Motivated by Love

Motivated by Love

And this commandment we have from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 1 John 4:21. – {Mar 101.1}

Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother.... When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within—when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance.... – {Mar 101.2}

Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good.... – {Mar 101.3}

The glory of heaven is in lifting up the fallen, comforting the distressed.... No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste is recognized by God.... All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple, that every soul may have free access to God. His love is so broad, so deep, so full, that it penetrates everywhere. It lifts out of Satan’s circle the poor souls who have been deluded by his deceptions. It places them within reach of the throne of God, the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise.... – {Mar 101.4}

Christ is seeking to uplift all who will be lifted to companionship with Himself, that we may be one with Him as He is one with the Father. He permits us to come in contact with suffering and calamity in order to call us out of our selfishness; He seeks to develop in us the attributes of His character—compassion, tenderness, and love.... – {Mar 101.5}

“If thou wilt keep my charge,” the Lord declares, “I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by”—even among the angels that surround His throne. (Zechariah 3:7.) By cooperating with heavenly beings in their work on earth, we are preparing for their companionship in heaven. – {Mar 101.6}

Maranatha EGW

Mexican Quinoa Rice (Vegan)

Mexican Quinoa Rice (Vegan)

Ingredients

QUINOA

·         1 cup (184 g) quinoa

·         1 cup (240 ml) vegetable broth

SEASONINGS

·         ½  cup (128 g) tinned chopped tomatoes

·         1/3 cup (40 g) BBQ sauce

·         1  tsp garlic powder

·         1  tsp smoked paprika powder

·         ½ tsp salt

·         ½ tsp black pepper

·         1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

Instructions

1.    Rinse quinoa thoroughly with hot water.

2.    In a medium saucepan, add vegetable broth and quinoa, cover with a lid and allow to cook on a low heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until liquid is completely absorbed. Fluff with a fork, then crack lid and let rest for 10 minutes off heat.

3.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

4.    Add cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, then spread on a lightly greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet.

5.    Bake for 20-35 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point to ensure even baking. The quinoa is done when it's fragrant and golden brown. Be careful not to burn!

6.    Serve in a tortilla with tomato salsa and salad or eat as it is.

7.       Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days. 

Heredity & Sexuality

Heredity & Sexuality

Program Transcript:

Hi. I'm Mike Carducci, with Coming Out Ministries, your host today for Pure Choices. Today with me, I have my fellow colleagues from Coming Out Ministries, Ron Woolsey and Wayne Blakely and we also have with us today Elder Raymond King. Today our topic is gonna be about "Heredity and Sexuality." Coming from the homosexual background that I had, when I gave my heart to the Lord, I wanted to know how this happened. I wanted to know why it was that I was not in control of who I was attracted to. And so as Jesus was leading me out of that lifestyle, I was asking God, I said, "Lord show me how this happened? How was it that, that if I was born gay," which is what I understood by the history of 20-years in that lifestyle, "then why Lord would you call me an abomination?" And so in my search to find legitimate answers to, to what it was that that had caused this, you know, this understanding or this attraction in me, I was desperate to find out how homosexuality actually originated.

My understanding and some of the things that I actually was able to glean from, from different sermons, from different things that I read articles, and even my own Bible study, was that there was a hereditary component and then also there was this environmental component. Now, because of my history, my mother came from sexual abuse, she was molested by her father. My grandmother, my mother's mother was also raped by her stepfather and my great grandmother was actually a prostitute during the depression. So, you can see the hereditary predisposition from the generations of sin and then on my father's side, he was a philanderer, he had many affairs.

He was also a sexual addict which was also what I struggled with.

As well as his father was a musician, who was also very popular with the ladies and his and my grandmother whose father had actually murdered a man because he thought that somebody was having an affair with his wife, he had actually murdered a man and actually died in jail. So not only did I see the hereditary predisposition for sexual sin, but I also saw areas of anger management and an impulse control. So, today what we want to talk about is, we want to talk about the hereditary components.

One of the phrases that I heard in my quest to find out more was the word epigenetics. And Dr. Arlene Taylor, I went to a conference of hers and she was talking about how epigenetics is, is the genetic link that whatever my history is if, if I get married and to my wife, we actually have a child together, what happens is when the egg meets the sperm, all of my history all of the, the history from not only me, but my generation behind me and generation before that is combined with, with my wife's and when the child is born, all of that history actually comes through to that child. So I started to recognize that some of what I was struggling with, were things that I wasn't even responsible for.

In Exodus 20:5 it talks about visiting the sins of the generations, "to the third and fourth generations of them that hate me." And so, I started to see biblical evidence that supported the understanding that there is a genetic link to the sexual sin that I was struggling with. I was also raised by a single mother and three sisters so, so I also had an environmental factor. I didn't have a father, a gender role model that I could relate to or that I could be affirmed by.

And so, I also believe that this had an influence as well. So, panel if you would this morning, my first question is, is it possible to be born gay?

Virna Santos - Coming Out!

Virna Santos Testimony on Coming out of Homosexuality

A Goal to Reach

A Goal to Reach, February 23

The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. – {Mar 62.1}

When Paul wrote, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly,” he did not exhort his brethren to aim at a standard which it was impossible for them to reach; he did not pray that they might have blessings which it was not the will of God to give. He knew that all who would be fitted to meet Christ in peace, must possess a pure and holy character. – {Mar 62.2}

If Seventh-day Adventists practiced what they profess to believe, if they were sincere health reformers, they would indeed be a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. And they would show a far greater zeal for the salvation of those who are ignorant of the truth. – {Mar 62.3}

Greater reforms should be seen among the people who claim to be looking for the soon appearing of Christ. Health reform is to do among our people a work which it has not yet done. There are those who ought to be awake to the danger of meat-eating, who are still eating the flesh of animals, thus endangering the physical, mental, and spiritual health. Many who are now only half converted on the question of meat-eating will go from God’s people, to walk no more with them. – {Mar 62.4}

The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character. The continual transgression of man for six thousand years has brought sickness, pain, and death as its fruits. And as we near the close of time, Satan’s temptation to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome. – {Mar 62.5}

Again and again I have been shown that God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to His original design—that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth. Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat-eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this end in view, and endeavor to work steadily toward it. – {Mar 62.6}

Marantha EGW

Temptations in Disguise

Temptations in Disguise, February 21

I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:29, 30. – {Mar 60.1}

God has not passed His people by and chosen one solitary man here and another there as the only ones worthy to be entrusted with His truth. He does not give one man new light contrary to the established faith of the body. In every reform men have arisen making this claim.... – {Mar 60.2}

One accepts some new and original idea which does not seem to conflict with the truth. He ... dwells upon it until it seems to him to be clothed with beauty and importance, for Satan has power to give this false appearance. At last it becomes the all-absorbing theme, the one great point around which everything centers; and the truth is uprooted from the heart.... – {Mar 60.3}

I warn you to beware of these side issues, whose tendency is to divert the mind from the truth. Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension.... – {Mar 60.4}

There are a thousand temptations in disguise prepared for those who have the light of truth; and the only safety for any of us is in receiving no new doctrine, no new interpretation of the Scriptures, without first submitting it to brethren of experience. Lay it before them in a humble, teachable spirit, with earnest prayer; and if they see no light in it, yield to their judgment.... – {Mar 60.5}

Satan is constantly at work; but few have any idea of his activity and subtlety. The people of God must be prepared to withstand the wily foe. It is this resistance that Satan dreads. He knows better than we do the limit of his power and how easily he can be overcome if we resist and face him. Through divine strength the weakest saint is more than a match for him and all his angels, and if brought to the test he would be able to prove his superior power. Therefore Satan’s step is noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries masked. He does not venture to show himself openly, lest he arouse the Christian’s dormant energies and send him to God in prayer. – {Mar 60.6}

Maranatha EGW

The Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit

Read for This Week's Study: 1 Cor. 12:4-7, 11; Eph. 4:7; 1 Cor. 12:14-31; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 John 4:1-3.

Memory Text: "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all" (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, NKJV).

Going away on a long business trip, a man left his son in charge of the household, with a specific task to do. But the son soon realized that his father had not provided him with the necessary means and tools to accomplish that task. Frustrated, the son had to leave it undone.

Likewise, when Jesus left His disciples and went to be with His Father in heaven, He gave them a specific task: preach the good news of the gospel to the world. But Jesus did not leave His disciples unequipped. What He commanded them to do He enabled them to do, but in His name and through the power and help of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 1:4-7, Paul gives thanks "for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him . . . so that you are not lacking in any gift" (NASB). Spiritual gifts are given through the Holy Spirit in Christ to build His church.

This week we will study the Holy Spirit as the Sovereign Giver of God's remarkable gifts and look at the difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.