Newsletter Issue #27

Glimpse From The Lighthouse

“Like Other Nations”

No. 27 June 17, 2009

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

From Me to You

Dear Friends in Christ,

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful day in Christ! And I hope you’re keeping close to Him always, and growing in Him. Such blessings, such joy comes from choosing Jesus, and I hope that each of us will choose His way each day.

Thank you SO much to all those of you who helped with this newsletter! It was wonderful, all the feedback I got last time. Please keep it coming!! I’ve decided this time to use the theme of peer pressure. It was suggested by Jessica. =) Thanks!

I think often when we think of peer pressure, we think of things like smoking and drinking, and other things teenagers get into trouble with… and we don’t think it applies very much to US. But really, the idea is a whole lot deeper than that. “Pressure” from those around us can have a very far-reaching impact on our lives. There are some excellent examples of this in the Bible.

I don’t know how many of you have seen Pr. David Asscherick’s sermon called “Because of Those Who Sat.” The topic is peer pressure, and it is an amazing sermon! I highly recommend watching or listening to it! It’s from GYC 2007, I do believe, so you should be able to access it on the GYC website. Ask me for more details if you’re interested.

Anyway, in this sermon he uses the story of when John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod, “because of those who sat,” because of peer pressure, basically! Herod didn’t follow his conscience; he yielded to the influence of those around him.

I hope that each of us will choose God’s way no matter what, no matter what others around us think or do. He WILL give us the strength to stand firm for him, if we’ll let Him. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Love,

Heather

Thought of the Day

I think that one of the saddest examples of “peer pressure” in the Bible is the story of Israel asking for a king. “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:4-5).

Up to this point, God’s people Israel had been ruled by God, through His chosen men such as Moses and Joshua. But the Israelites were dissatisfied with this system. They wanted to be like the other people around them. They wanted to “fit in,” and they rejected God’s leadership. 1 Samuel 8:7 says (this is God speaking), “They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

I know I have struggled with this idea of fitting in. It can be very hard sometimes, when we are so different from the world. But God has called us to be separate from the world! He doesn’t want us to be like them; He wants us to be like Himself. This is our calling. I like this quote by David Asscherick: “When the world looks darker and more like Satan himself, the Christian should look more and more like Jesus Himself.” If the world rejects us because we’re “different,” we should actually be happy, because that is exactly what happened to Jesus.

Back to Israel. =) I suppose the people thought they would be happy if they could just be like the other nations and have a king. But think about how much trouble, heartache, war and bloodshed this brought to Israel!! Many of their kings were evil men! Sure, there were some very good ones, but even they had their weak points. David, for example, and Solomon. Both of these men had major falls, which led to much sorrow! Because of Israel’s desire to be like others, they rejected God, and He in turn rejected them, and allowed many horrible things to happen to them.

God warned the people of Israel that a king was not the best thing for them: “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day” (1 Sam. 8:18). But it goes on… “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”

So Israel got a king. They got what they wanted, because they rebelled against God. They did not trust His will. They did not submit to His plan, realizing that He always knows BEST. And they suffered much because of it.

Other similar examples are Solomon and Herod. Solomon had 700 wives (Can you imagine???), and because of their influence, he turned away from God (1 Kings 11). God had done soo much for Solomon! He had blessed him above all others with wisdom, and given him incredible riches besides! But Solomon allowed his heart to drift away, because of his wives.

The story of Herod and John the Baptist is found in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. It is very interesting! Herod didn’t want to kill John, but he did it because of the pressures put on him by other people.

May we stay true to God and not succumb to the worldly influences around us…. =) God will give us strength.

Quotes

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men,--men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”

~Ellen White, Education, p. 57 (italics supplied)

“The children of God are wise when they trust in that wisdom alone which comes from above, and when they have no strength but that which is from God. Separation from the friendship and spirit of the world is needful for us if we would be united to the Lord and abide in him. Our strength and our prosperity consist in our being connected with the Lord, chosen and accepted of Him. There can be no union between light and darkness. God intends that His people shall be a peculiar people, separate from the world, and be living examples of holiness, that the world may be enlightened, convicted, or condemned, according as they treat the light given them.”

~Ellen White, Testimonies to the Church, vol. 2, p. 689

From Scripture

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”

~ Deuteronomy 14:2

“…Them that honor Me I will honor…”

~ 1 Samuel 2:30

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

~ Mark 8:36

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

~ John 15:18-19

“God is my strength and power: And he maketh my way perfect.”

~ 2 Samuel 22:33

Poem Corner

Part of a song, submitted by Jessica Carvajal

Take me past the outer court,
Into the holy place,
Past the brazen alter,
Lord, I want to see Your face.

I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness,
And it’s only found in one place.

Take me into the Holy of Holies;
Take me in by the blood of the Lamb.
Take me in to the Holy of Holies;
Take the coal; cleanse my lips, here I am.

Please Pray…

1. Korah requests prayer that her friend Angela can find a good job, and that she can see her soon.

2. Please pray for my lay pastor, his wife, and his mother. His mother has cancer and really isn’t doing well…. They can really use our prayers right now!

3. Juanita wants us to pray for her as she is going to college at Southern Adventist University soon; she hopes all the funds will all come in and that she will stay close to God while there. =)

4. Juanita also requests prayer for her friend's uncle.

In Closing

Here is a quote Andrea submitted. I like it. =)

"Lean on ME, lean hard. I will bear you up. MY arm shall never fail you. It shall be strong to support you over all the rough and difficult places. Only make ME your trust and you shall be guided safely and upheld firmly." {Ellen White, 2SM 260.4}. Your loving Savior, Jesus

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever.”

2 Peter 3:18

Your friend in His service,

~*Heather*~