Why I Never Left the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

So often we hear that young people are leaving the church in droves.  I believe this true.Of my entire pathfinder group of ten only three of us are going to church and only two are baptized members. Five of the ten were brothers and their whole family left the church when they went through a serious family crisis. This happened before the oldest was 16. The other two were siblings and I'm not sure what happened I just know they don't come to church anymore. But I'm writing this not to reflect on why they left, though that may be important at some time and place, instead I want to state why I stayed.  I can only say that this is my personal experience and it may or may not be a reflection of anyone else's reasons for staying.

1. The number one reason I stayed in the church is because i have found a personal saving relationship with Jesus christ.  If i did not know jesus there would be little to keep me here because church is empty outside that framework.
2. I believe that the bible is the inspired word of God and because of that i believe that the Seventh-Day Adventist church is the remnant church.
3. If I am really living the Christian life then any wanderlust or thirst for adventure will be satisfied by God.  When I read about Paul he didn't have a feel good fuzzy religion.  He had a dynamic walk with God.  Truly how can I sit around going through the mundane routine of life when there is a world to be warned-i mean Jesus is coming soon and we live in perilous times.  (I'm not really sure how al that relates to the topic at hand except that I believe jesus is coming soon and I need to get out there and tell people- preaching to myself)
4. There are people in the church who showed me jesus when my faith was so weak that I wanted to give up and walk out. Never has God forsaken me.  He has given to me a precious few who have been close friends and loved me despite my flaws and shown me the love of jesus no matter what (they didn't always say what I wanted to heat but weren't afraid to say what I needed to hear).

I guess my list would boil down to relationship with Jesus,  relationship with people,  and a deep belief in the word of God and he had given us a special message for these last days.

I'm still looking for a place to call home but I don't expect the church to be that place (maybe to a degree because it is a foretaste of heaven). This is just a reminder that heaven is our home and this world is temporary.  We are nomads in this world .

Reflections on the Recent Mission Trip

Sunday I returned from a two week mission trip in Elmira, NY. It was a good mission trip. In the end we had over 200 Bible study leads and 17 families are interested in the Adventist School opening up there this September. All of this is very exciting and I know God is working in Elmira and there are souls just waiting to know the truth about God and longing to know Him.

My main focus during the trip was 5 girls. I happened to be assigned the task of girl's dean and I was assured that I wouldn't have many problems at all. In fact I was told that I should be thankful I wasn't the boy's dean. In reality the opposite was true. I never realized how hurtful girl's could be to each other. My main issues were: modesty in both appearance and deportment, complaining, gossip, backbiting, and refusal to do what was asked of them. All in all it could have been worse but those are plants that if watered and allowed to grow only lead down paths that are not very pleasant. So I prayed. Each morning I would pray for the girls and the staff.I prayed for the Holy Spirit to work in the girl's hearts, and that the Holy Spirit would work in our hearts as staff. I prayed God would show me things in my life that was hindering the girls (He was faithful and I saw some things in my own life that I repented of and by God's grace gaining a victory over). I prayed that we as staff would be good examples and that He would give us wisdom to lead the girls. It was a positive experience. Though there were challenges every day I saw God lead. In particular there were two girls that I saw growth and a desire to follow God.

Na Imah came to the trip because her grandmother suggested that she go. Her grandmother was the cook for the mission trip and Na Imah was staying with her grandmother for the summer. Na Imah is not an adventist and her grandmother is. The last day of outreach during the first week we arrived back to the school early. So it ended up that I and Na Imah were sitting on the swings and just chatting and that was the first day that I started to get to know Na Imah. A few days after that I was again talking to Na Imah and she asked me a Bible question. Three times during the trip we had an impromptu Bible study that other people came and joined us. The second one Na Imah proclaimed, "I have to go to an Adventist college because where else would I learn these things!" Her questions were so sincere and she is earnestly desiring to know God!

Brittany I found out came on the trip because she wants to be a Christian. She said her family is Christian and she wants to be one too. Twice she expressed to me a desire to be baptized when she gets home. Brittany was the youngest girl on the trip and very aggressive. I had trouble with Brittany. But I came to adore her because God allowed me to see past her flaws and to see her potential. I saw that she could be bold for God. The first morning of the trip I reminded the girls to do devotions and I could tell she wasn't thrilled by this but one morning I walked in the room and she was reading a little devotional without anyone saying anything to the girls about devotions. I saw her demeanor soften just a bit as she was there. I saw God use her during outreach and to encourage me during the trip with a hug or a word of thanks.

There is nothing more amazing than watching God change a life. When they give their hearts to Christ and begin walking with Him. Brittany got up during the last worship to share a testimony about the trip and she was rambling on about how she was so aggressive. The Bible worker stopped her and said to her that God would use those character traits and polish them and turn them into positive traits to be used for Him.That is true for each one of us. He is taking us and polishing our characters to be more and more like His. It is a day by day, moment by moment process, surrendering our hearts to God and being lead by Him.

Outreach

Mission Trip
Location: Elmira, NY
Objective: To win souls to the kingdom of God
Methods: Bible study cards and surveys
Personnel: Group of 22 adults and teens

So far...
Today was the first day of outreach. Our goal was to get as many door hangers out to the public as possible. We were delayed due to a heavy down pour but God held the rain for the rest of outreacv. The rain returned not one minute after I picked up the team in order to head back to the church. It was as if the clouds had been holding back the rain for 3 and a half hours and released all of it in the next hour. I could barely see the side street names to get back home. God's timing could not have been more perfect!

The World's Redeemer

"...and he saw in Jesus the world's redeemer."

The words hit me. Do I see in Jesus the world's redeemer? The question may seem a little odd. Of course I believe that; if I didn't, why am I working to tell others about Jesus? Maybe that isn't the right question. A better question would be what does it mean for Jesus to be the world's redeemer? I get it that we have sold ourselves, rather cheaply, to sin and we are so deep in bondage that Jesus through his death got us out of bondage and now through Jesus we are free. But has that understanding impacted how I relate to people? Is my character being changed day to day because Christ is the world's redeemer? All of these thoughts were going through my mind.

I believe with all my heart that Jesus is my redeemer. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus has redeemed me. Without him I would be empty, broken, and lost. As I work with people who are just that (empty, broken, and lost) how does that translate? Jesus loves those people so deeply. I am coming to believe that a true understanding of Jesus as our redeemer will translate into sacrifice so that others will know that they too can have freedom. It is modelling Jesus to others so they can see that there is hope in this world. Not only that but coming to love those people wanting nothing but to see them in the kingdom of heaven the man or woman that God intended them to be. It translates into death of self so that others too can have salvation. Being a Christian is so much more than believing in Jesus; being a Christian means death to self.

The sentence I started with is from Acts of the Apostles and it is referring to Nicodemus. Though he was wealthy and respected he gave up all of that to follow Christ. He gave all his wealth to further the Gospel. Those who hed respected him ridiculed him. Though he died poor he died faithful. Believing Jesus is the world's redeemer has to be more than intellectual.

God's Way

Three weeks ago this Sunday my church held a health expo. Long before the actual day of the health expo we had a planning committee and all but one person quit and said that it was too much and they didn't have a clue what they were doing. This was a bit discouraging but I pressed on. Much prayer and effort went into putting together the expo and on the day of six people came through but I had perfect peace about the whole thing. This was not the case a few hours before. In fact due to stress my immune system was down and I ended up getting very sick; which lasted for about a week after the expo. So that being said my body was aching and I was not feeling well the day of the expo. But God blessed in an unusual way. I had run out of money and couldn't buy ink for my printer to print some of the forms needed. My parents were coming to help and they graciously bought me ink but they didn't make it until about 1/2 hour before I needed to be at the site to set up. Ink cartridge in and I'm ready to go but my printer is not cooperating. I try everything but there is error after error. I sent everyone over to the site to set up while I mess with the printer. One page printing! Every once in awhile someone would call and ask a question. I was so thankful I wasn't over there because from the phone calls I could tell people were frustrated and my being over there wasn't going to help their frustration (I could tell because of the nature of the situation). This was such a blessing. By the time I got over there they had solved the problem and I had taken the time to pray and surrender the health expo to God. 

Before all of this while advertising there was a mix up. We were hosting a blood drive at the same time and had agreed on a time. I had posters printed up: Health Expo from 3 - 6. Then I received the Blood Drive posters: Blood Drive from 1 - 5. Well this was a bit of an issue. So we set up and were ready to go about 1:30ish. I have learned to be flexible because we can plan and things rarely run exactly as planned. But God knew this. He saw this coming. We were outside under tents and around 4:45 the rain clouds started forming. At 5 it was down pouring. We had most everything packed up by the time the rains hit. Praise God for moving the time.

Monday we began a cooking class. A few days before this a person was telling me how I needed to advertise more and when they did stuff they always managed to fill the church with complete strangers. They also said that if I didn't advertise more then the cooking class is going to turn out like the expo and they'd be discouraged if they were in my spot. I learned something. It is always important to realize that people are not you and they do things differently and situations  are different and before you take the time to criticize someone you should take the time to find out why they are doing something the way the are and offer aid instead of criticism. Was the person correct? Absolutely! I do need to advertise more. But when I asked for help in organizing stuff no one stepped forward. That aside on the way home I prayed and prayed and prayed. So by the time Monday night rolled around I was excited. It didn't matter if anyone showed up I knew that God wanted us to do a cooking class and if we are faithful that is what matters. Numbers is not the important thing. So three people came. 

God brought the right three people. The one was a church member and her cousin. The other was a food columnist for the local paper. She couldn't figure out why more people weren't there so she posted on her facebook about the class to try and get more people. No one came. So the next day she interviewed me about the class and various other things and their will be an article in the paper this weekend. God is always faithful and despite trials and difficulties it is important to walk with him in surrender and complete dependence. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged about the circumstances but we need only to look to Jesus and He will pull us through.

Seeing God

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

I've been thinking a lot about this verse a lot lately. If I look to myself I see a lot of impurities. I would be utterly lost if it weren't for the saving grace of Jesus. As I've mediated on this verse I've realized what a precious promise it is. There is no way in this world that I can have a pure heart but as I keep my eyes on Jesus he purifies my heart. The things that I once loved are no longer appealing. Things that were a struggle because I loved those things as I look to Jesus I see them in a new light and my desire for those things fade. it is in Christ that victories can be found. It is by beholding Jesus that as he purifies or hearts we see him clearer and clearer.

Clip-clop, clip-clop

Clip-clop, clip-clop, the sound of a horse and buggy can be heard from the bedroom window as the Amish drive by. I look down at the brown horse and black buggy. The sound seems to be more common than the sound of cars. "Where are they going in weather like this?" I wonder as the wind whistles and the snow falls in little flakes. I have moved to Amish country. Instead of deer crossing at night, though there is that danger too, the more common thing to watch out for is a horse and buggy barely visible with the little lantern that the have hanging on the buggy.

The other I went to the Amish dry goods store about five minutes away. I missed it the first time because my only sign that I was at the right place was D.E.E. on the mailbox. I pulled into the driveway and parked the car. The sign on the door said "open" so I walked into the little dry goods store connected to the house. There were bags of flour, sugar, and oats stacked up on the floor along the wall. There was one wall of shelves and then halfway in the room was another shelving unit. On those shelves was so many goodies. I found what I came for and wandered around some more because no one was there to check out my order. Finally a girl came in. She stoked the fire and said "winter-land has returned." It took me a minute to understand what she was saying because of her thick accent. The day before had been 62 but you wouldn't have guessed it by the wind and snow.

When I left the little shop a young man was hitching up the buggy and a little boy, lunch-pail in hand was next to him. As I started backing down the driveway the kid ran down to meet a bunch of other boys. As I drove off they all raced after my car. I felt a little out of place as if I too should be wearing a bonnet and dress and riding in a buggy.

That day there were many Amish out and about. I had heard whisperings of a funeral, which are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but nothing concrete. "I saw some buggies by the pond, maybe it was _____________ boy, did he break through the ice?" "No I heard it was one of the English (non Amish), the ice broke off and the Amish boy threw his shoes on land and swam across to get help." In the end I don't know what it was but as I fell asleep it was to the sound of clip-clop, clip-clop.