(This hymn could be a very good devotional reading)
We have this hope that burns within our hearts,
Hope in the coming of the Lord.
We have this faith that Christ alone imparts,
Faith in the promise of His Word.
We believe the time is here,
When the nations far and near
Shall awake, and shout, and sing –
Hallelujah! Christ is King!
We have this hope that burns within our hearts,
Hope in the coming of the Lord.
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame,
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me,
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above,
To bear it to dark Calvary.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll –
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well) with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
When sin—O the joy of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll:
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so”—it is well with my soul.
Seventh-day Adventists believe:
- The Bible and the Bible alone, is the written Word of God given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit, we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute, and Example. This faith which receives salvation comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God’s grace. Through Christ we justified, adopted as God’s sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God’s law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him, we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment.
- The great principles of God’s law, including the fourth commandment of Sabbath rest, are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.
- The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church – the grand climax of the gospel. The Savior’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide.
- The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.
- The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven. During this time the wicked dead will be judged , the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected and, with Satan and his angels, will surround the city – but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever.
- On the New Earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence.
- There is a sanctuary in heaven – the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not a man. In it Christ ministers in behalf of His people, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross.
- Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship.
- Because the believers’ bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, they are to care for them intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, they are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to the bodies, they are to abstain from them as well.
- The Lord’s Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, the Lord and Savior. Preparation for the Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service of foot washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness to serve one another in Christ-like humility, and to unite the hearts in love.
- Baptism in the confession of the faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and testimony of the believer’s death to sin and of his/her purpose to walk in newness of life. Baptism is done by the full immersion in water.
- One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings speak clearly that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.
AMAZING GRACE (I hope you have the words. If not, I will forward them to you)
IN THE GARDEN (Do you need the words?)
