Chippewa Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church

06/08/2026

There is much in our world that can make us afraid. As we look back and read the accounts of peoples and nations in the past, we see that there has been much in world history that has made people afraid in their respective times and places. Among these, the first few verses of Psalm 46 describe upheaval in the natural world–things like earthquakes and landslides, storms and tsunamis. It is similar to the language that Jesus used in describing the fearful events in the world at the end of time: “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea” (Luke 21:25).

That this was a reality written about in the poetry of ancient Israel, in the teachings of Jesus, and in His expectation of the end times reminds us that our world has been much less stable than we often imagine and that disasters of different kinds have been experienced in all societies across history. They have been something that all people have had to reckon with, live with, and try to explain across human history. People have had to find ways to live well amid the uncertainties of our planet and its sometimes destructive forces.

While Jesus seemed to indicate that there would be a greater intensity of natural and unnatural disasters as the time of His return neared, these are not new experiences for human beings. We can learn from the faith of our spiritual ancestors, who encountered these unnerving phenomena themselves yet found refuge and strength in the same God we follow and serve today. These psalmists would insist that, in the midst of seemingly ever-present trouble, we have an “ever-present help,” so we will not fear.

From: Do Not Be Afraid
Author: Nathan Brown

05/29/2026

Many prayers, even though disguised in a pious cloak, are in the final analysis based on wrong motives. And if I do not get what I am asking for right away, I intensify my prayer and pray even harder. But actually, my prayers often center only around myself. They speak about what I wish to have. What I want to receive from God. Sometimes even in His name.

Prayer that is pleasing to God is focused on God. It begins with a personal communion with Him, not with my wishes and requests. It is not about following specific religious formulas or adhering to specific prayer techniques that are supposed to guarantee the fulfillment of my wishes. Prayer that pleases God has Him at the center and relates to Him. When my request, even my intercessory prayer, is not anchored in this living relationship with Him, it relates more to my wishes and my well-being than to God and His will. Without this living friendship with God, my prayer resembles more the operation of a divine prayer machine: I feed in my prayer requests at the top and take out my granted wishes at the bottom.

Prayer that pleases God frees my thinking from revolving around the “I.” It allows me to become honest with myself and with God. In the light of His love and His holiness, I begin to see myself differently. Gently I move toward the true purpose of prayer: not the fulfillment of my wishes but the relationship with the life-changing God. To pray in this way fills my life with the knowledge that He is the center of my life. My thoughts and wishes are in accordance with Him.

From: Longing For God
Author: Frank M. Hasel, PhD

05/26/2026

Every association of life calls for the exercise of self-control, forbearance, and sympathy. We differ so widely in disposition, habits, education, that our ways of looking at things vary. We judge differently. Our understanding of truth, our ideas in regard to the conduct of life, are not in all respects the same. There are no two whose experience is alike in every particular. The trials of one are not the trials of another. The duties that one finds light are to another most difficult and perplexing.

So frail, so ignorant, so liable to misconception is human nature, that each should be careful in the estimate he places upon another. We little know the bearing of our acts upon the experience of others. What we do or say may seem to us of little moment, when, could our eyes be opened, we should see that upon it depended the most important results for good or for evil.

From: Help in Daily Living
Author: Ellen G. White

05/13/2026

The angels, after watching the devil convince us to murder God’s Son, have seen enough; the devil is a liar and a murderer. There is no need whatsoever to allow the devil to speak; his actions have spoken louder than his words. The human race, however, continues to work on that question, and the vast majority of the world’s population continues to wonder which kingdom they really belong to. This is why, as the devil rages, we have been given the all-important task of taking God’s final three angels’ messages to the world–before the judgment is finished.

Thanks to the work of the Son of Man, and thanks to His work through us, those who stand with Him on Zion, everybody can once again become God’s immediate family. Billions of people have yet to discover where they really come from and where they really belong. Our job? Issuing birth certificates to humanity. “But as many as received Him,” John writes, “to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13).

From: How to Study Prophecy
Author: Shawn Boonstra

05/04/2026

The Bible is not a how-to book on salvation. It states the facts regarding the human predicament; it tells us we are mortally wounded by sin (Romans 3:23; 6:23). This condition requires acknowledgment and repentance (Isaiah 1:17–19). We should turn away from a life of evil and selfishness (Ezekiel 33:11). But it does not tell us how to achieve this transformation because this is not something we can achieve.

A paradigm change may be what we need. Christian inspirational literature often evolves into the encouragement of a certain practice or method. Our innate desire to measure up, to succeed, to show results leads us to a behavior-based orientation. Its natural consequence is the sensation that we are contributing to our salvation. There is no lack of Bible metaphors to illustrate the salvation formula. Some of them express the cooperation between the human person and the divine (i.e., the yoke of Matthew 11:28, 29; the cross carrying of Luke 14:26, 27). Others favor the concept of mankind as a more passive object of God’s work (the lump or pot of clay of Job 10:9; 33:6; Isaiah 64:8; 2 Corinthians 4:7; the church as a stone building, Ephesians 2:19–22; the vine and the branches of John 15:5–8). But even when we cooperate, we can’t produce salvation any more than we can create life out of inanimate matter.

From: Thirst for God
Author: Miguel Valdivia

05/01/2026

So many of us have failed to fully appreciate the treasure of free will. Like sleepy, fat dogs, we live by impulse, feeling, and momentary comfort. But while we sleep, the consequences multiply like fleas, and we pay a dear price in lost opportunities and wasted talents. I often ask people, “How is this working for you?” The answer almost never varies from “Terrible.” What we sow, we reap. As I see it, we pay sooner or later for our choices; we might as well pay up front by putting up with a little self-denial. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15). This could be translated as, “Don’t make your wills stubborn.” You’ve heard His voice. Don’t harden your heart; don’t make your will stubborn. Come to know Him. Give Him your will. Learn by doing. Enjoy the better life God has for you.

From: 13 Weeks To Peace
Author: Jennifer Jill Schwirzer

04/27/2026

God’s message for the inhabitants of earth today is, “Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44. The conditions prevailing in society, and especially in the great cities of the nations, proclaim in thunder tones that the hour of God’s judgment is come and that the end of all things earthly is at hand. We are standing on the threshold of the crisis of the ages. In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one another–fire, and flood, and earthquake, with war and bloodshed. We are not to be surprised at this time by events both great and decisive; for the angel of mercy cannot remain much longer to shelter the impenitent.

From: E. G. White Notes for the Adult Bible Study Guide
Author: Ellen G. White

04/17/2026

Join us this Sunday for anothe Hydrotherapy session with Emma!

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03/30/2026

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📢 Town Hall Meeting Announcement

You are invited to attend the upcoming Town Hall Meetings taking place across the conference. All delegates are welcome to attend one or any of the listed town halls.

🗓 Schedule:
📍 Rice Lake — April 11 at 2:00 PM (Sabbath)
📍 Milwaukee West Hispanic — April 22 at 7:00 PM (Wednesday)
📍 Madison — May 16 at 2:00 PM (Sabbath)
📍 Milwaukee — May 20 at 6:30 PM (Wednesday)
📍 Green Bay — May 28 at 6:30 PM (Thursday)
📍 Wausau — June 13 at 2:00 PM (Sabbath)

🏕 Town Hall during Camp Meeting
📍 Camp Wakonda — June 21 at 2:00 PM (Sunday)

All delegates are encouraged to participate in these important meetings and stay informed. We look forward to seeing you there!

03/29/2026