Tiger And Tom And Other Stories For Boys

By J.E. White

This book is available to order through the Bible Sabbath Association. In it, you will find character-building stories for boys.

Read one of the recommendations of this book:

“I have spent literally $1,000.00’s on educational and character building materials for our son… and none have been as encouraging, nor as influential as your old time stories.”

These stories were compiled from orphanage stories used in the United States many years ago. Fortunately, Godly character does not have a time period attached to it. These timeless stories will encourage boys to choose right from wrong. Read them to your children and even grandchildren!

To order this book, just click the link below:

https://biblesabbath.org/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=48&=SID

Meditation God’s Medication

by Regina Gray

“Growing up, I recall both reciting and singing in Sunday School and in Vacation Bible School, Psalm 19:14: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. But growing up in a home headed by a conservative, fundamental, evangelical pastor (my dad), I don’t recall ever discussing the practice of meditation. During my growing up years, the practice of meditation was reserved for those who either stood on their heads or sat in what appeared to be an uncomfortable squatting position and made humming sounds while maintaining what appeared to be a blissful countenance. It never occurred to me to question what those meditating were actually doing – or why.

I just knew it wasn’t something conservative, fundamental, evangelicals did! In my later years I have learned that questioning a practice and going to the Bible for personal, Scriptural answers is the only way to be sure I am getting an answer that does not include the influence, interpretations, and opinions of other persons. Meditation when defined as the act or process of thinking becomes a simple, harmless process. (More simple for some of us than we care to admit, maybe!) Meditation is the act of thoughtful reflection and deliberation. So the content is what is helpful or harmful to us, not the process. Psalm 19:14 sets the standard for content (“acceptable in Thy sight”) and there are numerous Scriptures that clarify what we are to meditate on and what results we may expect. Psalm 1:2: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 104:34: My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. Psalm 119: 15: I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 23: Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. 48: My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. 97: 0 how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day…”

(This article is an excerpt from the Sept-Oct 2003 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 17, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/tss/504/tss_504.pdf

The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 (Part 1 of 2)

By Kelly McDonald Jr.

In Acts chapter 15, there was a dispute about Gentiles who accepted Jesus as their Savior. One of the questions they considered is the following: should these converts be circumcised to receive salvation? This discussion generated a lot of controversy. Unfortunately, many people misunderstand the meaning of these verses.

In this two-part series, we will examine the council and the implications of various claims people make about it. First, we will look at the text and break down the meaning:

“Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.’ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are’” (Acts 15:1-11, NIV, bold emphasis mine).

Before we go further in the chapter, we need to clarify the section I have placed in bold. What is the “yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear”? Some have claimed that this refers to the Ten Commandments. One way to confirm or deny any claim about Scripture is to compare it with other Bible verses. So, let’s look at some verses to see what they say about the Law of God.

Deut. 30:11-14 – “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

I John 5:2-3 – “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

James 1:25 – “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does”.

In Deut. 30:11-14, God said that His own law was not hard to understand or difficult to observe. In the New Testament, John and James attested that the law was not burdensome and that it granted us liberty.

So what is the yoke of bondage from Acts 15? The question that the apostles and elders met to consider in Acts 15 was whether or not circumcision was a requirement for Gentiles to be saved. In this account, the Pharisees also pushed for observance of the law. The fact that the Pharisees were involved is an important detail when we consider the interpretation of Acts 15. Context matters. Here’s what Jesus said about them:

² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23:2-4, NIV, bold emphasis mine).

The Pharisees followed rigid man-made rules that burdened people and caused people to trust in human effort instead of trusting God. They were burdensome and at times negated the commandments of God (see Matthew 15:1-20 as an example). So its not that the Law was a problem here, but their man-made rules. The “yoke” that Peter refers to is the yoke of man-made rules of the Pharisees. This interpretation is consistent with the rest of Scripture. 

So what did the Apostles decide on this matter?

We will finish this series next week!

Kelly McDonald, Jr. is the BSA President. www.biblesabbath.org

Sabbath Ideas! – Free Resource

On this interesting website, you will find over 350 Sabbath activities for your family and church. These interactive activities will enhance your understanding of the Sabbath. And, you will have fun doing it!

http://www.sabbathideas.org/p/home.html

Reflecting on the Sabbath Community

By Larry Hardison

Observing the Sabbath offers each of us contact with other Sabbatarians and opening to each a joint interest and an immediate bond of fellowship. Yet, the Sabbatarian community like first day keepers, suffer from artificial barriers; thus, these must be overcome to grow understanding and fellowship. Those barriers, such as denominational lines, should be put aside for the greater good of the Sabbatarian community. We should always welcome with great pleasure meeting other Sabbatarians who value our shared Sabbatarian roots and common beliefs. The Bible Sabbath Association, through its leadership, can provide those connections we need to expand and grow our Sabbatarian communities – wherever we may live.

The King’s Daughter and Other Stories For Girls

By J.E. White

This book contains stories to teach girls character and how to deal with difficult moral decisions. These stories were compiled from orphanage stories used in the United States many years ago. Fortunately, Godly character does not have a time period attached to it. These timeless stories will encourage girls to choose right from wrong. Read them to your children and even grandchildren!

To order this book, just click the link below:

https://biblesabbath.org/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=47&=SID

The Sabbath Reality: A Different Perspective

by Robin Todd

“Some of us within the Sabbatarian community are fond of admonishing others to examine and sometimes set aside preconceived notions gleaned from religious tradition. Now I am asking you who debate over the Sabbath issue to step out of your preconceived notions of orthodoxy and hear yet another voice on this important topic. Dare to think outside the box and still be true to the Scriptures. When we approach the subject of the Sabbath as if it were a piece of the puzzle of life, we miss its profound significance. Indeed, when presented as something “instituted” at creation, or “commanded” at Sinai, what the Sabbath symbolizes becomes merely a part of the whole and is thereby unintentionally minimized. So, let’s start from a different position—that is, that the Sabbath symbolizes the foundational reality of God. When seen as the whole itself—as the reality—God illuminates in us his purposes.

Although God created the physical universe as we know it in six days, that creation turns out to be only the stage on which his spiritual reality is played out. When he sanctified that seventh day (with no recorded “evening and morning”), he was weaving his spiritual reality of REST into the very fabric of the created order. Put another way, that which was sanctified and blessed (the greater) was superimposed over the creative result of his labor (the lesser). The rest in which God dwells focuses our attention on God as Creator only secondarily. Primarily, it brings a God who rests into view. Rest is the main thing; it is his reality for you and me—the basis for our relationship with him. Physical creation, as wondrous as it is in declaring the majesty of God, is external. Rest is internal—indicated by its sanctification and its spiritually metaphorical link to our belief system (Hebrews, chapter 4). With that established, let’s continue…”

(This article is an excerpt from the Sept-Oct 2002 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 10, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/tss/497/tss_497.pdf