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Rumbek SDA Central Church, SOUTH SUDAN-MAKURIRIC, Rumbek (2026)

26/04/2018

YOUTH CHOIR AT SERVICE

02/02/2017

Having problems is not a problem but rather a lesson. * "Venomous snakes were being ferried from Africa to Europe in a plane. Unfortunately the person who packed the snakes forgot to lock the box in which the snakes were put. Once the plane had taken off and responding to the movement of the plane, the snakes found their way out of the box.. Passengers in the plane could see various snakes on the isle. They screamed, some fainted and the brave ones sought refuge wherever they could within the plane." The air hostess ran to the pilot to inform him of this scary incident. The pilot quickly informed the air controllers on the ground. "We are very very sorry, says his boss. We forgot to lock the box where we put the snakes. They are indeed some of the most poisonous snakes in the world". "So where can I land? Please advise me before passengers are bitten", asks the shaky pilot. "No do not land, stay there for a minute, let me think", advises the boss. Surely this sounds like stupid advice to the impatient pilot. But he has to follow the orders. A minute is too long for someone faced with such trouble he thinks. But he has to follow orders. After a minute, the boss contacts him. "At what altitude are you flying? He asks. "300", says the pilot. "Go higher", advises the boss. "But the snakes will...." Before he finishes his sentence the boss bellows "I said go higher!!". He complies. Now whats your altitude? Asks the boss 500.66 , answers the shaken pilot "Go higher" "But sir....." "I said go higher captain." He complies. By now the snakes are all over the plane, even one male member of the cabin crew collapses. It is unbearable. A few have been bitten and have instantly died. But still, the majority keeps on seeking refugee. "Now captain, keep on going higher", says the boss. The pilot complies and keeps on going higher and higher. "Now what's your altitude?", asks the pilot. "I am reaching 1200", replies the pilot. "Now I

09/01/2017

January 9th

Worship The Creator And Redeemer

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:10.

It is those who obey that will be blessed of God. He says that He will bless your children and your lands and all that you lay your hand unto. Do you think that Satan is going to allow this without making a struggle for the mastery? The enemy is working just as sharply and decidedly now as he worked upon the minds of Adam and Eve in Eden.

The people are gathering under his banner, and he is encircling them with his power. But everyone who sees that the law of God is changeless in its character will decide on the side of Christ. If God could have changed one precept of His law to meet the fallen human race, then Jesus Christ need never have come to our earth to die.

Did Christ die to let loose the whole of humanity to worship idols instead of God, when the commandment said, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”? And “the Lord made heaven and earth,” and what then? “And rested the seventh day” and “sanctified it,” and gave it to you to observe as God’s memorial—a memorial that He is the living God who created the heavens overhead and the earth upon which we stand. He made the lofty trees and put the covering upon every flower. He gave to each one its tints, and the Lord of heaven made human beings and gave them the Sabbath. What for? For all the posterity of Adam; it was a gift to all his posterity. If they had always obeyed the fourth commandment there never would have been an infidel in the world, because it testified that “the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.”...

His hands are over His created works. Can you wonder that the devil wants to make void the law of God, the standard of His character? It will be the standard in the judgment when the books shall be opened and every person judged according to the deeds that are done. And the names are written—what does He say?—engrav

27/10/2016

SANITARY PADS should be FREE,condoms should be sold.S*x is a choice whereas menstruation ISN'T ...lots of girls are suffering out there because they can't afford pads.please help me campaign

I know fellow men will think am crazy but this is a fact
S*x is a choice
Menstruation isn't

09/06/2016

What’s Your Passion?

‘My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned.’
Psalm 39:3 NIV (1984 Edition)

When God gives you a vision for your life, it’ll burn within you like a fire that can’t be extinguished. The psalmist said, ‘My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned.’ So, what are you passionate about? What burns ‘hot’ within you? When God calls you to do something, He creates within you both the desire to do it and the power to carry it out. Though you feel inadequate and unqualified, stand on His Word: ‘For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him’ (Philippians 2:13 NLT). Mahatma Gandhi had a vision of a free and independent India at a time when it was governed by the British. Henry Ford had a vision of every family in America owning an automobile at a time when people were frightened of his new invention. Daniel K. Ludwig had a vision of a self-supporting industrial region in the heart of the Brazilian jungle at a time when there was no industry, no electricity, and no city of any kind for hundreds of miles. Where do such creative desires come from? God, Who is our Creator! And when God gives you a true worldview, you’ll never be happy living in a narrow mental framework. Are there times when you’ll feel afraid and uncertain about what to do? Yes! Fear and faith are two sides of the same coin, and they’ll always be part of your thinking. But the one you choose is the one that’ll determine your future - and you get to choose!

Your Purpose Will Be Accompanied by Peace

‘Ye shall … be led forth with peace.’
Isaiah 55:12 KJV

Perhaps you’re wondering, ‘What am I supposed to do with my life? What’s my purpose here?’ God answers these questions through our abilities. He leads us to our life’s purpose through the skills and talents He has given us. God-given gifts are the skills a person easily performs, often without formal training. We derive great pleasure from doing what we’re naturally good at doing. So if you aren’t sure of your life’s purpose, just do what you do well and watch God confirm it by blessing your endeavours. Don’t spend your time trying to do what you’re not gifted to do, or what somebody else is good at. We know we’re operating in our gifts and calling when what we do ministers life to others. If what we do makes us miserable and fills us with a sense of dread, usually we’re not in God’s perfect will. He gives us peace and joy to let us know we’re fulfilling His perfect plan: ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.’ Look at what you enjoy, what you’re good at, and what God is giving you the grace to do - then let God be God in your life. He wants to flow through you, and it may not be in the same way as He flows through others. Trust His ability in and through you, and don’t be afraid to be unique. God has a specific place and a specific plan for each of us. How will you know you’re in the right place fulfilling His plan? You will have peace!

07/06/2016

Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?
Nowhere in Scripture does the word “church” refer to a program or event, or the building in which those programs and events occur.
Six months ago, one of the churches I pastor made a decision that could be considered either brave or stupid—or perhaps some combination thereof. With no contingency in place, we decided to sell our building—a place the congregation had been meeting in for some 60 years.

It’s a long story, but the bottom line is that the building needed thousands of dollars of repairs just to get it back to a suboptimal state, so we decided to list it on the market—figuring no one would want to buy it. To our surprise, someone did.

And the rest is history.

What I didn’t anticipate was the chain of discoveries I would come to in my own thinking as a result of making that decision. Together with the fact that in my other—larger—church we have started the process of planting a new church, I have come to a startling conclusion that had for years been in the back of my mind but now finally came to the forefront: we’re “doing” church all wrong.

And it has had dire—perhaps even eternal—consequences.

I don’t make this claim lightly—and, truly, as few as six months ago I didn’t even see the relevance of worrying about ecclesiology (that is, the study of the church). But now I see it as extremely critical in the proclamation of the gospel and the fulfilling of our identity as God’s last-day people.

This is because as a church our methods often speak so loudly that people cannot even hear our message; our ecclesiology is so loud people—both within and without the church—can hardly hear our theology.

See if this shoe fits: by and large, when we talk about “church,” we define it as a program that takes place in a building on Sabbath. Much, if not all, of church life revolves around the Sabbath program in the building. So much of our time, money, resources, and energy go into planning for and putting on the program—not to mention the building that the program takes place in (to say nothing about all the fighting and arguing we do over the way the program is put on and how the building looks). And a large part of our assessment of a person’s spiritual interest and maturity is based on whether or not, and how much, he or she attends the program in the building.

What’s more, we invariably give the impression that it is the job of the laypeople to invite their friends to the program so that the paid professionals—the pastors—can then perform ministry for those who are passively sitting in the pews.

This may all seem to be a bit exaggerated—and it is unlikely that very many people explicitly think of “church” in these terms. But this is essentially the way we have implicitly defined it, whether conscious of it or not, for far too long (I know I did!). In short, “church” is a program that takes place in a building that we also call “church.”

There are many reasons why this way of thinking is wrong and dangerous. But here’s the most important one: it’s not biblical. Nowhere in Scripture does the word “church” refer to a program or event, or the building in which those programs and events occur. Further, nowhere does Scripture state or even imply that weekly attendance at a program is some barometer of spiritual maturity.[1]

So what’s the big deal? Isn’t it just semantics?

To begin with, words are critically important. It's been said that language creates culture. That is, the words we use create the environment in which the people of God operate and function. And in this case, our repeated use of the word “church” to refer to a program or a building has elevated these things to a status largely foreign to the Bible.

Even more troublingly, it has created a dichotomy between what takes place at the program in the building and what takes place during the rest of the week, as though our attendance at “church” once a week is more important than our faithfulness in life the rest of the week. “Church,” for many, is something that takes place at a specific time and in a specific place—with little relevance and connection to what doesn’t take place at that time and in that place—relegating most people to spectatorship while the few professionals and ambitious volunteers do ministry.

Just as importantly, if we continue to place most of our eggs in the church-as-program-in-a-building basket, we’re likely to find ourselves becoming increasingly irrelevant. A growing number of people in the West consider themselves to be spiritual but not religious. Only 15 percent of those from Generation X will go to church in any given week, while only a mind-boggling 4 percent of Millennials will—and the numbers, of course, are even lower when it comes to those who attend on Sabbath!

I used to think such people just didn’t really love God—or that they didn’t care for church. But what I have come to realize is that many of them simply don’t like our version of church. If the crux of what the church gives them is a program, where they sit in an auditorium with dozens or hundreds of other people they may or may not know for 90 minutes (an idea that Scripture nowhere defines as normative), and they don’t have a lot of interest in that program, they’re not necessarily rejecting God or church: they may simply be rejecting our program.

This is especially true for those who are hungry for the “pure and undefiled religion” that James speaks of (see James 1:27), and who are tired of Christians acting like angels on Sabbath morning during the program but like demons the rest of the week during life. They seem to get what Jeff Vanderstelt writes in his book Saturate, “Jesus didn’t live, serve, suffer, and die so we could just attend a Christian event”[2]

No, indeed! Jesus didn’t die so we could go to church once a week; He died so we could be the church all week. He didn’t give His life so we could put on programs on the seventh day; He gave His life so we could put on holiness all seven days.

This is church in the biblical sense. It’s not a building and it’s not a program. It’s a living, breathing, moving, active, organic body of believers, living life in community and on mission. As Vanderstelt puts it: “Church . . . . [is] the people of God doing the work of God in everyday life.”[3] Life is the program and everyday is the event.

Ellen White agrees. “The church,” she opens Acts of the Apostles with, “is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.”[4] That is quite a definition—free from any mention of buildings or programs!

When we scan the book of Acts, we see this played out repeatedly in full color. Luke details how the early church daily communed with one another, daily brought healing to those in need, daily lived among and ministered to their communities. They “did” church whenever and wherever they were—much like their great Teacher, Jesus, did—because they recognized that they were the church.

And the net result is that daily the number of disciples multiplied (compare Acts 2:47 with 6:1).

Somewhere along the line, however, we started thinking that the church was in the real estate business and in the events business—rather than the gospel business. To be sure, insofar as buildings and programs might contribute to our mission, let’s utilize them; but we must not confuse the tools and methods for the mission itself. We must not be so attached to a way of “doing” church that we forget God is looking for us to be church.

Back in 1887, Ellen White enunciated this vision for church. “We have something more to do than merely to attend church services,” she wrote. “Prayers and testimonies in the social meeting will not answer, when we never say a word for Jesus outside the meeting-house. We are to reflect the character of Jesus. Everywhere, whether in the church, at our homes, or in social in*******se with our neighbors, we should let the lovely image of Jesus appear.”[5]

This is “church” in its truest sense—reflecting the “lovely image of Jesus” all the time and everywhere.

And it’s exactly what the world is longing for.

So will the real church please stand up?

[1] While Hebrews 10:25 certainly commands us to “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together,” what this exactly looks like—and how often it is to be done—is nowhere explained in the text itself. We have thus taken great liberties in how we’ve applied this—and whatever it might exactly mean, it seems to promote more of an organic and informal gathering (see v. 24) than we typically carry out today. This does not mean we should stop gathering on Sabbath; simply that we should catch the much larger vision of what God sees the church as. The Sabbath gathering is, to a large degree, just a tiny, tiny fraction of what the church does—serving as a symptom of a healthy church rather than its cause.

[2] Jeff Vanderstelt, Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2015), 39.

[3] Ibid., 24.

[4] Ellen G. White, Acts of the Apostles, 9.

[5] Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, August 18, 1887.

07/06/2016

Don’t Go There!
‘He took the path to her house.’
Proverbs 7:8 NKJV
Solomon writes, ‘I perceived … a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house’ (vv. 7-8 NKJV).This guy’s mistake was being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person. And the message is clear: If you don’t want to get burned, stay away from the fire! You can’t get hooked on co***ne if you never use it. You can’t become an alcoholic if you never drink. And you can’t commit sexual sin if you don’t allow yourself to get into the wrong situation. It’s impossible to escape completely from situations and people who may be potentially dangerous. But as Martin Luther said, ‘You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair!’ The story’s told of an elderly man who noticed a little boy riding around and around the block on his bike. This went on for hours, and finally the man asked him, ‘Son, aren’t you tired? You’ve been riding around this block all morning.’ The little boy replied, ‘I’m running away from home.’ The man replied, ‘But you’re not running away from home, you’re just riding around the block.’ ‘No,’ insisted the boy. ‘I’m running away from home - but my mom said I couldn’t cross the street.’ We’re all prone to wander, so God has laid down certain boundaries we should never cross, certain places we should never go, and certain people we should never accompany. There’s never a right time to be in the wrong place with the wrong person.
So don’t go there.

Pray for Understanding
‘Give to Your servant an understanding heart … that I may discern between good and evil.’
1 Kings 3:9 NKJV
Have you ever wondered why God made King Solomon the richest man in his day? Here’s the answer: ‘God said … “Because you … have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself … but have asked for … understanding … I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days”’ (vv. 11-13 NKJV). Before you ask God for material success, ask Him for wisdom and understanding. When you have those two qualities, God can trust you with material success because He knows you’ll use it to do His will and glorify Him. So what exactly is understanding? It’s the sum total of knowledge and wisdom! It’s the ability to interpret life as God does - to see what He sees in a person or situation. In other words, understanding is the ability to see through God’s eyes, hear through His ears, think through His mind, and feel through His heart. What’s the answer to marital conflict? Understanding! What’s the answer to parent-teen conflict? Understanding! What’s the answer to business conflict? Understanding! ‘In all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor’ (Proverbs 4:7-8 NKJV).
The word for you today is: pray for understanding

03/06/2016

Discussion starters for Lesson 10: Jesus in Jerusalem

1. The rejected one would become the chief cornerstone. Have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to tolerate the abuse and misunderstanding that marred His ministry on earth? Why did He allow Himself to be brought so low? Was He not fully qualified to be the ruler of the Jewish people? Was He not embued with wisdom far exceeding our paltry understanding

Couldn’t He have revealed His might and power on a day-to-day basis and let people find out on their own that he was King of Kings? Or did He do just that?

2. A prophesied coming. As splendid as King Solomon’s Temple was, God’s people desperately needed encouragement when the second temple was completed. Why? What did Zechariah contribute to an atmosphere of hope at that time? Wasn’t the animal Jesus rode in to Jerusalem a fulfillment of prophecy? What was the importance of this magnificent entrance? How did God’s people recognize Him as He rode into the city? What hope surpassed even the coming of Jesus in triumph? As they saw Jesus coming into Jerusalem, what did they imagine leaving? Aren’t you glad that you and I understand every detail of Jesus’ Second Coming so we won’t be confused? Or do we understand?

3. Jesus in the temple. Animal sacrifice was a dramatic means of presenting the gospel to the people through the centuries. How did that change during the time of Jesus’ ministry? The priests (ministers, pastors, evangelists) managed to destroy the significance of Jesus’ ministry. What about today? Do we let our pastors lead others astray by the way they present (or do not present) God’s word Sabbath after Sabbath? Is it hard for you to fully comprehend the importance of animal sacrifice in describing the gospel message? What does it mean to us today?

4. No fruit. Our lesson guide points out that the priests, or spiritual leaders, lost all their chances of blessing all people. Instead, they did without the fruit of the fig tree, and the benefit left them. But not everyone! What about the strong spiritual leaders who were “obedient to the faith”? Is it perplexing to you that the strong life-bearing presence of the Most High was both an all-powerful blessing to His people as well as a curse to those who rejected the power of God in their lives? Have you ever lived through a period of time in your life when you did not bear fruit? How can the emptiness of such an existence be overcome by the overwhelming ministry of Christ in us?

5. The stone. Imagine the sense of desperation when the “unusable” stone was brought to the temple site during construction. How was this carefully chiseled piece of rock unsuitable for the project? While working on other parts of the temple building project, what did the workers do with the stone that didn’t fit anywhere? We have a perfect picture of God among us, don’t we? Or do we? How much time went by while the rejected stone rested in the dust with no future that the workers could see? Until what? What circumstances led the workers to see the magnificent shape and structure of that stone? Do you and I still have work to do in understanding and receiving the ministry of the divine Cornerstone in our lives?

6. The cost of grace. Is there room in heaven for everyone? Has God provided for the salvation of each of us? Are you sure? Can we know without believing? Can we even begin to understand the price of our salvation? Can you and I ever repay God for the marvelous gift of eternal life and fellowship with Him and the family of God? Instead of “paying the price” for grace, what can we do with God’s gift to us? Is there more room in your church or Sabbath school for God’s presence in our lives and our witness?

Happy sabbath brethren

02/07/2015

An important verse in understanding the filling of the Holy Spirit is John 14:16, where Jesus promised the Spirit would indwell believers and that the indwelling would be permanent. It is important to distinguish the indwelling from the filling of the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Spirit is not for a select few believers, but for all believers. There are a number of references in Scripture that support this conclusion. First, the Holy Spirit is a gift given to all believers in Jesus without exception, and no conditions are placed upon this gift except faith in Christ (John 7:37-39). Second, the Holy Spirit is given at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). Galatians 3:2 emphasizes this same truth, saying that the sealing and indwelling of the Spirit took place at the time of believing. Third, the Holy Spirit indwells believers permanently. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a down payment, or verification of their future glorification in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).

This is in contrast to the filling of the Spirit referred to in Ephesians 5:18. We should be so completely yielded to the Holy Spirit that He can possess us fully and, in that sense, fill us. Romans 8:9 and Ephesians 1:13-14 states that He dwells within every believer, but He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and His activity within us can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19). When we allow this to happen, we do not experience the fullness of the Spirit's working and His power in and through us. To be filled with the Spirit implies freedom for Him to occupy every part of our lives, guiding and controlling us. Then His power can be exerted through us so that what we do is fruitful to God. The filling of the Spirit does not apply to outward acts alone; it also applies to the innermost thoughts and motives of our actions. Psalm 19:14 says, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. Only our obedience to God's commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

19/12/2014

Prepare to Meet Thy Eloah

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Master, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Master when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants . . . . Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not."
We are here warned not to defraud our souls of the privileges and rights which the Master has provided in order that we may be rich in faith, and heirs according to the promise. We are to watch as for a thief in the night. The first symptoms of spiritual slumber are to be sternly overcome. The first inclinations to spiritual indolence are to be firmly resisted. "Be sober, be vigilant," exhorts the apostle. Every moment is to be faithfully employed. "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." We are told to work out our own salvation, and the power by which we are to do this is plainly stated: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
Many are losing much by growing less fervent, less ardent and zealous toward God and in behalf of their fellow men. Let all watch and pray, guarding their present and eternal good by resisting every temptation. Let them beware of resting content with spasmodic efforts to serve God. By yielding to fitful impulses, and indulging in passionate words and unholy actions, they mar their prospect of the blessed hope.
Those who would be ready to meet their Master must keep their lamps filled with the oil of grace. It was a neglect to do this that distinguished the foolish virgins from the wise. They had lamps, but no oil; their characters could not stand the test. The wise virgins had not only an intelligent knowledge of the truth, but through the imparted grace of Jesus Christ, their faith and patience and love constantly increased. Their lamps were replenished by their vital connection with the Light of the world. While the foolish virgins awoke to find their lamps burning dimly, or going out in the darkness, the wise virgins, with their lamps burning brightly, entered the festal hall, and the gates were shut. Greatly rejoicing at the sound of the bridegroom's voice, they joined the bridal procession.
The oil with which the wise virgins filled their lamps represents the Holy Spirit. "The angel that talked with me came again," writes Zechariah, "and waked me, as a man is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof . . . . Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive-branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Master. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Master of the whole earth."
The anointed ones standing by the Master of the whole earth, have the position once given to Satan as covering cherub. By the holy beings surrounding his throne, the Master keeps up a constant communication with the inhabitants of the earth. The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied, that they shall not flicker and go out. Were it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God's Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men.
God is dishonored when we do not receive the communications which he sends us. Thus we refuse the golden oil which he would pour into our souls to be communicated to those in darkness. When the call shall come,"Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him," those who have not received the holy oil, who have not cherished the grace of Christ in their hearts, will find, like the foolish virgins, that they are not ready to meet their Master. They have not, in themselves, the power to obtain the oil, and their lives are wrecked. But if God's Holy Spirit is asked for, if we plead, as did Moses, "Show me thy glory," the love of God will be shed abroad in our hearts. Through the golden pipes, the golden oil will be communicated to us. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the God of Hosts." By receiving the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, God's children shine as lights in the world.
Only by knowing Jesus here can we prepare to meet him at his coming. "This is life eternal," said Christ, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." But many of those who profess to believe in Christ do not know God. They have only a surface religion. They do not love God; they do not study his character; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. They do not know what restful love is, or what it means to walk by faith. Opportunities to hear and receive the messages of God's love are unappreciated and unimproved. They fail to understand that it is their duty to receive, that they may enrich others. They have not that faith which is given to those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour; therefore they do not keep the last six commandments. They do not walk in love toward their brethren. They do not know what it means to yoke up with Christ and learn of him. They are not like him in character. They do not receive him as the one who takes away their sins, and imputes to them his righteousness.
The world by wisdom knows not God. Many have talked eloquently about him, but their supposed sound reasoning, their subtle arguments, bring men no nearer to him, because they themselves are not in vital connection with him. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. Their wrong impressions and imperfect knowledge of God do not lead them to become partakers of his divine nature. Their lives are not conformed to his image. A correct knowledge of God is not a hearsay report, but an intelligent, experimental knowledge.
In his lessons and his mighty works, Christ is a perfect revelation of God. This Christ declares through the inspired evangelist. "No man hath seen God at any time," he says; "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." These words show the importance of studying Christ's character. Only by knowing Christ can we know God.
As our representative, Christ stands on the highest possible ground. When he came to the world as God's messenger, he held the salvation of God in his hand. All mankind was delivered to him; for in him was the fulness of the God-head. He is the light of the world, and he came to illuminate the world. Had that light been hidden, the world must have perished; but it is God's plan that man shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
So fully did Christ reveal the Father, that the messengers sent by the Pharisees to take him were charmed by his presence. Under the Holy Spirit's convicting power they forgot their commission. As they beheld the soft light of the glory of God that enshrouded his person, as they heard the gracious words that fell from his lips, they loved him. And when, returning without him, they were asked by the Pharisees, "Why have ye not brought him?" they answered "Never man spake like this man."As we behold Christ, we shall be changed into his image, and made fit to meet him at his coming.
Now is the time to prepare for the coming of our Master. Readiness to meet him cannot be attained in a moment's time. Preparatory to that solemn scene there must be vigilant waiting, combined with earnest work. The union of these two makes us complete in Christ. The active and devotional must be combined as were the human and divine in Christ. So God's children glorify him. Amid the busy scenes of life their voices will be heard speaking words of encouragement, hope, and faith. The will and the affections will be consecrated to Christ. Thus they prepare to meet their Master; and when he comes, they will say, with joy: "This is our Eloah; we have waited for him, and he will save us: . . . we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
"The Master is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Master will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and piety, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."

By: Ellen White
Review and Herald
July 20, 1897

Rumbek SDA Central Church

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