My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9 NLT Ephesians 5:33 in the KJV calls for wives to reverence their husbands. That is powerful, because the Bible never tells anyone to reverence a priest or a prophet. That word “reverence” for the father tells me, a parent is not only the first teacher but also the first and most important pastor. I love Christian schools, and have dedicated my time and money to them. I believe in their mission with all my heart. Yet, sometimes when we promote Christian schools, I think we sometimes give credit to the schools that actually belongs to the parents. Of course I understand it is the parents who utilize the school in their home ministry. I went to Adventist Schools from Grades 1 through college. My schools averaged around 100 students a year with different students coming and going throughout my 12 grades. A while back, I went through my year books, and I could count on both hands, and maybe a couple of toes the number of kids who remained in the church after we grew up. Upon further investigation I found, for the most part, the families who remained in the church after growing up, were families that had worship every night in the home. They also encouraged their children to study the Bible for themselves. That is why their children are still in the church. Church schools are great, they are wonderful, they are ordained by God, but they are not ordained to take the place of the mother and father and do the work the mother and father are ordained to do. (I understand there are situations, like my late friend Quong, who came to the United States from Vietnam, and was put in an Adventist School, only because it was private. While his parents were atheist, Quong, accepted Jesus, and was forced out of his home at 14 years of age! He slept at the school every night till he found a new family to live with. Thank God for that school!) A while back I was giving a devotional for chapel at a Christian School. I asked the lower grade students how many of them have family worship at home. Out of about 45 students only 5 hands were raised. I begged the other students to ask their parents to have family worship with them every night, by studying the children’s Sabbath School lessons and Bible together, and prayer. The mother and father are more to a child than any priest, pastor, teacher, or even general conference president will ever be. The ordination of mother and father is a much higher ordination than any priest or pastor, and a child should learn to listen to and respect their parent more than they respect any priest, pastor or teacher. Posted on December 29, 2014 by William Earnhardt https://ssnet.org/blog/parents-highly-ordained-pastors-child-will-ever-meet/

In the final hours of Jesus’ earthly sojourn in human flesh, He spoke these words of comfort to the disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know”. (John 14:1-4, NKJV). Though they certainly didn’t fully understand the meaning of what He said nor the time in which His promise would be fulfilled, the men surely drew comfort from Jesus’ words. A room in His Father’s house? A place that Jesus Himself was preparing for them? Surely this would be better than wherever they might find themselves in this world now. Indeed, not too long before, as He sat with the disciples, Jesus gave them a quick survey of what would happen before He returned. It was kind of a “history of the future”, and it was not pretty. Wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, famines, and earthquakes were all, Jesus said, just “the beginning of sorrows”. Persecutions, betrayals, deceptions, and trials were on the horizon, as well. Today, from our vantage point in the flow of history, we can see that nearly all of what Jesus warned about has come to pass, and just as He predicted, too. We can see the fulfillment of two major time prophecies, as well. The first is the “time and times and the dividing of time” of Daniel 7:25 (see also Rev. 12:6, Rev. 12:14; Rev. 13:5; Num. 14:34), which began in the sixth century A.D. (A.D. 538) and ended in the late eighteenth century (A.D. 1798). Then, too, the longest time prophecy, the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, reached its fulfillment in the year 1844. Surely, then, we are now living in “the end of the days” (Dan. 12:13). But not only do we not know when the end — climaxing with the second coming of Jesus — will come, we don’t need to know. We need to know only that it will come, and that when it does, we must be prepared. How? Perhaps the best answer is found in this text: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6, NKJV). In other words, with so many world events, so many headlines, and so many theories about end times, it’s easy to get diverted, focusing too much on the things that we think are leading to Christ’s coming instead of on Christ Himself, who alone is the key to our preparation. This quarter the focus is on the end time, but not totally. The real focus is on Jesus, but in the context of the last days and how to be prepared for them. Yes, we need to look at historical dates, at world events, at history itself, because the Bible talks about them in relation to the end. But even in this context, the Bible talks about Jesus, about who He is, what He has done for us, what He does in us, and what He will do when He does return. Christ and Him crucified must be the center of our faith; or, as Paul said: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, NKJV). The more we focus on Him, the more we become like Him, the more we obey Him, and the more prepared we will be for all that awaits us, both in the immediate future and in the end, the day when we do enter “the place” that Jesus has prepared for those who love Him. Norman R. Gulley, PhD, is a research professor in Systematic Theology at Southern Adventist University. Posted on March 30, 2018 by Sabbath School Lesson https://ssnet.org/blog/preparation-for-the-end-time/

I can’t fathom how many choices we have to make in a day. There are simple choices like what clothes to wear, but there are many important decisions that will have a great impact in our future. I don’t know if there are “right” decisions, but each choice we make takes on a different path. I was thinking about the thief on the cross, the “good” one. It has been written that this man was not necessarily a bad person. He had been struggling with his life, and got himself in a bad situation. A fateful decision got him sentenced to die on a cross. Not every decision he was making was “wrong”, but one very poor one got him into trouble. I’ve heard some people ask me if one mistake will take me out of the kingdom. I don’t think it works like that. The future is not lost by one decision, but all the decisions in our life brings us to a place. It is the culmination of our decisions that make us or break us. This does not take away from the fact that there are “bigger” decisions that has more ramifications. For all the poor decisions that the young man made, he had an opportunity to think about his life while hanging on his cross. Jesus in a moment before the end of his own life wanted to have one more chance to save another. This was the last chance for this poor man, and he had one more important decision to make, he did not miss his last opportunity. He grasped for any amount of faith left in his soul, and asked Jesus for eternal life. He was sorry for how he got there, but if he had another chance, he would make better choices. Jesus saw his heart, and told him the truth. This final choice to choose life would lead him to eternity. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 God will not give up on his people. We might be taking a round and windy path in life full of questionable choices, but there is one choice that can set us in the direction to eternal life. I will guarantee you mistakes will be made, bad choices will be lead us to hard times, but Jesus is ever there leading us to follow Him. He is the light, that shines in our path, and wherever He leads, we are safe in Him. Connected to the Vine -Pastor Danny

Help for anyone who loves kids who love screens Every Parent's Guide to Navigating Our Digital World helps you think and talk differently about digital media, as you learn from inspiring and creative parents like you who navigate these ever-changing waters day after day. Drawing from the best research on media and youth, as well as our own conversations with parents and teenagers, this workshop offers new breakthroughs for your most pressing tech-related dilemmas: How to teach your kids to use social media responsibly. How to set limits on when, where, and how much you use devices in your family--without isolating your kids from their friends. How to handle the tough stuff: inappropriate sharing, bullying, and porn. How to make digital media a force that knits your family together rather than ripping you apart at the seams.

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and your teacher would ask the class a question? You knew the answer and so did a few other kids, then hands would go up in the air. There was a great satisfaction when the teacher would choose you. You had something to say, you had an answer and the teacher would give you the time to express yourself to of all the class. Somewhere deep inside us we want to be known. We want people to notice us, we want people to appreciate us, we want people to love us. We all want to feel special and wanted by someone who is important to us. Does God wanting you make you feel special? "But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1 We worship a pretty special God. Within all the pagan deities in this world we as humanity have to approach god. We have to make ourselves special somehow and make ourselves known to this higher power, so it might give us the blessings we are asking for. Think how different the God that we worship is. We didn’t come to Him, He comes to us, He saw something in us, something so special that He chose us. There are billions and billions of people and God chose us. “But didn't He choose everyone?” I don’t know about that. All humanity is created of God, but not everyone are children of God. There is something in you, just like Abraham. God saw the potential in Israel, and He chose that nation to be the representation of His glory. God wants you; He wants you to be the bridge to others, that they might know the feeling inside of them is not an accident, but that they have also been chosen, and if they would recognize that fact they would be changed forever. Being chosen does not guarantee salvation. The Bible is full of stories of people relinquishing their uniqueness. Being chosen is an opportunity to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe. Being chosen is a responsibility to others who need to be made aware of their “chosenness”. We are blessed indeed, God has found something in us that will resonate in Him. Let us not discard our special gift but embrace the One that has called us to be His and walk the life that will lead us to eternity. Connected to the Vine - Pastor Danny

To Know Jesus PHILIPPIANS 3:10-11 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death: 11 In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. There’s a distinct difference between knowing about someone and truly knowing someone. You may know my wife but not the same way that I know her. Similarly, there are many people today who know a lot about Jesus without relationally knowing Jesus . Paul had the same concern with the Corinthian church: “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!” 2 Cor. 11:3 The process of knowing Christ is a lifelong endeavor. Knowing Christ is meant to both drive and consume our lives. Too often, distractions around us cause us to loose focus on truly knowing Christ. The result is that we settle for something far less, allowing ourselves to become content where we are, and in the process, missing a depth of relationship with the Lord that should be ours. COLOSSIANS 3:1-2 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not the things on earth. In the stream of time that we live in, we need to take every opportunity we can to develop that personal relationship with Jesus. As we look to the end of time we need to seek the Holy Spirit more earnestly to help us to draw closer to our dear Savior, so that we can form that bond that ties us to Him for all eternity. God Bless Christopher Camacho

“This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” These are words of a song that has been in my mind for a very long time, but words that ring true to my ears. I wonder if a fish living in an aquarium understands that there is a life outside that fish tank? I believe even animals understand that we are living in some sort of prison. We can pretend all we like, but this world was never meant for us. Millions of people are living their daily lives believing that this life is the only life, and how tragic that is. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20 As children of God, we have been given a new citizenship. We have a passport now to our new home, and we will leave this world with no earthly possessions. Our time here is only a temporary one, and life will truly begin in the heavens above. This is the reality we must understand. There are only two consequences in this world. One, to prepare our hearts and minds for the holy kingdom, and two, to bring those we have created relationships with us to the eternal kingdom. Everything else on this planet has no consequence.  There have been good times and bad, but everything we have been through and will go through is for our preparedness to our eternal future. They call this world a rat race, spinning in circles and going nowhere. This is not so with us, we are running a race and there is a finish line, and Jesus will be there to welcome us home. The only way to lose this race is not to finish it, let us not give up the fight. Whatever comes our way, let’s keep our eyes on the prize, it has been promised to us, we are citizens of a new country. We are almost home. Hold on my friends, let our focus be resolute, and our hope sure. God bless. Connected to the Vine -Pastor Danny

Sometimes the world can seem like a very unsafe place. We live in a world without security and this can cause a lot of stress in our lives. There is a deep psychology in the mind of a Christian. No matter what is happening our lives, God is there and has not left us alone. Each of us have decisions to make as we navigate our lives, will we trust or will doubt overcome our soul? What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us. Romans 8:31 No one can always make the right directions or do the right things, but we can all try to do as God has asked. No person is free from error, but as long as our heart is honest and true, God can get us through. We do not have certainty that our outcomes will be our desired wish, but we do have a confidence, that God will help us. Living as a Christian is not always easy. There will be moments we will be tried. There will be times when everything might seems hopeless. God wants us to be alerted to our dependency on Him. The old Hymn comes to my mind, “Trust and Obey, there is no other way.” We are a people that lives by faith and not by sight. We don’t always understand the path in front of us, but we know that God will be there on our worst and best days. Stay honest and true my friends, there is no point of trying to fool God or ourselves. God’s wish is for us to follow His path, even if it might not be the most pleasant. If we veer off the path, God wants us to get on track. Let’s believe in God’s promises, trust Him, and may truth guide you forward. Connected to the Vine -Pastor Danny

Have you ever gone on a long road trip? If so, it is likely that you have used GPS. Maybe you use GPS to go to the east side, or even to the grocery store. The thing with GPS is that the system needs to know 2 things: where you are starting, and where you are going. In work, in church, in life, we need to know where we are, and where we are going. Where are you today? How are you today? What are your struggles and fears? Where would you like to be? What are your dreams and desires for the future? What kind of person do you want to be? What is your purpose in life? These are real, soul-searching questions. And surely the disciples were wrestling with these questions. But then a strange rabbi named Jesus approached them, and said “follow me.” That changed everything for them. Much like a GPS, Jesus engaged with them at a starting point, but where were they headed? What is the aim of discipleship? Let’s explore that question this Sabbath. Pastor Danny Kim Hillsboro Seventh-day Adventist Church