In Cedartown, USA, on August 2014, The General Conference of the International Missionary Society, SDA Church Reform Movement commemorated the centennial of its origin. Recently, in DR Congo, the Church here commemorated the 25th anniversary of its registration. The church was officially registered on March 1992. But, Christ has not come yet! Why? What is hindering His promised return? Who and what is delaying Him?
The Lord, in His patience has granted us still another year (2018) to get ready for His coming. The believers in the Advent faith never thought that time would last this long. Many faithful members have been laid to rest and others have taken their places; but the 144,000 number is not yet full. According to the Spirit of Prophecy we are nearing the time when a mighty shaking will take place in the church. Some would not be ready for the Lord’s coming, even if they were granted more time. Therefore, the Lord will suddenly cut His work short, and put an end to all sin and evil and reward His faithful servants. Satan is also very active, knowing that he has but little time left. He tries to lull all believers to sleep as he did the foolish virgins who were not prepared when the Bridegroom came. It is dangerous to continue with sinful indulgences and neglected duties. Therefore, choose today to stand firm more than ever before.
Welcoming the Year 2018
“Goodbye 2017, welcome 2018” is the motto in the mind of many people everywhere today. For many people, the New Year is often a time for new starts, new decisions, new beginnings, new resolutions, etc. Some may decide to give up a habit like quitting smoking or drinking, or starting a new exercise regime. Maybe they will decide to become a nicer person by correcting the errors of the past, or spending less money and saving more. Perhaps they will decide to be more careful how they use their time, or be more organized with their work, less busy, less stressed out. . . etc. I have seen some people change everything in their homes. For example: new chairs, new dressers, new dishes, etc. What about you?
2018, as a new year, is now before us with more possibilities and opportunities. There are 12 months with 52 weeks, composed of 365 days, formed by 8,760 hours made up of 525,600 minutes or 31,536,000 seconds. What will you do with all that time? You may suddenly die at any time! Therefore, take the resolutions you make as Christians seriously regarding your spiritual growth and discipleship. We live in perilous times, in the last days, when the majority of the Christian world is seeking for pleasure rather than God. It is sad to say that, often, New Year’s resolutions fail because people try to follow them using their own strength.
Your choice, your future, your destiny
What is your priority? Choosing the best means setting priorities and watching for distractions. Every day our lives are made up from the different choices we make and the actions we perform! When we continually choose to repeat a certain action we begin to form it as a habit, and our characters will be made up according to the particular habits we form. We become exactly what we choose ourselves to be. Therefore, there is no predestination, but our will is the power or force in our natures. The power to perform the action in harmony with our choice is accomplished by the force of our will. Thus the will plays a most vital and important part in our daily lives to determine what we are, or will be. As Christians, we would all agree that becoming more like Jesus, and knowing Him more, should have priority in our lives.
MAKING A CHOICE—Lesson from solemn experience in Shechem
The Israelites had a decision to make. Joshua longed to have them completely trust in God alone. “Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.” Joshua 24:1. When Joshua had them altogether, he asked them what God would they choose to serve? He called them to choose today. He made three calls: A call to remember, a call to choose, and a call to decide and to make a covenant with the Lord, with a pure heart. It was very serious.
It was a critical time in the history of Israel. For the second time a great leader of Israel was about to pass from their midst. Years before, Moses, in his final days, had gathered the people of God together to encourage them before the Lord took him. In his place, Joshua was chosen by God to lead the nation and now he too is about to depart from this life. And, like Moses, Joshua called the people together for an appeal.
“Before the death of Joshua the heads and representatives of the tribes, obedient to his summons, again assembled at Shechem. . . . Here were the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, the silent witnesses of those vows which now, in the presence of their dying leader, they had assembled to renew. On every side were evidences of what God had wrought for them; how He had given them a land for which they did not labor, and cities which they built not, vineyards and oliveyards which they planted not. Joshua reviewed once more the history of Israel, recounting the wonderful works of God, that all might have a sense of His love and mercy and might serve Him ‘in sincerity and in truth.’” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 522
Joshua began his life as a slave in Egypt. He followed Moses out of bondage and, with the rest of the Israelites, received the Ten Commandments. He was one of the spies sent to scout out the Promised Land and returned with a positive report and trust in God’s promises. He, along with Caleb and Moses, were the only adults who survived the 40 years of wilderness wandering. After Moses’ death, Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, defeating the city of Jericho. He then led the army of Israel in their conquest of Canaan. Joshua was a man of courage because he chose to serve God.
“After presenting the goodness of God toward Israel, he called upon them, in the name of Jehovah, to choose whom they would serve. The worship of idols was still to some extent secretly practiced, and Joshua endeavored now to bring them to a decision that should banish this sin from Israel. ‘If it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah,’ he said, ‘choose you this day whom ye will serve.’ Joshua desired to lead them to serve God, not by compulsion, but willingly. Love to God is the very foundation of religion. To engage in His service merely from hope of reward or fear of punishment would avail nothing. Open apostasy would not be more offensive to God than hypocrisy and mere formal worship.
“The aged leader urged the people to consider, in all its bearings, what he had set before them, and to decide if they really desired to live as did the degraded idolatrous nations around them. If it seemed evil to them to serve Jehovah, the source of power, the fountain of blessing, let them that day choose whom they would serve—‘the gods which your fathers served,’ from whom Abraham was called out, ‘or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell.’ These last words were a keen rebuke to Israel. The gods of the Amorites had not been able to protect their worshipers. Because of their abominable and debasing sins, that wicked nation had been destroyed, and the good land which they once possessed had been given to God’s people. What folly for Israel to choose the deities for whose worship the Amorites had been destroyed!” –Ibid., p. 523
Joshua, who was nearing the end of his life, gathered
the leaders of Israel together one last time. In his farewell speech, he reminded the Israelites of their history and how God brought them from Egypt to the Promised Land. Now, he encouraged them to be faithful to the one true God, even though they would be tempted to follow the gods of their pagan neighbours. He warned them that destruction would come upon them if they failed to live by God’s commandments.
Some of Joshua’s final words to the people were: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15. The people responded by saying, “God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods.” Joshua 24:16
A man named Stephen Covey, once wrote that “until a person can say deeply and honestly, ‘I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,’ that person cannot say, ‘I choose otherwise.’’’ In the same manner Joshua did not want the people to take that commitment lightly. “‘Ye cannot serve the Lord,’ said Joshua: ‘for He is a holy God; . . . He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.’ Before there could be any permanent reformation the people must be led to feel their utter inability in themselves to render obedience to God. They had broken His law, it condemned them as transgressors, and it provided no way of escape. While they trusted in their own strength and righteousness, it was impossible for them to secure the pardon of their sins; they could not meet the claims of God’s perfect law, and it was in vain that they pledged themselves to serve God. It was only by faith in Christ that they could secure pardon from sin and receive strength to obey God’s law. They must cease to rely upon their own efforts for salvation, they must trust wholly in the merits of the promised Saviour, if they would be accepted of God.
“Joshua endeavored to lead his hearers to weigh well their words, and refrain from vows which they would be unprepared to fulfill. With deep earnestness they repeated the declaration: ‘Nay; but we will serve the Lord.’ Solemnly consenting to the witness against themselves that they had chosen Jehovah, they once more reiterated their pledge of loyalty: ‘The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.’”–Ibid., p. 524
“So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.” Joshua 24:25
To remind the people of this new covenant they were making with God, Joshua had a huge stone set up. With that very visible reminder of their promise, surely they could not easily forget their choice to serve God alone.
“Having written an account of this solemn transaction, he placed it, with the book of the law, in the side of the ark. And he set up a pillar as a memorial, saying, ‘Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spake unto us; it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.’
“Joshua’s work for Israel was done. He had ‘wholly followed the Lord;’ and in the book of God he is written, ‘The servant of Jehovah.’ The noblest testimony to his character as a public leader is the history of the generation that had enjoyed his labors: ‘Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua.’” –Ibid., p. 524
Choose today
Now is the time of year when many people make New Year’s resolutions. One good resolution would be to make a list of some major changes you wish to make in your life. Make your own solemn covenant with God, as did His people at Shechem. Encourage your family to decide and make a vow as well, as if you were in front of Joshua at Shechem. Remember, he did not call all the people. He called only elders, heads, and leaders of each tribe. Why? If the leaders would be faithful, they could encourage and teach the people to be faithful.
Let this year that is coming be a year of new beginnings, new challenges, new opportunities, new potentials, new friendships and new goals in your life. The changes you have been wanting to make, decide that now is the time to make them. Decide on new accomplishments you wish to make that will contribute to a more meaningful life so you can better serve your Master. As they say, resolutions are easy to make but harder to keep. You need to make a daily commitment to adhere to them. We cannot change our future choices until we understand our the consequences of our past choices. Every day is a chance to begin again. Once we have made a choice, we need to do something about it.
Make a list of your priorities, and pray for your ability to follow through. Below are some thoughts of what you may add to your list:
1) Identify your errors of the past (Isaiah 1:16–27)
2) Give your heart to God and have living faith (Hebrews 11:6)
3) Forgive and love others more than ever before (Colossians 3:13–14; Mathew 6:14–15; Mark 11:25–26; James 5:16)
4) Repent, confess, and make right the wrongs you have done. (Psalm 25 :18; Psalm 19:12; Matthew 3:8; Isaiah 55:6–7)
5) Read and meditate on the sacred Scriptures daily. Attend meetings (Acts 17:11; Hebrews 10:25)
6) Pray daily in the family and in private (Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Daniel 6:10)
7) Help and show love in the family circle (1Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 16:14)
8) Be concerned for the well-being of others, Be a peacemaker (Matthew 5:9, 16)
9) Fulfill faithfully all religious, family and work duties.
10) Be steadfast and trust in the Lord (Psalm 13:5; Psalm 37:5)
11) Resist temptation and fight against sin (Hebrews 12:4; James 4:7; Isaiah 1:16–17)
12) Follow Jesus’ example in all. Do not play on dangerous or forbidden ground. Learn to do good always (Matthew 3:8)
13) Control daily your failures and successes (2 Corinthians 13:5)
14) Do not follow the crowd; they can mislead you. (Exodus 23:2; Matthew 20:31; Mark 10:37)
15) Remember daily your citizenship is in heaven, that “There is a heaven to win and a hell to shun.” Speak of Jesus to others whenever possible (Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 2:11)
Dear brothers and sisters throughout the world, it is time for the people of God to wake up; every year and every month we are nearer the to great day of the Lord. More than ever before, now is the time to stand up and be prepared for the fulfillment of the great work which has been entrusted to us. “Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts. The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where truth is kept in the outer court.” –Conflict and Courage, p. 260
“To lose a little of this world seems to you a terrible calamity which would cost your life. But the thought of losing heaven does not cause half the fears to be manifested. Through your careful efforts to save this life, you are in danger of losing eternal life. . . . You need a fresh conversion every day. Die daily to self, keep your tongue as with a bridle, control your words, cease your murmurings and complaints, let not one word of censure escape your lips. If this requires a great effort, make it; you will be repaid in so doing.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 698
Another year is before you; how do you plan to use the opportunities the Lord will grant you in the coming year? Choose today, decide today. Your day is today. Let us learn from the past. May the Lord help us to imitate the examples of our patriarchs and pioneers and to “follow their faith”. Amen.
Victor Shumbusho, DR Congo