Don’t Forget

Jesus is Our Only Hope

A lot has changed in the church and in the world lutely nothing that I can do to earn a place in His kingdom. It since I was a boy. In just a few weeks, I’ll be retiring and I is all a matter of faith. have been reflecting on the nearly 50 years I have spent work- The Seventh-day Adventist Church is not yet all that God ing for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. wants it to be, but I think it is moving in the right direction.

Looking back to when I first became an Adventist as a As we surrender to Him, He will transform us from the inside young boy in San Antonio, out. God has great things in and to when I was convicted store for us. Ellen G. White, that I was being called to serve the church, I remember “I still remember the joy writing under divine inspiration, told us that if we were that I believed and was truly convinced that the world would not last till the present and peace that came kind and courteous there would be 100 conversions to the truth where now there is day. The year 2021 was out of the question! I believed over me when I realized only one. Let me also mention the that Jesus would return and Sabbath. The Sabbath was we would be in heaven or hell—depending on your that Jesus loves me...” a tremendous gift to God’s people in biblical times, behavior. and it has come down to us

Thankfully, I found out in our day with the same how wrong I was. Salvation is not based on our behavior, but blessings. Made at creation, given to God’s people as a gift, we on Jesus’ righteousness alone. If you forget everything I say, have been given the Sabbath to remind us of our creator and don’t miss this: Jesus is our only hope for righteousness. May God to remind us that He is also our recreator. help us to allow Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives and do It is good to remember that the Sabbath does not only what only He can do which is to make us holy and fit for our belong to Seventh-day Adventists but that it was a gift to evheavenly home. I still remember the joy and peace that came eryone, it belongs to the whole world. We have the privilege of over me when I realized that Jesus loves me and there is abso- restoring it to the world.

The church has undergone many changes even in the past few years. Many changes have been good. We have a vigorous mission program. Many people, especially young people, enjoy working for Jesus in the mission field. We have several organizations that sponsor people to do mission work, not just preaching but working with their hands to help others.

In my retirement, I hope to do something similar. I am inspired by others that work in various places to do God’s work. I’ll leave it up to God to place me where I am needed to work for Him. That’s what I’ve done most of my life, anyway.

I want to challenge all of our members to continue to look ahead to see the future unfold and encourage people, young and old, to become more involved in their local church. Let’s keep moving forward together to share His love.

I’m so encouraged that we are able to combine our efforts in our communities with the use of technology in order to spread the gospel to the world. When I joined the church in 1960, there were only a handful of Adventist programs but today we have so many networks through which we can reach the farthest places on the planet. I encourage our church leadership to keep reaching out till the gospel has reached every nation, kindred, tongue and people until Jesus returns.

May that day be soon.