’s response to seeing the health consequences of her mental illness. As we reviewed her lab results together, she began to cry. “I never meant for this to happen,” she said. “I just wanted to be healthy.”

By learning to understand and respond to signs of an eating disorder, we can help the people in our lives who may be struggling with this condition.

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The Church I Want to Belong to Is...

HEALTHY

Be Honorable!

W

hen I was a kid, I had to learn the Ten Commandments in school.

We were to memorize them and recite them for the class. The school provided us with a short version of the commandments, but my father encouraged me to learn the full version from the Bible. I’ve never been good at memorizing things like a parrot, so I’m not sure I managed to do them justice. I did, however, become acquainted with the biblical version. I didn’t think much about the content at the time; the commandments were just something I had to learn, and I found them reasonable.

As a teenager I became aware that one of the commandments stood out from the rest. The first commandments were about God, and the latter ones were about the way we treat our fellow human beings. But in the middle there was a commandment that had to do with specific people—parents.

Why was there a need for a whole commandment about my parents? I also found it a bit vague. Honor my parents? Not that I had anything against them, but why so specific and yet so vague? What did it mean? This was also a commandment with a promise. A promise of longevity. How come?

NEW INSIGHT

Years later, after I had finished my medical studies and started working as a resident in psychiatry, I began to realize how many people have never had a good relationship with their parents. They have never been loved or felt they could count on anyone. Never been able to trust. I learned through the theories of psychoanalysts John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and others how the early attachment we have to our parents is the blueprint for all later relationships in life. Whether it be loving relationships with a spouse, a 10

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For the future of our children teacher, an employer, or a person in authority—if it’s healthy, it enables us to trust others. We become able to transfer that trust to other relationships, which is crucial.

But the ultimate relationship is our relationship with God. I remember when I first read about Enoch in Patriarchs and Prophets, by Ellen White. She wrote about how the birth of Methuselah changed Enoch and drew him nearer to God.1 He understood better his relationship with God when he saw the child’s dependence on and trust in him.

As parents we are God’s representatives to our children. If it is their responsibility to honor us, then it is our responsibility to be honorable. We must treat them in ways that encourage trust in us and show us as lovable.

In Child Guidance Ellen White writes:

CDC-Kaiser ACE Study4 (Adverse Childhood Experiences Study), which was first published in the late nineties, it was shown that our early childhood environment impacts our later health both mentally and physically. The study results indicate that neglect, violence, and household dysfunction of various kinds can lead to diverse chronic illnesses. It is thought that early adverse experiences will disrupt the neurodevelopment of the child, which then can lead to social, emotional, and cognitive impairment. That may cause them to adopt unhealthy behaviors, which in the end could lead to the development of disease and illness, and even early death.5 Studies such as these are truly sobering.

Few things likely impact a person’s future health as significantly as how they’ve been treated early in life.

“God’s method of government is an example of how children are to be trained. There is no oppression in the Lord’s service, and there is to be no oppression in the home or in the school. . . . Let kindness be the law of the home and of the school.”2 “Fathers and mothers, in the home you are to represent God’s disposition. You are to require obedience, not with a storm of words, but in a kind, loving manner. You are to be so full of compassion that your children will be drawn to you.”3 We cannot allow ourselves to lose our temper with our children or treat them in an unjust manner and expect them to follow our lead.

(Although we cannot be responsible for all their future decisions.)

EYE-OPENING STUDIES

There is, however, another important angle to consider: our children’s future health. In the

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT TAKES TIME

As I write this we are celebrating the “first day of summer” here in Iceland. This day is marked in the calendar every year, and we always hope that it will be sunny and warm. Sadly, it hardly ever is, because it’s still April—and, after all, we live in Iceland. But this is the time of year farmers prepare for lambing. Every time I witness this I’m amazed by how fast the lambs can stand on their own feet, and in just a few months they are independent individuals. It’s not so with us humans. A few decades ago we thought the development of the human brain was complete by the end of childhood. That is not so. Now we know that the process of building a human brain takes about 25 years.6 The first few years the brain develops fast, and then development plateaus until the adolescent years, when the brain takes

a new jump in development—as does the rest of the body. Development of abstract thinking and social skills happens during that period.

All these years our children need us (even when they are adamant that they don’t!), and we need to treat them in the most loving way, because if they “honor their father and their mother, their days may be long upon the land which the Lord their God is giving them” (Ex. 20:12, author’s paraphrase).

I’m not a perfect parent (just ask my son). None of us are. We all have our backgrounds and stories that make us who we are, together with our ideas of ourselves and others. We make mistakes and are in need of forgiveness. But we have a role model in our heavenly Father. Modern neuroscience tells us that the brain is “forgiving”; it is plastic, which means it can adapt over time, both in a negative way and a positive one. Therefore, we can learn new things, because the brain changes.7 That gives me hope.

So when you meet a person who has difficulty trusting, you can be their “mother” and “father.” You can help to change their way of thinking by being loving, and in so doing lead them to our loving Father in heaven.

Be honorable.

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1890, 1908), p. 84.

2 Ellen G. White, Child Guidance (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1954), p. 259.

3 Ibid.

4 www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/ acestudy/about.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc. gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Facestudy%2Fabout.html 5 www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/ acestudy/about.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc. gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Facestudy%2Fabout.html 6 David Eagleman, The Brain: The Story of You Kindle edition (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2015), p. 14.

7 Ibid., p. 18.

1

Helgi Jónsson, M.D., a psychiatrist, is director of Health Ministries for the Trans-European Division of Seventh-day Adventists. He and his family live in Iceland.

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The Church I Want to Belong to Is...

HEALTHY

Linda Spady IDAHO, USA

God’s Healing Love in Action

Photo: Joshua Cloete

Seventh-day Adventists believe that God is actively working to make His children healthy and well. Read on to be inspired by these stories of His hand actively working in the lives of four unique individuals.—Editors.

Calvin Kim WASHINGTON, USA

Being a dentist can be stressful!

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job.

But between managing a business and navigating through difficult cases, stress can build quickly.

That’s why after work I head straight for a run or to the gym.

Before long, my endorphins are flowing, and the stress starts melting away. I exercise almost every day, because I love how it makes me feel and what it does for my mind and body.

Some people struggle to exercise.

One way to make it fun is to set a goal or challenge. This helps motivate me. In April I had a chance to run the Boston Marathon. This summer I’ll be climbing Mount Rainier. I’ve always 12

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believed that the best exercise is whatever you enjoy doing the most.

It doesn’t matter if that’s an Ironman race or a simple walk in the park.

My friends and I love organizing Sabbath afternoon hikes and other activities for our church. These simple gatherings have helped our church grow, as people crave community and fellowship. Every church needs healthy, active members who are inviting others to join in on the fun and fellowship.

I’m passionate about health and fitness, so promoting it comes very easily for me. It brings me a lot of joy when someone tells me that I’ve inspired them to start exercising or to shoot for a new health goal.

Having a positive influence in the lives of others is one of the greatest blessings we Christians can have.

In many ways my childhood was filled with laughter, love, and an awareness of God’s goodness.

At the same time, several things happened to me that were scary and painful. As a result I began to struggle with anxiety.

To cope with my fear, I became a perfectionist. I had an unconscious belief that if I could do everything perfectly and please the people around me, then I would be loved. I was terrified of failing and constantly afraid that I wasn’t measuring up.

But God has been setting me free from fear by teaching me that He loves me and values me no matter what. If I mess up, God still loves me. If someone criticizes me, God still loves me. If I can’t meet my own expectations, God still loves me. God doesn’t love me because of what I do—He loves me because of who He is. I’m very grateful for friends and family who help remind me of this.

Our God is loving and gentle. He wants to quiet our fears and make us brave. Anxiety can be powerful, but God is always near to calm and comfort us. I’m grateful for the hope of His promises and the peace of His presence.

Photo: Bob Spady

Sarah de Almeida e Silva CHAD, AFRICA

Photo: Errone Kemp

Errone Kemp NEW YORK, USA

Rheumatoid arthritis can be crippling. I still remember how scared I felt when I was first diagnosed. I was suffering from major fatigue and joint pain. Medication helped a little, but I was still exhausted and in pain.

So I decided to experiment with my diet to see if that might also help.

I started eating more fruits, vegetables, and beans, and avoiding refined grains, dairy products, and fish. Fish was the only meat I had allowed myself to eat, but I found it made my pain a lot worse.

All of a sudden I had enough energy to study again. I could walk around without feeling 60 years older than I am.

Graduate school is very busy, and sometimes it’s difficult to do meal preparation or plan ahead for eating out. But I’m finding that if I talk to God about what to eat and how to plan ahead, He helps me find ways to work it into my schedule.

When I go to the grocery store, I ask God to help me shop.

There’s a story in the Bible about how God helped Daniel and his friends make good food choices.

I know He’s helping me, too. The foods God created have so much healing potential. I feel loved knowing that God cares about the little things and wants me to be well.

I was terrified to come to Chad. I had witnessed several missionary doctors (especially in Africa) who were overworked, lonely, and discouraged. “God, can’t You send someone else?” I prayed. “Don’t You care about my needs too?”

When I finally obeyed God’s calling and made plans to serve at Bere Adventist Hospital, I thought I was destined to be miserable, lonely, and single for the rest of my life. But I was wrong.

I won’t lie. Serving in Chad has been very difficult. From blistering hot weather, to a strike at the hospital when I was the only doctor, to my numerous bouts with malaria, there have been many

moments I’ve wanted to give up.

It’s painful to watch the tremendous suffering of many around me: children dying from malaria treated too late, mothers burying newborn babies, and girls sexually abused who don’t even realize they’re being mistreated. But God has sustained and provided for me in more ways than I can count.

I wish mission life were easier.

It could be easier if more people would serve. But in the meantime, I try to remind myself that I want to be an agent of healing more than I want to have an easy life.

Jesus poured out His life to bring us healing. He promises in Isaiah 58 that if we pour out our lives for others, we will find healing too.

I’ve gotten a taste of that healing in Africa. Until God calls me elsewhere, I’m staying here for more!

Photo: Joshua Pazvakawambwa AdventistWorld.org July 2019

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The Church I Want to Belong to Is...

HEALTHY

Spiritual Health, Total Health

SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Our Creator certainly knows how we can stay healthy.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, NIV).

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ould robust spiritual health make one “free indeed,” even from health challenges?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”1 Dimensions of health include physical, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual health. Even though spiritual health is not specifically mentioned in the definition articulated by the WHO, a closer look at the relationship between spiritual health and the other dimensions of health helps us appreciate that being spiritually healthy is an integral part of total health.

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We often use physical health to define our health status. Disease and pain are sometimes looked at as reductions of our overall health. So we put much effort into avoiding unhealthy habits. But a primary emphasis on physical health can lead to a lack of appreciation about how spiritual health directly affects the physical health we seek to preserve.

Researchers have demonstrated that certain religious groups enjoy longer, healthier lives when compared to a society’s general populations. A correlation has also been established between healthy spirituality and avoiding or delaying certain physical conditions such as hypertension, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular disease.2 The question is to find out why this is so.

Three mechanisms have been highlighted: healthy behaviors, social support, and adherence to spiritual practice. Adherence to conventional norms of one’s spiritual community and its health behaviors have been noted as most significant. Denominations with strict lifestyle guidelines, such as Seventh-day Adventists, are healthier and live longer.3 Adherence to spiritual and/or religious norms lead to direct behavioral changes, avoidance of harmful substances, better lifestyle choices, and better physical health.

Photo: Ben White

Ellen White emphasized the relationship between physical and spiritual health with this observation: “Let none who profess godliness regard with indifference the health of the body, and flatter themselves that intemperance is no sin and will not affect their spirituality. A close sympathy exists between the physical and the moral nature.”4 SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

The adage “cleanliness is next to godliness,” while not in the Bible, is used by many to indicate that God is concerned about our environment and its impact on our health.

These include divine counsel about preventing contamination and disease during the Israelites’ wilderness sojourn, and how God instructed the children of Israel to bathe before they met with Him in sacred convocations.

Respect of a supernatural being who is conscious of environmental cleanliness produces people who see a direct relationship between themselves, God, and the environment. This invariably leads to better environmental health and contributes to enhanced spiritual health.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL HEALTH

Ellen White highlighted the importance of social interaction in our total health: “In our association as Christians we lose much by lack of sympathy with one another. He who shuts himself up to himself is not filling the position that God designed he should. The proper cultivation of the social elements in our nature brings us into sympathy with others and is a means of development and strength to us in the service of God.”5 Social support among those who are spiritually healthy has been demonstrated to contribute to

other health benefits.6 Conversely, many of today’s social ills stem from a sense of isolation and loneliness. Many feel vulnerable, as if they have to face life on their own. As social structures fall apart, spiritual consciousness is often the only remaining foundation.

Although the Bible speaks of God as our ultimate support, as in “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Ps. 27:10), even Jesus surrounded Himself with friends whom He described as “My mother and My brothers” (Matt. 12:49).

SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH

The mind controls all the decisions and actions one takes. In the words of the WHO: “Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”7 The leading clinical conditions that have negative effects to mental health, according to the WHO, include depression, stress, drug addictions, eating disorders, and suicide.

Harold Koenig, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, led a team that did a systematic review of data-based quantitative research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1972 and 2010 on religion, spirituality, and health. It found that spirituality had an overall inverse effect on suicide, anxiety, depression, and almost all psychiatric conditions. Spiritually inclined people had positive character traits, a good sense of control, and generally scored high on a happiness index regardless of denomination.8

Good spiritual health allows one to believe Jesus, as when He told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). In claiming such promises, we can find mental and emotional peace.

Communion with God is essential to our emotional and spiritual health. Many of us do not fully understand how prayer works or how to harness its power.

Most do not fully understand how the phone connects people across oceans, yet we connect all the same. In the same manner, prayer is a powerful means of connecting with our Father in heaven and letting Him connect us with others.

With our current knowledge of the effects of lifestyle choices such as foods, life partners, media consumption, physical activity, etc., Adventists, through the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible, have always had access to these counsels. Anyone whose spiritual commitment allows them to claim the promise of Jesus in John 13:17, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them,” is likely to enjoy spiritual health from obedience to His Word, and balanced health in all aspects of life.

Constitution, World Health Organization (1948), www.who.int/ about/mission/en/.

2 Harold G. Koenig, “Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications,” International Scholarly Research Notices (2012).

3 Linda K. George, David B. Larson, Harold G. Koenig, and Michael E. McCullough, “Spirituality and Health: What We Know, What We Need to Know,” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 19, no. 1 (2000): 102-116.

4 Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1923), p. 67.

5 Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1956). p. 101.

6 George et al.

7 www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/ 8 Koenig.

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Bangwato Sikwa-Ramabu is director of Health Ministries for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division and lives in Pretoria, South Africa.

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Global View

Following Christ’s Method

A Great Opportunity

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or more than a century Seventh-day Adventists have been known for healthful living and for emphasizing wholistic health. Guided by biblical health principles and inspired insights through the counsel of Ellen White, we encourage a lifestyle free from tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, caffeine, and flesh foods, and embrace fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and rest.

Today many of these health principles have become popular, particularly eating a plant-based diet, as illustrated by a recent tweet from a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, the Produce for Better Health Foundation, encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables: “If you want your food to make you #happier, #healthier, and just generally better, here’s a plan: Have a plant.” The foundation’s website, fruitsandveggies.org, provides recipes and nutritional information, encouraging people to “join the movement.”

In a bid for better health, wellness programs are also coming to the forefront, encouraging people to live healthy lifestyles and incorporating many aspects of good health that Adventists have known for a century.

To truly bring lasting health and wholeness, however, we must use Christ’s method alone in reaching people (see Matt. 9:35), which includes helping people physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Helping people with their health points them to the Master Physician who brings full restoration in every area of life.

In the book The Ministry of Healing we read this powerful passage: “Everywhere there are hearts crying out for something which they have not. They long for a power that will give them mastery over sin, a power that will deliver them from the bondage of evil, a power that will give health and 16

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life and peace. Many who once knew the power of God’s Word have dwelt where there is no recognition of God, and they long for the divine presence. . . . A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.

“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people.

The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”¹ CREATED WHOLISTICALLY

What a privilege we have to follow in Christ’s steps in bringing hope and healing to this world!

How helpful to realize that God created us wholistically—body,

mind, and soul—together an entire, integrated unit.

God declares in 3 John 2: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

Long before the current promotion of whole person health, God, the Creator of the human race and everything good in this earth, was declaring that He wanted us to be healthy, and to be revived and reformed through the Holy Spirit’s power. He wants us to understand that we are complex creatures made in His image by His hand and breath. Our magnificent Creator wants us to be in the best of health in every way and prosper through our relationship with Him and our service to others in loving, caring ministry, following His example cited in Matthew 9:35-38: “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

Christ’s ministry is to be ours. He calls each of us to be part of Total Member Involvement—everyone, everywhere, doing something for Jesus! We must reach people living in rural areas, and we must reach those living in cities. Today more than 55 percent of the world’s population live in cities, and by 2050 it is estimated that two thirds of the world’s population will reside in urban centers.2 A GREAT OPPORTUNITY

All around us, people are asking what they should eat and what they

should drink and how they should live. It is the greatest opportunity at this vital time in earth’s history to point them to the way of life and complete health.

God has the best health-care plan available—the ultimate plan to restore us physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. He calls for us to share it and “tell the world” through loving-kindness and interaction, pointing people to the One who can bring abundant life.

“The medical missionary work must be as closely connected with the work of the gospel ministry as the hand and arm are connected with the body,” wrote Ellen White.

“You need the gospel ministry to give prominence and stability to the medical missionary work; and the ministry needs the medical missionary work to demonstrate the practical working of the gospel.”3 It can be challenging, however, to share this beautiful God-given health message if we ourselves are not practicing it. Ellen White comments on this challenge: “The reluctance shown to the promulgations of the principles of health reform is caused by an unwillingness to deny self. In our large cities, the medical missionary work must go hand in hand with the gospel ministry. It will open doors for the entrance of truth.”4 The gospel message and comprehensive health ministry point to Christ as the Master Physician who unites us and brings us the revival and reformation so much needed personally and corporately.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10), and He invites us to share His life-giving message with the world.

Comprehensive health ministry is closely tied to God’s biblical message of truth, to the precious message of righteousness by faith in Christ, to the proclamation of the three angels’ messages and

Helping people with their health points them to the Master Physician who brings full restoration in every area of life.

the sacredness of the seventh-day Sabbath. It is connected with the incredible sanctuary message portraying the salvation process that we need to study and share with earnestness, since at this very moment Christ is interceding for us as our high priest in the Most Holy Place of the real heavenly sanctuary.

We are living in the time of the end; I firmly believe that Jesus is coming soon. Now more than ever, we must utilize the health message in every way possible to bring people to the foot of the cross of the Master Physician. We have been called to participate in God’s mighty movement that will help society in unprecedented ways to find complete health—physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually.

Will you answer His call today?

To learn more about comprehensive health ministry, visit https:// health.adventistchurch.com/com prehensive-health-ministry/. ¹ Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 143. ² www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html ³ Ellen G. White, Ministry to the Cities (Hagerstown, MD.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 2012), p. 132. ⁴ Ellen G. White, manuscript 117, 1901.

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. Additional articles and commentaries are available from the president’s office on Twitter: @pastortedwilson and on Facebook: @Pastor Ted Wilson.

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Devotional

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ost psychologists agree that when one focuses too much on the past, it can lead to depression; focusing too much on the present often triggers stress; and focusing too much on the future may provoke anxiety. It’s difficult for me to fathom the idea of one individual dealing with all three at the same time and in one body!

Because we all experience anxiety about the future, let’s focus on some of the uncertainties about the future that often provoke anxiety and fear in us.

No one knows what the next decade, century, or millennium will look like. Many writers, however, have imagined the future in their works, inviting us to travel through time. Lynn Lobash, manager of the New York Public Library’s Reader Services Department, gleaned a number of trends from 11 must-read volumes about the future. Here are some of those: (1) Syrian refugees; (2) farewell hospital, hello home-spital; (3) by 2025 we should have space elevators and Internet-enabled contact lenses; (4) by the 2030s, we’ll be ready to move humans toward the Red Planet.1

Your Future Is Behind

Photo: Clem Onojeghuo

GAINING PERSPECTIVE

Anxiety and fear so often cloud our perspective that we can no longer see our faithful God standing before us, ready and willing to guide us, prepared to fight for us.

Imagine you are standing just outside your home, surrounded by dense fog so thick you can’t see the other side of the street. You look to the right, then to the left, but you cannot see more than 10 meters (or 30 feet) in any direction. You are surrounded by fog. How much water do you suppose it takes to create that thick blanket of fog that has completely isolated you from your world?

Just 50-100 milliliters (or a few ounces)—a small glass of water.

The total volume of water in a blanket of fog 64 meters (or one acre) around and one meter (or three feet) deep would not fill an ordinary drinking glass. How is this possible?

First, water evaporates, and the resulting vapor then condenses into minuscule droplets that permeate the air. One drinking glass of water disperses as some 400 billion tiny droplets suspended in the air, create an impenetrable cloak that shuts out light and makes you shiver.2 This is precisely what happens with painful or difficult experiences. This is what happens when anxiety and fear creep in.

Is there a word of encouragement from the Lord? As I listened to an audio version of the Bible, I noticed the interesting fact that at least in three instances in Scripture God’s voice is heard from behind: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).3 “Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great

earthquake: ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!’” (Eze. 3:12).

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (Rev. 1:10).

With God, our future is history!

LEADING FROM BEHIND

But how do we hear God’s voice?

Whenever we open the pages of our Bible, we’re entering a listening room in which God speaks to us personally, specifically, intimately, and authoritatively. Based on experience, I have come to believe that the greatest way to hear God’s voice is through daily Bible reading (or listening), memorization, and meditation. God trains us to recognize His voice through His written Word. He uses it to tune our spiritual ears to what is real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.

To live in confidence that we are hearing Him, from behind, we need to have a knowledge of His Word continually in our heart.

Nothing in our lives takes God by surprise. Even in the midst of personal upheaval, relational challenges, financial stresses, family transitions, career disappointments, and chaotic world affairs, God still speaks from behind. Just find your spot today, where you can enter the Lord’s presence as you open His Word, listen to Him personally, trust in what His Word says, and respond to Him in prayer.

The question that begs to be asked is Why would God speak from behind? Speaking from behind a person is considered rude in some cultures.

The Western way of thinking suggests that the past is behind us and the future is ahead of us.

The Jewish mindset, however, as well as in other Eastern cultures, is characterized by the opposite: The past, since we have already seen it, is ahead of us. The future, which is still unknown to us, on the other hand, is behind. Again, the past is ahead, and the future is behind.

From the uncertainties of the future, which cause anxiety and fear, God speaks, reassuring us that our future is in His hands. Interestingly, with God, our future is history!

The immediate context of the three verses referenced above clearly shows that Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John were extremely worried about the situation of God’s people at that time. Dire circumstances and an acute sense of distress may have led them to question whether God was still in control and what the future held for His people.

They were all in an urgent need of guidance and encouragement.

At this very moment they heard the reassuring voice of God from behind—from the future.

When we hear God’s voice from behind we can move ahead with confidence.

God is ever willing to give us His Spirit to guide us in the right direction. All may hear His voice from behind, if they will but listen.

See www.businessinsider.com/books-everyone-should-readabout-the-future-2017-8.

2 John David Mann, “The Fog of Distress” at johndavidmann. com/2012/03/15/the-fog-of-distress/.

3 All Scripture quotations have been taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Hensley Moorooven, originally from Mauritius, serves as undersecretary at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He lives with his family in Columbia, Maryland, United States.

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Fathima, a refugee in Uganda, cooks on a mud stove, a safer and more efficient method of cooking in the Maagi II settlement refugee camp.

When it compiled its fall 2017 report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that some 1 million refugees from South Sudan had crossed into Uganda. Since then the number has risen to 2 million, and the exodus has now been pegged as the largest refugee crisis in Africa and the third-largest refugee crisis in the world, after Syria and Afghanistan.

A DESPERATE JOURNEY

Faith in Action

Cooking on a Mud Stove A lifesaving change

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ome on children—we can’t stop,” said Fathima.* Her 9- and 7-yearold children lagged behind her trying to keep pace.

“I’m tired, Mamma,” cried the 9-year-old.

“OK, let’s rest,” Fathima said. Finding a flat rock to sit on, she held her 2-year-old tightly to her heart, making sure the baby was strapped to her securely. Exhausted from the heat, her other two children dropped to the ground to catch their breath.

Though tense and filled with anxiety, Fathima could only smile as she looked at her children. “We’re almost there, children—almost there.”

Fathima, 29, was no longer a citizen of South Sudan, but a refugee on the run with her three children from the soldiers that chased after people like her who opposed the government.

STAGGERING STATISTICS

Many people have fled South Sudan because of violence and upheaval between warring tribes, which started in December 2011, and flared up again in December 2013. News reports estimate that more than 383,000 people died as a result of the civil war, and about half that number lost their lives from the spread of disease and hunger.

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Once again, Fathima and her children gained the strength to walk. The road to nowhere seemed endless, but it was a path to freedom, far from the troubles of home she once knew. She thought to herself, I’d rather have my children face a life of exile than have them face unending suffering.

Days flew into weeks, and finally Fathima crossed the border into Uganda, a neighboring country where she would soon stumble upon the Maaji II settlement refugee camp.

“This is where we’ll be for now,” Fathima told her children. “Quickly, let’s build a mud-thatched home.”

Food was scarce, but thankfully UNHCR provided Fathima and the other refugees a day’s meal. It wasn’t much, but it was needed. “I must fetch wood,” Fathima told her oldest. “Stay here with the others; I must go into the forest and look for wood to catch fire.”

The statistics remain unclear, but reports indicate that women and children who venture into the forests for firewood or charcoal to prepare meals face more risks of abuse and assault compared to their male counterparts. They are, however, left with little to no choice if they are to survive.

The refugees at the settlement were accustomed to fetching wood from the forest, but they would soon be introduced to a newer and more Photos: ADRA

efficient method of cooking by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

Final touches of mud and water are added to the energy-saving stove before it’s used for cooking.

A COOKING SOLUTION

ADRA, a partner of UNHCR, was assigned to provide needed items based on assessment reports in the settlement to help the refugees from South Sudan. Since food was a hot commodity for the refugees, ADRA provided them with an energy-saving stove. Jerry Kiwanuka, ADRA Uganda’s environment protection officer, was one of the key aid workers who helped train the refugees on how to use the new stove.

“It’s officially known as a Lorena rocket energy-saving stove, but popularly known in Uganda as the rocket mud stove,” said Kiwanuka.

“The stove emits lesser amounts of smoke as compared to a conventional stove and minimizes the cutting down of trees to get firewood or charcoal to cook.”

The stove is a rectangular-shaped mound made of soil and water.

It’s designed to be used for two saucepans at a time, according to Kiwanuka, and is not portable.

“It’s constructed inside a kitchen or built outdoors in a carefully selected and convenient location,” Kiwanuka said. “This is why 90 percent of the stoves are accepted and used by people in Uganda.”

Originally the idea of the stoves was initiated in 2004 by Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, and other Ugandan partners. But through ADRA the Ugandan government was able to impact more people less fortunate.

The first use of the energy-saving stove took place in 2006 in Uganda’s Bushenyi and Rakai districts, and more recently on February 7, 2019, where members of the Mokolo East community were shown a demonstration on how to build and cook on the stove. Thirty people, mostly

females, received the training.

Using the first demonstration as a model and seeing how successful the implementation of the stove was for the community, refugees from South Sudan, mostly women and children, have also been trained.

ADRA has been working at the Maaji II settlement camp, where more than 18,000 refugees have remained since August 25, 2017.

HELP FOR FATHIMA

Kiwanuka met Fathima in one of his training groups. Fathima told him how she ended up in Uganda.

“I and my three children were forced to leave South Sudan because of the relentless torture by government forces who thought we were hiding rebels. Many people were tortured, and many lost their lives.”

She told Kiwanuka that she left her husband behind because he wanted to stay and tend to their property, despite the life-threatening challenges he would face. “I don’t know if he’s alive,” Fathima said.

“Once my family and I arrived in Uganda, I cooked food on a traditional three-stone stove, which consumes firewood in no time, but that left me running out of wood to cook food,” she said. “I didn’t like

going into the forest to fetch wood, but I had no choice.”

She said she is grateful for the new stove.

“I still collect firewood from the nearby forests, but I don’t have to do it as frequently,” said Fathima.

“The stove doesn’t require a lot of manual labor or produce a lot of smoke while cooking. I pray, though, that in the near future I will be able to do away with fetching firewood from the forest.”

As another energy-saving option, refugees are also being trained to cook using char-briquettes, which act as a substitute for charcoal and firewood.

“We are continuing to work with Fathima and train others to ensure their cooking needs are met, and help them to be more environmentally conscious,” Kiwanuka said.

Since ADRA’s time in Uganda, more than 3,200 stoves have been built for local villagers and refugees. * Name has been changed to protect the woman’s identity.

Kimi-Roux James is ADRA’s communication specialist for Marketing and Development. To learn more about ADRA go to adra.org.

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Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy

Ellen White: Then and Now

A special messenger to a prophetic movement

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uring her 70 years of public ministry Ellen White was powerfully and impressively used by God for the development and support of the Seventh-day Adventist prophetic movement.

We should note to begin that the Spirit of prophecy existed long before Ellen White’s ministry began, and her writings never added anything to the Bible. For her, the Scriptures were the “authoritative, infallible revelation”1 of God’s will. She recommended to every reader “the Word of God as the rule of your faith and practice,”2 because her “written testimonies are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart the truth of inspiration already revealed.”3 The growth in Adventist Church membership in the nineteenth century brought with it many blessings as well as challenges. The navigational struggles paid big dividends, but it was not an easy road.

God used His messenger to support and build His church and its work on all fronts. Following a metaphor often used by Uriah Smith, Ellen White functioned as a pilot giving directions for a perilous time.4 In her continuous efforts to uplift Christ, Ellen White produced her small but extremely vibrant, most-translated, and most-read book, Steps to Christ (1892); a masterpiece on Christ’s life, The Desire of Ages (1898); and a book on the best-loved teachings of Jesus, Christ’s Object Lessons (1900). These books

Although Ellen White died more than 100 years ago, she wrote for people of her time as well as for future generations.

uphold the divine and eternal nature of the Savior, and show Him as being a self-existent manifestation of “all the fullness of the Godhead.”5 Her doxology about Christ, often repeated, contains a crystal-clear statement about who Jesus was and is: “Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore.”6 In spite of various critics of her time and doubters and skeptics since, the life, ministry, and writings of Ellen White have directed people’s attention to God and His Word. Her legacy and prophetic contribution to the church has inspired and motivated Adventists to balanced progress in theological stability, numerical growth around the globe, mission to unreached people, cutting-edge health-care

institutions, quality education, family and youth ministry, publishing, and support of quality of human life in general, while preparing people to meet Jesus Christ.

A MESSENGER TO CONTEMPORARY GENERATIONS

The challenges and opportunities we experience today make it essential that God still speaks to His people. His plan and desire to save us with His unchanging truth have not changed. While methods of reaching today’s generations have differed, God has always addressed people where they are, at their level of understanding and acceptance.

The Lord has had messengers throughout history. He has never left His earthly children without His support and spiritual provision.

The purpose and function of God’s prophets have always been to provide guidance to His people and to keep them faithful in spite of differences in culture or worldview (Prov. 29:18; Eph. 4:13, 14). This was true for biblical prophets, and it is true for Ellen White, because the same Author inspired them all (2 Peter 1:21).

Although Ellen White died more than 100 years ago, she wrote for people of her time as well as for future generations. She was confident that her “writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last,”7 as they point readers to Jesus and uplift His Word.

Ellen White’s contemporaries needed the Bible, and its message is even more necessary today. The fundamental truth of Christ, as revealed in Scripture and reiterated in her writings, will never become old-fashioned; it will always be present truth (2 Peter 1:12). That is why every culture and people

group should be exposed to God’s good-news message (Deut. 30:19, 20; Heb. 3:13, 15).

The idea that Ellen White’s writings may be eclipsed by contemporary alternatives will never hold for God’s chosen ones who read and proclaim the biblically based and Spirit of Prophecy-supported truths about Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation. For those who search for meaning and purpose in life, Ellen White provides answers, especially when her writings are read through the prism of the great controversy.

Those of us who value God’s instructions, and educate ourselves in the richness of His counsel, benefit not only in our future lives with Him, but also in our lives here and now.8 While a variety of miscommunications, distorted interpretations, and criticisms exist concerning Ellen White, her writings are given to contemporary generations because God wants to get people into His Word so that He can get His Word into them.

Biblical truth elevates our lives, our thinking, our decisions, our outlook, and our behavior.

And as we grow in Christ, we will be motivated by the Holy Spirit and the Father’s love to live what we have learned and share it with others. ¹ Ellen. G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911, 1950), p. vii. ² Ellen G. White, Early Writings (Washington, D.C., Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1882, 1945), p. 78. ³ Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif., Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 2, p. 605. ⁴ Uriah Smith, “Do We Discard the Bible by Endorsing the Visions?”

Review and Herald, Jan. 13, 1863. ⁵ Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1946), p. 614. ⁶ Ellen G. White, “The Word Made Flesh,” Review and Herald, April 5, 1906, 227; Selected Messages (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1946), p. 614. ⁷ Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 55. ⁸ Ibid., pp. 41, 42.

Anna M. Galeniece, D.Min., is an associate professor in the Christian Ministry Department in the Seventhday Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University in Michigan, United States.

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What We Believe

Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary

The Center of Gravity

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he utterly unexpected, unthinkable, and unchangeable was occurring right in front of their eyes.

Heavily armed Babylonian soldiers, fiercely set on destruction, forced their way into the Temple precincts and started their gruesome work of tearing the sanctuary apart. The subsequent fire completely gutted the First Temple in the year 586 B.C. For the previous five centuries this elaborate and divinely inspired building had been the center of gravity for the Jewish people, the heartbeat of their religion, the focal point of their economy, and, ultimately, the dwelling place of their God. Animals had been sacrificed on its altar, high priests had entered into its holy and most holy departments, rituals had been performed. Psalms had been

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written and sung by its choristers and congregations, and gradually everybody had come to the entirely foolish conclusion that the Temple was invulnerable, indestructible, and immune against any outside attack, a notion that the prophet Jeremiah had strongly warned against: “Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the Temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord’” (Jer. 7:4, ESV1). The place that signified God’s presence and prefigured the plan of salvation, pointing in every nook and cranny to the coming Messiah and His ministry both on earth and in heaven, had essentially become a talisman, a mascot, a glorified lucky charm. Superstition and bigotry reigned supreme. They fell, together with the Temple walls, at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar’s army.

THE CENTERPIECE

It’s interesting to note that the center of the Psalms, a book that provides us with a cross section of Israelite faith and biblical theology, is focusing on these tragic events in poetic form alongside the historical accounts of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36; Jer. 52). Psalm 74 offers a moving and painfully detailed account of the obliteration of the sanctuary (verses 1-11), leaving the reader with the key questions of “why” and “how long” (verses 9, 10).

Psalm 73 already introduces the sanctuary theme when it tackles the question of God’s righteousness (or “theodicy”). This crucial question, close to the middle of the book of Psalms, is dealt with in a verse at the center of the poem (Ps. 73:17) that is pivotal to an understanding of human suffering and God’s righteousness.

It’s in the sanctuary, both geographically and theologically,

Photo: Robert Bye

that this question is resolved. If one looks on the other side of Psalm 74, there is a poem about God as judge who eventually will right all wrongs and bring deliverance to His people, even after the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile.

This will take place at the “proper time” (Ps. 75:2), thus answering the questions of “how long” and “why” raised in the previous psalm.

The judgment scene of Psalm 75 concludes with another sanctuary image, i.e., the cutting off of the horns of the wicked (Ps. 75:10), which is reminiscent of the cutting off of the altar’s horns anticipated in Amos 3:14. We wonder, Why does the sanctuary play such an important and central role in the book of Psalms?

The focus on the sanctuary in Psalms 73-75 provides a structural epicenter of the Psalms that correlates also to the theological center of the Psalter (which is, incidentally, also located at the seams between Book 2 [Pss. 42-72] and Book 3 [Pss. 73-89]). It offers an interesting clue, together with the beginning and end of the Psalms where the sanctuary plays an equally important role.

THE FRAME

Psalm 1:3 describes the righteous as planted by streams of water, an image that clearly connects to sanctuary language throughout the Old Testament and depicts the righteous as planted in the Temple precincts (cf. Ex. 15:17; Isa. 32:2; Pss. 46:4; 65:9; 92:12-14; Jer. 17:7-13; Eze. 47:12).2 Similarly, the very end of the book of Psalms is also replete with echoes of sanctuary language.

In Psalm 150:1, 2, two Hallelujah shouts frame a twofold indication as to where the final praise of psalms is to take place. Human praise is transported to the heavenly courts into “His sanctuary.”

While the Hebrew word qodesh can

refer to the earthly sanctuary, the parallelism with “His mighty firmament” in Psalm 150:1 highlights a cosmic and eschatological dimension to the praise using language associated with Creation (Gen. 1:6).

The “mighty acts” correspond to the idea that God’s historical deeds span from Creation to re-creation.

There is an interesting sequencing of musical instruments in Psalm 150:3-5, moving from instruments used predominantly in a sanctuary context (“trumpet, lute, and harp”; cf. Lev. 25:9; 1 Chron. 15:16) to instruments that are used in both cultic but also noncultic occasions, especially for the celebration of victories and deliverances (“timbrel, stringed instruments, flutes, and cymbals”; cf. Ex. 15:20; 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 6:5). The dance (see also Ps. 149:3) is likewise associated with these manifestations of festive joy as the cultic procession moves out from the heavenly sanctuary into the cosmic courts. The twofold repetition of the “cymbals” with the additional qualification of “clashing” announces an audible climax in the final symphony of the Psalter, which introduces the sweeping universal statement in 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” The Hebrew word neshamah, “blowing, breath,” refers primarily to humankind (cf. Gen. 2:7) but could also be extended to the rest of beings created by God (cf. Gen. 7:22). Psalm 150 depicts a cosmic procession out from the heavenly sanctuary that fills the universe with praise, a scene that replicates the final moments of the great controversy.3 The sanctuary, both earthly and heavenly, serves as the theological beginning, center, and end of the book of Psalms, pointing to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The psalmists, amid

joy and sorrow, praise and pain, always returned to the sanctuary to find comfort, reorientation, and, ultimately, salvation.4 What does the sanctuary message mean to twenty-first-century Seventh-day Adventists? Is it possible that it has just become a “lucky charm” of correct doctrine that safeguards us against erroneous winds of doctrine or that distinguishes us from the rest of evangelical Christianity? Or maybe it has disappeared into the recesses of an outdated Bible study series and evangelistic campaign? For the authors of the psalms it was the center of gravity because it told them the story of salvation with the Messiah at its heart. In that earthly and heavenly sanctuary deliverance was found (Pss. 25-34), prayers were answered (Ps. 5), justice was meted out (Ps. 11), doubts were dissolved (Ps. 73), community was experienced (Pss. 120-134), feasts were celebrated (Ps. 23), and so much more. The entire spectrum of a life of faith played out within its precincts. The sanctuary message still has the same power in the twenty-first century.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Dragoslava Santrac, “The Psalmists’ Journey and the Sanctuary: A Study in the Sanctuary and the Shape of the Book of Psalms,” JATS 25, no. 1 (2014): 23-42. Similarly, Psalm 2, which serves as the second portal into the world of the book of Psalms references the sanctuary through the mention of Zion and the holy hill (Ps 2:6).

3 See Ellen G. White, The Great Controvery (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), p.678.

4 See the unpublished paper by Richard M. Davidson, “The Heavenly Sanctuary in the Old Testament” (1970), available at: http://works.bepress.com/richard_davidson/17/.

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Martin G. Klingbeil, D.Litt., is professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Southern Adventist University and lives with his wife, Thandi, and their three teenage sons in Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States.

Read more about What We Believe at www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/

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Millennial Voices

A Seeker of Truth

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aheguru, waheguru,* thank you, Jesus.”

These words caught my attention as the traffic cleared on the road to Manali, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh, India. I didn’t quite get the significance of this expression of praise at first, but as the days passed, God helped me realize the wonderful working of the Holy Spirit in the life of my friend.

A group of childhood friends had planned a trip to Manali and Shimla in February. Most of them had studied together at an Adventist school, and later also attended an engineering college in Puducherry, India. I happened to meet one of them, who is a close friend from middle school, and asked if I could join them since I had already made plans to visit northern India during the same time. We began our four-day road trip from Chandigarh to Kulu, Manali, and Shimla. There was excitement in the air as we all looked forward to escaping the heat of Chennai and experience the magical snow of Himachal.

On the third day of our trip we visited the famous Tara Devi temple, 11 kilometers (seven miles) from Shimla. It was a long, steep drive up sharp hairpin bends. I got carsick and tried my best to keep my eyes off the road.

Our trip was often interrupted by visiting temples or churches along the way. The detour to the Tara Devi temple was our leader’s idea, delaying our lunch plans. We finally arrived—hungry, tired, and light-headed. I joined the brave making their way to the temple and wondered why this place was such a big deal.

We climbed a few flights of stairs and left our footwear at a counter.

I dreaded to walk without my shoes since it was a cold day. The cold numbed my feet for the next few minutes, as I admired the intricate carvings on the woodwork of the temple. We then stepped out to gaze at the picturesque view of the Himalayas from the temple courtyard. A sudden calm came over us as we took in the stunning view.

My friends ate a meal served on the temple premises. As I waited for them, my friend’s questions, “How do we reach God? Who is God? 26

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What is salvation?” resounded in my head. Millions of Indians each year go on pilgrimages and make sacrifices and vows in search of God, truth, peace, and prosperity. Here I was, face to face with a seeker of truth.

Over dinner the previous evening, my Sikh friend, knowing that I had studied religion, asked, “What is God, and how do we reach Him?” I wasn’t ready for this conversation. Usually I am not good at being spontaneous. Thousands of thoughts filled my mind in a split second, yet I had to be simple and concise. I quickly prayed, “Lord, help me be a witness for You.” I then asked if he meant who God is. I said that I believe God is a personal being who created us, loves us, and gives us family and friends.

God also reached down to us by sending His Son, Jesus, who died to save us. I was amazed at the way God helped me answer his queries on truth, salvation, and meditation in the simplest way.

The sincerity of his quest was reflected in his eyes. There was no sign of pride or mockery. As he recalled the first memory verse he had learned in the Adventist school, the story of Jesus, and how we didn’t work on Sabbath, I knew then that God was at work.

That day on the mountaintop, in the courtyard of the Tara Devi temple, I prayed that our heavenly Father would become real to my friend. I keep praying that God will lead me in the path of many others who are seeking God. Waheguru refers to the mighty God in Sikhism. It literally means “Wonderful Lord.”

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Beersheba Jacob, a recent graduate of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, is married to Andrew Jacob and is enthusiastic about serving God in India.

Bible Questions Answered

A Ritual Act of Worship Q

What was the purpose of a burnt sacrifice?

A

The name “burnt offering” is a translation of the Hebrew word ‘olah (“an ascending offering”).

Its name suggests that the sacrificial victim was burned in its entirety on the altar and the smoke went up/ascended toward God in heaven. The burnt offering was the most common sacrifice in the patriarchal period (Gen. 8:20; 22:7).

1. OCCASION AND PROCEDURE

Any Israelite could have brought a burnt offering to the Lord as a voluntary act of worship (Lev. 1:2). It could be brought by the individual as a votive or freewill offering (Lev. 22:17-19). The votive offering was given to the Lord after a vow was fulfilled to express gratitude. The freewill offering was a spontaneous expression of personal devotion, thanksgiving, and joy to the Lord. But it was also required for daily services (Num. 28:3-8); the Sabbath (verses 9, 10) and new moons services (verses 11-14); and during festivals (e.g., verses 17-25; Lev. 23:10-14, 17-21; 16:3). Burnt offerings were also required in combination with purification ceremonies (Lev. 12:6; 14:19; 15:13-15; Num. 6:11, 14; 15:22-26; Lev. 5:7-10).

The procedure followed when offering this sacrifice required persons to lay hands on the animal’s head (Lev. 1:4), slay it (verse 5), cut it into pieces (verse 6), and wash its entrails and legs (verse 9).

The priest performed the blood ritual (verse 5) and placed the victim on the altar (verse 8). The hide was given to the officiating priest (7:8), but the whole animal was burnt on the altar. The sacrificial victim was a male lamb, ram, or bullock. In some cases a turtledove or a pigeon was acceptable.

2. PURPOSE

The burnt offering was accepted by the Lord on behalf of the offerer “to make atonement for him” (Lev. 1:3, 4). In other words, the acceptance of the individual was determined by the acceptance of the offering by the Lord as a means of atonement. Through the laying on of hands offerers symbolically transferred to the sacrificial victim, which was without defect (verse 3; tamîm, “whole,” “entire”; “free of blemish”), their own imperfections. The victim functioned as a substitute for the person who brought it.

In 1 Samuel 7:1-10 and 13:12 the burnt offering is associated with the idea of “entreating God,” a phrase often employed in the context of God’s anger or displeasure (e.g., Ex. 32:11; 1 Kings 13:6; 2 Kings 13:4). Persons who entreated God were seeking His favor or acceptance (e.g., Zech. 8:21, 22), and the Lord showed favor and grace to them (Mal. 1:9; Ps. 119:58). The context here is one of propitiation, in the sense that God Himself sets aside His displeasure and accepts repentant sinners.

The burnt offering was an act of worship, expressing gratitude, thanksgiving, joy, and total dedication of the offerer to God. And since humans are always in need of forgiveness when approaching the Lord, it also functioned as a means of expiation/propitiation. This sacrifice addressed many of the spiritual needs of the offerer.

Today, since God accepts us through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we can joyfully and gratefully offer our whole being to Him as spiritual sacrifices (Rom. 12:1).

Angel Manuel Rodríguez is retired after serving as a pastor, professor, and theologian.

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One Burrito “He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go” (Ps. 91:11; The Message).*

P “May I Tell You a Story?”

BY DICK DUERKSEN

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astor Luis had traveled to a city a couple hours from his home.

It was to be a short trip, beginning with a quick visit to his favorite doughnut shop.

He parked under a streetlight and walked down an alley toward the doughnuts, already tasting his favorite flavors.

The alley was dark, but Pastor Luis is one of those Christians who is at home meeting new friends in dark alleys. He never feels unsafe, because his walks follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

“I pray often,” Pastor Luis says, “that God will have me run into the people He has prepared for me to meet. When you’re walking with God, even dark alleys are safe places. You just have to be sure you’re following rather than running ahead of Him.” Partway down the alley Pastor Luis saw a homeless man leaning on the side of a derelict building. The man was dressed in an ill-fitting jacket, inadequate for the cold night. He wore a motor cap, pulled down to protect from the wind. His dirty shoes were worn thin enough to be ineffective.

The man was obviously ill. An ugly tumor was growing from his abdomen, hanging out like the trunk of a young elephant. It was repulsive, and immediately drew Pastor Luis to his side.

“Are you doing OK?” Pastor Luis asked.

“I’m fine,” the man responded.

“No, you’re not fine. You look ill. How can I help you?”

“Really, I’m just fine,” the man continued, not pulling away but continuing to lean into the building, encouraging more conversation.

“But you’re not healthy, are you?”

“No. Not really. I got out of the hospital yesterday, but I’ll be OK. Thank you for asking.”

“Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat?”

Pastor Luis was feeling guilty for not being able to help someone who could obviously use some tenderness and love, and maybe a rather large sandwich.

“No. I don’t want to waste your time.

You were on your way somewhere.”

“No,” Pastor Luis responded. “I’m the one bothering you, maybe even wasting your time.”

“You’re fine, sir,” the homeless man said. “I’ll eat something later. You’re good to talk with me.”

Photo: T.J. Dragotta

“Well, hey, there are some food carts on the corner right up here,” Pastor Luis tried again. “Come with me and join me for dinner. One of the carts has awesome Mexican food. Their burritos are especially good.”

The man paused a minute, then agreed to join Pastor Luis on the walk to the food cart. On the way the two men talked a bit more about the homeless man’s health and stay at the hospital.

They did not exchange names. *** Emerging from the dark alley, they arrived at the Mexican food cart.

“What would you like?” Pastor Luis asked. “Choose anything you’d like, and I’ll pay for it.”

Again, the man backed off and said he didn’t really need anything right then.

Pastor Luis wouldn’t let that stand.

“Come on,” he coaxed. “Order something you’d enjoy tonight.”

“OK. Order me one awesome burrito,” the man smiled thankfully. “That will be enough.”

Pastor Luis jumped right in and ordered several burritos, a couple tostados, and something to drink.

They spoke as they waited for the food to be delivered, continuing to talk about the cold alley, the coming rain, the need for pain medicine, and all the other things friends talk about.

Suddenly they were interrupted by a tumult down the street around the doughnut shop. They saw several large motorcycles, handlebars reaching toward the sky like the curls of angry Cape buffalos, engines growling like angry tigers, and black-clad riders waving shotguns toward the crowd. Everyone scattered, diving into the doughnut shop, sprinting toward the alley, screaming louder than the bikers’ engines.

Pastor Luis and his hungry friend watched in horror as the mayhem grew into a tornado of terror. Windows shattered, car alarms screamed, doughnuts burned on abandoned grills.

It was over in a few moments, the bikers growling off toward their next target.

“Come with me and join me for dinner. One of the carts has awesome Mexican food.” *** “Your food is ready, sir,” said the food cart cook.

Pastor Luis turned slowly, realizing that if he hadn’t stopped to speak to the homeless man, he would have been standing in the doughnut shop at the very moment the bikers showed up. He would have been at the center of the danger. He might not have survived.

“One burrito. Make that three burritos for my new friend. One tostado and a drink. You good with that?”

The homeless man took the meal gratefully, stored the burritos in his coat pockets, then turned toward his new friend.

“Thanks for the burritos, Pastor Luis,” he said. Then he walked back down into the dark alley.

Pastor Luis stood planted in the alley by the food cart.

I don’t know that man’s name, thought Pastor Luis. I didn’t tell the man my name either. There’s no way he could know who I was. How did he know I’m Pastor Luis?

The sounds of biker mayhem were rapidly being replaced by the sounds of sirens from police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. But all Pastor Luis could hear was the voice of a very ill, smiling, homeless man.

“Thanks for the burritos, Pastor Luis.” * The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Publisher The Adventist World, an international periodical of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The General Conference, Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists®, is the publisher.

Executive Editor/Director of Adventist Review Ministries Bill Knott International Publishing Manager Chun, Pyung Duk Adventist World Coordinating Committee Si Young Kim, chair; Yukata Inada; German Lust; Chun, Pyung Duk; Han, Suk Hee; Lyu, Dong Jin Associate Editors/Directors, Adventist Review Ministries Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Greg Scott Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Costin Jordache, Wilona Karimabadi Editors based in Seoul, Korea Chun, Pyung Duk; Park, Jae Man; Kim, Hyo-Jun Digital Platform Manager Gabriel Begle Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editorial Assessment Coordinator Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste Editors-at-Large/Advisors Mark A. Finley, John M. Fowler, E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Kimberly Brown Distribution Coordinator Sharon Tennyson Management Board Si Young Kim, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Chun, Pyung Duk; Karnik Doukmetzian; Han, Suk Hee; Yutaka Inada; Gerald A. Klingbeil; Joel Tompkins; Ray Wahlen; Ex-officio: Juan Prestol-Puesán; G. T. Ng; Ted N. C. Wilson Art Direction and Design Types & Symbols To Writers: We welcome unsolicited manuscripts. Address all editorial correspondence to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A. Editorial office fax number: (301) 680-6638 E-mail: worldeditor@gc.adventist.org Web site: www.adventistworld.org Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are taken from the New King James Version.

Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, all prominent photos are © Getty Images 2019.

Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States.

Vol. 15, No. 7

Dick Duerksen, a pastor and storyteller living in Portland, Oregon, United States, is known around the world as “an itinerant pollinator of grace.”

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Growing Faith

Fun-filled pages for younger ages

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Days of Wellness Do something good for yourself every day!

JULY 2019 SUNDAY

MONDAY

1 Eat a green vegetable today.

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8

Eat a banana today.

Do eight sit-ups.

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15

Do 14 tuck jumps (Google it).

Read your Bible for 15 minutes in the morning.

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Write down your feelings in a little journal.

Try eating a new fruit today.

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Start your day praying about becoming whomever Jesus wants you to be.

Make sure you have a nutritious, hearty breakfast today.

Illustration: Xuan Le

BY WILONA KARIMABADI

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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4

5

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Go for a 20-minute walk (please take a grown-up).

Eat a red fruit today.

Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep tonight.

Do something nice for someone (it’s good for your heart!).

Enjoy Sabbath rest!

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10

11

12

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Make sure you are in bed by 9:00 p.m. at the latest!

Don’t forget to drink lots of water today.

Learn to make a salad (if you don’t already know how).

Eat watermelon today.

Enjoy Sabbath rest!

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17

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Try a new vegetable today.

Learn how to make ice pops with fruit juice.

Don’t forget your water!

Take some time to stretch your muscles today.

Enjoy Sabbath rest!

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Play outside (weather permitting) for a half hour.

If you don’t play basketball, try it today. If you do, enjoy it!

Read a devotional for kids before you start your day.

Write down a list of 26 things you are thankful for.

Enjoy Sabbath rest!

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Do any type of exercise you enjoy for 30 minutes.

Enjoy a fruit salad with all your favorite fruits!

Bible Treasure

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 (NIV).

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Let those who have ears, listen!

ARAudio.org Audio on Demand