Good morning, brethren.
1. Morning devotion for today.

MD.i. MORNING TEA
THE WORD FOR TODAY. TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2O26.
"LEARN TO WAIT"

‘They that wait upon the Lord...’ Isaiah 40:31KJV

THE WORD ‘wait’ can give us a picture of two things. The first is of a waiter at your table attending to your needs. The second is making a request of a judge or someone in power. Your success depends on approaching them the right way, and on their willingness to grant your request. Since they hold the power, you must be patient and wait for them. Are you getting the idea? Our problem is twofold. First, we want God to wait on us, instead of the other way round. Second, we don’t want to wait for anything! We drive to work listening to the radio and talking on the phone; some of us even put ourselves and others at risk by text-messaging. Vance Havner points out that in the Old West if someone missed a stagecoach they said, ‘That’s okay, another one will come around in three or four weeks. Now we don’t even want to wait for a revolving door.’ What God does in you while you are waiting is often more important than what you’re asking God to do. Waiting on God brings rewards that nothing else will. Here are a few of them: 1) Vindication. ‘Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong… Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalms 37:1-4 NIV). 2) Strength. ‘Wait on the Lord…and He shall strengthen your heart…’ (Psalms 27:14 NKJV). 3) Deliverance. ‘I…waited for God…He lifted me out of the ditch…’ (Psalms 40:1-2 TM). So relax, wait on God and He will come through for you.

Bible In A Year: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Mark 6:30-44. Courtesy: Grace So Amazing Foundation
*To partner with us, kindly refer to page 9 of the hard copy edition or simply send us a WhatsApp message/call on +2348128000068.*.

MD.ii. [24/08, 10:07 pm] Pastor Attah: *MEDITATIONS ON DAILY ⓂANNA*

TUESDAY, 25TH AUGUST, 2026.

*BLESSING OUR BOUNTIFUL GIVER*

*TEXT:* PSALM 103:1-22.

 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

*Timeless Truth:*_"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name"_ (Psalm 103:1-22).

*INTRODUCTION*

God gives us blessings. Does He need our blessings? To "bless the Lord" means to praise, worship, and speak well of God's greatness and goodness from a deeply grateful heart. The opposite of blessing God is to speak negatively of God, blame, insult, complain against or even curse Him. While humans usually receive blessings from God, we "bless" Him in return by honoring, thanking and adoring Him for who He is and what He has done.
 Psalm 103 is a beautiful hymn of praise in which David calls his soul to remember the goodness, mercy and faithfulness of God. The Lord is not only the source of our blessings; He is Himself the Bountiful Giver who forgives, heals, redeems, satisfies, and crowns His children with lovingkindness. As we reflect on His goodness, our appropriate response is to bless His holy name with a grateful heart.

*1. Call to Bless the LORD*

a. How do you feel when people commend, appreciate or speak well of you right in your presence or in the presence of others? You feel encouraged, satisfied and happy. God feels the same as the Person who created us in His image. David begins by addressing himself: *“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”* He didn't say bless the LORD with his lips. That, as good as it can be, may be mechanical and for people to see. But he said his soul would bless the LORD. The blessings must be from his inner being and must affect all that is within him. It should be wholehearted praise.
b. He repeats the command, *“Bless the LORD,”* emphasizing that worship must come from the whole person. He warns himself not to forget God’s benefits. *"And forget not all his benefits"*. It is possible, human and natural to forget some of His benefits, but it is ingratitude to forget ALL. A recollection of a few of His benefits should cancel all forms of complaints due to hardship and delayed blessings. Many times, we remember our problems more readily than God’s goodness; but thanksgiving becomes powerful when we deliberately recall His blessings. Every breath, provision, protection, opportunity, and answered prayer is evidence of His mercy. We should, therefore, bless God not merely with our lips but with our entire being.

*Question*

Am I deliberately remembering and praising God for His benefits, or have I allowed my challenges to make me forget His goodness?

*2. Covenant Blessings from the LORD*

a. The divine covenant blessings are those blessings God gives to those who have come into covenant relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus. Such blessings are not for the general populace. David identifies some of the covenant benefits of the Lord: *“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things.”* Our greatest blessing is forgiveness. This forgiveness doesn't put into consideration the gravity of the sin, the foolishness of the offender, etc. It is freely and fully forgiven once there is evidence of repentance. He restores our relationship with Him and gives us a new beginning. He is also our Redeemer, preserving us from destruction and surrounding us with lovingkindness and mercy. He satisfies our lives with good things so that we may experience renewed strength like the eagle. The healings we received freely are part of God's covenant blessings. The irony of life is that many erroneously think they are mere general blessings and as a result, they are weak in pleasing the Lord.
b. God's blessings are not accidental; they flow from His covenant faithfulness. Therefore, let us trust Him, appreciate His benefits and remain faithful to Him. Deliberate efforts should constantly be made to recall the uncommon benefits we have received from the Lord.

*Question*

Which of God's covenant benefits have I received that I should consciously thank Him for today?

*3. The Character of the Bountiful LORD*

God is not a hypocrite. His blessings flow from His nature and character. The remaining verses reveal the character of our Bountiful LORD. He is righteous and just, defending the oppressed (v.6). He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy (v.8). He does not treat us according to our sins, but removes our transgressions far from us (vv.10–12). His compassion is like that of a loving father toward his children (v.13).
God understands our frailty because He remembers that we are dust (v.14). Though human life is temporary, *“the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting”* (v.17). His throne is established in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all (v.19). The psalm, therefore, ends with a universal call for angels, heavenly hosts and all God's works to bless His holy name (vv.20–22).
The appropriate response to such a generous and compassionate God is continual praise, obedience, trust and thanksgiving. Blessing God invites further divine blessings and draws the souls to God as well as scare the devil and his agents.

*Question*

Does the character of God revealed in this Psalm inspire me to trust Him more deeply and bless His name continually?

*Prayer Points*

1Lord, give me a grateful heart that will continually remember and bless You for all Your benefits .
2 Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness, redemption, mercy, healing, provision and preservation in my life .
3 Lord, help me to trust and always recall Your unfailing mercy and blessings and help me to remain faithful to You in every circumstance
4 O Bountiful Giver, let our lives become a testimony of Your goodness and may everything within us continually bless Your holy name

*HYMN:* Praise the Lord

*BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:* NAHUM 1-3.
[24/08, 10:07 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DAILY ANNA - (A DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR ADULTS)

TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST, 2026```

*FORGET NOT HIS BENEFITS* 🫵🏽🏽‍🏽‍🏽🏽‍🏽🏽

```TEXT:PSALM 103:1-22```

```KEY VERSE:``` _*"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (PSALM 103:2).*_

*The story was told of a young boy who was given writing materials to write everything God and Satan had done for him within an hour. He set out to write about the blessings he received from God. He kept on remembering new things to write about the goodness of God in his life, and by the time he was done with that, the entire time was taken. So, he wrote at the bottom of his script "NO TIME FOR SATAN".*

*It is difficult to itemise all benefits we receive from God as His children. David, in the text, listed several of them, but the list is endless: He forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, satisfies our mouths with good things, provides justice for the oppressed, shows mercy to people, and retains not His anger forever. Attention was then shifted to His throne in heaven, where the angels worship Him and do all His commandments. His dominion is universal and His Kingdom rules over all.*

*David, the psalmist, wrote this psalm from his wealth of experience as Israel's king. He could tell and sing of God's mercies because he experienced them. He spoke from personal experience when God took Him from following the sheep as a shepherd to set him up as king in Israel. He saved him from the many battles he had to fight to maintain as well as expand the nation's territory. And when he fell into sin, with the devastating consequences on his family and kingship, he cried to God in penitence and received forgiveness. David knew that God's kingdom is not like that of man. He reigns and rules over the entire universe.*

*Like David, we should recall, remember and count our blessings, naming them one by one. We must deliberately focus our attention on the wonderful things He has done for us and stop worrying over the unresolved problems in our lives. As we praise God for His past mercies and blessings, we can be sure that He will arise and do more in our lives.*

✍🏽```THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:``` _*Don't count your losses, count your blessings.*_

```THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:``` *NAHUM 1-3*

Forget Not His Benefits
https://dailymanna.app//
*RECOMMENDED GOSPEL HYMNS AND SONGS - GHS 50: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS; GHS 9: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS; AND GHS 13: TO GOD BE THE GLORY*
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*#DailyManna25thAugust2026*
*#GCK*
*#WorshipNuggets*
*#BibleNuggets*
*#LeadershipNuggets*
*#RevivalNuggets*
*#CrusadeNuggets*
https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS]
[24/08, 10:07 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY```

_*HIGHER EVERYDY: (A DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR YOUTHS)*_

✍🏽🏻‍ 🏽🛰

```TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST, 2026```

*BE IMPARTIAL* 🫵🏽🏽‍🏽‍🏽🏽‍🏽

```TEXT:JAMES 2:1-10```

``` MEMORY VERSE:``` _*"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons" (JAMES 2:1).*_

*A scale is one of the symbols of the judiciary where justice was beautifully represented by the ancients as holding a pair of scales equally balanced. It depicts the principle of equity and fairness, balance and objective outlook. Justice ought to be without prejudice or passion.*

*Our text today condemns partiality in its entirety. God expects His children to treat everyone without prejudice or favouritism. We are expressly commanded in the Bible to do "nothing by partiality" (1 Timothy 5:21). Christians must avoid double standard in dealing with issues. Partiality makes someone a transgressor. "But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."*

*Believers should act impartially when mediating between two people. Avoid emotional impressions when dealing with issues among people. We must give fair hearing to both parties in dispute. Issues should be treated on merit, not personal attachment, friendship, or fondness. Same punishment should be for same offence; same reward for same good deed, no matter whose ox is gored. Preconceived bias against any man is unrighteousness. Say no to partiality.*

```QUOTE:``` _*Say no to partiality.*_

```CHALLENGE:``` _*Partiality is condemnable, avoid it.*_

🏽🏽 ```PRAYER:``` _*Father, help me to always stand for justice, fairness and equity.*_


Be Impartial
https://dailymanna.app//

*TXD [THEXDEVOTIONALS] on Twitter*
*#HigherEveryday25thAugust2026*
*#GCK*
*#WorshipNuggets*
*#BibleNuggets*
*#LeadershipNuggets*
*#RevivalNuggets*
*#CrusadeNuggets*
https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS]
[24/08, 10:07 pm] Pastor Attah: ```DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY```

_*(SINCERE MILK: Children Daily Devotional Guide 2⃣0⃣2⃣)*_

🏼🏼‍‍🏼‍🏼‍🏼‍

```TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST, 2026```

*GOD'S GRACE IS A GIFT* 🫵🏽🏽‍🏽‍🏽🏽‍🏽

```EPHESIANS 2:8-10```



```Key Verse:``` _*"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).*_



*Grace is a beautiful and undeserved gift from God. It is God's love, forgiveness and help given to us even though we do not deserve it. It is not something we can earn through our actions or good deeds; it is freely given because of God's deep love for us.*

*When we accept God's grace, we receive the incredible gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross makes it possible for us to be reconciled with God, and this grace transforms our lives. It helps us live in a way that honours God and reflect His love for others.*

*Grace is not just a one-time gift, it is something that continues to sustain and guide us. It reminds us that no matter how far we fall, God's grace is always available to lift us up and give us the strength to keep moving forward. It is a constant reminder of God's unwavering love and His desire to help us grow closer to Him.*



```rayer:``` _*God, I thank You for the gift of Your grace.*_ 🏽

``` Further Reading:``` *Titus 2:11, 12*



God's Grace Is A Gift
https://dailymanna.app//

*TXD [THEXDEVOTIONALS] on Twitter*
*#SincereMilk25thAugust2026*
*#GCK*
*#WorshipNuggets*
*#BibleNuggets*
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https://www.youtube.com/[THEXDEVOTIONALS]

2. Morning Prayer for today.

MP.i. Morning Prayer

A Psalm of David. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⏤ Psalm 23:1-3

He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life. ⏤ William Law

O Light of the hearts that trust You, Life of the souls that love You, and Strength of all who seek Your face—grant us Your grace as we begin this day. We thank You for the mercies of the night. You have brought us back from the seeming death of sleep. We place our hands in Yours and ask You to guide us throughout the day.

Be our Good Shepherd. Lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Be our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Teach us to do Your will. Incline our hearts to walk in Your ways. Help us to love Your commandments. Renew our hearts continually, so that we love doing what is right and hate whatever is wrong.

We will need Your divine wisdom all day long. Help us to conduct our affairs in a way that pleases You. May all our business be Your business. May our work at home be done without worry. Help us to bear the trials and endure the challenges of life as our blessed Master did, without fretting or complaining, but with patience and joy. Grant us the patience, forbearance, meekness, and joy to make this day holy and beautiful, as we stay near You and live by Your help and grace.

Allow no temptation to endanger our souls, but with every temptation make a way for us to escape, so we do not fall away into eternal death. Let us not yield to unholy influences, but may we be more than conquerors in all things through Him who loved us. We ask these mercies, humbly confessing our sins, through Jesus our Redeemer. Amen.

https://www.youdevotion.com/daily-prayer/miller/51/morning

#taptapstudio
#youdevotion.

THE PILGRIMS GUIDE

FRIDAY JULY 24, 2026

CREATED FOR HIS PLEASURE 2

A WORD FROM THE WORD:

“You are worthy, O LORD, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” Revelation 4:11NKJV.

From our anchor Scripture, it is abundantly evident that God is worthy to receive glory, honour, and power because of so many things. He created all things, cares, provides for, protects, manages, builds, and strengthens all. His love for His creation cannot be described, He went as far as dying an ignoble death on the Cross for the sake of man, one of His creatures, endowed with a living soul. His love is so high that none can get over it, so deep that none gets down to its depth, and so wide that none goes around it.
God is truly deserving of our praise, glory and adoration. The wise at heart freely and joyously gives Him these.

King David in his heartfelt love for God states thus 'Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.' (Psalm 119:164 NKJV)
Wow! Did you comprehend that? Praising God seven times a day! Yes, God deserves it. David had his reasons for doing that. Every one of us has reasons for praising, glorifying, honouring and adoring God always.

Beloved, examine yourself, do you praise and worship Him? Does your life glorify Him? If not, take a firm, and deliberate personal decision and be disposed to do that. That is an awesome exploit, that is the reason for your creation.

PRAYER BULLETS:

Father LORD, I cannot thank You enough for creating me. Help me by Your grace to be alive to the purpose of my creation. May my life continually bring You glory.

FURTHER READING:

Psalm 119:161-168.
_________________________________________

Amaobi Nwachukwu 2026.

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#ThePilgrimsGuide.

The fathomless mystery of the Cross!

(Alexander Smellie, "On the Secret Place" 1907)

"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came over all the land!" Matthew 27:45

With bowed head and an adoring heart, I draw near to the crucifixion-darkness of Christ's suffering and my salvation. I think of the fathomless mystery of the Cross!

On Calvary, I am within the clouds of God's eternal purpose. The beginning of His grace in Jesus Christ, is beyond my reach. He loved me from eternity — before the foundations of the earth were laid! How can I comprehend it, this everlastingness of redemption? Yet it should be my joy to ponder it. If He has cared for me from eternity past — I may be assured of His sustaining me through an incalculable future.

But on Calvary, too, I am within the clouds of God's immeasurable sorrow. There are secrets of unfathomable anguish here, with which I dare not meddle. This is a midnight blackness before which the angels must veil their faces with their wings. "God — forsaken by God!" Luther exclaimed, "who can understand it?" I tread softly — the place is holy ground. Yes — but happy ground, since He has redeemed me. My Savior was made a curse for me — that I might be a child forever within His heavenly home!

On Calvary, moreover, I am within the clouds of God's ineffable wisdom. The Cross of Jesus has been the central theme in the study of the profoundest Christian thinkers — and none of them has exhausted the theme. It is God's most wondrous work — God's last word. I can never explain it fully. But I perceive that it glorifies both the inflexible holiness of my Judge — and the unfathomable love of my Father! This I am sure of, that it gives me an unveiling of His many-sided attributes and perfections, such as I cannot gain anywhere else.

Shrouded in the darkness — Christ gained new beauty, new worth, new dominion. It was in crucifixion-darkness, that His glory shone most brightly forth. Now He was invested with the Calvary-attraction which draws me to Him.

May the thick crucifixion-darkness be an ever-opening secret between Him and me. Out of the shadows, may the beams of divine hope and love pour into my soul. Jesus sacrificed for my sins — may He be all my salvation and all my desire!

Three Angels Broadcasting Network Devotional
Seeking the Lost

By Bobby Davis

June 5th, 2016

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” Luke 15:4

I can see myself in that crowd, standing on my toes, craning to get a glimpse of the Man so many are excited about. The roar of the sweaty crowd is deafening as I listen to the shouts of joy from those being healed instantly from their pain by the touch of His hand. The healed ones make it that much harder to approach Him because now they want to embrace Him, hanging onto every word as they eagerly watch for the next miracle of healing up close.

Along the road are the desperate beggars, the disabled, the prostitutes—and at a safe distance, the leprous outcasts of society shouting and jumping up and down, hoping He’ll notice them. Some of the most despised citizens have been known to climb up in the trees, not daring to join the crowd for fear of harm since tax collectors have the reputation of being low-life thieves. Never before have we seen such a commotion in this town!

Off to the side, watching it all unfold, are those horrid Pharisees. Gathering their robes around them in disgust, they shrink from the noisy crowd for fear of being touched and made “unclean.” They’re jealous of the love and attention lavished on this Man, and their hateful hearts are made obvious as they sneer, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2. What a contrast they are to this Jesus who takes dirty little children into His lap every time he sits down.

By showing their contempt for these folk, the Pharisees feel superior to us all—a convenient way of avoiding looking at themselves. And sadly, the very things they contemptuously condemn in others is what keeps them away from Jesus. He somehow lays bare their selfishness, and the adoring crowds that follow Him stir up their self-righteous pride and envy. Little do they realize that the angry words they use to scorn Him are so very true - “This Man receives sinners.”

Jesus calls us children of God, and tells us that we are not forgotten by the Father. He promises us forgiveness and a new life. Everywhere men and women are being transformed by His words, and through His gentle touch, we are healed and even resurrected from the dead!

I’ve often meditated on the grace and love of Jesus, and I heartily recommend Ellen White’s book, Christ’s Object Lessons, and the chapter entitled “This Man Receives Sinners.” There, she points out that the parable of the Lost Sheep never mentions failure, but only success and joy in recovering His lost ones. She says that the Jews taught that before God’s love is extended to a sinner, he must first repent; and that in their view, their repentance would mean favor with Heaven. (Does that sound familiar?) “But,” she writes, “in the parable of the lost sheep, Christ teaches that salvation does not come through our seeking after God but through God’s seeking after us…. We do not repent in order that God may love us, but He reveals to us His love in order that we may repent.”*

What joy that gives me.

What hope that awakens.

That is amazing grace!

Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 188–189.

The Great Whore of Babylon’s Name-Change Game: How the Papacy Baptized The Pagan Gods

The greatest sleight of hand in religious history did not occur in a smoky room or an occult cavern; it happened in broad daylight, under the vaulted ceilings of imperial Rome. It is a historical reality that when the Roman Empire transitioned into institutional Catholicism during the fourth century, the ancient Babylonian mystery religion did not die. It was simply repackaged. The ancient visual styles, the regional emblems, and the localized offices of pagan deities were not eradicated; they were baptized. The Church merely played a strategic name-change game—taking the exact same false gods that traveled from Babylon to Egypt, and from Greece to Rome, and dressing them in the robes of Catholic saints. To look upon the system of Roman Catholic hagiography—the veneration and petitioning of specialized patron saints—is to look upon the old pantheons of antiquity under a thin veneer of Christian terminology. The scripts are identical, the jurisdictions are unchanged, and the emblems are intact. The names were altered to appease a shifting political landscape, but the underlying spiritual system remained entirely pagan.

The most glaring manifestation of this unbroken pipeline is found in the creation of the Catholic “Queen of Heaven.” Centuries before the earthly birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the prophet Jeremiah fiercely rebuked the backsliding house of Israel for participating in an ancient idolatrous cult, warning that “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18). This celestial monarch was Semiramis of Babylon, who was later worshipped as Isis in Egypt, Aphrodite in Greece, and Venus or Diana in Rome. In Egyptian iconography, Isis was routinely depicted wearing a crown of stars, standing upon a crescent moon, holding her infant son Horus, and bearing the explicit title Stella Maris—the “Star of the Sea.” When the Roman Church sought to assimilate the pagan masses, they did not teach them to abandon the worship of this feminine deity. Instead, they transferred the titles, the posture, and the celestial emblems of Isis directly onto Mary. Suddenly, the biblical mother of Christ was officially designated by Rome as the “Queen of Heaven” and the “Star of the Sea,” portrayed in identical statuary standing upon the crescent moon. The pagan populace did not have to abandon their ancient mother-goddess; they just changed the label on the altar.

This systematic substitution ran through every department of human life. The ancient pagans did not believe a single deity governed everything; they divided spiritual authority into localized, specialized “offices.” Rome took these identical offices, looked at the calendar of the saints, and executed a flawless corporate rebrand. In ancient Rome, Janus was the two-faced god of gates, doors, and transitions. He held the celestial keys to the heavens and guarded the entryways. The Roman Church simply applied the visual attribute of the keys and the role of heavenly gatekeeper onto Saint Peter, twisting scripture to accommodate a pre-existing Roman visual expectation. Likewise, the Egyptians relied on the jackal-headed god Anubis to weigh the hearts of the dead on a scale during judgment. The Greeks called this role the Psychopomp—the conductor of souls—and assigned it to Hermes. The Catholic Church transferred this exact, non-biblical function to Michael the Archangel, who is universally depicted in traditional cathedral art holding the scales of judgment, weighing the souls of the dead. Even the dangerous maritime trades were subjected to this relabeling. Ancient Mediterranean mariners kept shrines to Poseidon or Castor and Pollux at harbor gates, praying to these deities to calm raging storms. As temples were rededicated, these coastal altars were renamed in honor of Saint Nicholas or Saint Elmo. The electrical weather phenomena on ship masts, historically called “Castor and Pollux” by Roman legions, was seamlessly renamed “Saint Elmo’s Fire.” The sailors kept their maritime protector; the Church kept the sailors.

This was not a secret conspiracy; it was an open, written strategy of cultural compromise. In the year 601 AD, Pope Gregory the Great wrote a famous instruction to Abbot Mellitus, who was tasked with converting the Anglo-Saxons. Gregory explicitly ordered that pagan temples should not be demolished. Instead, he commanded that they be purified with holy water, that Christian altars be built, and that the relics of saints be deposited within them, stating “that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed.” The most explicit monument to this compromise stands in the heart of Rome: the Pantheon. Originally built as a temple dedicated to all the classical gods—where citizens petitioned Mars for war, Venus for love, and Ceres for crops—it was handed over to Pope Boniface IV in 609 AD. The building was not torn down as an abomination. It was “cleansed” and renamed “Saint Mary and All Martyrs.” The exact same building where Romans once knelt before a multitude of false gods became the very structure where medieval Catholics knelt to petition a multitude of saints for the exact same earthly favors. The system of patron saints is nothing less than the old polytheism of Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, smuggled through the back door of Christendom. It is the same game, played with the same false gods, utilizing the same demonic hierarchy, hidden behind a stolen vocabulary.

See The Interactive Idolatry Audit: Tracking the Office, the Emblems, and the Names:
https://thelordsreturn.com/the-idolatry-audit-tracking-the-office-the-emblems-and-the-names/
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THE FIRST 15.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”

Psalm 139:7-8

It’s a troubling truth in Christianity today that many believers don’t know about or aren’t experiencing continual encounter with the real, manifest presence of God. The Bible contains story after story of life-changing, world-altering encounters with the reality of God’s presence. From Moses and the tent of meeting to the disciples at Pentecost, we continually read about God supernaturally encountering his people in real, transformative ways. Jesus died so that we might walk in communion with our heavenly Father not only in heaven, but here on this earth. Biblical characters modeled what it was to experience God consistently in both the New and Old Testaments. God, in his desire to have restored relationship with you, has made the reality of his presence fully available to you. Through the death of Christ there is nothing separating you from him. Before we dive into different stories of God’s manifest presence on the earth, let’s take time to focus on the biblical basis for encountering God. Open your heart and mind to the truth about God’s nearness and allow your faith to be stirred for all the ways your heavenly Father would transform your life through encounter with him.

Psalm 139:7-8 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Acts 17:26-28 says,

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Scripture is clear that God is omnipresent and his presence can be tangible to us. David describes God’s presence this way: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

The sons of Korah wrote in Psalm 84:1-2, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” Then in verses 10-12 they declare,

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

There is no doubt in looking at Scripture that God’s presence is real, good, and available to us. Rest in the truth of that for a moment. You can consistently enter into the tangible presence of your heavenly Father anywhere and anytime. Have faith today that God created you to experience him. Encountering his presence is made possible entirely by his grace, so it is available apart from any good or bad thing you do. But, know that God will never force his presence on you. He only fills up what is open and ready to receive. He sweetly calls you to meet with him and waits for you to make space in your life to receive what he longs to give.

There is no more life-giving pursuit you can embark on than the pursuit of God’s presence. Spending time resting in him is meant to be the satisfaction that lays a foundation for you to live the life of abundance made available to you through Jesus. Your role in encountering God is simply seeking him. If you will make time to encounter him, open your heart, and have faith in his word, then you will discover the wellspring of life, joy, love, and transformation that is the presence of our heavenly Father.

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “You will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Seek and find the presence of the living God today as you meditate on his word and pray.

1. Meditate on the availability of God’s presence. Allow your faith to be stirred up in response to God’s word.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalm 145:18

2. Now meditate on the goodness of God’s presence. Allow your desires to be stirred as you read about the wonders of encountering the living God.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

3. Open your heart to receive his presence. Ask the Spirit to make known God’s nearness. Seek his presence and have faith in his word that when you seek him you will find him.

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29

In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence.” May his statement not be true of you. May you discover the majesty of your God. May you be a child of God who consistently spends time in the presence of the Father. May you be a believer who is empowered with the very presence of God himself working in and through your life. Grow in your pursuit of his presence this week. Commit to earnestly seeking him and allow this week to be transformational in the way you spend time with God.

Extended Reading: Psalm 84

He Is Truth Itself
 
      He is the fountain of all truth, but He is more—He is truth itself. He is the source and strength of all beauty, but He is more—He is beauty itself. He is the fountain of all wisdom, but He is more—He is wisdom itself. In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden away! (see Colossians 2:3).
      Jesus Christ our Savior is the fountain of all grace. He is the fountain and source of all life, but He is more than that. He could say, “I AM the life!” He is the fountain of love, but again, He is far more than that—He is love!
      He is resurrection and He is immortality and as one of the adoring songwriters said, He is the “brightness of the Father’s glory, sunshine of the Father’s face.”
      In another hymn, “Fairest Lord Jesus,” there are at least two verses that are not always included, which tell us in candor and realism that when everything else has perished and vanished, we will find it is Jesus alone who abides for aye. One verse says, “Earth’s fairest beauty, heaven’s brightest splendor, in Jesus Christ unfolded see; all that here shineth quickly declineth before His spotless purity.”
      There is excitement in true love, and I think that we Christians who love our Savior ought to be more excited about who He is and what He is!
      A friend of mine has been quite irked because I cannot get excited and steamed up about earthly things. I just cannot stand and strike an attitude of awe when a friend drives up with one of the classy new automobiles. I hear people describing the magnificent new houses that they are building, and they have excitement in their voices. But the Word of God forces me to remember that when you have seen the house or the city which hath foundations and whose builder and maker is God (see Hebrews 11:10), you cannot really ever get excited again about any house ever built by any man in this world.
      It has been said that Abraham could never build a permanent house for himself after he had seen the city whose builder and maker was God. I know I have made up my mind about that city—and I would be willing to live in a tent here because I have some idea about my future home up there. I am convinced that it will be beautiful and satisfying beyond anything I can know down here. It is a tragedy if we forget that “earth’s fairest beauty and heaven’s brightest splendor are all unfolded in Jesus Christ, and all that here shineth quickly declineth before His spotless purity.”

DAILY SERMON # 17
“Cross the Jordan… Don’t Retreat”

Good morning, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ! God has greatly blessed in allowing us the privilege to worship together in San Antonio on this last Sabbath morning of the 60th General Conference session. We come from all parts of the globe. People filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to proclaim the three angels’ messages with greater power as we learn from Jesus everyday what it means to be His followers united this morning as God’s great Advent movement and spiritual family. We thank the Lord for the ways He has led this General Conference Session during the last 10 days and we give Him all the glory for the unity and singleness of purpose in accomplishing His mission for this dying Earth.

As I stated five years ago, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is God’s remnant movement made up of those who according to Revelation 12:17 keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, and we are on a heaven-directed journey. We must go forward, not backward, because we are almost home! I am more convinced than ever that Jesus’ return is near, even at the door! Our session theme song that has served us well for so many years, “We Have this Hope,” proclaims the great expectation of Seventh-day Adventists all around the world — Jesus is coming soon!

[Wilson repeats this phrase in 10 other languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Russian, Korean, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and Tagalog]

And in so many other languages of the world we share those words of encouragement and hope. It’s the great theme of this 2015 General Conference session: ”Arise! Shine! Jesus Is Coming!”

We long for Jesus’ return. But why are we still here? For some time, Jesus has longed to come back. We have no more time prophecies. Those ended in 1844 with the beginning of the investigative judgment. At this very moment, Christ is ministering for us in the most holy place of a real sanctuary in heaven. He wants to pour out the latter rain of the Holy Spirit upon His people to finish His work on this Earth. He longs for us to humble ourselves before Him and lean completely upon His everlasting arms. He wants us to share His good news of salvation that we are saved by grace and that not of ourselves lest we should boast, but it is a gift of God as we read in Ephesians 2:8-9. As we share His righteousness of justification and sanctification that works in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” as Philippians 2:13 tells us. As we share that the work that He has begun He “will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” as Philippians 1:6 states. But we are Laodicean and need to humble ourselves before the Lord and buy of Him, as instructed in Revelation 3:18, “gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”

Yes, Lord. Take us, mold us, make us and fill us. Revive and reform us through your daily sanctifying power as we read your Holy Word, your Spirit of Prophecy and earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yes, Revival and Reformation for this new quinquennium and until the end of probation. “Revival and Reformation: You, Your Family, Your Church, Your Community.” We want this experience through the blood and grace of Jesus Christ and a daily walk with Him. We want to go home!

We know the signs of Matthew 24 and realize political challenges are now beyond the control of most governments today, economic conditions are fragile and untrustworthy, natural disasters are increasing in intensity and destruction, social changes are challenging the very Word of God, ecumenism is rapidly growing in its false, non-biblical and neutralizing influence on society and yet we are still here. But God says, “Arise! Shine!” He is telling us to be powerful testimonies of Christ’s marvelous message to this chaotic world indicating that the great controversy is about to close and Jesus will return for His people! Three times in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22:7, 12 and 20, Jesus Himself says, “I am coming quickly.” Lord, we want to go home! We want to cross over the Jordan River to the Promised Land. Open the way before us. Take us through the water. We place our trust completely in you. Lead us through the raging Jordan to our everlasting home and don’t let us retreat. Help us to fully depend on you for every need in spite of the temptation to retreat. You are our Rock and Salvation. Help us to cross the Jordan and not retreat!

Turn with me to Deuteronomy 34:1-5. “Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land. Then the Lord said to him, ‘This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.’ So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.”

Moses was so close and yet so far. The Bible indicates that when Moses died, God Himself buried him. We know that God raised Moses back to life and took him to heaven as an example of those who will die in Christ and be raised through His reviving power of His second coming trumpet sound.

About a year ago, it was a privilege to stand on Mount Nebo and look out at the vast plains below, north towards the Sea of Galilee, across the Jordan River to Jericho, southward to the Dead Sea. It was a thrilling experience to realize that God spoke to Moses there and let him see the future history of Israel’s ups and downs, their revived commitment to God, and their falling away back into self-centered and idolatrous practices. He saw their subjection to foreign powers. He saw Jesus coming as a baby and His wonderful, perfect life and ministry. He saw the agony in Gethsemane, the betrayal, the beatings and the crucifixion. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 475-476, says, “His heart was wrung with anguish, and bitter tears fell from his eyes, in sympathy with the sorrow of the Son of God. Grief, indignation, and horror filled the heart of Moses as he viewed the hypocrisy and satanic hatred manifested by the Jewish nation against their Redeemer. He heard Christ’s agonizing cry, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ (Mark 15:34). But he looked again, and beheld Him coming forth a conqueror, and ascending to heaven escorted by adoring angels and leading a multitude of captives. He saw the shining gates open to receive Him, and the host of heaven with songs of triumph welcoming their Commander. And it was there revealed to him that he himself would be one who should attend the Saviour, and open to Him the everlasting gates.”

God revealed to Moses the history of the Christian church as the disciples preached the Gospel, how all those who accepted Christ’s message would become, by faith, part of Abraham’s seed making “to the world the law of God and the gospel of His Son” (PP 476). He saw the Christian world profess to accept Christ but deny God’s law. He saw the seventh-day Sabbath ignored and rejected by the majority but respected by a faithful few. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 477, says, “He saw the last great struggle of earthly powers to destroy those who keep God’s law. He heard God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. He saw the second coming of Christ in glory.” Then he saw the New Earth, the Promised Land more beautiful than anything that was spread out before him. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 477, describes it this way, “With joy unutterable Moses looks upon the scene — the fulfillment of a more glorious deliverance than his brightest hopes have ever pictured. Their earthly wanderings forever past, the Israel of God have at last entered the goodly land.”

Let’s go to Mt. Nebo for a few moments where Moses viewed this prophetic vision of the future.

What a privilege Moses had seeing what God was going to do for His people throughout history up until today. We will soon cross the figurative Jordan into that Promised Land and be welcomed by the Father, by Christ, by the Holy Spirit, by Moses, by Elijah, by Enoch and the angels.

But back to the Israelites, they were still on the east side of the Jordan after their 40 years in the wilderness. They had not crossed yet. They spent thirty days mourning the loss of Moses. Not until he had been taken from them did they fully understand his fatherly role in their lives, his wisdom and counsel. However they were not alone. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night over the sanctuary were constant reminders that the Mighty God was by their side. Brothers and sisters, the Almighty God is with us today in this dome and around the world as we prepare to cross the Jordan. Don’t retreat!

As Moses’ understudy, Joshua became the recognized leader of Israel. He was courageous, quiet, faithful, firm, caring, loyal and had complete faith in God. It was Joshua whom God chose to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land through God’s complete and supernatural power.

Our Scripture reading in Joshua 1:2 tells us God spoke directly to Joshua saying, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan” GO OVER THIS JORDAN … DON’T RETREAT … CROSS THE JORDAN … ”you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them … every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you.” Joshua and the children of Israel were not to be discouraged or retreat. God continued in verses 6 and 7 with words for us today in San Antonio, “Be strong and of good courage. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Seventh-day Adventist believers, be of good courage in the Lord, ask Him to help us keep His moral law and make God’s Holy Word central in all we do. Don’t get stuck on one side or the other of the road. Stay in the middle of God’s will, cross the Jordan and don’t retreat!

God’s Holy Word — what a precious book this is! His law, His prophecies, His instructions, His gospel, His love letters to us. You can count on the Word of God!

I have three Bibles with me and they are precious. Two of them belonged to ordained ministers of the gospel who have died in Jesus. This first Bible was my grandfather’s, N.C. Wilson — the first N.C.

Grandpa was a wonderful student of the Word. He would write me letters of encouragement when I was a young pastor. I loved my Grandma and Grandpa Wilson. They both loved the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy.

This second Bible was my dear father’s, Neal C. Wilson — the second N.C. Dad taught me to revere and believe in God’s Holy Word. Dad loved to preach from the Word, an inexhaustible source of God’s instruction. Both my precious mother and dear father loved the Holy Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. They both bequeathed to me a complete trust in and love for a plain reading of the Word of God and a great appreciation for the Spirit of Prophecy. I never heard one disparaging remark from my parents about the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy, only great respect and acceptance.

I plead with you to have that same love and respect for this Book and the Spirit of Prophecy. If you haven’t read much from either one for a while, pick up the Bible and read it. Pick up Steps to Christ, The Desire of Ages, The Ministry of Healing, The Great Controversy, Patriarchs and Prophets, the Testimonies or any other Spirit of Prophecy book and read it. See what God will do for your heart and life. Participate with church members all over this globe as we begin this quinquennium by daily reading one chapter of the Bible and approximately two pages of the Conflict of the Ages series. Last quinquennium it was a joy to read the Bible through and this quinquennium will be the same. Of course, if you are on your own reading program, please move ahead, but let’s experience the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy in our lives everyday.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we fully accept the Bible as God’s inspired Word. We understand the Spirit of Prophecy to be the lesser light, inspired by that same heavenly inspiration that leads to the greater light, the Bible. At the last General Conference session that Ellen White attended, she delivered her message and left the platform. She stopped and returned taking the large pulpit Bible in her hands and proclaimed, “I commend to you this Book.” Brothers and sisters, if we wish to cross the Jordan, let’s seriously read God’s Word letting its instructions, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, change our lives. David said in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” You can count on God’s Word and His Spirit of Prophecy!

And here is my Bible. I’ve had it now for five years since at that time I lost another precious Bible on an airplane. I bought this one and have cherished it. However, since that time, I have lost THIS Bible two times, but both times the Lord has miraculously returned it to me. It is precious not only because it is my study and preaching Bible, but because it is the Word of God! Someone who retrieved this Bible the last time I lost it, gave me a special connection so I won’t lose it again. It is “Ted’s Bible’s Leash!” My friends, I may lose this actual Bible again, but I will not lose God’s Holy Word because it can never be lost! God’s Word is sure and foundational. It is everlasting and you can believe this Word — as it reads!

This precious Book, the Bible, is true and reliable. You can read it in the plain language of your choice and it rings true!

Yes, God actually created this world recently in six, literal, consecutive days and rested on the seventh-day Sabbath and asks us to do the same as an eternal sign of our allegiance to Him. The Israelites did miraculously cross the Red Sea! God did provide manna! The Ten Commandments were written with God’s own finger! The sanctuary service does show Christ’s salvation and ministry on earth and in heaven! Jesus did come as a babe, lived a perfect life, died for us, rose for us, went to heaven and will return in like manner! Christ is ministering for us as our High Priest and entered the most holy place in 1844 to complete His investigative judgment! Jesus is coming again! God’s Word is accurate and true and can be understood. Just. As. It. Reads.

Joshua 1:8-9 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have a good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage: do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

This was God’s signal to the Israelites to cross the Jordan. Joshua commanded the crossing preparation.

Joshua 3:1 says Joshua rose early and all the Children of Israel lodged at the edge of the river. The test had come. It was again time to see God’s great miracles! Verse 3 says, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.” Verse 5 instructed, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” As we humble ourselves before the Lord and each other, as we plead with God for the latter rain of the Holy Spirit, as we allow the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit to make us more and more like Christ, we will see “wonders” among us as the Advent message goes like wildfire!

In verse 9, Joshua told the people, “Hear the words of the Lord your God.” God promised to drive out the inhabitants of the Promised Land.

The next developments are riveting! Joshua 3:14-16 records, “When the people set out from the camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away.”

It was the springtime and the water was very high. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 483 reports, “The host descended to the border of the Jordan. All knew, however, that without divine aid they could not hope to make the passage. At that time of the year — in the spring season — melting snows of the mountains had so raised the Jordan that the river overflowed its banks, making it impossible to cross at the usual fording places. God willed that the passage of Israel over the Jordan should be miraculous.”

Many times God leads us into difficult or impossible situations where we give Him the glory when we see how He arranges our progress through that difficulty. Brothers and sisters, cross the Jordan, don’t retreat! Do we react by giving God glory when He opens the way for us? That’s why God wants us to remember His interventions in our lives and set up landmark memorials to never forget to “Cross the Jordan and don’t retreat.”

Verse 17 says the priests who carried the ark into the middle of the Jordan stayed there until the people had crossed the river. Before the priests left, Joshua called for representatives from each of the twelve tribes to take a large rock from the riverbed to represent their tribe in setting up a memorial. Joshua 4:6-7 says, “That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

There has always been a need to remember, to establish something that will constantly remind you. That was the purpose of the stone landmark monument of the Israelites’ crossing, to remember what God had done. That’s exactly why He wants us to remember what is happening here in San Antonio, what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives, that our mission is to proclaim “Arise! Shine! Jesus Is Coming!” You are the “landmarks.” God has a special purpose for each of us who make up His remnant church to remember how He has led in the past.

In Life Sketches, page 196, we read, “In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what the Lord has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”

What a privilege to testify of God’s power in leading His Advent movement and what He will do during the final days of earth’s history! Of course, God does not only wish that we remember, He wants us to actively participate in the real mission of His church, the reason you and I are members of this precious Seventh-day Adventist Church. I call on all local church members everywhere to participate in a vibrant Revival and Reformation — You, Your Family, Your Church, Your Community! Lay members, I challenge you to become involved in the daily mission of the church far more than you ever have before. We are counting on you! God is counting on you! You are a “landmark,” a walking testimony and memorial for God’s truth. Become involved in the greatest evangelistic and mission outreach possible. Take time to read and pray about the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist strategic plan, “Reach the World.” It is your plan. It is our plan. It is God’s plan. Evangelism is the lifeblood of the church. All of us are to be in involved in it — either through personal witnessing, small group evangelism or public evangelism in its various forms. Every time I preach a full evangelistic series like I did in May in Harare, Zimbabwe, I get spiritually re-energized and more grounded in the marvelous Biblical understanding that God has given to us as Seventh-day Adventists. I get so excited about God’s logical, solid precious Advent message. I appeal to all our administrators, pastors and lay people everywhere, become involved in personal and especially public evangelism even if you think it won’t work where you live. Adapt your methods, but reach out. Every effort, under God’s guidance, that you make in reaching the hearts of people will bear fruit. Evangelism is not dead! It is more alive than ever before! God is in it! It’s His plan. He will bless it!

We are in this together under the omnipotent hand of God, church leaders and church members working hand in hand for mission outreach. Watch Him work as we learn to lean completely on His power. Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9, page 117 says, “The work of God in this Earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those ministers and church officers.” God wants us to unite in the greatest mission outreach the world has ever seen. The latter rain of the Holy Spirit will fall and the work will be finished.

Church members, let the Holy Spirit revolutionize your thinking. Take the church’s mission of outreach into your hands on a daily basis working closely with church leaders and pastors. Let it be total participation. Don’t only get involved in the mechanics of the church. Yes, you do need to be involved in the inner working of the church to keep it moving ahead, but even more, we need a total empowerment of lay people in carrying the burden of the church’s evangelistic and mission outreach along with pastors and church workers. Tell someone else about your relationship with Christ! It’s time to go home! “Arise! Shine! Jesus Is Coming!” Take up God’s command, “Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat!”

Young people of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, this is your church. This is your Advent movement. This is your mission. Christ is your Master. Take advantage of every opportunity of service for others in Jesus’ name! Take up God’s command, “Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat.”

Pastors, health professionals and teachers, you are doing a wonderful work for the Lord. Stay strong in God’s Word. Remain grounded in the pillars of God’s Advent movement. Take up God’s command, “Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat.”

Husbands, wives and families, don’t allow anything to creep into your homes that will distract you from God’s plans for you and your children. Eliminate any television, social media, music, books and other influences that will distract you from Jesus and His biblical truth. Take up God’s command, “Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat.”

I appeal to all of us in the church to put away differences of opinion, to humble ourselves before God. Now is the time to unify under Christ, our Righteousness.

Counsels to Ministers, page 145, tells us that, “In loving sympathy and confidence God’s workers are to unite with one another. He who says or does anything that tends to separate the members of Christ’s church is counterworking the Lord’s purpose. Wrangling and dissension in the church, the encouragement of suspicion and unbelief, are dishonoring to Christ.” God spoke through Ellen White with a pleading entreaty to each of us in Testimonies, Vol. 9, page 219, “I pray that He will soften and subdue every heart. … Let there be no self-exaltation. If the workers will humble their hearts before God, the blessing will come.”

As we unite under God’s direction, He is leading His children toward the Jordan in so many ways around the world as heaven touches their lives and those with whom they come in contact. I think of Tihomir Min, a Bulgarian-Vietnamese young man I met last year in Hanoi who shared his personal testimony and ongoing journey towards God’s truth. Tihomir wondered about God and his roots while growing up in Bulgaria with a Bulgarian mother and Vietnamese father. When he was about ten, his parents divorced. Tihomir faced challenges in his search for God including attacks by evil spirits as he tried to find peace. He prayed that if there was a God, would He please help him. Suddenly, he began to find relief and encouragement. He finally found a Christian website which offered him encouragement, some CDs and the book The Great Controversy. He found out that the administrator of the website was a Seventh-day Adventist. Reading The Great Controversy led Tihomir to read the Bible, which excited him greatly and changed his life. He said, “My life changed when I opened my eyes for God.”

Tihomir felt compelled to travel to Vietnam. He found part of his family there, but he discovered a much larger and greater family, the family of God. While in Vietnam, Tihomir experienced some difficult challenges and looked for a church. He tried to find a Seventh-day Adventist Church but we do not own a single building and have only a small number of believers in that great city. The Southern Asia-Pacific Division, the Southeast Asia Union, the Vietnam Mission, the General Conference and others have plans to see God’s work established in a stronger way in that major capital city. If there is someone who would like to assist in some way, please contact the Southern Asia-Pacific Division or our office.

Tihomir searched the Internet to find the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hanoi. He finally found information and said he didn’t know what we really believed but wanted to visit to find out. He began meeting with our small Sabbath-keeping group that has primarily ADRA/Vietnam workers. Tihomir continued to attend because he found so many happy and encouraging people. Eventually, he became much more acquainted with Christ and our biblical beliefs. He was overjoyed to find peace at last. Tihomir was baptized and joined the small Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hanoi. He still has personal challenges and difficulties in his Christian journey but he is witnessing to so many people in high levels of society and is learning more about walking with God every step of the way. In spite of the problems he still faces, he says that finding God was the best thing that has ever happened in his life. Pray for Tihomir in his daily walk with the Lord as God leads him towards the crossing of the Jordan and the Promised Land.

I think of Dolores Slikkers, a wonderfully loving and generous church member, who, along with her devoted husband, Leon, helped so many students to find real meaning in life bringing glory to God in their professions. Last March at the Andrews University Board meeting, there was a vacant chair in front of Dolores’ nameplate and some lovely flowers placed there by Niels-Erik Andreasen, Andrews University president, as a token of respect and hope. You see, Dolores died last December in a car accident but awaits her coming King who will lead her across the Jordan to the Promised Land along with hundreds of students she helped.

I think of Ricky, a deaf-mute young man from Riveralta, Bolivia, whose prayers were answered after he began to study the Bible on his own. According to Winston Sarzuri, East Bolivia Mission Personal Ministries and Evangelism Director and Robert Costa, associate GC Ministerial secretary, Ricky came in contact with the church and its Biblical teachings through the Internet. In the public school where Ricky studied there are several other young deaf students. Among those students without disabilities, there was a faithful young Seventh-day Adventist girl who was asking God how to share with her classmates the love of Jesus, His saving power and the joyous hope it brings. When she realized that Ricky was really interested in studying the Bible, she pushed herself in record time to learn sign language in order to witness for Christ. As this faithful girl shared Jesus with Ricky through sign language, he accepted Christ and all our fundamental beliefs. He became a strong disciple and a Bible instructor who taught the Advent message to eight other deaf students. Last April, all the deaf students from that school attended an evangelistic series in Bolivia led by John Bradshaw of It Is Written. The local government leader in charge of the deaf attended the meetings to translate in sign language and was impressed that our church was interested in the deaf group and she is now interested in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs! She and her deaf husband are in contact with our local pastors to obtain Adventist materials for the deaf. Let’s always show interest in groups with special needs. Take time for those in special situations with whom you can share Christ and this precious Advent message. As a result, a new congregation is on the horizon with many potential deaf-mute as members in Santa Cruz, the largest city in Bolivia. Last April, Ricky was baptized. He came out of the water with glad sign language gestures, telling the world how happy he was to give his life to Jesus.

My fellow church members here in this dome and those watching worldwide, do not be discouraged as you march towards the crossing of the Jordan. We are nearing home! We are almost there! Do not be distracted or dismayed. Go forward with complete trust in the Creator, the Redeemer, the Lamb and the High Priest who tells us in Hebrews 4:16 to “come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” That time of need may be upon you now and it certainly is coming in the near future according to biblical prophecy when our only hope and salvation will be in totally leaning on Christ, the Rock. He is what we need right now in our worldwide work of proclaiming the three angels’ messages entrusted to us by heaven.

Jesus, with His grace, His strength, His matchless love and His righteousness, is the core of the three angels’ messages and is the only answer for making it across the Jordan. Let us claim the marvelously comforting and encouraging promises of Psalm 37:5-7, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

God is calling you today to join in the final proclamation of Christ’s salvation, His good news and His soon coming!

Let’s believe God’s Word, believe the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation, believe the Spirit of Prophecy. Jesus is coming soon! What a day that will be! Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat into disbelief and cynicism.

We are saved through the justifying and sanctifying power of Jesus Christ and Him alone — saved through His righteousness. God’s sanctuary service points to Christ and His righteousness and should be thoroughly studied and shared. Dig deep in your understanding of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Stay away from superficiality and the suggestion to just say “Jesus” and ignore Christ’s doctrinal truths. My brothers and sisters, our biblical foundational beliefs and fundamental doctrines all have Christ at the center of each one. What a privilege to share this prophetic message and humbly ask God for revival and reformation through the power of the Holy Spirit. Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat into legalism, mysticism, superficiality or meaningless emotionalism.

The three angels’ messages are to be proclaimed with Holy Spirit power by each of us. Live the truth through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and your diligent study of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat toward worldly or unbiblical contemporary ideas about theology or carelessness in Christian practical living!

Accept and promote God’s complete health message that can bless us physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. Use this right arm of comprehensive health ministry in reaching people in Mission to the Cities and in the rural areas. It is exciting to see how people are accepting the health emphasis with full commitment to allowing God to control their lives and their lifestyles. Cross the Jordan, don’t retreat into skepticism, higher criticism, fanaticism or formalism!

One of these days very soon, we will look up and see a small, dark cloud about half the size of a man’s hand. It will get larger and brighter. All of heaven poured out for this climactic event with millions of angels making up that marvelous cloud with a brilliant rainbow above and lightning beneath. Right in the middle of that incredible cloud will be the One we have waited for, the One who is altogether lovely, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, coming as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will look up and say, “This is the God we have waited for” and Christ will look down and say, “Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Lord.” At last we will be with Him and receive the reward of the righteous who have depended completely on Jesus. We will figuratively cross the Jordan to begin the final journey through space to enter the Promised Land in heaven. We will be with Him in a perfect setting never again to part as a fulfillment of His promises unfolded in Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible. In verses 3 to 7 we read that, “There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. The he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’”

Those are God’s promises for you, for me and for this remnant church, His Advent movement. That wonderful Promised Land revealed in Revelation is where we will go as we rise to meet Him in the air. We will cross the Jordan and go to heaven to be with Him forever. What a day that will be! By the grace and righteousness of Jesus Christ, I want to be there that day!

If that is your wish, as you humbly submit to Christ and sharing His love and prophetic messages with the world, would you join me in standing right now?

As we commit ourselves into the hands of Jesus, our Almighty Captain, He will lead us across the Jordan and into the Promised Land! Reach the World with the extraordinary Good News of ultimate victory through the blood and grace of our Creator, Redeemer, High Priest, Coming King and Best Friend, Jesus Christ! “Arise! Shine! Jesus Is Coming!”

Christ Acquired Mankind, Planted in Him and United with Him
God [appeared] in the flesh, not simply through works in intermittent periods as he had in the time of the prophets.
Rather, he acquired mankind being planted in him and united with him. He gathered in himself all mankind through his body by which he became our own relative....
Know then the mystery: God came in the flesh to kill death which is hidden in our depths.... Death had reigned up until the coming of Christ (Rom 5:14) but when the saving grace of God appeared (Tit.2:11) and the Sun of Righteousness dawned (Mal.4:2) death was swallowed up in victory (1 Cor.15:54) for it could not stand before the true Life. O the depths of the goodness of God and his love for mankind!
People dispute how it is that God could come in the flesh when they better spend their time adoring his goodness.

-St Basil the Great, Homily on Christmas

#Incarnation #VictoryOverDeath #Christmas #Mystery #DivineGoodness

Welcome once again to another inspiring teaching series from ‘ *Keys to Becoming God’s Instrument of Impact.’*

Today, we move a step further into one of the greatest secrets of sustained power and lasting impact in ministry. Our focus is on “ *The Making of a God-Carrier: The Lifestyle of a Praying Man* .”

The secret of power, freshness, and direction in ministry is daily communion with God.

Let’s read our theme Scriptures:
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” — Luke 5:16
“When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” — Acts 4:13

These two passages reveal a powerful truth: A man who walks with God daily will never lack direction, power, or wisdom.

*THE POWER OF DAILY FELLOWSHIP*
No one ever becomes a vessel of lasting impact without a consistent life of prayer. Prayer is not an event—it’s a lifestyle.

Every great man God used had one thing in common: a private altar.
Abraham built altars wherever he went.
Moses spoke to God face to face.
Daniel prayed three times a day.
Jesus Himself often withdrew to pray.

If the Son of God needed prayer, how much more do we? Kenneth E. Hagin once said, “The secret of prayer is simply getting alone with God.”
If you want their results, embrace their habits.

*THE SECRET PLACE — WHERE STRENGTH IS RENEWED*
Isaiah 40:31 declares, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” The secret place is where we exchange weakness for strength and confusion for wisdom. It’s where our hearts are refilled and our spirits recharged. In prayer, you stop talking about God and start talking with Him.

*THREE DIMENSIONS OF FELLOWSHIP*
Through the Word — This is God speaking to you. The Bible is God’s voice in print. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

Through Prayer — This is you speaking to God. Prayer keeps your spirit alive, your faith strong, and your ears open to Heaven’s instruction.
Through Worship — This is where you stop asking and start adoring. “God inhabits the praises of His people.” (Psalm 22:3) When you worship, Heaven draws near and burdens disappear.

*THE COST OF NEGLECTING FELLOWSHIP*
When prayer dies, power fades. You lose sensitivity to the Spirit, freshness in revelation, and authority over the enemy. That’s why the disciples didn’t ask, “Lord, teach us to preach,” but “Lord, teach us to pray.”

*THE DISCIPLINE OF FELLOWSHIP*
Prayer must be cultivated. Set a fixed time and place. Keep a prayer journal. Pray in the Spirit (Jude 1:20). Turn distractions into devotion. Replace your scrolling with seeking, and your worrying with worship.
Oswald J. Sanders once said, “A strong spirit is not built overnight; it is the result of daily discipline in the secret place.”

*THE REWARDS OF DAILY FELLOWSHIP*
Spiritual strength that overcomes discouragement.

Divine direction in confusing seasons.

Supernatural peace in life’s storms.

Fresh anointing for ministry.

Boldness that makes men “take knowledge you have been with Jesus.”

Until next time, remember: *Power flows from the secret place.*
Stay in prayer, stay in His presence—and you’ll remain a carrier of His glory.

To watch the Live Recorded video of a related topic click this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17a395ccCt/

The following are the recommended reading:
Secrets Of Effective Prayers https://selar.com/r9d393
14 Things About The Man God Uses. https://selar.com/kme7
How To Succeed With Your Assignment. https://selar.com/yvnq
See Other Books Authored by Rowland Peters.
https://selar.com/m/Drpeters

To learn more about our Bible College training programmes, visit www.icmames.com

Join me live every Tuesday on Facebook and TikTok at 7 PM WAT.