Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. – Luke 16:19-20.
There are today close beside us many who are hungry, naked, and homeless. A neglect to impart of our means to these needy, suffering ones places upon us a burden of guilt which we shall one day fear to meet. All covetousness is condemned as idolatry. All selfish indulgence is an offense in God’s sight. – COL 261.3.
Have you used of your means to ease the burden of someone who is less fortunate than yourself? Have you extended the grace that has been extended to you? Open your heart and let the Holy Spirit lead you to someone who is “at your gate”, or “close beside you.”
Consider the words of this poem from the Australian Record and Advent World Survey – January 1, 1962
Questions for Consideration:
In
323 BC, at age 32, Alexander the great conquered the then-know world, and yet,
by most accounts, drank himself to death.
What
areas of great victory can I celebrate from
this past year?
What
new enemies – unknown, unseen – must I face in the new year?
If we beat back the barriers of ignorance and doubt, And triumph o’er the
enemies of peace within, without;
What
is a new thing I can learn, a question that I choose to answer in 2019?
Where
in my life do the “enemies of peace” run rampant and will I confront them?
Let’s level mountains of our pride that shut men from our view, And bridge the yawning chasms of
misunderstanding, too.
Who
have I shut out behind my “mountain of pride” or separated myself from across
the “chasms of misunderstanding”, and how can I restore that relationship?
Scriptural Reflection:
My
son told me a joke recently. He said,
Daddy, what goes up and never comes down? I did not know the answer, so I asked
him to tell me the answer to his riddle, and he shared simply our AGE. Paul encourages us that though we can’t get
younger on the outside we can renew the inner man every single day. Don’t fall for the trap of outward transformation
alone – what Jesus termed – white-washed tombs [ Matthew 23:27] but seek also
to renew the inner man as well. After
all “A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure
that we can take from this world to the next.” – Maranatha
The new pastor of a South Carolina megachurch gave his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini SUV for their eighth anniversary five days ago, and he’s been getting heat on social media for it ever since.
Students in one United Kingdom city now will be taught that boys have periods, too, as part of new curriculum recommendations approved by the city council.
“I’m going away to learn the Word of God which I am admittedly very unfamiliar with. I’ve been brought up by my family to know Christ but I haven’t taken it upon myself to really just take a couple days and read my bible. we all quote scripture and tell each other what God likes and doesn’t like but how much time do we spend as followers of Jesus to really just read and KNOW his Word. I’m definitely guilty of not devoting time to it … So don’t bother me, ill be back soon enough, with five or more books from bible read. Oh yeah and cigarette free.”
Michelle Noland, a senior La Sierra University Film and Television Production major, recently launched into the world of professional storytelling where she is using her talents to impact others’ lives. PBS affiliate KQED inked a distribution deal with Noland in August for inclusion of her award-winning short film “She Isn’t Here” in the nationwide series, “Film School Shorts.” The film, which is expected to be released in April 2019, explores the anxiety disorder agoraphobia.
Our plainfood, eaten twice a day, is enjoyed with a keen relish. We have no meat, cake, or any rich food upon our table. We use no lard, but in its place, milk, cream, and some butter. We have our food prepared with but little salt, and have dispensed with spices of all kinds. We breakfast at seven, and take our dinner at one…I have within eight months lost twenty-five pound of flesh. I am better without it. I have more strength than I have realized for years. – Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, 1864, Vol. 4, p. 154.
Still, they documented some heartening changes between 2012 and 2016.
The proportion of all students suspended from school at least once during the year fell from 5.6 percent to 4.7 percent.
Among high school students, the percentage suspended fell even more, from 9.6 to 7.6 percent.
Suspension
rates fell around the country, in each of the biggest-population
states. Only one state, Mississippi, saw a persistent increase year by
year.
Hispanic students experienced the largest decrease –a 30 percent drop in suspensions.
Suspension rates fell faster for those most often suspended — Black students and students with a disability.
But, on the flip side:
Black high school students are still twice as likely (12.8 percent) to be suspended as white (6.1 percent) or Hispanic (6.3 percent) high school students.
And students with a disability are also twice as likely (12.8 percent) to be suspended as those without a disability (6.9 percent).
A recent tightening of the dress code at an Adventist University in Uganda has caused an uproar on social media. Bugema University has banned women from wearing pants, sleeveless tops, miniskirts, lipstick, earrings and nail polish next semester. “No student should come back with the above mentioned next semester.
This festive punch, made from hibiscus, is the taste of the holidays throughout the islands. It is also a close cousin to African-American “red drink,” described as “liquid soul.”
Adventist 12-year-old Earns Top-five Spot in Top Chef Junior Contest.
Atlanta resident Londyn Green, now 12 years old, is in the top five in the contest for Top Chef Junior. As a Seventh-day Adventist, she does not eat shellfish or pork. If she cooks those types of dishes, she has others taste it. Her dad Byron Green, a recruiter, went to culinary school. He encouraged her love of cooking. She has already interned at Buckhead Life restaurants, especially Amelie’s French bakery. “I have the ability to make fusion dishes,” she said. “They’re very intricate and amazing!” She could win $50,000 if she makes it to the end. Click for – Full Article
Two Adventists Charged in Separate Sexual Assaults with Minor Girls.
Derek Michael Boyce, 37, of Woolwich faces 26 counts in all, and court records say he admitted having sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl who was in his math class at Pine Tree Academy. Click for – Full Article
Daniel Houston Shafer, a 76-year-old Virginia pastor, has been jailed pending prosecution on a Harrison County charge alleging he molested a girl. Shafer is accused of inappropriate touching of a girl under 12 earlier this year in Harrison County. Click for – Full Article
Michael
Posner, a business ethics professor at New York University, says in
recent years there’s been “a souring and a loss of trust writ large,” in
the American public’s attitudes toward Big Tech. “This
represents an effort to address that gap in trust and begin to
demonstrate what technology companies need to do to be responsible
public citizens.”
Here are a few key things Microsoft wants to see in a facial recognition law:
Law enforcement surveillance of people in public spaces should be limited, and usedonly if a court order has been obtained. Exceptions should be considered for emergencies that could result in death.
People
should review the results of facial recognition in high-stakes
scenarios, such as when it could harm a person or restrict their
movements.
Companies using facial recognition should still have to comply with anti–discrimination laws.
Companies should be required to be transparent about the limitations and capabilities of facial recognition technology.
For creator Harry Lennix, the new movie “Revival!” — a retelling of the Gospel of John with a mostly black cast — is a film whose time has come.
Neither John nor the other gospel writers describe Jesus’ skin color, but Lennix, in an interview just after the film’s world premiere Tuesday (Dec. 4) at the Museum of the Bible, said depicting him as a man of color is something black people often “don’t have the daring to delve into, and that’s a shame.”
“We can help you understand the Bible to find freedom, healing and hope in Jesus.” The Adventist Promise sets a clear expectation of what the worldwide public can expect from all Adventist entities and members.
The Adventist Promise aims to deliver a clear message about what the movement stands for, and seeks to leave a lasting impression on people in the 21st century.
“We do not have time for false alarms that divide our members” said Elder Minner Labrador, Jr., Upper Columbia Conference president. “The
true emergency we face as a church is our low growth rate. We have a
vital work to do both in sharing the gospel and in seeking to bring back
our missing members.”
A
document outlining the conference position on the WCAS and its
activities was shared with pastors and church leaders across the
conference. It is available here.
