Beeville Seventh Day Adventist Church

06/07/2026

Garden Quote of the Day:
"Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas." – Elizabeth Murray

06/07/2026

“When I first found myself in a state of helplessness, I deeply regretted having crossed the broad waters [to Australia]. Why was I not in America? Why at such expense was I in this country [Australia]? Time and again I could have buried my face in the bed quilts and had a good cry. But I did not long indulge in the luxury of tears. I said to myself, “Ellen G. White, what do you mean? Have you not come to Australia because you felt that it was your duty to go where the Conference judged it best for you to go? Has not this been your practice?” I said “Yes.” “Then why do you feel almost forsaken, and discouraged? Is not this the enemy’s work?” I said, “I believe it is.” I dried my tears as quickly as possible and said, “It is enough; I will not look on the dark side any more. Live or die, I commit the keeping of my soul to Him who died for me.” I then believed that the Lord would do all things well, and during this eight months of helplessness, I have not had any despondency or doubt. I now look at this matter as a part of the Lord’s great plan, for the good of His people here in this country and for those in America and for my good. I cannot explain why or how, but I believe it. And I am happy in my affliction; I can trust my Heavenly Father.”

—Letters and Manuscripts, vol. 7 (1891-1892), Lt 18A, 1892, par. 4

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

Don't break up the Church!...



Read more from Ellen White:

ConflictoftheAges.pub

LifeofFaith.pub

TheConflict.pub

EGWWritings.org

06/07/2026

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 🙏

06/07/2026

FROM HARMONY TO HEARTBREAK:
THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL UPON MARRIAGE

In the beginning, before the shadow of sin ever crossed the landscape of human history, there was a garden. And in that garden, God performed the very first marriage.

It was a masterpiece of perfect love, unbroken unity, and absolute vulnerability. Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve were both naked and were not ashamed. They had nothing to hide—not from God, and not from each other. They looked into each other’s eyes and saw a perfect reflection of the image of God. No walls. No defense mechanisms. No fear.

But then, a tragedy occurred. A tragedy that didn’t just break our relationship with the Creator, but fractured the very foundation of the human family.

We are looking at The Effects of the Fall Upon Marriage, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only force powerful enough to piece the shards back together.

The moment sin entered the world, humanity’s reflection of God’s image was severely distorted. And notice where that distortion hit first: it hit the marriage covenant. Self-interest intruded where perfect love and unity once reigned.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve lived to pour themselves out for one another. After the Fall, a new king sat on the throne of the human heart: Selfishness.

Unless we are compelled and transformed by the love of Christ, selfishness becomes our primary motivator. It runs entirely counter to every principle of the gospel—principles like surrender, servanthood, and sacrificial giving. If you look at any fractured relationship, any broken home, or any marital failure, you will find this common denominator: someone chose "me" over "we." Sin turned our gaze inward.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they contravened the very purpose of their creation. Look at the immediate psychological and spiritual shift that happened in Genesis 3:
Before Sin: They lived in full openness, joyfully walking with God in the cool of the day.
After Sin: Instead of running to Him, they fearfully hid from Him.

They sewed fig leaves together, attempting to conceal the truth about themselves. When God called out to them, they couldn't meet His eye. They were pervaded by a deep, suffocating sense of guilt that no amount of rationalization could erase.

And look at how that evasion and self-justifying denial instantly spilled over into their marriage. The fear that drove them to hide from God drove them to hide from each other.
When God asked Adam what happened, what did he do? Did he protect his bride? No. He used her as a shield: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." He blamed the woman, and by extension, he blamed God. Then the woman blamed the serpent.

The loving relationship God established at Creation suffered a catastrophic breakdown. In a matter of moments, marriage went from a safe haven of mutual support to a courtroom of self-preservation, accusations, and blame-shifting.

In Genesis 3:16, in the wake of the Fall, God pronounces the consequences of their actions. He tells the woman: "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."

We must understand that God intended the principles of leadership and partnership to benefit both the husband and the wife. It did not change their basic, fundamental equality before God. Both were made in His image.

But sin distorted God's beautiful design. Instead of loving, sacrificial leadership, history became stained by dominance through raw power, control, and oppression. Instead of yielding, supportive partnership, history became marred by manipulation and the destruction of individuality.

Because of the Fall, acceptance and appreciation have been in short supply. We live in a world where spouses too often view one another as competitors to be managed rather than partners to be cherished.

If the story ended in Genesis 3, we would be a people most hopeless. But the essence of Christianity is the restoration of what was lost. Through Jesus Christ, we are called back to the self-denying harmony that characterized marriage before the Fall.

How do we fight the effects of the Fall in our marriages today?

Cultivate Each Other's Happiness
We must actively wage war against selfishness. The affections of a Christian husband and wife are meant to contribute to each other's happiness. Your primary question when you wake up should not be, "What can my spouse do for me today?" but rather, "How can I cultivate the joy of Christ in my spouse's heart today?"

Two Becoming One, Yet Remaining Themselves
We must understand the divine paradox of Christian marriage: They are to blend as one, yet neither of them is to lose his or her individuality, which belongs to God.

True Christian marriage does not erase who you are; it flourishes when two distinct individuals, fully surrendered to God, bring their unique gifts together. You belong to God first. Your identity is rooted in Him first. And out of that security, you can love your spouse without demanding that they become a carbon copy of you, or trying to control them.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 that marriage is a profound mystery because it is ultimately a picture of Christ and the Church.

Where the first Adam blamed his bride to save himself, the Second Adam—Jesus Christ—took the blame for His bride to save her. He did not hide from God in fear; He hung naked on a cross in absolute love, bearing our guilt, erasing our shame, and tearing down the walls of division.

If you want a marriage that triumphs over the Fall, you must look to the Cross. Let us lay down our fig leaves of denial. Let us stop the blame-shifting. Let us surrender our selfishness at the feet of Jesus, and allow Him to restore the harmony, the joy, and the beautiful image of God in our homes today.

(Generated with assistance from Gemini Flash)

Monday Emmanuel
Ading Lanje Suan
Esther Ebu

06/07/2026

SUNDAY, JUNE 07
Life’s Storms

Jesus had spent the day speaking to large crowds of people on the shores of Galilee. Jesus’ words would echo in the people’s minds for a long time and down throughout eternity.

As evening fell, Jesus spoke to His disciples, inviting them on a journey with Him. “ ‘Let us cross over to the other side’ ” (Mark 4:35, NKJV). Jesus knew a storm would come but suggested they go anyway. He had an important life lesson to teach His closest followers.

You likely know what happened next.

Read about this storm again in Mark 4:35–41. What lessons on faith can you take from these verses?

Consider these points:

1. Jesus falls asleep on what was likely the only pillow in the boat. The fishing boats usually had one pillow, which the driver of the boat, at the stern, sat on. The person at the stern guided the boat to the destination. So here, Jesus is in the position of the boat’s “driver,” but He falls asleep at the wheel.
2. Not all the disciples were new to sailing. Peter, James, and John were experienced fishermen. They knew the Sea of Galilee, and they would have known how to navigate a storm.
3. This is the only recorded Gospel account of Jesus sleeping. During one of the worst storms in their lives, when the disciples are ter­rified and think they’re going to die, Jesus is asleep at the stern.
4. The disciples’ response in their time of crisis is “Do You not care?” They questioned Jesus’ character and His love for them. Too often, this is also our response when we face hard times.

It’s in the midst of hopelessness that we might try to save ourselves (like the disciples), or sometimes it’s when we feel pain or loss that we start to question or doubt God’s love and care for us. We presume that He should act in a certain way based on what we think and see from our human perspective. But, as with the disciples, it’s in life’s storms that God can work the greatest miracles. God is always faithful, even when His apparent lack of involvement doesn’t make sense to us. He’s in our storms with us and can calm the storm when we cannot.

What is your usual response when you face a storm in your life? How do such moments impact your relationship with God? When have you lived out 2 Corinthians 5:7?

To read today’s full lesson see link in bio or download the free Sabbath School App.
https://adventech.io/sabbath-school/

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

HOW DID FISH AND PLANTS SURVIVE NOAH'S FLOOD?

One of the most common questions skeptics ask about Noah's Flood is, "How did freshwater fish survive if the oceans mixed with freshwater?" Closely related is another question: "How did plants survive being underwater for months?"

The question sounds difficult at first, but when we look at the evidence, it turns out there are several reasonable answers.

First, fish were never on the Ark. Scripture tells us that the Ark was built to preserve land-dwelling, air-breathing animals and birds (Genesis 7:14-15, 21-23). Aquatic creatures already lived in the water and would not have required transportation aboard the Ark.

The assumption behind the objection is that freshwater and saltwater species could not survive major changes in salinity. Yet many living creatures today demonstrate remarkable adaptability. Estuarine animals regularly experience dramatic swings in salt concentration as river water mixes with seawater. Tidepool organisms endure continual changes as tides come and go.

Some fish spend part of their lives in freshwater and part in saltwater. Salmon hatch in freshwater streams before migrating to the ocean. Eels do the reverse, reproducing in saltwater but maturing in freshwater. Atlantic sturgeon move between both environments, while related sturgeon species live entirely in freshwater. Across the animal kingdom, numerous fish groups contain both freshwater and saltwater representatives.

This suggests that the ancestors of modern fish may have possessed a much broader tolerance for changing salinity than many specialized species do today. After the Flood, populations could have become increasingly adapted to particular environments, losing some of their original flexibility over time.

Even today, the physiological differences between freshwater and marine fish are often matters of degree rather than completely different systems. Fish regulate water and salt through their kidneys, gills, and body chemistry. Some sharks, for example, alter the concentration of urea in their blood depending on whether they inhabit saltwater or freshwater environments. Sawfish moving into freshwater can dramatically increase urine production while reducing blood urea levels.

Another possibility is that the Flood waters were not uniformly mixed everywhere on Earth. Freshwater naturally floats on top of saltwater because it is less dense. Modern bodies of water often contain distinct layers separated by what scientists call a halocline, a sharp boundary between waters of different salinity. It is entirely possible that regions existed during and after the Flood where freshwater and saltwater environments remained sufficiently separated to allow many aquatic species to survive.

Not every marine creature survived the catastrophe. In fact, the fossil record points to massive destruction in the oceans. Roughly 95% of fossils are marine organisms. This is exactly what we would expect if the Flood began with the breaking up of the "fountains of the great deep" (Genesis 7:11), unleashing catastrophic upheaval beneath the seas. Turbidity, temperature changes, volcanic activity, and violent sediment movement would have devastated countless marine ecosystems.

What about plants?

Many terrestrial plants reproduce through seeds, and seeds are remarkably resilient. Studies have shown that numerous seeds can survive extended exposure to both freshwater and saltwater. Others may have survived within floating mats of vegetation, which likely covered large portions of the Flood waters. Still others could have been preserved aboard the Ark among Noah's food supplies and animal feed.

Interestingly, Charles Darwin conducted experiments showing that seeds could survive long periods in saltwater. His goal was to explain how plants spread across oceans, but the same observations demonstrate that many seeds could have survived the Flood.

The survival of plants and fish during Noah's Flood is not the impossible problem critics often claim. Modern biology reveals numerous examples of organisms capable of tolerating changing environments, while the catastrophic nature of the Flood itself explains why so many creatures perished and became fossilized.

The real surprise is not that some fish and plants survived.

The real surprise is how many clues in the natural world still point back to a global catastrophe exactly like the one described in Genesis.