Friday, October 28, 2016

Lesson 6 The Curse Causeless? Oct 29-Nov 4 2016

Lesson 6October 29–November 4

The Curse Causeless?


Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Ps. 119:65–72Job 2:11–13Job 4:1–21Rom. 3:19201 Cor. 3:19Heb. 12:5Matt. 7:1.
Memory Text: “ ‘“Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?”’ ” (Job 4:17, NKJV).
Last week we stressed the importance of putting ourselves in the position of Job, at least to whatever degree possible. In one sense, it shouldn’t have been that hard, because we’ve all been there; that is, to some degree we’ve all found ourselves immersed in suffering that so often seems to make no sense and certainly doesn’t seem fair.
While in the rest of the lesson we should try to keep that perspective, we also need to find the perspective of the other people in the story, the men who come to mourn and grieve with Job.
And that shouldn’t be so hard either. Who among us hasn’t seen the suffering of others? Who hasn’t sought to console others in their pain and loss? Who doesn’t know what it is like to try to find the right words to speak to those whose grief cuts at our own hearts, as well?
In fact, so much of the book of Job is really taken up with the dialogue between Job and these men, as they all try to make sense of what so often seems to make no sense: the endless parade of human suffering and tragedy in a world created by a loving, powerful, and caring God.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 5.
SundayOctober 30

The Big Questions

Most of the action in the book of Job takes place in the first two chapters. Here the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, and we are given a glimpse into a whole aspect of reality that otherwise would remain hidden from us. However far our telescopes can peer into the cosmos, they haven’t come anywhere near revealing to us what we have been shown in this book, written thousands of years ago in a desert that is most likely located in today’s Saudi Arabia. Job also shows just how closely connected the supernatural realm, the realm of God and angels, is with the natural world, the earth and those of us upon it.
After the first two chapters, much of Job consists of what is called in the TV business “talking heads;” that is, just dialogue. In this case, the talking heads are Job and the men who come to discuss the heavy issues of life: theology, pain, philosophy, faith, life, and death.
And why not, considering all that has happened to Job? It’s so easy to be caught up in the mundane things of life, the business of just living day by day, and to forget what the big and important questions are. There is nothing like a calamity, either our own or that of others, to shake us out of our spiritual lethargy and get us to start asking the important questions.
Read Psalm 119:65–72. What is the psalmist saying?

The psalmist was able to see the good that arose from the trials that afflicted him. At times, trials can certainly be blessings in disguise, in that they either lead us back to the Lord or bring us to Him in the first place. Who hasn’t heard stories of those whose lives came to a crisis point, and only then did the person either come back to God or surrender to Him for the first time? Sometimes trials, however horrific and tragic, can be used for a good that, over time, we can see. Other times they appear arbitrary and meaningless.
How have you been able to look back at former trials and seen the good that has come out of them? How do you deal with those trials that have brought nothing good?
MondayOctober 31

When Have the Innocent Perished?

Read Job 2:11–13. What does it tell us about how Job’s friends viewed his situation?

Having heard about what happened to Job, these men made “an appointment” (Job 2:11, NKJV); that is, they planned to come together and see their friend. The verses convey the idea that they were stunned at what they saw, and they began the process of mourning with him.
According to the text, they sat silently, never saying a word. After all, what do you say to someone in a position such as Job’s? However, once Job first spoke, uttering his complaints, these men had plenty to say.
Read Job 4:1–11. What is the gist of Eliphaz’s words to Job?

Perhaps a good opening for a book on grief counseling could feature Eliphaz here. The opening chapter could have been titled, “What Not to Say to a Grieving Soul.” Though obviously these men sympathized with Job, that sympathy went only so far. It seems that for Eliphaz, theological purity was more important than basic consolation. It’s hard to imagine someone coming up to a person going through all that Job was going through and saying, basically, Well, you must have deserved it, because God is just, and only the wicked suffer like this.
Even if one thought that this was the situation in Job’s case, what good did it do to say it to him? Suppose a speeding driver got into a car accident and lost his entire family. Can you imagine someone going up to him right away, amid his grief, and saying to him right away: God is punishing you for your speeding? The problem with Eliphaz’s word isn’t just the questionable theology; the bigger issue is his insensitivity to Job and all that he is going through.
Think about a time people comforted you amid loss and pain. What did they say? How did they say it? What did you learn from that experience that could help you when you are in the position of having to comfort someone else?
TuesdayNovember 1

A Man and His Maker

Eliphaz wouldn’t exactly win any awards for tact and sympathy with his opening lines. Basically he was saying that it was easy for Job to be a light and comfort to others when things were going well. But now that evil had befallen him, he’s “troubled.” Yet, shouldn’t he be? God is just, and so the evil that comes upon us is deserved.
Read Job 4:12–21. What other argument does Eliphaz present to Job?

There are many fascinating things one could look at here, including how these men understood the nature and character of the true God, even before the rise of the nation of Israel. This whole book shows us that, indeed, others besides the patriarchs and then eventually the Israelites knew something of the Lord. Here, in fact, we see Eliphaz seeking to defend the character of God.
What Eliphaz heard in “visions of the night” was in many ways very sound theology (see Ps. 103:14Isa. 64:7Rom. 3:1920). We as humans are clay, we are so temporary, and we can be crushed as easily as a moth. And, of course, what man or woman can be more righteous than God?
On the other hand, his words were trite and beside the point. The issue with Job wasn’t whether Job was better than God. That was not Job’s complaint. He mostly talked about just how miserable he was, how much he was suffering, not that he was somehow more righteous than God.
Eliphaz, however, seems to have read all this into what Job said. After all, if God is just, and evil comes only upon evil, then Job must have done something to deserve what he was going through. Therefore, Job’s complaints were unfair. Eager to defend God, Eliphaz starts to lecture Job. Even more than just whatever collective wisdom he believed he had about God, Eliphaz had something else, as well: a supernatural revelation of some kind to buttress his position. The only problem, however, is that the position he took misses the point.
What can we learn from this account about how, even if we are right on a position, we might not be expressing it in the most helpful and redeeming way?
WednesdayNovember 2

The Foolish Taking Root

In chapter 5, Eliphaz continues with his argument. It’s mostly the same as what he said in the previous chapter: evil happens only to evil people. Imagine how this must have felt to Job, who knew that it couldn’t be right and that he didn’t deserve his present situation.
However, there is a problem here: not all that Eliphaz is saying here is wrong. On the contrary, many of these same thoughts are echoed in other parts of the Bible.
How do the following texts reflect the sentiments expressed in Job 5?








ThursdayNovember 3

Rush to Judgment

Much of what Eliphaz said to Job was correct. That is, he made many valid points, points that we found were expressed later in the Bible. And yet, something still was terribly wrong with his response to Job. The problem wasn’t so much with what he said; the problem was more the context in which he said it. What he was saying, the truths he was uttering, just didn’t apply to the specific situation. (See next week’s lesson.)
Our world is a complicated place. It’s easy to look at a situation and then toss out a few clichés or even a few Bible texts that you think apply. Maybe they do. But often they don’t. Look at this statement from Ellen G. White about how we often bring upon ourselves the things that happen to us. “No truth does the Bible more clearly teach than that what we do is the result of what we are. To a great degree the experiences of life are the fruition of our own thoughts and deeds.” — Education, p. 146.
This is a profound and important truth. But could you imagine some well-meaning saint going up to someone in a situation like Job’s and reading to that person the preceding Ellen G. White statement? (In some cases, unfortunately, we can imagine that.) How much better would it have been for the well-meaning saint to have followed this counsel instead? “Many think that they are representing the justice of God while they wholly fail of representing His tenderness and His great love. Often the ones whom they meet with sternness and severity are under the stress of temptation. Satan is wrestling with these souls, and harsh, unsympathetic words discourage them and cause them to fall a prey to the tempter’s power.” — Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 163.
The fact is, as is so often the case, there’s much more going on here than Eliphaz and all the others, including Job, knew. So, Eliphaz’s rush to judgment, even with all his correct theology, was hardly the right thing to do, given the circumstances.
Why should the following texts always be in the forefront of our minds when dealing with anyone, especially those whom we believe have sinned? Matt. 7:12Rom. 2:1–31 Cor. 4:5.
Even if Eliphaz had been right, and Job brought this suffering upon himself, his words were imprudent and ill–timed. Job stands as a symbol for all humanity, for we all have been caught up in the great controversy, and we all suffer in it. And we all, at some point, need compassion and sympathy, not sermonizing. Sure, there’s a time and place for getting lectured. But when a man is sitting on a pile of ashes, his life ruined, his children dead, and his body full of sores—that is not the time.
FridayNovember 4
Further Thought: As we have seen, Eliphaz was not without sympathy for Job. It’s just that his sympathy took second place to what he saw as his need to defend the character of God. After all, Job was suffering terribly, and God is just; therefore, Job must have done something to deserve what happened to him. That’s what God’s justice is all about, Eliphaz concluded. Therefore, Job was wrong in his complaining.
Of course, God is just. But that doesn’t automatically mean that we will see His justice made manifest in every situation that happens in this fallen world. The fact is, we don’t. Justice and judgment will come, but not necessarily now (Rev. 20:12). Part of what it means to live by faith is to trust God that the justice so lacking here will one day be revealed and made manifest.
What we see with Eliphaz also appears in the attitude of some of the scribes and Pharisees toward Jesus. These men were so caught up in their desire to be “faithful” and religious that their anger at the Lord’s Sabbath healings (see Matthew 12) trumped what should have been their happiness that the sick had been healed and had had their suffering relieved. No matter how specific Christ’s words were in the following text, the principle is one that we who love God and who are jealous for Him must always remember: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23).

Discussion Questions:

  1. How can we know the difference between the time someone needs compassion and sympathy and when a person needs lecturing and maybe even rebuke? Why would it generally be better to err on the side of compassion and sympathy when dealing with those who are suffering, even through their own sins and misdeeds?
  2. Read again Eliphaz’s words to Job in chapters 4 and 5. In what situation might those words have been more appropriate than they were here?
  3. Suppose you had been a friend of Job’s and had gone to see him as he sat on the pile of ashes. What would you have said to him, and why? If that had been you in his place, what would you want people to say to you?
Inside Story~ 

Beautiful in God's Time, Part 1

Mihaela Budau

Mihaela was the only child in her close-knit Romanian family. Her parents were teachers, and the family enjoyed spending time together.
When Mihaela's mother began attending the Adventist church, her father didn't object, but Mihaela did. She was 18 at the time and challenged her mother's new ideas. When her mother took off her jewelry, Mihaela told her that she looked naked. Nevertheless, Mihaela still loved her mother and wanted to please her.
When Mihaela entered the university, she often found her thoughts drifting toward God and religion. She thought about what her mother had told her about Adventist beliefs, and even defended those beliefs in debates with other students. But she resisted a deeper interest in religion. She reasoned that she was young and had a lifetime to think about God and religion.
While studying at the university Mihaela met a popular young man. It seemed that every girl on campus wanted to date him. He was handsome and charming, and his family was wealthy. But he chose to date Mihaela. When she was 21 the young couple married. Mihaela felt that God had showered her with approval by allowing her to marry such a desirable man.
The young couple often visited their families. While Mihaela's parents enjoyed a peaceful home filled with intellectual pursuits, her husband's family didn't enjoy close-knit family pleasures.
Mihaela's in-laws stopped supporting their son's studies when he married, so when Mihaela graduated, she took a job to help pay his tuition. She didn't have to work on Saturdays, and usually spent the day doing housework. But she often found herself wrestling with her conscience over what her mother had taught her about proper Sabbathkeeping.
As time passed and her husband still hadn't finished his studies, the young couple began having problems in their marriage. Often when a crisis came, she would pray that if God would help them resolve their problems, she would become an Adventist. But when the crisis passed, she forgot her promise.
When Mihaela's in-laws learned that her husband hadn't finished school when he said he had, they became angry with him and accused him of wasting his life and their money. Angry, he called Mihaela at work and told her that they were moving out of the apartment his parents had gotten them. "I'll quit school and provide for my family with my own hands!" he announced boldly.
Reluctantly Mihaela returned home and packed up their things. They moved in with his sister, who lived in the same town. Mihaela continued working while her husband worked on obtaining visas to leave the country.
To be continued.


Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org

Friday, October 21, 2016

Lesson 5 Curse the Day October 22-28 2016

Lesson 5October 22–28

Curse the Day


Sabbath Afternoon
Memory Text: “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 4:11, NKJV).
As we read the story of Job, we have two distinct advantages: first, knowing how it ends, and second, knowing the background, the cosmic conflict operating behind the scenes.
Job knew none of this. All he knew was that he was going along in his life just fine when suddenly one calamity after another, one tragedy after another, swooped down upon him. And next, this man, “the greatest of all the people of the East” (Job 1:3, NKJV), was reduced to mourning and grieving on a pile of ashes.
As we continue to study Job, let’s try to put ourselves in Job’s position, for this will help us better understand the confusion, the anger, the sorrow that he was going through. And in one sense this shouldn’t be very hard for us, should it? Not that we have experienced what Job did, but that who among us, born of human flesh in a fallen world, doesn’t know something of the perplexity that tragedy and suffering brings, especially when we seek to serve the Lord faithfully and do what is right in His sight?
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 29.
SundayOctober 23

Let the Day Perish

Imagine that you are Job. Inexplicably your life, all that you have worked for, all that you have accomplished, all that God has blessed you with, comes tumbling down. It just doesn’t make sense. There doesn’t seem to be any reason, good or bad, for it.
Years ago, a school bus went off the road, killing many of the children. In that context, one atheist said that this is the kind of thing you can expect in a world that has no meaning, no purpose, no direction. A tragedy like that has no meaning, because the world itself has no meaning.
As we have seen, though, this answer doesn’t work for the believer in God. And for Job, a faithful follower of the Lord, this answer didn’t work either. But what was the answer, what was the explanation? Job didn’t have one. All he had was his extreme grief and all the questions that inevitably accompanied it.
Read Job 3:1–10. How does Job first express his grief here? In what ways might any of us relate to what he is saying?

Life, of course, is a gift from God. We exist only because God has created us (Acts 17:28Rev. 4:11). Our very existence is a miracle, one that has stumped modern science. Indeed, scientists aren’t even in total agreement on what the definition of “life” is, much less how it came about, or even more important, why it did.
Who, though, in moments of despair, hasn’t wondered if life was worth it? We’re not talking about the unfortunate cases of suicide. Rather, what about the times when we might have, like Job, wished that we hadn’t been born to begin with?
An ancient Greek once said that the best thing that could happen to a person, outside of dying, is never to have been born at all. That is, life can be so miserable that we would have been better off not even existing, and thus be spared the inevitable anguish that comes with human life in this fallen world.
Have you ever felt the way Job felt here; that is, wishing you had never been born? Eventually, though, what happened? Of course, you felt better. How important it is for us to remember, then, even in our worst moments, that we have the hope, the prospect, of things improving.
MondayOctober 24

Rest in the Grave

Read Job 3:11–26. What is Job saying here? How is he continuing his lament? What does he say about death?

We can only imagine the terrible sorrow that poor Job was facing. However hard it must have been to have his possessions destroyed and his health taken away from him, Job lost all his children. All of them. It’s hard enough to imagine the pain of losing one child. Job lost them all. And he had ten! No wonder he wished that he were dead. And again, Job had no idea of the background behind it all, not that it would have made him feel better had he known, would it?
Notice, though, what Job says about death. If he had died, then what? The bliss of heaven? The joy of the presence of God? Playing a harp with the angels? There is nothing of that kind of theology there. Instead, what does Job say? “ ‘For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; then I would have been at rest’ ” (Job 3:13, NKJV).
Read Ecclesiastes 9:5 and John 11:11–14. How does what Job says fit in with what the Bible teaches on what happens after death?

Here, in one of the oldest books of the Bible, we have what is perhaps one of the earliest expressions of what we call the “state of the dead.” All Job wanted, at this point, was to be “at rest.” Life suddenly had become so hard, so difficult, and so painful that he longed for what he knew death was, a peaceful rest in the tomb. He was so sad, so hurt, that, forgetting all the joy he had in life before the calamities came, he wished he had died even at his birth.
As Christians, we certainly have wonderful promises for the future. At the same time, amid present sufferings, how can we learn to remember the good times we had in the past and to draw comfort and solace from them?
TuesdayOctober 25

Other People’s Pain

Job finished his first lament, as recorded in chapter 3. For the next two chapters one of his friends, Eliphaz, gives Job a lecture (we will come back to that next week). In chapters 6 and 7, Job continues to speak about his suffering.
“‘Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid with it on the scales! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea’” (Job 6:23, NKJV). How is Job expressing his pain here?

This image gives us an idea about how Job perceived his suffering. If all the sands of the sea were on one side of the balances and his “grief” and “calamity” on the other, his sufferings would outweigh all the sand.
That’s how real Job’s pain was to him. And this was Job’s pain alone, no one else’s. Sometimes we hear the idea of the “sum total of human suffering.” And yet, this does not really express truth. We don’t suffer in groups. We don’t suffer anyone’s pain but our own. We know only our own pain, only our own suffering. Job’s pain, however great, was no greater than what any one individual could ever know. Some well-intentioned people might say to someone else, “I feel your pain.” They don’t; they can’t. All they can feel is their own pain that might come in response to someone else’s suffering. But that’s always and only what it is, their own pain, not the other person’s.
We hear about disasters, human-made or otherwise, with large death tolls. The numbers of dead or injured stun us. We can hardly imagine such massive suffering. But as with Job, as with every case of fallen humanity from Adam and Eve in Eden to the end of this world, every fallen being who has ever lived can know only his or her own pain and no more.
Of course, we never want to downplay individual suffering, and as Christians we are called to seek to help alleviate hurt when and where we can (see James 1:27Matt. 25:34–40). Yet, no matter how much suffering exists in the world, how thankful we can be that not one fallen human suffers more than what one individual can. (There’s only one exception; see lesson 12.)
Dwell more on this idea that human suffering is limited only to each individual. How does this help you (if it does) to look at the troubling issue of human suffering in a somewhat different light?
WednesdayOctober 26

The Weaver’s Shuttle

Imagine the following conversation. Two people are bemoaning the fate of all humanity: death. That is, no matter how good the lives they live, no matter what they accomplish, it’s going to end in the grave.
“Yeah,” gripes Methuselah to a friend. “We live, what, 800, 900 years, and then we are gone. What is 800 or 900 years in contrast to eternity?” (See Genesis 5.)
Though it’s hard for us today to imagine what it would be like to live for hundreds of years (Methuselah was 187 years old when his son Lamech was born, and Methuselah lived 782 years after that); yet, even the antediluvians, facing the reality of death, must have bemoaned what could have seemed like to them the shortness of life.
Read Job 7:1–11. What is Job’s complaint? See also Ps. 39:511James 4:14.

We just saw Job seeking the rest and relief that would come from death. Now he’s lamenting how quickly life goes by. He is saying, basically, that life is hard, full of toil and pain, and then we die. Here’s a conundrum we often face: we bemoan how fast and fleeting life is, even when that life can be so sad and miserable.
A Seventh-day Adventist woman wrote an article about her struggle with depression and even thoughts of suicide. And yet, she wrote: “The worst part was that I was an Adventist who observed a lifestyle proven to help me live ‘six years longer.’” That didn’t make sense. Of course, at times of pain and suffering, so many things don’t seem to make sense. Sometimes, amid our pain, reason and rationality go by the wayside, and all we know is our hurt and fear, and we see no hope. Even Job, who really knew better (Job 19:25), cried out in his despair and hopelessness: “Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good” (Job 7:7, NKJV). Job, for whom the prospect of death now seemed nearer than ever, still bemoaned how short that existence was, no matter how presently miserable it was at the time.
How should your understanding of the Fall, of death, and of the promise of the resurrection help you put into perspective the whole question of how fast life goes by?
ThursdayOctober 27

“Mah Enosh?” (What Is Man?)

Again, we must put ourselves in Job’s position. Why is God doing all this to me, or why is He allowing this to happen to me? Job hasn’t seen the big picture. How can he? He knows only what has happened around him and to him, and he doesn’t understand any of it.
Who hasn’t been in a similar situation?
Read Job 7:17–21. What is Job expressing here? What questions is he asking? Considering his situation, why do the questions make so much sense?

Some scholars have argued that Job was mocking Psalm 8:4–6, which reads: “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (NKJV; see also Ps. 144:34).The problem, though, is that Job was written long before the Psalms. In that case, then, perhaps the psalmist wrote in response to Job’s lament.
Either way, the question “Mah enosh?” (What is man?) is one of the most important we could ask. Who are we? Why are we here? What is the meaning and purpose of our lives? In Job’s case, because he believes that God has “targeted” him, he is wondering why God bothers with him. God is so big, His creation so vast; why should He deal with Job at all? Why does God bother with any of us at all?
Read John 3:16 and 1 John 3:1. How do these texts help us understand why God interacts with humanity?

“As John beholds the height, the depth, and the breadth of the Father’s love toward our perishing race, he is filled with admiration and reverence. He cannot find suitable language to express this love, but he calls upon the world to behold it: ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.’ What a value this places upon man! Through transgression the sons of men became subjects of Satan. Through the infinite sacrifice of Christ, and faith in His name, the sons of Adam become the sons of God. By assuming human nature, Christ elevates humanity.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,vol. 4, p. 563.
FridayOctober 28
Further Thought: “In an era so unprecedentedly illuminated by science and reason, the ‘good news’ of Christianity became less and less convincing a metaphysical structure, less secure a foundation upon which to build one’s life, and less psychologically necessary. The sheer improbability of the whole nexus of events was becoming painfully obvious—that an infinite, eternal God would have suddenly become a particular human being in a specific historical time and place only to be ignominiously executed. That a single brief life taking place two millennia earlier in an obscure primitive nation, on a planet now known to be a relatively insignificant piece of matter revolving about one star among billions in an inconceivably vast and impersonal universe—that such an undistinguished event should have any overwhelming cosmic or eternal meaning could no longer be a compelling belief for reasonable men. It was starkly implausible that the universe as a whole would have any pressing interest in this minute part of its immensity—if it had any ‘interests’ at all. Under the spotlight of the modern demand for public, empirical, scientific corroboration of all statements of belief, the essence of Christianity withered.”—Richard Tarnas, Passion of the Western Mind (New York: Ballantine Books, 1991), p. 305. What is the problem with this thought? What is the author missing? What does this excerpt teach us about the limits of what “science and reason” can know of the reality of God and His love for us? What does this show us about the need for revealed truth, truth that human “science and reason” cannot reach in and of themselves?

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you, as a Christian, answer the question, “What is man?” How would your answer differ from that of people who don’t believe in the God of the Bible?
  2. “How surely are the dead beyond death,” wrote Cormac McCarthy. “Death is what the living carry with them.” Why should our understanding of what happens after death give us comfort regarding our beloved dead? Can we not draw some consolation, or any at all, knowing that they are at peace, at rest, free from so many of the toils and troubles of life?
  3. Why do you think that even in the most miserable of situations most people cling to life, regardless of how bad that life seems to be?
  4. Discuss what the Cross teaches us about the value of humanity, about the value of even a single life.

Inside Story~  Inter-European Division

Filling the Emptiness, Part 3

One Friday evening Elena cried throughout the church service. The visiting minister noticed and asked the pastor about her. When he learned that she had problems with her family, he offered her a job caring for his children. Elena knew that her father would never permit her to work for an Adventist, so she told the Adventist minister that she would let him know later whether or not she could accept his kind offer.
During the following week Elena asked her father several times for permission to work for this family, but his answer always was no. "Why won't you let me work for these people?" Elena finally asked him. "You have told me to look to Adventists for my food, but you won't let me work for Adventists."
Finally he gave permission for Elena to go work for the Adventist family. She was thrilled. She could live with an Adventist family, attend every worship service, enjoy family worship, and read her Bible and Adventist books without fear. She grew spiritually during the year she lived with this family. But then the pastor moved, and Elena faced returning to her father's home.
Her brother had moved to Spain, and Elena convinced her father to allow her to join her brother there. Her father allowed her to go, sure that his son would keep her from the Adventist church. But when her brother met her at the station, he astounded her with an invitation. "This Sabbath let's go to church." He had begun to attend the Adventist church! The two went to church together, and in a short time Elena was baptized.
As time went on, however, and Elena still hadn't been able to find work in Spain, she began to think about returning to Romania. But her brother challenged her. "Where is your faith? I thought you trusted God!" Elena realized that her brother was watching her, and that she must be strong. They prayed that she would find work, and soon she found work with a family that gave her Sabbaths off.
Elena's father now regrets the harsh words that he spoke to her, but he has told her that if she ever returns home, she must leave her religion behind. And that, she says, she will never do.
Elena Mocanu lives in Coslada, a suburb of Madrid, Spain.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Adventist Summer Camps Are 'Youth Evangelism at Its Best ' Camp Victory Lake NY.

Adventist Summer Camps Are 'Youth Evangelism at Its Best'

How camps influence young people in North America.


North American Division
Eleven-year-old Benjamin Cunya attended a Seventh-day Adventist summer camp for the first time this year.
Benjamin, a native of Peru, eagerly jumped out of the car when he arrived at Camp Victory Lake in the U.S. state of New York. Even though he is learning English, he went on the prowl for friends and fun. He said he found both — and more.
“I’ve learned that God made the Earth and made mankind beautiful,” he said. “My mom wanted me to come here and learn more about God. I’m glad I came.”
Benjamin is among more than 23,000 children from across North America who attended the church’s 67 camps and conference centers this past summer. Every year, more than 1,100 campers make decisions for Christ, and about 300 are baptized.
Jesus is at the heart of the camp experience, said Bill Wood, coordinator of camp ministries for the North American Division.
“Camp ministry is youth evangelism at its best,” Wood said.
“Imagine a small child who stands in line waiting, clasping their pillow anxiously as the director hands out cabin assignments,” he said. “The child is ready for adventure, but they may not even realize that the adventure they will soon embark upon will show them the most amazing picture of Jesus they may ever encounter in their entire lives— a picture that will take them finally to live forever with Jesus in the kingdom of God.”
Camp Victory Lake summer campers having fun with one of the counselors in New York state. (NAD)
Camp Victory Lake summer campers having fun with one of the counselors in New York state. (NAD)

Dreams Fulfilled

Adventist camps, which have changed thousands of lives through the years, started inauspiciously 89 summers ago in the state of Michigan. In 1927, Luther Warren, 14, and Harry Fenner, 17, recognized that the boys in their church needed a ministry that would help them grow their relationship with Jesus. The two walked down a dusty country road, talking. Soon they stopped and knelt in a field and asked God to lead in their dreams and plans.
The boys’ prayers were answered shortly thereafter when Grover Fattic, who had dreams of his own for a wider ministry to young people, presented a proposal for a summer camp program to the East Michigan Conference leadership. Fattic was serving as conference Missionary Volunteer secretary at the time and, with approval but no conference funding, Fattic founded a Boy Scout camp at Townline Lake.
The first Adventist summer camp, organized by Fattic at Townline Lake, Michigan, lasted for 10 days and cost $10 per camper. The conditions were less than ideal and, indeed, some parents who drove their sons out to the camp thought it too unsafe and took their sons back home, Wood said. The 18 boys who stayed swam, camped, and fellowshipped together.
“The event was so successful that Fattic organized a similar experience for girls the following summer,” said Wood, who has been involved with Adventist camps for 40 years and continues in his retirement. “That first group of boys helped birth a program that was quickly followed in Wisconsin, California, New England and, eventually, across the nation and world.”
Those humble beginnings grew into Adventist Youth Ministries, which includes Adventist Camp Ministries, Pathfinders, and Adventurers.
Today, most conferences in the North American Division own a youth camp, and the combined 14,600 acres (5,910 hectares) of Adventist campgrounds is worth about $1 billion. Some camps are located in rustic environments and operated only during the summer and early fall months, while others are large camps and conference centers that cater to members of their local conference and outside Christian or secular groups that rent the facilities.
Nearly 370 staff members and their families work all year long at camps in the North American Division, Wood said.
“Most of our camp and retreat centers operate year round,” Wood said.
He said more than 35,000 Adventists attend children, teen, and family camps every year, but they represent a small fraction of the total guests.
“Many camps host non-Adventist retreats, family camps, and secular conferences, and this is subtle evangelism at is best as it gives our non-Adventist friends a new look at Adventists,” he said.
Campers getting ready to zip line at Camp Wagner in Michigan this past summer. (NAD)
Campers getting ready to zip line at Camp Wagner in Michigan this past summer. (NAD)

Life at Camp

The children who spend summer days on Adventist campgrounds unplug their electronic devices to enjoy the great outdoors. A variety of activities, which include swimming, water skiing, climbing, arts and crafts, and campfire moments, keep the campers and more than 2,700 summer staff members busy. But Adventist camps are more than that.
Camps provide a safe haven for youth, said Norm Middag, a pioneer in Adventist camping in North America and founder of the Association of Adventist Camp Professionals.
“Camps provide a place in a natural setting where young campers as well as families can enjoy wholesome outdoor experiences and for families, a cost effective vacation,” he said.
Not only do campers learn how to be part of a community and develop new skills and interests, but they also develop spiritually, Middag said.
“Camping helps develop spiritual meanings and values that help the camp users strengthen their character,” he said. “Lifetime friendships are made through these experiences. And the main purpose of our camps is to provide an atmosphere where young and old alike can experience a new relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Summer camps also provide their young adult staff members with an opportunity to develop a commitment to the Adventist Church and see their faith in action as they seek to win campers to Jesus, said Jason C. North Sr., youth and camp director at Camp J.R. Wagner in Cassopolis, Michigan.
Among those staff members is Chelsea Dancek, who has served as a counselor at Camp Kulaqua in High Springs, Florida, for several years.
“God showed me that camp is a time to learn to better love and be loved,” she wrote in a July 13, 2016, blog post titled, “Not Just a Summer Fling.” “He taught me that the campers and staff I was surrounded by were not only people I could minister to, but also windows into His heart.”
Debra Brill, a North American Division vice president who chairs youth and young adult ministries, said Dancek’s story is repeated in the experiences of hundreds of other young adults who have worked as staff at Adventist camps. She said research commissioned by the North American Division in 2009 revealed that more than 60 percent of those employed at summer camps retained their connection with the church, moving on to become denominational leaders in Adventist churches and institutions.
A Camp Victory Lake camper being baptized last summer in New York state. (NAD)
A Camp Victory Lake camper being baptized last summer in New York state. (NAD)

Committed to Christ

God is using summer camps to bring about decisions for Christ and baptism into the church, said Rob Lang, camp director at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp (CSYC) in Georgia.
“There are so many ways God connects people to a saving relationship with His Son, Jesus,” Lang said.
He shared how God worked in the life of a camper named Elise Jones this past summer.
Jones had been to camp before, but this summer she decided to sign up for two weeks. Her first week was at Ultimate RAD Camp, a teen specialty camp that offers a different outdoor adventure every day. Jones tried mountain biking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting. For her second week, she went to Teen Camp 2.
During both weeks, the teen grew close to her camp counselor, Lizzie Williams, who encouraged her spiritually, Lang said.
“Elise prayed about it and experienced such a feeling of peace,” Lang said. “She decided it was time to take her stand.”
She was baptized at camp on July 16.
Jones, who entered high school this fall, described camp as “a fresh start.”
“Everyone at camp is there to support you and help you grow closer to God because you are basically all family at camp,” she said.
Her father, Matt Jones, principal of Atlanta Adventist Academy, is thrilled his daughter attended camp. Days after the baptism, he wrote in a letter to Lang: “I just want to thank you for the incredible ministry of CSYC. Words serve as insufficient containers of meaning and emotion watching my youngest come up out of the water at her baptism last Sabbath.”
Cohutta Springs Youth Camp ministers to more than 1,800 campers each summer. Across North America, more than 1,100 campers make decisions for Christ every year, and an average of 300 people are baptized.
Camp “is a great place to make decisions that can last for eternity,” Lang said.