Stay Focused

Soon after the 1844 disappointment, Ellen White had a vision in which she saw the “travels of the Advent people to the Holy City of God.” (EW p.14) She saw a straight and narrow path cast above the dark world. A light shone on the path to give light for their feet so that they might not stumble. “If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe.” (EW p.14)

But many grew weary and became distracted. “The light behind them went out… and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark wicked world below.” (EW p.15) And just as they fell, the eyes of the faithful were drawn to the east where they saw a small black cloud half the size of a man’s fist. Everyone solemnly gazed at the cloud as it drew closer knowing that it was the sign of the coming of the Lord.

The first thing to notice is obvious: those who keep their eyes on Jesus are the ones who remain on the path, those who do not, fall off. The second thing to notice is that had those who lost focus just remained focused a little longer, they too would have seen the fist-cloud. Whatever the distraction was, it was strong enough to remove the Advent people’s gaze off of Christ right before the coming of the Lord.

Have you ever wondered how these companies make millions by giving their apps away for free? It is because we, in fact, are the product, not the consumer. Our attention is the product and companies that desire our money are their customers. By giving us the ability to download from the app “store” and rate their “product”, they create the mirage that we are the customers and completely in control, but we are not.

We often fear the corruption of the mind without realizing the much greater danger of simply being distracted. In C.S. Lewis’ timeless book The Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape warns his young apprentice Wormwood, “It is funny how mortals always picture us putting things into their minds: in reality, our best work is done by keeping things out. If this fails, you must fall back on a subtler misdirection…the simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him [God] toward themselves.” (Screwtape p.16)

According to Screwtape, the kingdom of darkness does its most damage not by putting things into our mind, but by keeping things out. There is enough darkness inside each one of us to consume us. All the powers of darkness need to do is keep the light out by keeping us distracted. Notice how this is also true in Ellen White’s vision. It is not moral corruption that causes people to fall just before the coming of Christ, but distraction. It is distraction that corrupts.

Let us lift our eyes to the light that shines our path. Let us look to Jesus and forsake all distractions. For in just a little while, we too will see the fist cloud. Maranatha.

—Alex Portillo

Governing Authorities and Discipleship

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

-Romans 13:1 (NIV)

Like all of you, I've been bombarded by political messages incessantly these last several weeks, and as I have, I have begun to seriously ask what my role as a citizen and a Christian at this time. It's in this present situation that God brought me to the study of this text (click here to listen to the sermon if you missed it).

Maybe you're like me and you haven't spent a lot of time on Romans 13:1, but since we take biblical discipleship seriously, I went on a fascinating journey with this passage. I can't share it all here, but I ended the sermon with two calls: (1) that submitting to our government means we should vote (generally, though there are a few exceptions), and (2) that though we don't vote monolithically (inevitably we have differing conclusions) or give one person a pulpit from which to tell people how to vote, we should lean into conversations with other Christians to discuss the pros and cons of different positions.

I've noticed that I often preach that or why we should do something. Sometimes I even talk about how, but I rarely give people a chance to experience what the Word is teaching. As the Holy Spirit has continued to journey with me since Sabbath, I've concluded I need to put my money where my mouth is. And so, I am inviting you to join me on Sunday, November 1, at 7 PM. I am going to host a Zoom conversation to give us a chance to practice civil discipleship. Even if you've already voted, it would still be great to have you.

Whether you join us in discussing the pros and cons of the measures below on Sunday, I hope you'll find a way to integrate the three guidelines we'll be using in our chat as you represent Jesus everywhere you go and with the people you talk with over the next week especially.

Principals for Talking about Politics Together

1-Respect. Assume the people you talk with are smart and kind, and speak and listen accordingly. (Even if what they say doesn't make sense to you.)

2-Honesty. When it's your turn, share what seems most loving to you and why.

3-Curiosity. What's one thing someone with a different perspective from you said that can help you love your neighbor better as you engage in the voting process?

Washington Items we may Discuss

Advisory Vote #32–Plastic Bags and Taxation

Advisory Vote #33–Heavy Equipment and Taxation

Constitutional Amendment #8212–Longterm Care Trust Act Management

— Jonny Moor

Remember Those Moments

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ' 'and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Acts 9:1-4

Do you have a favorite drive? Or maybe a favorite place to go? Since 1991 my favorite drive would take me to my favorite place, NOSOCA Pines Ranch.

NOSOCA is our church camp for the Carolina Conference. It is strategically located between Columbia SC and Charlotte NC. I worked there four summers as a Camp Counselor and eight months as a Task Force Camp Ranger.

I have done the drive so often, even now in my mind, I see those familiar landmarks which dictated my route. Miles of red dirt, twists, and turns, the landscape dotted with houses and farms until you finally make a right turn at the little Liberty Hill Post Office onto Singleton Creek Road. This turn marks the last five miles. Just thinking about the drive makes me smile even now.

Acts Chapter 9 unfolds for us the experience Saul has with Christ on the road to
Damascus. Hit with a blinding light knocked to the ground, Saul hears the voice of Jesus and he knows this is for real. Saul will never be the same.

Like my drive to camp, I believe Saul and those with him that day could never again walk the road to Damascus and not feel something special. God gives us these moments and places as anchors to our relationship with Him. We may not be knocked to the ground but encountering Jesus is always life changing.

Remember those moments and those places which anchor you to Jesus.

—Pastor Jackie

A Hard Look In the Mirror

A preacher tends to be pretty clued in when it comes to whether a part of a sermon struck a chord. This last Sabbath I used the quote above as a part of my sermon and have lost count of the people who have asked for it, commented on it, or just said how much it resonated with them. I totally get it. I had my sermon mostly written when my mom sent it to me and I instantly knew I had to make a place for it.

Since Sabbath, a new thought has hit me - somewhat upside the head. This quote applies to me first. Not only am I arguing with those things (a person's story, experiences, fears, etc.), I am arguing from those places inside myself. Being curious means I have to ask myself what I am really seeking here - because often it is a desire to control the other person, not to see them and love them as they are.

I think this is what it means even more when Christ says "Blessed are the poor in spirit". When I am self-aware enough to know that I am entering into a conversation as a broken and imperfect person who is completely loved and accepted by Christ as I am, I can love the other person as they are, without a need to change them. They are worthy to be loved as they are.

And...it's hard. What about when their choices, their opinions and fears and biases, affect my life. How they vote, how they act, their choices affect my life. What do I do with that?

I don't have a perfect answer to the complexity involved in loving imperfect people. Here is what I do know - when a person is feeling loved and accepted as they are, we are both able to enter into any conflict from a place of health and safety. When love comes first, it is much easier to find solutions together.

This is what it is to believe in God's way first. God's way is to trust that love matters more than control. To be poor in spirit is to trust in God's love for us and God's love for the other person, and that love is actually enough. No need to convince or control.

This is going to be hard. And, I believe that each time we are able to take a step towards love instead of control, we will be blessed for it.

—Jana Lee

A New Normal

May God bless you wherever you may be reading this. First, I want to thank God for inspiring me to give this past Sabbath’s message. I also want to thank the incredible pastoral staff at Meadow Glade Church for allowing the youth to be so involved.

This past Sabbath I spoke on Psalm 23 and how God calls us to walk through our valleys, not sit, but walk. This Biblical teaching brings to mind the story of the Israelites; they were a people who literally had to walk through a valley or a desert. Scripture tells us that the Israelites hated the desert so much that many of them would have preferred returning as slaves to Egypt than enduring the desert.

God gave the Israelites what they wanted: freedom. Why then were the Israelites now dissatisfied with their freedom and desiring their chains once again? I recall that some of the things I was praying for God to change in my life changed amidst the pandemic. God did what I asked Him to do, but then, I found myself missing the things that I asked Him to take away. The Israelites complained because it is truly hard being uncomfortable. It is truly hard being removed from what we are use to in our daily lives and being removed from our comforts.

I have found myself wishing that everything could just go back to normal. It is really easy to look back. However, as Christians, I think it is important that we should keep looking forward, not backward, to a new normal. Just like the Israelites, what lies ahead is better than what is behind us. There is a promised land ahead and the Good Shepherd walks with us along the way.

My prayer for all of us is that we may endure this desert, endure the discomfort, that we may keep walking, walking forward to a new normal.

—Josue Mendez

God of the Hard Things

Sometimes people say things they shouldn't, and that night, I thought he did. You and I don't say things like that. Our points are always on topic and meaningful, but other people do this all the time. I had somewhere I wanted to go with the group that evening, so when he made that comment that just seemed a little out of the blue, I snapped at him. One impatient heart and one quick, correcting remark, and we were "back on track."

I moved on.

But God didn't. Over the next few weeks the pressure grew like someone was slowly tightening a vice grip around my skull. I had behaved poorly and should make it right, but I really didn't want to. It was too hard. Eventually the pressure was too great, and so, with trembling, I went out into the yard, pulled out my phone, and dialed his number.

"Hello? Pastor Jonny here. I have something I need to tell you."

It was hard to get going, but once I started, it got a little better. I confessed what I did. I confessed where my heart had been. I confessed my disrespect, and how that wasn't the kind of pastor I wanted to be. When I said the words, "I'm sorry," it was like a pair of dark goggles was removed from my eyes, like someone lifted a backpack full of rocks from my shoulders. When he said, "I forgive you," it was icing on the cake. What came after the hard thing was worth the difficulty.

This is the Advent message. This is the Christian story.

The whole New Testament is a community's response to trauma followed by an unforeseen, unimaginable goodness. In Matthew 26:36-44, we see Jesus struggling with the hardest thing, the weight of human evil and the mission of the cross. It seems he wanted to "move on" like I did, but Jesus pushes through, and a few days later, after a painful trial and execution, Jesus resurrects and God is vindicated. God is only resurrected after the crucifixion. Without the hard thing, the wonderful relationship and hope we have would not be possible.

Right now, is a hard time for us, but let's remember our resurrecting God. Let's remember and put one foot in front of the other. Let's remember and show kindness to that parent, teacher, student, administrator, coworker, spouse, child, friend, boss. Let's remember and join that group (see below) or do those lunges (see below), and show our hope that, beyond this difficulty, the God of the resurrection has unforeseen and unimaginable goodness.

—Pastor Jonny

Second Coming

When I first became a Christian there was an urgency in my soul to tell the world about the coming of Christ. When I understood the prophecies, I became excited that I would soon see the One who had mended my soul. This past Sabbath I asked if I was the only one who had experienced this? Throughout the week, I have received many messages and emails with stories that testify of the transformational power of hope.

I was not the only one. Many of us, at one point, opened the Scriptures and felt the moving of the Spirit in our souls, the healing hand of Jesus, and the embrace of God. And with joy, we accepted the Gospel and rejoiced in the coming of our Lord.

But life happens. And the passion slowly fades. Not purposefully, or consciously … it just happens. No one makes a conscious choice to not admire and stand in awe of the beauty and mystery of a starry night. We just quickly run inside because we’ve seen starry skies countless times. We know it’s beautiful, and we do not expect anything new. The same happens to our faith. It’s the slow fade from exciting to mundane which is most dangerous. It is the wise who constantly pray for God to ever fill their souls with awe, wonder, and gratitude.

Ellen White said, “The promise of Christ’s second coming was ever to be kept fresh in the minds of His disciples.” (AA p.33) Paul desired the Thessalonian Christians to encourage each other with the hope of the coming of Jesus. I want to challenge you to take a moment and contemplate the coming of Jesus. It will be like medicine to the soul: to feel hope awaken once again deep within your soul.

Grace and Peace,

—Alex Portillo