A Word about Why I Am SDA Today

I've always been a talkative guy.  I guess it’s safe to say I’m an extrovert.  It's been reported that extroverts speak an average of 8,000 words per day.  Introverts:  4,000 words.  The guy sitting next to you on the plane:  1 million words.  Yeah, I've been that guy on the plane more often that I'd like to admit.  Maybe that's why I talk for a living now!

Growing up, the older I became the more I realized my words, however, were not quite as potent as I would have initially imagined them to be.  Are the things I have to say that meaningful, that important and that impactful to those listening?  In college I began talking less and reading more.  In particular I began to read the Words of Scripture.  Those were words that actually made an impact.  Finally, I found words that had power and proved to be profoundly meaningful to me.  These were the words that I began to have faith in, the words that would lead me to a life that would have much greater meaning and impact in this world.

I am a Seventh-day Adventist today because I believe this movement to be following God's Words in the Bible more closely than any other avenue of faith I have explored.  This church places preeminence upon God's Word above any person's word.  This church embodies what I slowly came to recognize in my own experience - God's Word is greater than all.

May God bless us as we continue to learn from, grow in, and share more His wonderful word.  Oh, and if you see me sitting next to your seat on your next plane trip, say a prayer for patience and buy some headphones!

-Pastor Michael Brackett

Expectation vs. Experience

I find the experience of the first women at the tomb interesting. The text reads,

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24:1-3)

Here's what’s interesting to me: The women going to the tomb expected one thing but experienced another.

 The text tells us, “...the women took the spices they had prepared…” which shows that they expected to anoint the dead, lifeless body of Jesus. But, as they arrived, they experienced something completely different. A risen, living, resurrected Lord. Friends this is the experience of every person who comes into contact with the Risen Jesus. An expectation, and a completely different experience.

            When we first come to Jesus, we expect that we have to prove ourselves but experience a grace and acceptance that we’ve never experienced before. We expect to work our way into the kingdom but experience that we are already in through faith in Jesus. We expect Jesus to be judgmental, and vindictive, but experience a God of love, who gave his life for us.

For those of us who have been walking with Jesus for a while, we think we have him figured out, and we expect him to be one way, but in our interactions with Jesus, we experience something more beautiful and more wondrous.

 Here’s my invitation for you today: like the women at the tomb, go to Jesus. And as you do, prepare yourself to experience a love, a grace, a wonder, and a hope that you have never experienced before.[1]

- Pastor Evan Davies

[1] Art piece by Katy Olsen.

The Benefits of Standing in God's Grace

When I was growing up, our home was a place of warmth and love and high expectations. However, there was very little in the way of words of affirmation or positive encouragement. We felt that we could never be good enough. Whatever, we achieved as kids, or in school; or whatever grades we worked hard for, our parents would say, “Well, if you had applied yourself better you could have gotten a B+.” And the next time, they would say, when the B+ was brought home, “You could have done better and gotten an A.” There were never any words like, “You did so well. We’re so proud of the extra effort you put in. We know that next time you’ll even do better.” So, I came to believe that no matter how much effort I put forth, I would never be able  to be all that God or other’s wanted me to be. This made me afraid to try. I felt like giving up.

Grace was a foreign concept to me. If it meant anything, it was for my past failures, but never for my present or future realities. So when I came across this text in Romans 5:1-2, which says: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” I could hardly believe that one could stand faithful, have a sense of making it with God, or with my parents, or teachers, or even my friends. How could I “Stand”, or be accepted if I could never be what I needed to be in myself? It is such a hopeless and defeatist way of believing. But this text brought me hope, acceptance, and a sense that even when I fail, I am not a failure in God’s eyes, that I still have a future and that He sees me as being perfect…in Him, of course…but nonetheless “making it.”

For us who feel we have to make it on our own, the Judgement is a fearful thing. But God says, He stands up for us! And if we believe this, that He does, and we STAND in this GRACE, we have NOTHING to fear. We are secure in Him. And should we stumble and fall, we are not rejected. We are loved and restored by His power. We are able to move forward with hope as we remain STANDING in God’s GRACE which makes us acceptable, and victorious!

Dear friends, please make this text the theme of your life: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

--Pastor Ben Moor

Standing in God’s Grace with you.

Surrender

“Surrender (v.) - choosing to let go of what you think you want, in order to receive what God knows you need.” - my smart friend, Pr Kevin Wilson. 

Surrender is an interesting concept for type A personalities like myself. I see a need; I see a remedy. I want to fix it…yesterday. 

A few months ago, I was dealing with some heavy things that were keeping me up at night, so I reached out to one of my inner circle wisdom-dropping friends back home. As I shared the angst I had on my heart, the doubts I was wrestling with and my fears that were holding me hostage, she interjected with the question, “Rose, what does “surrender” look like? 

She then shared that for her, surrender means that, “every day I give Jesus my plans, my dreams, my hopes and my resources. I trust Him. If I am trying to control something, it’s because I do not trust.” 

Ummmm wow. Her answer hit me like a tonne of bricks. 

The issue isn’t our ability to surrender, it’s our willingness to trust.

What are you holding onto that you are scared of letting go of because that may mean you enter the uncharted territory of the unknown? What incredible opportunities await us on the other side of surrender? 

Jesus has gone before you; in fact, He’s already there. If He has done the bidding, He’s also done the enabling. He’s got you.

In order to surrender, you need to learn to trust. In order to trust, you need to pause and reflect on the times where you have seen Jesus in your past. You need to press pause to notice how He’s active in your present. Through this process, you are reminded that the same Jesus who has had your past and is beside you in your present, will pave a precious path for your future. You can cease control knowing He’s constructively working behind the scenes, and will continue to do so, whether or not you get the things you (think you) want. Remember, dear child, He is for you. He will fight for you, you need only to be still…and know that He is God.

- Pastor Rose Andrykanus

Troubling News or Good News?

A couple of weeks ago we received troubling news Conference wide.  The belt of our budget needs tightening this year.  We are praying for our personnel in the ministry field who are facing tough decisions right now.

Troubling news unceasingly swirls today.  That's hardly a headline.  We expect it because it never seems to stop.  Researchers say up to 70% of our thoughts are negative ones that swirl in our mind most of the time.  Negative news grabs most of the headlines and is an easy way to capture attention.

I prefer good news, however.  How about you?  The Good News today is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  He has conquered every obstacle against us, defeating our worst enemy of all - death!  This is worthwhile news - news to build a life around sharing.  This news has the power to invigorate lives.  It shines a bright light on any situation.  What do we have to fear now?  2 Timonthy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  With the Gospel of Jesus Christ we not only have forgiveness, we have power for living today!

What can we do with troubling news when we receive it?  2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”   We can't stop troubling news, but we can demolish it each time by taking it captive to Jesus Christ.  Bring all our troubling thoughts before our Savior.  He Who can set any captive free, can help set our minds free from each negative headline that might captivate our mind for a time.

Soon, it's all going to be good news.  No more troubling news will ever be reported again.  How great will that be?  Let's start practicing now.  I want to think more about Jesus today and in the days to come.  He is everything good.  And He is an overwhelmingly good future in store for you and for me.

Pastor Michael Brackett

Sinful Pride - Is There a Cure?

In the 1970’s singer/songwriter Mac Davis wrote a song that talked about how hard it was for him to be humble because he was perfect in every way.   We can’t help but chuckle when we hear such absurdity, but in honesty humility doesn’t come easy for any of us.  Pride is at the core of sin.  Since the fall of man, pride is in our DNA. 

Thankfully, God the Father offered the cure for our sinful pride in His Son, and it is by trusting and following Jesus’ example that we can be changed.  Listen to how Paul put it in Philippians 2:5-8. “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Think about it.  Jesus, our Creator and Redeemer, loved us enough to humble Himself for us to become one of us, lived a righteous life we couldn’t for us, died our death for us, rose for us in victory over sin and the grave, and has given us this promise; that if we believe in Him, His grace is sufficient for our salvation, our justification, our sanctification, and our glorification.  What a God, what a Savior what a friend!

If we desire to be healed from the disease of a sinful heart, we must humble ourselves and trust God completely, with everything about us so that we can be obedient to His will. God knows best how to handle our rebellion, heal our brokenness, and restore our hope. The good news is that God never fails.  Whenever I wonder if God can be trusted with control of my life I’m reminded of the words of Martin Luther and found them to be true. “I have held many things and lost them all. But that which I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”   

Remember, God loves you and I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Pastor Jim Bollin

Valuing the Undervalued & Appreciating the Underappreciated

John 4:39-42 says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'  So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.  And because of his words many more became believers.  They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.'"

I imagine for two days, the Samaritans in that town of Sychar experienced heaven on earth.  Jesus touched the heart of the woman at the well and through her testimony many came to Jesus.  Jesus must have spoken the same way to them because they said they have "heard for themselves."  They heard so much from Jesus they understood His true mission - to save the world.  He would save not just the Jews but the Samaritans and many others also.

This unexpected town of undervalued and underappreciated people now had great value and felt undeniably appreciated because they spent time with the Savior.  Father in Heaven, who can I show value and appreciation to today for Your kingdom's sake?  I want to be about Your awesome work today and every day.

Pastor Michael Brackett