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Friday, October 13, 2017

A HERITAGE TOUR OF HOPE

(The link to a pictorial gallery of this trip is at end.)

THROUGH THE WINDOWS OF HOPE--anticipating the Second Coming. I recently had the privilege of taking the Heritage New York & New England  Tour which was a reminder of the faith experience of our early pioneers. Seventh-day Adventists have long given emphasis to the Second Coming of Christ. We see ourselves as a movement of prophecy connected to the events described in Daniel 2 and 7-9 and Revelation 12-14.  Adventists represent a people who love Jesus and look for His soon return in the clouds. It is true that we cherish the Sabbath because it memorializes God's six-day creation of the world, Jesus' finished work on the cross, and righteousness by faith. The Sabbath is relevant in these days because it not only calls us back to worship the Creator and Redeemer but it is also a weekly reminder that God has a purpose for each person and that purpose begins to be fulfilled with a personal relationship with Him. That hope permeates our lives with a sense of certainty despite the uncertainty that threatens our world today.

One of the tour guides on this inspirational trip was Merlin Burt of Andrews University. In his book, entitled Adventist Pioneer Places: New York and New England, he wrote:

"First Samuel 4-7 tells the story of how God delivered Israel when they were spiritually backslidden from Him and were challenged by a most dangerous enemy. It begins with a terrible defeat when the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines and concludes with the establishment of a memorial stone named Ebenezer after their deliverance by a mighty act of God (1 Samuel 7:12). The word Ebenezer means 'stone of help.' This monumental stone reminded the children of Israel how God had delivered them from their enemies.  In many ways the historical sites and stories of God's leading described in this book are Ebenezers for those who are the spiritual descendants of the early Advent movement. They point to the mighty acts of God in the lives of people who, through weak and fallible, were used by God in remarkable ways to establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church that today circles the globe and includes many millions of people." (p. viii)

Today it is our desire, our mission, to share a hope that is greater than any disappointment, despair, or doomsday threat.  It was the Apostle Paul, who faced his times of distress and still wrote: "And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:5, NLT) 

A PICTORIAL GALLERY OF THIS HERITAGE TRIP CAN BE VIEWED BY CLICKING ON THE FOLLOWING LINK: