Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #12

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello! I hope you are all doing well! I'm sorry it's taken a long time to do this newsletter! In 3 days my family and I are leaving for GYC. I am soooo excited! I actually get to meet quite a few of you there. Anyway, I am looking forward to that soo much! :) I'll be gone December 19-23.
Attention! We have a new section in the newsletter! Katie suggested a 'Praise' section! So, in addition to prayer requests, if any of you have something you want to praise God for and you want me to put it in here, you can send it to me. :) You can also submit poems, stories (that aren't toooo long!!) with a spiritual theme, book reviews about preferably true, 'spiritual' books, prayer requests, etc. :) I welcome contributions!!!!
I wish each of you a wonderful day and week, and may God richly bless you!!
Love,
Heather


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 12 December 16, 2007

Theme Verse~
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
Hath appeared to all men;
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly,
In this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us
From all iniquity, and purify unto Himself
A peculiar people, zealous of good works.
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study
Eternal Life

Eternal life... it's the goal and hope of Christians. It's what we have to live for and strive towards, because if this life, filled with sin and suffering, was all there ever was to look forward to, we wouldn't really have anything to live for! BUT, we as Christians have hope! :)
1 John 2:25 tells us 'And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.' God has promised us eternal life! He says in John 17:3, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.' Eternal life starts with knowing God.
Eternal life in Heaven is God's reward for His faithful children. He says if we leave everything of this world for Jesus' sake, we will have eternal life (Mark 10:29-31) We may have nothing in this world, and we may have to suffer persecution for our Lord's sake, but our reward will be great in Heaven! :)
I have heard it said that our eternal life can start here on earth. We can start by having a walk with Jesus NOW, and although we do live on a sinful planet, we can experience the peace, joy, and love that Jesus has planned for us. :) A lot of verses in the Bible talk about eternal life as knowing God, etc. Like 1 John 5:20. 'And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.'
Eternal life in Heaven almost sounds too good to be true! But it can be yours, and mine! We must die to self daily and follow Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. :) He gave His life for us so that we can live forever!
1 Timothy 6:12 - 'Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.'



Prayer Requests
Des and her brother Patrick
Sarah's Bible study contact, Heather. :)
My Bible study, Patricia
The GYC, that all the young people going will gain a rich blessing!

Praises
Katie says, 'Praise God for giving me the opportunity to go to GYC!'

If any of you have praises that you want to put in here, feel free to send them to me! Thanks!! :)

Poem
'Who for us will go
To a world of woe?
I will search high and low.
Will you go?
There's no time to be slow.
So get up and go!

By Jenny McCluskey. :) Thanks Jenny!!!!


Have a most wonderful and blessed day!!!!
Love,
your friend,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #11

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! I apologize for the lack of a newsletter last week! I was kind of busy. And this week is turning out to be interesting as well! But I finally have time to finish typing the newsletter in. :) I hope you are all doing great and enjoying the cold weather! Have a wonderful day, and God bless you all. :)
Much love,
your sister in Christ,
~*Heather*~


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 11 December 3, 2007

Theme Verse~
For the grace of God which bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly,
in this present world.
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14



Study:
The Peace of God

Today's study is about peace. Many people in the world today are searching for peace. They think it is hard, if not impossible, to find true peace and rest in the busy modern world! But really, peace can be yours if you just know where to look. :)
John 14:27 (I love this verse) says 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'
One more, John 16:33! 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have over come the world.'

God offers us His peace. His peace is something the world cannot give us; it cannot be found in worldly enjoyments. But in Jesus we find true, lasting peace. (Ephesians 2:14 '...He is our peace...') He says, we will have trials, but His peace can never be taken away.
Isaiah 26:3, another one of my favorite verses, says 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.' When we fix our eyes on Jesus and trust Him with all our problems, He gives us His 'perfect peace.'

Isaiah 55:8-9, 11-12 says... 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. ... So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.'
I know it's long, but it's a beautiful passage! Jesus' ways and plans are higher than ours; He knows the end from the beginning and He will take our lives and make something beautiful out of them that we never would have thought possible. He can make everything, everything! turn out for good. :)

To Close:
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make His face shine upon thee,
And be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee,
And give thee peace.'
Numbers 6:24-26

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Des's brother Parick.
2. Please pray for Des and her school.
3. Please pray for some people at Jessica's school who are not Christians and need prayer.
:) Thanks a lot! Also, please pray for me. Thanks everybody. =)

I like this, I saw it on a bumper sticker:

No Jesus, No Peace.
Know Jesus, Know Peace!

All right, everybody! Have a fantastic blessed week and may the Lord richly bless you and your families! :)
Love,
Heather Ann Snyder



(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #10

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you? I'm doing fine. :) I hope you all have had a good couple of weeks! I hope you're growing in Christ and enjoying fall... I don't know if I am enjoying fall! Ha ha. I like the colors though. =) Oh, one thing about the study, um, some of you have heard it preached. SORRY! I was trying to do a study on the verses of Titus 2:13-14 but it wasn't coming along very well so I just used this sermonette. Sorry to those of you who have heard it before! :) Have a very happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!!
Much love,
Your friend in Christ,
~Heather Ann~


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
November 21, 2007 Number 10 (I think!)


Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and wordly lusts,
We should live righteously, soberly, and godly, in this present world,
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us,
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14

Study.....
The Preparation


I'm sure most of you have at some point really looked forward to something. I know I have! You probably thought about it, talked about it, planned and prepared for it.

There is something that we need to be looking for and looking forward to. Titus 2:13 says 'Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.' We as God's endtime people need to be eagerly, earnestly waiting and watching for Jesus' return. It is what we live for and what we look forward to. Jesus' coming will be a wonderful, glorious event. We need to be ready when Jesus comes! We need to ask Him to take away our sin and give us new, clean hearts that will love to obey him. We need to be like Jesus.
When we are living for Jesus, and looking forward to His return, we will want to hasten his coming. We can do this by telling others about Him. We can share Jesus' love and salvation with others, and then they can be ready too, when He comes. When the gospel message has gone to the whole world, then Jesus can come.

There is a story about two girls who were invited to go on a picnic with some of their friends. I'll call the girls Lacey and Emma. They were both excited to go on the picnic, but there were a few things they needed to do in order to go. Their friends had asked them to bring some food along. So they decided that Lacey would make the potato salad and Emma could bake some cookies. On the evening of the picnic, Lacey went down to the kitchen a few hours early and started making her potato salad. Then she ran upstairs to get her clothes ready. When Lacey was all ready, she peeked into Emma's bedroom.
'Don't you need to get started on those cookies?' Lacey asked.
Emma looked up from the book she was reading. 'Oh yes, I guess so. I'll be down in five minutes.'
Lacey went back downstairs to chat with her mother for a few minutes. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:25! They were supposed to get picked up at 5:00. Lacey ran back upstairs to Emma's room. 'Emma! It's 4:30! You really need to make the cookies now!'
But Emma was frantically searching through her closet for something to wear. 'Lacey, I can't make cookies right now! I don't have any clean dresses to wear that don't have a button missing or something! I don't know what to do!'
Lacey sighed. 'Well, you should have done your washing and mending earlier! But don't worry about the cookies, I will make them for you.' Lacey went back down and quickly put some cookies in the oven. While they baked, she eagerly watched out the window for her friends. A little before 5, Lacey was all ready outside, picnic basket in hand. When her friends drove up, she jumped in and they were off! Emma watched from the house with tears in her eyes. But it was too late now. She hadn't prepared for the picnic, so she wasn't ready when her ride came. And she missed out on the fun.

Now you may be thinking, 'That's silly!' She should have gotten ready, and she wouldn't have missed out. But you know many of us are doing the exact same thing. We know that Jesus is coming soon. But we say, 'Oh, there's no hurry. I've got plenty of time to get ready.' We sit back and get distracted with the pleasures of this world. All the time, Jesus' return is getting closer and closer. WE NEED TO BE READY WHEN HE COMES!!!!
We need to give our hearts and our lives to Him and let Him take away our sin. We need to be watching for his coming, his glorious appearing. And we need to tell others about Him so they can be ready too. I don't want to miss out. I want to be ready. What about you? Do you want to be ready when Jesus comes??







Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Emily as she has decisions to make about her school and future, and she wants to make the right choice.

Poem:
This is a poem I found in a little book, and I thought it had a really good message. :) Enjoy!

'EXCUSE ME'

'Speak up for God's truth? Not me,' piped the youth.
'My buddies would laugh me to shame.'
'No way,' chimed the teen, 'I'm leaving the scene.
Don't want to be late for my game.'

'Why me?' groaned the deacon. 'Must I be a beacon?
I fear they will call me a fool.'
'Next time,' pledged the preacher. Then stated the teacher,
'I'm still very busy at school.'

'Who, me?' asked the clerk, coming home from his work.
'I'm tired and deserving a rest.'
'Some day,' shrugged the prof, 'when I take a year off.'
And no one responded with zest.

'I'll go,' pledged the blind, 'and search till I find
A love-hungry person who'll hear.'
'I'll try,' vowed the lame, 'to praise the Lord's Name,
To speak words that comfort and cheer.'

Praise God that the King of Whom mortals sing
Has servants who love Him and share.
What a glorious reward at the feast of the Lord
Will be heaped upon those who are there!

By Fannie L. Houck.


(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #9

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hola mis amigos! How are you? I'm doing well! I hope you all are too. :) Thank you so much to those of you who sent me prayer requests and other things for the newsletter this week! I really appreciate it. :) And I'll take more for the next newsletter, any of you who have something you want in here. :) I'll look forward to hearing from you. Well, have a great week and God richly bless you!!!
Love,
~Heather~



Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 9 November 9, 2007

Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope,
And the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might purify unto Himself
A peculiar people, zealous of good works
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study


I decided it was time to talk about our theme verse! I put it in here every time, but some of you may wonder what it's for and why it's our theme verse, or why we even have a theme verse. =) Well, I actually don't really know why I chose that one, I just like it, and I thought we should have a theme verse! Anyway, I did a little studying deeper into it this week.

Titus 2:11-12 says 'For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.' The first thing is talks about is 'the grace of God'. Now, I don't really have a clear understanding of grace myself. I never have! But Romans 3:24-25 says that we are 'justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. And in Titus 2 it says that God's grace brings salvation. So, we know that we are saved and redeemed by grace!

Next, it says God's grace has 'appeared to all men'. In my Bible it says it could be translated 'for the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared', with the word order a little different! So; God's grace and salvation is available to ALL of us! To all men. It's a free gift, we just have to accept it. In Hebrews 5:9 it says that Jesus, '...being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.' :) Eternal salvation! What a precious gift!

Now on to verse 12. (of Titus 2!) I really like this one! It says we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, even though the world around us is evil. God wants us to be holy in this world. We are to be different, and be a shining light to those in darkness. Luke 1:75 says 'In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.'

We need to deny self, deny worldly pleasures, and live for God only! I like the verse that says 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...' (I looked it up but I don't remember the reference, I think it was in Ephesians though. :)) There's a song called 'To Live Is Christ', I think some of you know it. It's very beautiful and very deep. =)

Well, I am going to write on the other 2 verses (Titus 2:13 and 14) next time! Until then, keep growing in Jesus!!!


Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Weimar institute; they are struggling.
2. Please pray for a young lady that Sarah is studying the Bible with, her name is Heather.
3. Please pray for Heather Ruiz, that her mission trip to the Dominican Republic will turn out well and that she can help the people and reach their hearts. :)

Story!
Submitted by Brenna Nakamura

'Shake it off and step Up!'

The parable is told of an old dog who fell into a farmer's well.
After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog,
but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving.
Instead, he planned to bury the old dog in the well
and put him out of his misery.

At first when the farmer began, the old dog was hysterical.
But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt fell onto his back,
a though struck the dog. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt hit his back,
he should shake it off and step up!
This he did blow after blow. 'Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up,
shake it off and step up!' He repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows
or how distressing the situation seemed,
the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up!
It was not long before the dog,
battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well!
What seemed as though it would bury him
actually benefited him, all because of the way he handled his adversity.

If we face our problems and respond to them positively,
refusing to give in to bitterness, self pity, or panic,
the adversities that come along to bury us
usually have within them the potential to bless us!
Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the Biblical ways
to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves. :)

See Psalm 85:6, Philippians 4:4, and James 1:2-4.


WEELLL, have a GREAT week and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!


(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #8

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello!!! How are you all? I'm doing good. I'm really sorry I never did a newsletter last week! I was busy. But now our evangelistic meetings are done and I will hopefully have more time! Also, I'm looking for submissions! You can contribute pretty much anything that has a spiritual message, like poems, songs, book reviews about good, preferably true books, um..., etc. And prayer requests. :) So, thank you so much.
I was trying to think of a topic for this week's study, and suddenly it hit me, to do it on prayer! Last week I went to a presentation on prayer by someone named Dick Hanson, and it was really good. That's where I've gotten a lot of the quotes here. =) Anyway, enjoy and have a wonderful week!! God bless.
Love,
~Heather


Glimpse from the Lighthouse

No. 8 October 29, 2007

Theme Verse::
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
~~Titus 2:11-14~~


Study: PRAYER:)


Prayer is of extreme importance. It is our connection with Heaven! Jesus wants us to talk to Him in prayer, to tell Him everything that's going on in our lives, to thank Him for His blessings, to make requests of Him. 1 Timothy 2:1 says: 'I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.' Prayer is communion with God. It is talking to Jesus as our friend, Saviour, and Lord. :)

Prayer really does work. I've had many prayers answered - they may be about 'small things' but God really does care! :) Luke 11:9 : 'Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened unto you.'

Ellen White says in Our High Calling, page 129 'Prayer is both a duty and a privilege. We must have help which God alone can give, and that help will not come unasked. ... Earnest, sincere...prayer would bring strength and grace to resist the powers of darkness. God wants to bless.' And one more quote from Our High Calling, same page: 'I have been shown angels of God all ready to impart grace and power to those who feel their need of divine strength. But these heavenly messengers will not bestow blessings unsolicited. They have waited for the cry from souls hungering and thirsting for the blessing of God; often they have waited in vain!' Do we want the angels to wait in vain, to bestow heaven's blessings on us? No! We must simply ask God for them!

God wants us to ASK Him for help, for grace, strength, power to resist Satan. And God will help us. :) 1 Peter 3:12 says: 'For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers...' And Romans 12:12 [Emily Beth likes this one!! ;)] says 'Rejoicing in hope; patient in triblulation; continuing instant in prayer'.

Prayer is powerful. James 5:15-16 says that 'the prayer of faith' will heal and save the sick, and their sins will be forgiven! Also, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' (James 5:16) An amazing quote (which Mr. Hanson used) from 'Medical Ministry' page 195 is 'When you neglect to offer prayer for the sick, you deprive them of great blessings'.

There is a real power, a supernatural, divine power, in prayer. One more E.G. White quote! 'It is a part of God's plan to grant us, in answer to the prayer of faith, that which He would NOT bestow did we NOT ask.' Amazing.

Well, I could say more and put more quotes on here, but I will close! I hope we may all be motivated to pray more. And in particular, pray for friends and family who are not Christians! God can work a miracle in their hearts. :)

Prayer Requests::
1. Korah's family, and a senior at her school.
2. Josiah
3. Katie's friend's uncle, he is a missionary but he is back in the states for medical treatment (she told me to leave it on here. :))
4. 'James' - and the other visitors from our church's evangelistic series! :)

Thanks! Sorry but I do not have any neat poems or whatever to put in here this time. :( Maybe next time!! Until then, GOD BLESS! Have a great day!!! Much love,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #7

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello everyone!! How are you? I'm doing well. I have been pretty busy still though, so this is kind of late again. ;) Our church is having an evangelistic series which is
4 nights a week, and then we attend It Is Written trainings once a week, so we are gone 5 nights a week plus all the other places we go... so sorry, I haven't had much time on the internet lately!! =) This week I think I got a little off subject on the study... it's supposed to be about faith, but I got mixed up between verses about faith and verses about 'being faithful', which are two different things (at least kind of, in my mind). So, it may be a little different, but I hope you enjoy it. :) Have a GREAT weekend and God bless!!!!
Much love,
Heather


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 7 October 18

Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us
From all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study: FAITH

What exactly is faith?? The dictionary definition of faith is 'complete confidence or trust' (Random House Dictionary). And the little concordance/dictionary in the back of my Bible says this 'loyalty, belief, reliance'. I think I like the Random House definition best. :) I also like the Bible's description of faith! 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Hebrews 11:1. Faith is an important part of the Christian walk. Hebrews 11:6 says that we cannot please God unless we have faith! And we are saved by grace, through faith. Faith is essential! =)

Psalms 31:23 says '... the Lord preserveth the faithful...' God wants us to have faith in Him, to just trust Him completely, and stay true to Him, and He will never fail us. So many miracles happened in the New Testament because of the faith the people had! God can do the same today, if we will only have faith like the early Christians did.

Luke 18:8 says '... Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?' We need to keep our faith, not let it grow dim, and pray for God to strengthen it. There is a song I like that says... 'May the Lord find us faithful, May His Word be our banner held high. May the Lord find us faithful, every day though we live, though we die.' :)

My closing thought is Revelation 2:10 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life!'
May we all be found faithful!!


Prayer Requests:
Please pray for a girl who used to go to school with Korah, she got burned very badly and needs healing.



The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I love this! Please read it. I don't know who wrote it but I have heard a couple of preachers use it in sermons. Here goes!

'I am part of the 'Fellowship of the Unashamed'. The die has been cast. The
decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look back, let up,
slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm
finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees,
colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or
rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by
prayer and labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my Guide is
reliable, and my mission is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,
lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of
sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up,
prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all
know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have
no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear! I am a part of the 'Fellowship of
The Unashamed.'



Have a great day, keep close to Jesus!
Your friend in Christ,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #6

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello! I'm finally able to do the newsletter. Sorry that there wasn't one last week, but I was just really busy. Now hopefully I'll be able to keep up and do one every week! :) So... I hope everything is going well for all of you. It's quite cloudy and cool here, it really feels like fall! I like summer best, but, fall and winter are OK too. Well, enjoy and have a good day!
Love,
~Heather



Glimpse From the Lighthouse
No. 6, October 8

Theme Verse:
'For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godlyin this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.'
Titus 2:11-14

Study: Being His Witnesses


God wants us to be His witnesses. He calls us to go and tell others of His love. Isaiah 6:8 says: 'Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? The said I, Here am I; send me'. We just need to be willing to have God use us, and He will! He can do mighty things through us. And our goal as Christians should be to win others to Christ. Matthew 24:14: 'And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.' God wants us to tell everyone about His salvation, and then Jesus can come. :)

God has made us a light in a dark world. We need to live up to it! :) Several times the Bible talks about being 'a light of the Gentiles', bringing them light. Like Acts 13:47: 'For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.' And Isaiah 42:6 says: 'I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.'

John 1:7 says (talking about John the Baptist) 'The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.'

When we are faithful witnesses for Christ, we will take His light to the world, and we will win souls for Him. Proverbs 14:25 says: A true witness delivereth souls.' We are to be bringers of light. I love Luke 1:77 & 79 which says: 'To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of sins, ... To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.' It's talking about Jesus here, but it sounds like what our job is too!

When we labor faithfully for Christ, even though we may not see any fruit from it on Earth, our reward will be in Heaven. :) Colossians 3:24 says: 'Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.' :) We will not work in vain; we will get our reward when we get to heaven.


Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Katie's friend's uncle who is a missionary to Tanzania, but he is back in the states for surgery.

Please pray for Sara; her well dried out so she and her family have no water at all.

Please pray for Des's dad's back.

Please pray for Des's friends who are missionaries in Fiji, and their friend who needs healing.

Please pray for Hahna's friend Suzie; she's been getting into trouble lately and needs prayer.

Thanks!!

Favorite Bible Verses:
Last newsletter, I asked for any of you who wanted to, to send me your favorite Bible verses to put in the newsletter. Thank you so much to those of you who did! I'll list them now.

'For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
~Katie

'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.'
Philippians 4:13
~Giovanni

'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
But have everlasting life.'
John 3:16
~Sara and Des. ;)

'Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.'
Psalms 37;4-5

'Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers,
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.'
1 Timothy 4:12

'Rejoicing in hope;
patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer.'
Romans 12:12
~Emily Beth (the last 3)

'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to vige you an expected end.'
Jeremiah 29:11
~Sarah

'Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.'
Jeremiah 33:3
~Jessica

And mine:
'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee:
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'
Psalms 55:22

Thanks all you who submitted! I hope you all have a great week, and say close to Jesus. :)
Love,
your sister in Christ,
~Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #5

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you all? I'm fine! I've been pretty busy the past week or so, but it's been fun! I hope you all enjoy the newsletter this week. It's continued from last time. :) Thanks to those of you who submitted things!! I appreciate that. I hope you're all having a good week and enjoying fall. I personally wish it would still be summer... but oh well!
Have a great day and God bless! =)
Love,
~*Heather*~


Glimpse from the Lighthouse
No. 5 September 25, 2007

Theme Text:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14



Study: With us in Trials, Part 2



Last time we talked about trials and how God will be with us in them. We looked at some examples in the Bible relating to Isaiah 43:2: 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.' Today I want to look at more how it applies to us. I really like this topic. =) God gives us trials for a reason. They are to strengthen and refine us, and make us more dependent upon God. And, Romans 8;28 says: 'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.' God always works things out for His children Everything is part of His great plan of making us ready for Heaven. :)
1 Peter 4;12-13 says: 'Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.'
And Romans 8:18 (one of my favorite verses!) says: 'For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.' :)
When we get to heaven, every trial we've had here on earth as a result of sin, or if we've suffered for Christ, it will seem as nothing compared to Heaven and being with Jesus for all eternity!
In Paul's writings there is a lot on this topic... of course I can't write it all out, but it's beautiful to read through! Paul went through terrible things for Christ. And yet he always remained faithful, and God blessed him for it.
God will give us strength for whatever we may be going through. I like Isaiah 26:3-4 (my signature!):


Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee.
Trust ye in the Lord for ever,
For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength!



Prayer Requests:

1. A request kind of adding on to Abigail's last time: we should pray for ourselves and each other, that we don't compromise either... that we all remain faithful. It's hard in the world today. =) (Sorry, I didn't know if the submitter wanted me to put their name or not!)
2. Please pray for non-Adventist family and that we may be able to witness to them!





Poem:

The Dream of Paradise

I've had some dreams
Of a green pasture
And of streams
That trickle faster.

I've had some dreams
Of paradise,
To me it seems
I've thought this twice.

I had a dream
Of such a place:
It had a stream
Flower-lined like lace.

Mountain majesties
Loom high above
What beautiful pageantries...!
...Showing God's love.

Birds on wing
Fly over head,
Now they will sing
'Til time for bed.

A large tree--
It held my swing.
A buck I see--
An antlered king.

No animals are afraid.
The woods are at peace.
Guns won't ever raid.
The joy won't ever cease.

My dream must end.
I must leave it all.
But to you I will lend
This the myst'ry call...

I'll let you guess
Where and how to find it.
Hope you'll meet the quest:
'No false gods-Don't covet.'

I've had some dreams
Of a green pasture
And of streams
That trickle faster.

This is my goal
To make it o'er there:
Give Christ my soul,
With Him my life share.

By Abigail Czeinger

Extra!
I thought we'd do something special for next time! You can each send me your favorite Bible verse, and I'll put them all in the newsletter next week! I just thought that'd be fun... you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but if you do, GREAT! Thanks!


All right, everyone, have a blessed day! Keep close to Jesus until next time! Keep looking forward to heaven. :)
Much love,
~Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #4

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you all? I'm doing well. :) I'm sorry this newsletter is a little late! I hadn't finished the study yet... and last night I was gone, so anyway, it's a little later! I hope you all are having a good school year so far, and growing closer to Jesus!
This time, we have a name for the newsletter. :) One of my friends suggested the name 'Glimpse from the Lighthouse', and I like that! We're the light of the world... so that will be the name. :) Also,this newsletters study is going to be in two or three parts, just because it's kind of a broad topic and I love it! :) It's fun to study. If you wanted to do a little studying on it on your own, you might find it interesting. I use cross-references and the concordance, and it works great. :) Plus, I use some of my favorite Bible verses.
Again... if any of you have any contributions, feel free to send them to me. But I do want them to be spiritual, etc. :) Also thank you to those of you who contributed to this one! It really does help! :)
I hope you have a great day, and God bless!
Love,
~Heather

Glimpse from the Lighthouse
No. 4 September 19, 2007

Theme Verse~
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men;
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14

Study: With us in Trials ~ Part 1

Isaiah 43:-3: '...Thus saith the Lord... Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by My name; thou are Mine! When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour...' :)
I love this little passage! First, God says 'Fear not'. God doesn't want us to be afraid; He wants us to trust Him. He says 'I have redeemed thee.' Isaiah 44:22: 'I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.'
Next, God has called us by His Name; we are to be His witnesses. 'I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles!' Isaiah 42:6. He wants us to be a light shining for Him in a dark, sin-filled world. :)
Also, God tells us that we are His. We are His children, and His heirs. He will take care of us if we remain faithful. :)
In verse 2, God is telling us that He will be with us in trials; He will protect us. I think this has a literal meaning, as well as meaning any trial we may experience. 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...' Think of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea! God held the waters back, and the people walked across. But when the Egyptians tried to cross, they were drowned. :)
And 'When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee'. Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! What an example of this. God was with them(even visibly with them) in their true 'fiery trial', and He will he with us too, and protect us, in whatever trial we may have. :)
Well, that's all for now, more later! Next time I'll talk more about like, how it applies to us, and some different verses. :) God bless!


Prayer Requests:

An anonymous request: ' Please pray for me and my family'. :)
Please pray for Lydia.
Abigail says 'Please pray for my dad that he gain complete recovery'
And from Abigail again: 'Pray for the church as a whole to see the importance of keeping God's Law, that He is particular. The church needs to WAKE UP!! Compromise is creeping in. People are starting to think that there are gray areas, and we need to pray like never before that the church will wake up and realize that with God there is BLACK AND WHITE, RIGHT AND WRONG.' (Amen! :))

Seasons of the Sabbath School

Our Sabbath School is time of Spring
We're each a tender, blooming thing.
Like the poppies that dot the hills.
This is the time the farmer tills
And this is the time our teachers will
Redemption story in us instill.
If they carefully, prayerfully plant,
God will an abundant harvest grant.

Summer is when our love burns high,
Like the blazing sun up in the sky.
We pray that our love will not grow dim,
That we will remain faithful to Him.

Our classmates are varied as autumn's leaves.
While one's helpful, one's quick to please.
We each have our own personalities
And individual qualities.
Some are gentle and patient, others polite and kind.
In others a measure of faith you will find.

In winter white-out we think of His grace
Who cleansed all our sins and died in our place.
This is the experience for which we search
Not just the experience of going to church.
We would strive to be as white as the snow-
And our friend, Jesus, we want to know.
As children in this world below
We have assurance in this very thing
God supplies faith til again it is spring.

~by Abigail Czeinger

Ok, that is all! Have a GREAT week, God bless, and keep close to Jesus!
Much love,
your sister in Christ,
~Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue# 3

Dear Friends,
Hello! It's time for another newsletter... :) Thanks to those of you who contributed for this one! I know a few of you didn't get the first two, because I didn't send it to you, but anyway, I hope you like it! If you do NOT want to continue getting it, please tell me. :) Thanks! Also, anyone can contribute spiritual, uplifting poems, stories, book reviews, etc! And prayer requests. :) Thanks! God bless. Have a great week.
Love,
Your friend in Christ,
~Heather~

Issue # 3
September 10, 2007

Theme text:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14. :)


All right, now for the study! This morning for my devotions I did a study on God's forgiveness, for the newsletter. Now, I didn't really feel like doing it on that, but that was what I felt like God wanted me to do. :) And it was great! So, here goes!
Psalm 130 talks about God's forgiveness. Verses 3-4: "If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee." Even though God does 'mark down' our sins, He will forgive us if we ask. Psalm 130:7 says: "Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption." He can redeem us from sin and Satan. :)
Jesus is our saviour, He gives us repentance and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31) Again, what a wonderful saviour! He died for us (last week's newsletter ;)) and he forgives us so that we can live with Him in heaven forever. It hurts Him when we sin, but when we ask forgiveness, Micah 7:19 says: 'He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea"! Isn't that a beautiful promise? In to the depths of the sea! God's forgiveness is so deep and free, and it's ours for the asking! Micah 7:18 says that God "delighteth in mercy"; He loves to forgive us. :)
So, all we have to do is ask Jesus, claim His blood to cleanse us, and we will receive His wonderful forgiveness! I want to claim it! Don't you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Jenny's mission trip to Rwanda Sept. 18.
And please pray for two kids Jenny will be sponsoring in the Philippines.
And please pray for Josiah again...
Oh, and my church is doing meetings in the fall, please pray for them.
Thanks!!!

Poem by Jessica Carvajal

"God is calling"

We can be streams
Stagnant with no current;
We can be beams
Dimly sitting still.

But God is calling,
He has a work for us to do;
God is asking
"Be in My servant hood."

We can be streams
flowing with a current.
We can be beams
Spreading joy and light.

God has called us,
Giving us a mission.
It rests upon us,
He awaits the decision.

~by Jessica Carvajal.

Thanks! I like that. :)

Acrostic::

F A I T H
o l r i
r l u m
s s
a t
k
i
n
g

I got that off of the back of a Young Disciple magazine, I don't know who wrote it, but I really liked it. :)

Well, I think that's all for this time! Have a great day, my friends, and until next time keep looking to Jesus!
Love,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #2

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you all? It's time for another newsletter.... so, I hope you enjoy it! I was encouraged by all the wonderful responses I got from the last one, thanks a lot to those who took the time to e-mail me, submit things, etc! It was great. :) So, here we go!
Love,
Heather

Issue #2


Study...

On Sabbath afternoon I sat down to do a study for the newsletter, and I felt impressed to study God's love! So I did. I imagine most of us have heard a lot about God's love... but anyway, I found some kind of neat verses, so I'll just share the study! :)
Romans 5:8 says: "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I like this verse. What amazing love, what deep, self-sacrificing love God has for us. He gave His only Son for us. (John 3:16!) Now, parents can probably understand better than we can, how hard it must have been for God to give up His Son for years, and then to see Him die on a cross. 1 John 14:9: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. God loves us that much! And Jesus loves us infinitely too; He was willing to give His life. Now, I know that we should love God too! He has sacrificed for us, we should be willing to live for Him and give Him our love. John 14:21 says: He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. So, if we keep God's commandments, we love Him, and if we truly love Him we will keep His commandments! (John 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.) Loving Him and obeying Him go together! And 1 John 4:16 says ... God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. So, we should love God, since He is love... and then we will dwell in God and God will dwell in us! And we want God to dwell in us, don't we? :) So the bottom line is: God loves us very much, and so we should love and obey Him. :) That's all on the study, now it's time for prayer requests!


Prayer Requests

Please pray for Des and her spiritual walk. :)
Please pray for Brenna and the other It Is Written staff as they are very busy this time of year. :)
Angie says, please pray for all those who are sick.
Please pray for a mission trip that Angie, her mom, and Judy are going on. They leave Sept. 7, for the Dominican Republic.
Please pray for Josiah Hill, he is very sick. Thanks so much!
Please pray for me, again. :) If you don't mind.

All right, thank you so much for praying for these! Prayer really does work. :)


Poems

Day By Day, submitted by Ashley Kanomata

Day by Day, I will trust Christ.
Day by Day, He will provide.
He will give me grace and mercy,
If in His presence I abide.
Day by Day, he knows my sorrows.
Day by Day, He shares my pain.
Jesus is my joy and comfort
He's my strength and life again.
Day by Day I can trust Him,
Though some days I come unglued.
As I wait upon the Lord,
I find my strength renewed.
Day by Day, I have God's blessings
Which Christ's sacrifice affords
I cannot rely on my own strength
I will rather boast in the Lord
... Day by Day.
Author unknown.

I really like that poem, thanks Ashley! :)


I'll Walk With God

I'll walk with you,
All the day through.
And you'll show me
How to please Thee.
All through the night,
Your shining light
Will help me make
My choices right.
You'll never go,
So I will know
How to please Thee
As I go.

I wrote that awhile ago...

Well, I think that is all for now! I hope you all have a wonderful day!! Keep growing in Christ, and may God bless each of you. :) Thanks for being my friends! :)
Love,
Heather


(Posted By: AJ)

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #1

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! I have decided to start a little spiritual e-newsletter. :) The idea will be to draw us all closer to Jesus, and to help us get ready for His coming. I will try to make one each week. I thought that maybe on Sabbath afternoons I could do a study on some topic, and then share it with you in the newsletter on Sunday or Monday! I may sometimes add stories, poems, songs, or something else. Also we can have a place for prayer requests. If any of you have something you'd like everyone else to pray for, you can let me know and I'll put it in the newsletter. :) And if you have anything else to contribute, such as a poem or something that's spiritually uplifting, I can put it in too. :) OK - if any of you do NOT want to receive this newsletter, please don't hesitate to tell me! I don't want to be a burden or anything, I just thought this would be neat. :) I will try to make them fairly short. All right, now I will stop the intro, and get on with Issue # 1!
Much love,
Heather
PS. If anybody has an idea for a good name, let me know please! Thanks!!


The Spiritual E-Newsletter for Youth Who Want to Grow in Christ

August 26, 2007
Issue # 1.

All right, our 'theme verse' is going to be Titus 2:11-14! Here it is:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

This is one of my favorite Bible verses. :) I might talk about it a little bit each time.
Right now, what I want to draw out of it is this: God has given us His great salvation, so that we can all be saved if we just accept it. When we choose Christ and accept His salvation, we need to live for Him, and do what He wants. We need to live 'righteously', in this sinful world. But He has given us something to look forward to, a hope for when things seem dark. This hope we have in Him is the second coming. When Jesus comes, it will mean the end of sin, sorrow and suffering. If we've accepted God's saving grace, and chosen to live for Him no matter what, He will take us to heaven, our eternal home. :) Jesus gave Himself for us, so shouldn't we live for Him? He died for us, He lived the perfect life for us. :) I want to live for Him! I want to live with Him in heaven someday, eternally. And I hope each of you are there too. :)

Prayer Requests
Please pray for me and my spiritual life. It's hard in this world. But I know that with Christ's strength we can win against Satan! So please pray for each of the young people who are struggling with temptation. I know all of us probably have our struggles! I know I do...

Well, I don't really know what else to write, so I think I will call that good for now. I know it's not anything fantastic, but I just wanted to start a little newsletter. I will try to have a little more next time! So until then, keep choosing Jesus, and take care! God bless each of you. ;)

Love,
your friend in Christ,
Heather

(posted by "R")