Baptized for the Dead

For many little ones and even some not so little ones school is out for the summer. And at this point, school isn’t exactly what most students are thinking about. But of course even if school is out there is still learning to be had. After all, life presents opportunities for learning far past our time in formal school. But did you know that if we are heaven-bound our education is only just beginning? We are told in the Spirit of Prophecy that we will continue to study throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Ellen White explains:  Heaven is a school; its field of study, the universe; its teacher, the Infinite One. A branch of this school wasestablished in Eden; and, the plan of redemptionaccomplished, education will again be taken up in the Eden school. Heaven, p146. Can you imagine sitting under the giant boughs of a great tree and listening to the eternal truths straight from the lips of our Creator? We will have the opportunity to learn on the greatest campus in the universe....

 In a solemn statement God said to Israel through the prophet Hosea: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”  Hosea 4:6 In a time of wide spread apostasy God declared to the Israelites that they would be destroyed because of their lack of knowledge. What knowledge did they fail to possess? The Bible explains: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 The people of Israel had lost their knowledge of God and as a result they had lost their knowledge of salvation. Hundreds of years later Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, would prophesy concerning his son John: And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation un...

 At this time of the year we have a phrase that we often use: “April showers bring May flowers.” This is  perhaps just a lyrical way of reminding ourselves that spring is indeed here. And with spring we can see that nature brings renewal to the earth. This renewal is generated by the Creator Himself. Ellen White explains:“The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator’s love.” Steps to Christ, page 9. After the cataclysmic flood that disrupted all life on earth God promised: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22. It is our heavenly Father that maintains the seasons that organize our lives. It is also our heavenly Father that refreshes the earth with rain. And as we recognize God’s provision for the plants and animals that depend on Him we need to also remember that God refreshes you and I spiritually....

 After the great flood that drowned the old world God said: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22  God declared that going forth the seasons would continue in regular cycles. After the chaos of the flood God wanted to reassure the frightened remaining inhabitants of earth and their future descendants that life would continue. I can imagine that to Noah and his family the receding flood waters were a welcome sight but as the waters began to drain away the landscape emerged battered and bruised. Nothing was where it had been and all traces of the old world were gone.  As Noah and his family surveyed the devastated scenery before them they must have wondered how they would go forward. How would they make their way in this new but yet broken world? God had a plan.  God always has a plan. Life may not have been easy for our ancient ancestors as they emerged from the rafter...

 Jesus says to us: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Matthew 6:5. Apparently prayer should be practiced in humility. Prayer, Jesus tells us, is not for show or to draw attention to ourselves but rather an opportunity to seek the mercy, power and love of God. In this time of year in our part of the world perhaps we can think of the grayer days, the darker days as our seasonal quiet place. Very soon we will be able to throw open the windows of our homes to let the sunlight stream into darkened corners. But until then when the gray skies sheath the winter days perhaps we can seek God in the quiet shadows of our seasonal closet. God has allowed the rhythms of nature to remind us of our dependence upon Him. Winter seems stark, cold and indifferent but it can also be quiet, still and serene. Like the morning hours of every day, the beginning mont...

As the earth hurtles through space during the month of January it slings around the sun to begin its journey towards warmer weather. But while the days may be slowly getting longer the temperatures still cling to the bottom of our thermometers. January is a month of colder days and darker weather. It can be a difficult time that stresses even the strongest optimist. But at this time of year there are still lessons to be learned. The snow that comes and goes reminds us of the grace that covers our brokenness. The darker days remind us to appreciate the light that we receive and the dreary weather reminds us that there is a brighter world to which we must aspire. In fact, January is really a microcosm of the conflict between good and evil. The Bible says: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:22 The winter months and the darker days remind us that the world isn’t the way that it is supposed to be. The bare trees and monotone co...

 The Lamp of Christmas In the gospel of John in chapter 10 and beginning in verse 22 we read about a festival in Jerusalem. The Bible says: At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. John 10:22,23 The Feast of Dedication was also known as the Feast of Maccabees. Today this feast is called the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. Hanukkah was a celebration that comes from the intertestamental period and the Maccabean Revolt. Around the year 168 B.C. the Seleucid king Antiochus Ephiphanes desecrated the temple and forced the Jewish people to perform pagan rituals. In response to this Jewish freedom fighters, led by Judah Maccabee, revolted and with time eventually overthrew the Seleucids. After regaining control of the temple the Jewish people decided to rededicate the temple. The seven branched Menorah was brought back in and the people searched for some consecrated oil to light the lamps...