The Fruit of The Spirit, Lesson 6

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Here are my thoughts on this Week’s SS lesson.

It must have been ten years ago. I was supervising the package car loaders at UPS. Occasionally one of the loaders would fail to show up and I would have to load their trucks for them. When this happened I would get an ice cold drink and granola bar from the break room to give me energy while I was working. One morning though we were short handed and I had to jump into a load area right away with no chance to get my usual snacks from the break room first. I was working away loading the trucks when before I even had a chance to ask, my boss came by with my usual drink and snack and placed it one of the trucks for me where I could get it. Wow! I did not even have a chance to tell my boss what was going on and she saw what was happening, and that I did not have my usual snack and took it upon herself to get it for me. So you just read this and thought to yourself, that’s nice, but it’s not that big of a deal why is William writing a blog about this simple little story? You’re right. What my boss did was no big deal. The big deal is, I remember it ten years later! Meanwhile I am sure my boss does not even remember it. Simple acts of kindness are not soon forgotten.

A few years later I was training a new package car loader and had laid my cell phone in the back of the brown package car while we were working. I forgot about it and the package car driver drove off for his route with my cell phone in his little brown truck. I asked his dispatcher to call the driver and ask him where I could meet him to get my phone. I drove to the meeting place and got my phone. A few minutes later, as I was driving on to my next job the dispatcher calls me to make sure I got my phone. This really impressed me because it was not the dispatcher’s responsibility. He was not even directly in my department and he was so busy with his own responsibilities I did not expect him to give me another thought that day. Again, years later it has still made a lasting impression on me, that simple act of kindness, a UPS dispatcher showing concern for someone they were not even responsible for.

Years later these two stories have impressed me. It was not what they said, it was how they made me feel that I remember. They made me feel special. People will not always remember what we said but they will always remember how we made them feel.

While we often think kind words and deeds are cute, we sometimes underestimate them in the grand scheme of the Great Controversy but consider this, we as Seventh-day Adventists realize that the law plays a pivotal role in the Great Controversy. Too often we just think of the Sabbath or Ten Commandments, but read what The Desire of Ages has to say about a good Samaritan who may not have had his theology straight. “The Samaritan had obeyed the dictates of a kind and loving heart, and in this had proved himself a doer of the law.” –Desire of Ages, p. 504. So being a doer of the law is so much more than just knowing the letter of the law. This Samaritan may have been ignorant of the written law but the spirit of the law was written, no, sealed in his heart. The good Samaritan bound up the wounds of the hurt man just as Jesus binds our wounds. The Samaritan gave him oil just as Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit which the oil in Zachariah represents. The Samaritan told the innkeeper he would pay for and be completely responsible for the man’s full recovery. Jesus made Himself responsible for our full recovery, out sanctification as well as justification. So while this good Samaritan may not have known as much about theology and the written law as the priest and Levite did, he was just like Jesus! Isn’t that the end of the law anyway?

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells about when the sheep and goats will be separated. He says to the sheep on His right, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” –Matthew 25:34-36  Again, those Jesus welcomes into His kingdom may not have been the most educated theologians but while Jesus does not welcome them because they kept the Sabbath or tithed, or did not eat pork look at how Christ like they were. They fed the hungry just like Jesus did to the multitude both temporal as well as spiritual. They gave water to a thirsty soul just as Jesus gave the living water to the woman at the well. They welcomed strangers just as Jesus’ love embraced the gentile world as much as His own people. They clothed the naked just as Jesus clothes us with His robe of righteousness. They visited the sick just like Jesus. They cared for those who were bound in prison just as Jesus came to set the captives free. These people are welcomed into the kingdom not just by justification but by sanctification as well. They are sanctified and fitted for the kingdom because they are like Jesus!

Many of them are asking Jesus when did we do these things? What are You talking about Jesus? They did not even know what they were doing, but they were sanctified and sealed with the law of God which is love. Consider the following passage from The Desire of Ages, page 608. “Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.” 

Heaven will be filled with people who have muddled minds and theology, but none with bitter hearts.

Being sanctified and having the seal of God in our foreheads means so much more than knowing which day is the Sabbath or that we are not suppose to eat pork. Those who are sanctified and have the law sealed in their hearts and written on their foreheads are kind.

You may find more studies and devotionals on my website In Light of The Cross.

The Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 5

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

This week’s SS lesson is about patience. Funny how we get impatient with other people, while wishing at times, that others were more patient with us. However I do know some very patient people. To explain what I am talking about I will have to make a very dark confession. A confession that you probably never thought you would have to hear a lay preacher make. But here goes…..I am 44 years old and am just now learning how to tie a tie! I have been wearing clip-ons for years! Embarrassing I know. I started wearing clip-ons when I was a kid and never really learned to tie a tie because I thought, why bother, just wear clip-ons. Also I never saw the importance of a tie, kind of like Adventist pioneer James White who never wore a tie because to him it was useless adornment. But it became very complicated. People would give me real ties for gifts and then I am sure would wonder why I never wore them.

In my late 30s I tried to turn this around as my friend Doug in Texas would try to teach me how to tie a tie. Problem is I would get frustrated and go back to wearing clip-ons and forget everything I learned and poor Doug would have to start all over teaching me again. He was so patient. So is my dad who recently helped me tie my tie in time to get to my grandmother’s funeral. Then there is my good friend Adam who has been secretly teaching me here in Tampa. Secretly because a lay preacher my age should already know how to tie a tie. Once I shocked a poor mother when she was telling her ten year old son in church that he needed to start wearing real ties instead of clip-ons because he was becoming a young man now. I unclipped my tie in front of them and said, “clip-ons like this?” She was shocked to see that I was not wearing a real tie. That’s when I decided I better get serious about learning to tie a real tie.

Adam has been helping me and I have been watching Youtube videos that have helped too. Now every Sabbath morning I get in front of the mirror to tie my tie and how well I do is about as unpredictable as my golf game. One week I get it on the third or fourth try and other weeks I have to give up and grab a clip-on so I can make it to church on time.

Point is that My dad, Doug and Adam have been very patient in teaching me. They don’t complain that they have already showed me a hundred times. They don’t call me stupid and remind me that a 7 year old could do this. They have shown me the best definition of patience and that is turning frustrating moments into opportunities to teach. Isn’t that what Jesus did over and over with the disciples? When they would not remember a lesson He would teach them over and over again. After all we do learn by repetition.

I have had to learn my own lessons on patience. A few weeks ago I was driving up to a light and got in the left turn lane. The light was green but the truck in front of me was just sitting there so I decided to go around him. As I swerved around him I found my self in the path of an oncoming ambulance with sirens blaring! Oh! That’s what the guy in the truck was waiting on!  A few weeks later I am at the bank in a lane with two of those vacuums so I pull up to the second one and another car pulls in behind me to the first one. He got his transaction completed before I did and started honking at me to move! I was still waiting on my money but I pulled out so he could go and he gave me this dirty look as he sped by. I backed back in to get my money. I thought, why couldn’t he understand that I was not through yet? He thought I was finished when I wasn’t and was just sitting there. Then I remembered the truck at the light and how I did not understand why he was just sitting there. So now I have learned to be as patient with others as I would have them to be with me.

One more illustration: Some things in the Bible seem very clear to me, for example, the Sabbath. I wonder why other people can’t see it. There it is right in the middle of the Ten Commandments. Well, when I first moved to Tampa I exited *Maple Avenue from I-275 and drove straight to my new apartment. For years I told everyone I lived off of Maple Avenue. However Tampa is one of those cities where the same street will change names several times as you drive across town. Well after three years I am sitting at the light by my house, looking at the street sign like I have done hundreds of times before, but this time I noticed something. The street sign says “Elm” not Maple. The street changed names and for three years I had not realized that and was telling everyone I lived somewhere else. Now it does not seem so silly to me how other people can see something in the Bible and not notice it just like for three years I had not noticed that I did not live on the street I thought I did. For three years I had been stopping at that light with the sign right in front of me and I never noticed it did not say what I thought it did. So now I understand how someone can read something in the Bible and still not “see” it. 

My prayer this year is that I will be as patient with people as I would like them to be with me! 

* I used fictitious street names to protect my privacy.

You can find more studies and devotionals at In Light Of The Cross.

The Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 4

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Here are my thoughts on this week’s SS Lesson.

Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee.  Isaiah 26:3

 

Mark the perfect [man], and behold the upright: for the end of [that] man [is] peace.  Psalms 37:37

Real peace does not come from being right with the world. It comes from being right with God. Peace of mind is not knowing that you have money in the bank. It is knowing no matter what, God will take care of all your needs. Peace is not knowing that you will live through the storm. Peace is knowing even if you die in the storm, God has promised you eternal life. Peace is Ellen Harmon, an 18 year old girl explaining why she was not terrified during a storm at sea when she said, “If my work for God is over I might as well rest at the bottom of this sea as anywhere else, but if my work is not over, not all the water in all the sea will be able to drown me.” (Life Sketches, p. 240) Peace is Marion Fisher, a 13 year old Amish girl telling a deranged gunman “shoot me first” so that help would arrive in time for the other victims. Peace is an elderly man I was studying with this summer who laid on his deathbed with a smile on his face saying “I’m ready to meet Jesus.” Peace is my 100 year old grandmother’s last words to my mother, “I will see you in heaven.” Peace is Jesus sleeping in a boat during a storm at sea. (Matthew 8:25)

Peace is not the absence of the storm, it is the absence of the fear of the storm. Peace is not the absence of death, it the absence of the fear of death. Peace is not the absence of worldly turmoil, it is the presence of God in the turmoil. Peace is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Here is one of my favorite quotes on peace from the Spirit of Prophecy:

  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27. 

     Before our Lord went to His agony on the cross He made His will. He had no silver or gold or houses to leave His disciples. He was a poor man, as far as earthly possessions were concerned. Few in Jerusalem were so poor as He. But He left His disciples a richer gift than any earthly monarch could bestow on his subjects. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,” He said. . . . He left them the peace which had been His during His life on the earth, which had been with Him amid poverty, buffeting, and persecution, and which was to be with Him during His agony in Gethsemane and on the cruel cross. 

     The Saviour’s life on this earth, though lived in the midst of conflict, was a life of peace. . . . No storm of satanic wrath could disturb the calm of that perfect communion with God. And He says to us, “My peace I give unto you.” 

     Those who take Christ at His word and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).   It is the love of self that destroys our peace. While self is alive we stand ready continually to guard it from mortification and insult; but when self is dead, and our life hid with Christ in God, we shall not take neglects or slights to heart.

     When we receive Christ into the soul as an abiding guest, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds. There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of Christ, received into the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife and fills the soul with love. He who is at peace with God and his fellow men cannot be made miserable. . . . The heart that is in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven and will diffuse its blessed influence all around.  {Heavenly Places, p. 249} 

You can find more studies and devotionals at In Light of the Cross.

Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 3

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].  Psalms 126:5-6

As we look at Joy in this week’s SS lesson lets be reminded the greatest joy is in sharing Jesus with others. This is something we all can do. We may feel like we are not good enough for the job but please prayerfully consider the story of Jesus feeding the multitude:

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.  And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. Matthew 14:14-17

 

Okay, what just happened here? The disciples knew the crowd was hungry but felt that they could not get the job done so they tell Jesus to send the crowd to the village markets where people were trained and better prepared to feed such a crowd. You know, professionals, people who are trained and do this sort of thing for a living.

Jesus tells the disciples to do it themselves. The disciples remind Jesus that they do not have adequate provisions. This is why they need to go to the professionals.

He said, Bring them hither to me.  Matthew 14:18

Okay what just happened? Jesus asked the disciples to do it and by George they are going to do it. Has God ever asked you to share the bread of life with a friend or neighbor but you decided to just leave it with the professionals instead? After all there are people who are trained and get paid by the church to do this kind of stuff. But Jesus asked you!

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  Matthew 14:19

Okay what just happened? Jesus gave the bread to the disciples so that they would now have plenty to share with the crowd. Likewise when Jesus asks you to share the bread of life with others, He first wants you to receive the bread of life from Him, and then you will have something to share with the crowd. The crowd did not need to go to the villagers. The disciples just needed to go to Jesus.

And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  Matthew 14:20

Okay what just happened? Even with just five loaves and two small fishes the disciples accomplished everything the pros in the village markets could have done, by just doing what Jesus asked, and receiving from Him first what they needed to share with others.

God has big plans for our church this year. A crowded city is hungry for the bread of life. If you are a disciple of Christ then He is asking you to feed them. Don’t just send them to the “preofessionals”.  You can feed them! In 2010 everyone can take the bread of life from Jesus and share it with others. Everyone can give a Bible study this year. It’s so easy even I can do it! But first we must receive from Jesus and then share it with the multitude. Are you in with us on this?

Jesus trained the disciples by giving them the bread first to share with others. They needed training but they did not need to send the people somewhere else to get better service. This year our church will be offering training so that you can share the bread of life with others, so that they will not need to go somewhere else for better service. I am looking forward to working with you this year as you share the bread of life with others!

“It is not the Lord’s purpose that ministers should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing the seeds of truth. Men who are not called to the ministry are to be encouraged to labor for the Master according to their several ability. Hundreds of men and women now idle could do acceptable service. By carrying the truth into the homes of their friends and neighbors, they could do a great work for the Master. God is no respecter of persons. He will use humble, devoted Christians, even if they have not received so thorough an education as some others. Let such ones engage in service for Him by doing house-to-house work. Sitting by the fireside, they can– if humble, discreet, and godly–do more to meet the real needs of families than could an ordained minister.” {Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7: 21.2}

You can find more studies and devotionals at In Light of The Cross.

The Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 2

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Holding onto a grudge does not protect your rights. It denies your right to forgive and live a happy life.

This morning I was reading this passage in the Bible, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27. Suddenly, a random thought hit me. When we hang onto a grudge and refuse to forgive, we are giving the devil his “right” to have a place in our hearts. It is God’s place to tell us to forgive. It is the devil’s right to tell us we don’t have to forgive. When Christ resurrected Moses, the devil was right there to say Moses could not be forgiven and resurrected. When Christ forgave the paralytic, the devil was right amongst the priests and Pharisees claiming Christ had no right to forgive. 1 John 2:1 tells us Jesus is our advocate. Jesus gives us the right to be forgiven and to forgive. However when we hang onto a grudge, and refuse to forgive, then we have just fired Jesus as our advocate and put the devil, the accuser of the brethren in His place! Not a good move.

Do you really want the accuser of the brethren telling you what your rights are? Consider our high Priest as He hung upon the cross and forgave the repentant thief; “Men may exercise power over His human body. They may pierce the holy temples with the crown of thorns. They may strip from Him His raiment, and quarrel over its division. But they cannot rob Him of His power to forgive sins. In dying He bears testimony to His own divinity and to the glory of the Father. His ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, neither His arm shortened that it cannot save. It is His royal right to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by Him.” – Desire of Ages, p. 751. It is God’s right to forgive sin and He has also given that right to you! Don’t let the devil take away your rights!

When the devil tells you that the person who has hurt you has taken away your right to happiness, turn the tables on him! Tell him you have the right to forgive them and be happy, instead of taking his poison by holding onto the grudge that he wants to give you, as your supposed “right”.  Instead of  letting the devil give you his fruit, let God give you the fruit of the Spirit which is love. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32.  Holding onto a grudge is not a right, its a poison. Forgiveness is a divine right! Satan has no place or right in your relationships!

You may find more studies and devotionals on my website In Light Of The Cross.

Thoughts on Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 1

Guess Where I am writing from today? You guessed it! The beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  John 15:4-5

This week’s Sabbath School lesson speaks of abiding in Christ and bearing fruit. So what exactly is the fruit we bear?  ”What is the fruit that we are to bear? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”. {2 Selected Messages p. 236} So Christ is more interested in the quality of fruit and not just the quantity. After all wouldn’t you rather have six really good apples rather than 60 rotten apples? So would Christ! “Ministers who labor in towns and cities to present the truth should not feel content, nor that their work is ended, until those who have accepted the theory of the truth realize indeed the effect of its sanctifying power, and are truly converted to God. God would be better pleased to have six truly converted to the truth as the result of their labors, than to have sixty make a nominal profession, and yet not be thoroughly converted. These ministers should devote less time to preaching sermons, and reserve a portion of their strength to visit and pray with those who are interested, giving them godly instruction, to the end that they may “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”  {Evangelism p. 320.1}

When you look at a piece of fruit you should be able to tell what tree it came from. So people should be able to tell that we abide in Christ by looking at us. Problem is too many professed Christians have what is called a golf cart relationship with Christ instead of an abiding relationship. A golf cart charges its battery overnight and then runs all day on its own power. The golf cart does not have an abiding relationship with the battery charger. It’s an on and off relationship. That may work for golf carts but not for us. We need a continual abiding relationship with Christ like the relationship a trolley car has with the cable. It stays connected to the cable all day or it does not move a single inch. We must continually abide in Christ or as Christ says, we “can do nothing”. This year let’s remember we are trolley cars and not golf carts. We must continually abide in Christ and not think we can survive with an on again off again relationship similar to a golf cart and battery charger.

Let’s remember as well that as a branch receives nourishment from the vine so we must receive our nourishment from Christ. The branches do not receive nourishment from the other branches. They abide in the vine. Likewise we must not look to the pastor or elder, or grandma for our spiritual nourishment. Remember that is how the dark ages began. People stopped reading the Scriptures and let the church do all their thinking for them. This is not what Christ designed. In Psalms 23:1 David acknowledges the Lord as his Shepherd or pastor. Christ Himself wants to be our Pastor, our True Vine that we may abide in and produce quality fruit which will also influence many others to do the same!

Please also visit my website InLightOfThe Cross.com for more studies and devotionals.

Evangelism Team Meeting: Planning for 2010

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area. Most of my pictures feature our beautiful gulf and bay, but this picture is of the Tampa Skyline from the beautiful Hillsborough River.

Dear Church Family,

I wanted to take a moment and share with you some of the exciting things the Tampa First Evangelism team (Members listed at bottom of this page) has planned for 2010!

1. By God’s grace we want to have a training school right here at the church to teach people how to win souls to Christ through various soul saving methods such as Bible Studies, seminars, small groups, door to door evangelism etc. Our goal is for every member to give at least one Bible study in 2010.
2. We want to hold several off site seminars and evangelism meetings, possibly in schools, libraries, etc. They will be taught by pastors, Bible Workers as well as our church lay family.
3. We will be working with the church board in finding a couple Sabbaths that we can devote to various outreach activities in the community which will involve the entire church in participation according to each person’s gifts and preferences.  These activities may include literature distribution, door to door surveys and Bible studies, giving bottled water to people in the parks and giving them invitations to church, Prayer warriors while everyone is out doing their activities, etc.
4. We will be helping families organize and participate in small study groups. Each group may have a different theme (For example I have a small golf group) but each will be very intentional in leading people to Jesus.
5. We want to team with other churches to share Jesus with the community on a much larger scale than we ever have before.
6. Several on our evangelism team will be going door to door and inviting others as well. We want to once again team with other churches to see what areas are being covered and which are being neglected.

 

These are just a few of our goals. Please pray for our evangelism team but also know that you are not only welcomed but encouraged to be a part of our soul winning efforts. Please also know that whenever you see it posted that the Evangelism Team is having a planning meeting that our meetings are opened and all are welcomed to attend!

Some churches do evangelism. God wants Tampa First to be an evangelistic movement that also does church!

May God richly bless your Christmas and New Years, and I pray He gives you a burden to join us on all our evangelistic efforts in 2010.

Your Christian Servant,

William

2010-2012 Tampa First SDA Church Evangelism Team:

EVANGELISM TEAM

Leader:  William Earnhardt

                   Amy Beattie

Dana Schnoor                                 Sondra Shields

Paulette Cooper                               Harrison Inniss

                                    Dan Ferree

Geraldye St. Jean                             Guether St. Jean          

Fitzgerald Peterkin                           Enid Peterkin

Is it Okay to Have a Merry Christmas?

The Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, where I worship, presented The Messiah last Sabbath and it was a wonderful blessing to all.

Imagine this scenario, It’s a beautiful sunny Florida day. You call me and say, “William, lets go to the beach and enjoy a beautiful sunset.” I respond, “No way! Don’t you know that some pagans worship the sun, therefore we should have nothing to do with it!” Not very balanced thinking huh? Likewise just because there may be some pagan things pertaining to Christmas it should not keep us from worshiping the Son on that day! I have heard that Christmas is a Catholic holiday. Does that make it wrong? Just because you are not a Catholic does not mean everything they do or have done is bad. Catholics operate good hospitals all over the world where people of all faiths and beliefs receive compassionate care. If we are not Catholic does that mean that we should not have good hospitals just because they do? There are many good Catholics who pray every day. Should we refrain from prayer because Catholics pray? For the sake of time and space I shall not go on, but the point is, while many protestants reject Catholic traditions that replace the Bible, keep in mind, not all Catholic traditions replace the Bible and fact is, some of our own traditions may not be Biblical. Catholics are not always wrong and protestants are not always right. We should reject the traditions of man only when they conflict with the Bible. Fact is we all remember our own birthdays so why not remember Christ’s? Not that I personally celebrate Christmas as Christ’s birth as much as I just celebrate the fact that He came to our world to die for our sins.

So, just because people worship a sun or a tree does not mean that we can’t enjoy these things in their proper balance. We can take advantage of the Christmas holiday to share God’s love, peace and good will with others! Here are what others have to say:

Click here to listen to a response from Amazing Fact’s evangelist Doug Batchelor, on the tree reference to a quote in Jeremiah 10. Is it wrong to have a Christmas tree?

The following is from the chapter “Christmas” in the  book, The Adventist Home.

Chap. Seventy-Seven – Christmas

     Christmas as a Holiday.–”Christmas is coming,” is the note that is sounded throughout our world from east to west and from north to south. With youth, those of mature age, and even the aged, it is a period of general rejoicing, of great gladness. But what is Christmas, that it should demand so much attention? . . .  {AH 477.1} 
     The twenty-fifth of December is supposed to be the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, and its observance has become customary and popular. But yet there is no certainty that we are keeping the veritable day of our Saviour’s birth. History gives us no certain assurance of this. The Bible does not give us the precise time. Had the Lord deemed this knowledge essential to our salvation, He would have spoken through His prophets and apostles, that we might know all about the matter. But the silence of the Scriptures upon this point evidences to us that it is hidden from us for the wisest purposes.  {AH 477.2} 
     In His wisdom the Lord concealed the place where He buried Moses. God buried him, and God resurrected him and took him to heaven. This secrecy was to prevent idolatry. He against whom they rebelled while he was in active service, whom they provoked almost beyond human endurance, was almost worshiped as God after his separation from them by death. For the very same purpose He has concealed the precise day of Christ’s birth, that the day should not receive the honor that should be given to Christ as the Redeemer of the world–one to be received, to be trusted, to be relied on as He who could save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. The soul’s
                                                                           478
adoration should be given to Jesus as the Son of the infinite God.  {AH 477.3} 
     The Day Not to Be Ignored.–As the twenty-fifth of December is observed to commemorate the birth of Christ, as the children have been instructed by precept and example that this was indeed a day of gladness and rejoicing, you will find it a difficult matter to pass over this period without giving it some attention. It can be made to serve a very good purpose.  {AH 478.1} 
     The youth should be treated very carefully. They should not be left on Christmas to find their own amusement in vanity and pleasure seeking, in amusements which will be detrimental to their spirituality. Parents can control this matter by turning the minds and the offerings of their children to God and His cause and the salvation of souls.  {AH 478.2} 
     The desire for amusement, instead of being quenched and arbitrarily ruled down, should be controlled and directed by painstaking effort upon the part of the parents. Their desire to make gifts may be turned into pure and holy channels and made to result in good to our fellow men by supplying the treasury in the great, grand work for which Christ came into our world. Self-denial and self-sacrifice marked His course of action. Let it mark ours who profess to love Jesus because in Him is centered our hope of eternal life.  {AH 478.3} 
     The Interchange of Gifts as Tokens of Affection.– The holiday season is fast approaching with its interchange of gifts, and old and young are intently studying what they can bestow upon their friends as a token of affectionate remembrance. It is pleasant to receive a gift, however small, from those we love. It is an assurance that
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we are not forgotten, and seems to bind us to them a little closer. . . .  {AH 478.4} 
     It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver. I would recommend such books as will be an aid in understanding the word of God or that will increase our love for its precepts. Provide something to be read during these long winter evenings.  {AH 479.1} 
     Books for Children Are Recommended.–There are many who have not books and publications upon present truth. Here is a large field where money can be safely invested. There are large numbers of little ones who should be supplied with reading. The Sunshine Series, Golden Grains Series, Poems, Sabbath Readings, [NOTE: REFERENCE IS MADE IN THIS ARTICLE TO NONCURRENT PUBLICATIONS. AS THE PRINCIPLES SET FORTH IN THIS CONNECTION ARE APPLICABLE TODAY, THESE SPECIFIC REFERENCES ARE LEFT IN THE ARTICLE.] etc., are all precious books and may be introduced safely into every family. The many trifles usually spent on candies and useless toys may be treasured up with which to buy these volumes. . . .  {AH 479.2}
     Let those who wish to make valuable presents to their children, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces procure for them the children’s books mentioned above. For young people the Life of Joseph Bates is a treasure; also the three volumes of The Spirit of Prophecy. [NOTE: EARLY E. G. WHITE BOOKS PRECEDING THE PRESENT "CONFLICT OF THE AGES SERIES."] These volumes should be placed in every family in the land. God is giving light from heaven, and not a family should be without it.
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Let the presents you shall make be of that order which will shed beams of light upon the pathway to heaven.  {AH 479.3}
     Jesus Not to Be Forgotten.–Brethren and sisters, while you are devising gifts for one another, I would remind you of our heavenly Friend, lest you should be unmindful of His claims. Will He not be pleased if we show that we have not forgotten Him? Jesus, the Prince of life, gave all to bring salvation within our reach. . . . He suffered even unto death, that He might give us eternal life.  {AH 480.1} 
     It is through Christ that we receive every blessing. . . . Shall not our heavenly Benefactor share in the tokens of our gratitude and love? Come, brethren and sisters, come with your children, even the babes in your arms, and bring your offerings to God according to your ability. Make melody to Him in your hearts, and let His praise be upon your lips.  {AH 480.2} 
     Christmas–a Time to Honor God.–By the world the holidays are spent in frivolity and extravagance, gluttony and display. . . . Thousands of dollars will be worse than thrown away upon the coming Christmas and New Year’s in needless indulgences. But it is our privilege to depart from the customs and practices of this degenerate age; and instead of expending means merely for the gratification of the appetite or for needless ornaments or articles of clothing, we may make the coming holidays an occasion in which to honor and glorify God.  {AH 480.3} 
     Christ should be the supreme object; but as Christmas has been observed, the glory is turned from Him to mortal man, whose sinful, defective character made it necessary for Him to come to our world.
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 {AH 480.4} 
     Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, the royal King of heaven, laid aside His royalty, left His throne of glory, His high command, and came into our world to bring to fallen man, weakened in moral power and corrupted by sin, aid divine. . . .  {AH 481.1} 
     Parents should keep these things before their children and instruct them, line upon line, precept upon precept, in their obligation to God–not their obligation to each other, to honor and glorify one another by gifts and offerings.  {AH 481.2} 
     Turn Thoughts of the Children Into a New Channel.– There are many things which can be devised with taste and cost far less than the unnecessary presents that are so frequently bestowed upon our children and relatives, and thus courtesy can be shown and happiness brought into the home.  {AH 481.3} 
     You can teach your children a lesson while you explain to them the reason why you have made a change in the value of their presents, telling them that you are convinced that you have hitherto considered their pleasure more than the glory of God. Tell them that you have thought more of your own pleasure and of their gratification and of keeping in harmony with the customs and traditions of the world, in making presents to those who did not need them, than you have of advancing the cause of God. Like the wise men of old, you may offer to God your best gifts and show by your offerings to Him that you appreciate His Gift to a sinful world. Set your children’s thoughts running in a new, unselfish channel by inciting them to present offerings to God for the gift of His only-begotten Son.
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 {AH 481.4} 
     “Shall We Have a Christmas Tree?”–God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship. [NOTE: REFERENCE IS MADE IN THIS ARTICLE TO CURRENT BUILDING PROJECTS. AS THE PRINCIPLES SET FORTH IN THIS CONNECTION ARE APPLICABLE TODAY, THESE SPECIFIC REFERENCES ARE LEFT IN THE ARTICLE.] Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen and placing it in our churches, but the sin lies in the motive which prompts to action and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree.  {AH 482.1}
     The tree may be as tall and its branches as wide as shall best suit the occasion; but let its boughs be laden with the golden and silver fruit of your beneficence, and present this to Him as your Christmas gift. Let your donations be sanctified by prayer.  {AH 482.2} 
     Christmas and New Year celebrations can and should be held in behalf of those who are helpless. God is glorified when we give to help those who have large families to support.  {AH 482.3} 
     A Tree Laden With Offerings Is Not Sinful.–Let not the parents take the position that an evergreen placed in the church for the amusement of the Sabbath school scholars is a sin, for it may be made a great blessing. Keep before their minds benevolent objects. In no case should mere amusement be the object of these gatherings. While there may be some who will turn these occasions into seasons of careless levity, and whose minds will not receive the divine impress, to other minds and characters
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these seasons will be highly beneficial. I am fully satisfied that innocent substitutes can be devised for many gatherings that demoralize.  {AH 482.4} 
     Provide Innocent Enjoyment for the Day.–Will you not arise, my Christian brethren and sisters, and gird yourselves for duty in the fear of God, so arranging this matter that it shall not be dry and uninteresting, but full of innocent enjoyment that shall bear the signet of Heaven? I know the poorer class will respond to these suggestions. The most wealthy should also show an interest and bestow their gifts and offerings proportionate to the means with which God has entrusted them. Let there be recorded in the heavenly books such a Christmas as has never yet been seen because of the donations which shall be given for the sustaining of the work of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom.

The Messiah

I am writing tonight from my beautiful church in the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

This study will take the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and

show the New Testament fulfillment of these in the life and death of

Jesus.

The place of His birth ————————— Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7

His virgin birth ——————————- Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:26-31

               

               You know, Joseph thought he had the facts he needed to prove that

                Mary had been unfaithful. Still he was wrong. If Joseph could be

                 wrong even with the outstanding evidence he had, is it also possible

                 that we sometimes jump to concussions and misjudge people also?

 

The slaughter of the children —– Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18

              

               I find it interesting people talk about the baby boys being killed by Herod

               yet the KJV says all children which would include both genders. People

                confuse this event with the one in Exodus when Pharaoh killed the baby

                boys. As sad as this even is, all these children will be in heaven thanks to

                Jesus!

 

His flight into Egypt ——————– Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14, 15

The time of His baptism ————- Daniel 9:24, 25; Luke 3:1, 21, 22

 

               There is no other Jewish carpenter that was born two thousand years

                ago that we all know today. Could it be Jesus was all He said He was?

 

His rejection by the people ———————- Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11

His entrance into Jerusalem ———- Zechariah 9:9; Luke 19:29-38

His betrayal by a friend ——————- Psalm 41:9; Luke 22:47, 48

The price of His betrayal ———– Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15

Spat upon and beaten ——————— Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67

Crucified between two thieves ———- Isaiah 53:12; Mark 15:27, 28

The wounds in His body ——— Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34; 20:27

His words on the cross ———————— Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34

Given vinegar and gall to drink ——– Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34

Gambling for His clothes ——- Psalm 22:17, 18; Matthew 27:35, 36

None of His bones were to be broken — Psalm 34:20; John 19:32, 33

To be buried with the rich ———— Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60

His resurrection ——————————- Psalm 16:10; Luke 24:1-7

 

Seeing how Jesus met all the Old Testament predictions affirms our faith that He is indeed the Messiah. It also affirms our faith in the Bible. Greater yet, it affirms our faith that He will come the second time, just as the Bible promised He would come the first time. There are actually twice as many Bible promises about His second coming than there are about His first.

The Divinity and Humanity of Christ

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Here is the study for Tuesday’s Group Bible Study. At the request of one of our students we are exploring the humanity and divinity of Christ. Many find I a mystery how Jesus could be 100% man and 100% God all at the same time. The math seems a little fuzzy there. A country gospel song I heard a while back explains it best I think. In the song Jesus in the temple visiting the teachers, who ask Him how old He is. In the song he answers, “On my mother’s side I am 12 years old. On my Father’s side I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”

 

 

The Human Nature of Jesus

 

John 1:1-3, 14 —————————- Did Jesus really become flesh?

Hebrews 2:14-17 ——————————— Who was He made like?

Romans 1:1-3 —————— Who was one of His earthly ancestors?

Romans 8:3, 4 ——– What type of flesh did He take upon Himself?

1 John 4:3 ——————— What does the spirit of antichrist deny?

NOTE: The word flesh here always refers to fallen flesh. Never once

is it used in reference to unfallen, sinless flesh.

Philippians 2:5-7 ————- Who was Jesus made in the likeness of?

NOTE: The phrase “made Himself of no reputation” means literally

“emptied Himself.” When He became man, He emptied Himself of

His Godly powers to meet the Devil on the same ground we must meet

him on. These three powers were His omniscience (all knowing),

omnipotence (all powerful), and omnipresence (all present).

Mark 13:32 – Did Jesus still know all things while in His human form?

John 5:19, 30 ——— How only was He able to do the things He did?

John 8:28 ——————- How much was He able to do on His own?

Matthew 26:39, 42 - To Whom did He always keep His will submitted?

Revelation 3:21 ——————————– How are we to overcome?

James 4:7 ——————————– What are we called upon to do?

Here is a parting thought: On the cross Christ was completely man and completely God. While everyone was mocking and crucifying Him one man turned to Him and repented. Christ then used his divine right to forgive sin. He never used His divinity to save Himself, only to save others. He gave up all divine rights on the cross, save the right to forgive sinners.

Please click here for a Desire of Ages study on the divinity and humanity of Christ.

You may find more studies and devotionals at http://www.InLightOfTheCross.com