It was a very hot summer day in the year 2005 in Spain. As we woke up in the morning we had our usual Bible meditation upon God’s word for that day. After that, each one of us went to his work, knowing not that that day it was to be a day in which Satan our great enemy was looking to destroy our lives. The Bible says that in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” We have a great enemy coming after us, trying to destroy us in as many ways as possible. But praise be to God, we have on our side One who is greater than our enemy, One who defeated this foe–not only in heaven but also on this planet earth, and this is our loving and compassionate Saviour, Jesus Christ.
That day as I and my wife went to work, we left our children Edward and Patrick in the care of my wife’s grandmother. She came to help us with the children while we were working. Patrick was only a few months old at that time. We were living in an old-fashioned, rented house built in 1935–1936. As we came home from work I remember that evening, after so days of warmth, the rain had started to slowly fall; the roof of the house was not in good condition and so some small drops of water were coming through the roof into the kitchen. We did not pay much attention to that and so when night came we went to sleep, saying, well, when time allows, we will make an effort to repair the roof. Now Patrick went with my wife’s grandmother to sleep downstairs where their room was. Edward was sleeping with us in our bedroom; he was about one year and few months old.
Now I will tell you what happened that night as we went to sleep. That night, I had a dream, a very important dream. In my dream I saw a large, white and majestic angel come into our room. It was about 3 o’clock in the morning, and this angelic being with his two large, wide-open wings frightened me when I heard the noise he made as he came into our room. The white apparel and the brightness of this scene made me wake up and open my eyes. The angel disappeared but I, myself continued to hear that voice, urging me to wake up. I woke up and looked around me—my wife and Edward were still sleeping. Then I went to the kitchen. When I opened the door I encountered a wall of smoke and flames caused by a short circuit that occurred in the kitchen from the drops of water leaking in from the roof. I began working on quenching the fire that was spreading fast towards the roof because of some artificial flowers that we had there. I opened the door and window and finally after a few minutes the fire was extinguished completely. It was so fast everything happening there that I did not know even what to do at first, I just followed that voice who says; wake up, wake up. Can you imagine if God had not intervened in sending an angel to protect us from the danger that was coming upon us in the night? Just there where the flames were spreading was the gas connection and so easily could have exploded, killing us all. The bedroom where Patrick and his grandmother had been sleeping was just below the kitchen and our bedroom was next to the kitchen.
The Bible tells us in the book of Exodus 23:20 “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” This is a wonderful promise my brothers and sisters, my friends. There is more; Jesus says in Revelation 22:16 “I Jesus have sent Mine angel.” The precious Bible is the garden of God, and His promises are the lilies, and the roses, and the pinks. How I wish that we might all believe in the promises of God. That night indeed, Jesus sent an angel to protect us from the danger which was coming upon us. I knelt down that night, and I thanked God for His continual protection and care for us. As I entered our bedroom I looked at Edward and my wife as they were sleeping, I went to Patrick and the grandmother’s room and it was as if nothing had happened–they were all sleeping quietly. Morning came, although I couldn’t sleep the few hours which remained, my wife woke up also and I told her about what had happened. Both of us thanked God once again for His protection, love and care for us.
For me, this scene with the angel remains something very significant in my spiritual walk with God. It shows me how much God loves me and cares for me and my family. It gives me confidence, that wherever we go, we have the help of God on our side. This strengthens me when I am down, telling me what God told Moses in Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know ye therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” How beautiful are the words of encouragement, my friends, that we find in this Bible verse: “He is God, the faithful God.” He is not like man; He is faithful to His promises and fulfills them. That’s why Moses tells us that God is consistent and faithful in each generation. Moses knew the hand of God and he could say those magnificent words about his Creator and Saviour. Moses, looking back over his life, said, “God is faithful, God is there in the sorrows and joys of life.” Even more, Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”
Do you feel afraid, unsure, and uncertain? Is there anything in your life that makes you feel alone as you go through the trials of life? Or are there moments in your life you saw God’s intervening hand in the affairs of this life? I want to encourage you today, you are not alone. God is not a man, we have seen already, He is a mighty God, a faithful God, and He is the Rock, a solid Rock we are called to build upon. All the evil forces in the world cannot destroy God’s plan for your life. They cannot. Satan wanted to destroy me and my family but he could not because God has a plan with us. God’s plan is revealed every day in our lives, my friends. Do you see God having a plan for your life? Do you feel God’s calling for you to do this or that one thing? We should depend always on God, because this life is a dangerous life without God. It is like we are on a minefield, and it is ready to explode at any moment if Jesus is missing from our lives.
As I go through this life, I have met people who expelled Jesus from their lives choosing the pleasures for a moment instead of choosing Jesus. I see the danger in which these people put themselves, my friend, when they put away the Bible and its promises, I see the sorrow and pain they go through when they reject Jesus, and I want to advise you: do not do that, follow the Lord and keep His commandments. I saw lives destroyed by the enemy of our souls just because of rejecting God’s mercy and love.
I am not saying now, if you follow Jesus there will not be any trials, sorrow or death. I am not saying that at all. What I am saying is that in the sorrows of life, in the disappointments of life we can be overcomers with God’s help. As we put our lives in God’s hands, God never made a mess of anybody’s life yet. God never failed anyone yet and if we come to Him and say, “Jesus, my life is Yours,” not one good thing that He has for our life will fail. We have seen it in our lives, in Moses’ life and throughout the centuries in many people’s lives. The promises of God are certain and sure.
Let us ask some questions here—what is a promise? How do we obtain the promises of God? Does God always keep His promises? First of all, to answer these questions we need to understand that God’s promises are always related to a covenant or agreement. I like how in the Spanish language that is called “El Pacto,” which in English stands for “covenant”. What is a covenant, according to the Bible? Do you remember when God called His people out of Egypt through Moses’ leadership when Israel was at Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments? God called Moses from the mountain saying; “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:3–5.
This was in the Old Testament, people might say—but now come with me to the New Testament and we will notice the same covenant based on perfect obedience and complete surrender to God as a condition for our salvation (1 Peter 2:4–10). Disobedience has been and always will be the same before God’s eyes as, say, a broken marriage certificate or contract between God and His people, between God and you, my friend. Throughout the Bible we find a wonderful God showing mercy and giving time to repent of sin. Sometimes people turned their back on God; these people rebelled until they perished. There are also wonderful examples in the Bible of people whom God talked with and who obeyed His voice and did His will. For example, God spoke about Abraham in Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD.”
The Spirit of Prophecy states in The Signs of the Times, December 22, 1881 regarding a covenant in the following words; “A covenant is an agreement between parties, based upon conditions.” Does this make sense? Yes, it does. For example, if I want to obtain a mortgage to buy a house, the bank will give me money with specific conditions. What happens if I do not respect that contract? Will that house be mine if I do not pay my monthly payment according to the contract? Of course not. The same with God; we are in a covenant with Him based on obedience, my brother, my sister, my friend. In fact, I will tell you a professional secret in terms of salvation. There is only one way toward heaven, and that is “The way of the Lord,” as the Bible calls it. There is another way in the Bible which we find in the book of Jude with a warning—“woe unto them!”—called “The way of Cain.”
We can see there is only one way to salvation and at the end of time just prior to Jesus’ second coming there will be only two sides, two kinds of people; namely, the saved and the lost. There is no middle way or middle ground where you may think to place yourself. God’s promises are always based on acceptance and obedience. For example, in the book of Deuteronomy 26:18, we find God’s covenant with Israel. In Exodus chapter 20 God’s wrote the Ten Commandments by Himself, making sure God’s people would obey them in order to be His peculiar people.
“God chose Israel as His people, and gave them gracious promises on condition of obedience.” –The Signs of the Times, October 15, 1896. There are many examples in both the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible where we can read these. Here is another very important statement in Prophets and Kings, p. 293, “God’s favour toward Israel had always been conditional on their obedience. At the foot of Sinai they had entered into covenant relationship with Him as His ‘peculiar treasure. . . above all people.’ Solemnly they had promised to follow in the path of obedience. ‘All that the Lord hath spoken we will do,’ they had said. . . . At the ratification of the covenant, the people had once more united in declaring, ‘All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.’ Exodus 24:3, 7.”
Like Israel, God wants to bless His people today. Do you want to follow in Israel’s footsteps in breaking God’s commandments? Or do you want to follow Jesus and keep His commandments? I think the second option is a better one and a wise man or woman will always know how to make a difference and make the best decision in this life. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Joshua said, “none of God’s promises ever fail.” God can do the impossible because Jesus said, “what is impossible with man is possible with God.”
We have been promised new hearts and new desires, a new spirit within us, according to Ezekiel 36. God fulfills His promises because He is a faithful God—the same yesterday, today and forever, my friends. In God there is no change. He is perfect, His work is perfect. He is Righteous and Holy and if we come closer to Him every day, looking unto Him, we will be changed until we will become like Him. These are the people Jesus will take up to heaven when He comes in the clouds. Throughout the Bible we find the same God—a faithful God who will not be happy if you or I will not be in His kingdom. He has done everything in order to save us. He has given us His only begotten Son. Have you given up everything in order to receive Jesus and His gift of salvation?
Unquestionably, the greatest revelation of the love and character of God was at the cross, where the Lord offered Himself in the person of Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” asked Paul, and so may that also be our wish and prayer just as Paul said, that there is nothing in between us that is able to separate us from the love of God.
I met a sister, a godly woman and follower of Christ, who was my English teacher during my training at the Missionary Institute; her name was Teresita. There at the Institute I spent much time with her in prayer. We told each other about our experiences with the Lord and encouraged each other from God’s word. Prior to her death, just one day before she died God made it possible for me to have a small conversation with her. She was dying because of her cancer and I asked her, “How are you, sister, what can I do for you?” “Be faithful,” she said, “until the end of your life, Nicholas; serve the Lord with all your heart, be a blessing to the Canadian Field.” At the end of our conversation she wanted to encourage me with these beautiful words of Paul in Romans chapter 8:38–39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May God bless us with His Holy Spirit and empower our lives as we go testifying about Him is my wish and prayer. Amen!
Nicholas Anca