We had to go to Manila today. We went to the French consulate. We had applied on 12/1/2012 for the transcription of our marriage into French law and they had told us the application was complete, not missing anything.  
This week (3 months later) they told us they lacked one paper. 

As we talked with the consulate employee, he found that 3 more papers were missing to our application... French bureaucracy syndrom.
What will be missing next time? Stay tune. 

The problem is that most people do not understand what "contemplation of the life of Jesus" means. They think it is a convenient vaporous expression to speak in vague and general terms about the Christian life but not representing something very specific.

Ellen White explained it like this, 

"It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross" 
Desire of Ages, page 83.

 That's enough for me.

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved
2 Corinthians 12:15

Natural love expects some return, but Paul says - I do not care whether you love me or not, I am willing to destitute myself completely, not merely for your sakes, but that I may get you to God. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor." Paul's idea of service is exactly along that line - I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly. It was a joyful thing to Paul.

We went to the African Sabbath today. We made new friends and saw old ones. It was very friendly and the relatively small attendance (about 200) made it easy to meet with people after worship. We made friends with John from Congo. I asked him if he knew Andre Masumbuko who is a friend of mine in California, and, amazingly, he said yes! He asked me for his email address.
 The Adventist world is getting smaller and smaller, even though we are getting more and more numerous!

The weather was very nice and in the afternoon we went to the Sabbath school class preview as usual. Justin, Joseph and Joy were there. New comers joined us too. The subject was about marriage (in relation to the creation story). 

"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10

If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience." Oswald Chambers

“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of,” (Mt 24:48-50 AV)

In our heart and by our actions and words we may declare that the Lord is delaying His coming. By our influence we let others believe Jesus delayes His coming. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. We eat and drink with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking.

We may beat our brethren, accusing them or condemning them. We may mingle with the world.
If this is so the Lord shall come in an hour that we are not aware of...

“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;” (Mt 24:48 AV)

But it is sure there is a delay. So, if it is not Christ who delayed His coming, who did, who does? Certainly not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit, because they are one.
So who does? Yes, us. There is no other option!

That's why WE either delay His Coming or haste it. Not Christ!

Do you believe with all your heart, mind and soul that He is coming soon?
What is the direction of your thoughts, yours actions, your words?
 What is your influence on others?
What do YOU DO to haste His coming?

By preaching the gospel we are hasting our Lord's return. And that's what God ask us to do: 2 Peter 3:12.
If we had done this appointed work, the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power  and great glory.
But maybe we believe that the other churches are helping us in this work, we rely on their action (How many times I heard this).
The gospel is the Good News of the atonement, and the atonement has not been finished at the cross, there is still an atonement (the final one) going on in Heaven right now. If the churches don't preach this, they don't preach the  gospel.

I called my mom today.
She said that I need to get health insurance, she also said that I cannot find a job in France and that Lindie cannot work in France.
In the last 40 years, her worries (and the worries of my late father) about my health insurance and my job have never helped me to get better if I was sick nor to get a job if I needed one. God has provided for my needs, always.

Last year in Chad, we were both very sick  (with malaria). And yet we survived and lived to tell about it. Well it was not that difficult.

Of course people will say, "oh you had chance and it was okay for you", or "you have the chance not to get sick" (I did get sick though). Or, "you had the chance to find a job."

This idea of chance is just another god to deny the idea of the true God, the creator of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ.

Today Sabbath, we went to the Sabbath school class preview. We were quite a big number, more than usual. The lesson was about God provider and sustainer.
Yes, God is our provider and sustainer. We know that God has a thousand ways to provide for us, and often in the way the least expected!
Thank you God for providing for our daily needs.
Thank you for providing for us often in unexpected ways. Jehovah Jireh is his name.

Sabbath morning, PIC, Sabbath school
Remembering what happened last night (see previous post), I decided to come out of my silence (remembering what Ben Carson said in front of Obama).
I taught a class. Even though Matt 25 was not the subject of the lesson, I spoke about it and I explained the true meaning of the parable, and in the same time debunking false ideas taught by some.

Tonight, like every Friday evening,  we went to vespers at PIC.
A presentation was given by the Adventist Scouts. It was about 4 or 5 parables of Jesus.
It was nice, except for one thing.
The lady who presented the parable of the Ten Virgins said that the Five Wise Women (she never used the word virgins) were able to go to the wedding (while the foolish were not) because of OBEDIENCE. Huh?

My Bible says

Matt 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

The reason why the foolish virgins can not enter is NOT disobedience! It is the lack of Holy Spirit which is represented by lack of oil in the parable.

The symbolism explained by this verse: 1Sam 16:13 says
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

The parable says absolutely NOTHING about obedience or disobedience.

I met Prince from Canada walking with X from the USA. Prince asked me about the personation of Christ by Satan. When will this happen? Is it happening now? Is it symbolic or literal? Will he have a body like us? Where can we read about this subject?

I was more than happy to answer these questions. Of course, the Bible text is 2Cor 11:14. If Satan CAN do it, he will surely do it. But this being his masterpiece of seduction, he will keep this weapon until the end (what he thinks is the end) to exhaust all his other weapons first and then use this one as last blow to net the most people as possible, including the elect (Matt 24:24). But he will fail because probation will already be ended at that time.

Jean *** came to talk to me as I was in the library and he asked me a few questions on Daniel to which I was very happy to answer with God's help.
The true knowledge and the good understanding that I may have is due to God only, ... and the mistakes are mine... only!
But I thank God for the gift of explaining the Bible and the prophecies of the book of Daniel especially!
Daniel 12 is pointing our looks toward the future, after the end of probationary time, when there will be a last persecution from the 1st beast of Revelation 13 united with the 2nd beast.

Who is the ‘he’ that scatters the power of the holy people in Daniel 12 7? It is God that breaks the power of Satan in us.
Therefore it will take 1260 days for the power (ego, self, old man) of the holy people to be completely broken. God does this work. It will be done under the persecuting power of the 2 beasts of Revelation 13.
“The time of trouble is the crucible that is to bring out Christlike characters. It is designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his temptations. The last conflict will reveal Satan to them in his true character, that of a cruel tyrant, and it will do for them what nothing else could do, uproot him entirely from their affections. For to love and cherish sin, is to love and cherish its author, that deadly foe of Christ. When they excuse sin and cling to perversity of character, they give Satan a place in their affections, and pay him homage.” OHC 321.

J.R. and I were in health class today. It was pre-final exam day. He had some questions on the 7 churches of Revelation.
Just before the exam on Daniel, some students asked me questions about the special resurrection mentioned in Daniel 12:2... and it happened that it was one question of the exam!

I met Ishmael who asked me some more details about Daniel 12 and its literal interpretation.

I mainly forward the questioners to my proposal posted on my website:

                                                                 yeshua.is-great.org

Today was Lindie's birthday. We went to SSD division offices in Silang. The weather was nice and we took a few pictures.

Happy Birthday dear!

The sanctuary teaches us that for six thousand years, Jesus has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows". Even yet He is "wounded for our transgressions" and "bruised for our iniquities." The sanctuary reflects the full dimension of Jesus' sin bearing love. And He will continue to suffer the pain and agony of the Cross, the rejection, until His sanctuary is cleansed.
Thus Daniel 8:14 is an announcement that the time has come to release Jesus from the pain and agony of Calvary! But the Church's sympathy and co-operation are necessary. Is the people of God interested?

"Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ's agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him, TODAY." Ellen White.

He KNEW, 4

He KNEW, before His incarnation, that he would suffer a terrible agony, even "His sweat would be as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
He KNEW, before His incarnation, He would die an horrible death, hanged on a tree, naked, before His people. But He came, voluntarily.

He KNEW, before His incarnation, that He would die not because of His terrible physical suffering but because the weight of the sins of the world would crush Him to death. But He came, voluntarily.

The weight of all the sins of all men. But He came, voluntarily.

The Father would be separated from Him because of the sins of the world upon Him. But He came, voluntarily.

This separation would take away all hope of resurrection and would push Him to shout:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
But He came, voluntarily.

He KNEW, 3

He KNEW that if He had used His divinity, even only once, the Earth would have been lost, you and me eternally lost. He KNEW this before His incarnation, but still He came, voluntarily.

He knew, before His incarnation, that He would be agonizing in the garden of Gethsemane in conflict with satanic agencies. He would endure the anguish of the betrayal, and would see His disciples forsake Him and flee. He would be taken to Annas, then to Caiaphas, and then to Pilate. From Pilate He would be sent to Herod, then sent again to Pilate. From insult to renewed insult, from mockery to mockery, twice tortured by the scourge. But He came, voluntarily.

He KNEW, before His incarnation, about the spikes in His flesh, the thorns penetrating His head
Ps 22, 69
But He came, voluntarily.

He, the King of the Universe, He would have to suffer all this, and He came, voluntarily.

Christ KNEW, 2

God the Christ knew that no child of humanity would ever be called to live a holy life amid so fierce a conflict with temptation as Himself would be.

He knew, before His incarnation, that He would not have to employ His divine power to lessen His burdens or to lighten His toil, even not a second. And He exercised in His own behalf no power that is not freely offered to us. As man, He met temptation, and overcame in the strength given Him from God. But He came, voluntarily.

And when He was a man, He KNEW He had these divine powers and He could not use them. And it made His temptations much more difficult to bear. But He came, voluntarily.

Christ KNEW, 1

Christ KNEW, before His incarnation, that when He will be a human being He would risk to sin at every moment. But He came, voluntarily.

He knew that to sin would mean Death!  Eternal Death! But He came, voluntarily.

He knew that Satan would be constantly behind Him trying to make Him sin. From His boyhood until His last breathe on the Cross. But He came, voluntarily.

He knew, before His incarnation, that it would be necessary for Him to be constantly on guard in order to preserve His purity. He would be subject to all the conflicts which we have to meet, that He might be an example to us in childhood, youth, and manhood. Temptations even stronger temptations for Him. He knew that He would not have a Mediator! Only ONE sin and He would be lost, for Eternity! But He came, voluntarily.

The apostle Paul was once in a shipwreck. In fact, he said, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives” (Acts 27:10). Unfortunately, these men (like so many of us) trusted in their own inventions and met with near disaster. David wrote, “For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me” (Psalm 44:6).

If I were the devil I would do my best to divide and fragment the thinking of the church of Jesus Christ. I would try to get God’s people confused as to who they are and why they are here. I would try to get them preoccupied with other things. I would try to get them to live independently, to think like the world thinks, to think like the natural man thinks in the futility of his mind (Eph. 4:17-18). In other words, I would like to keep people away from serious involvement with the Word of God. I would want to keep their relationship to God’s Word superficial and secondary.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).

We are also told to “be of the same mind toward one another” which means essentially that we must develop and maintain the mind of Christ or God’s thoughts. We are to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Rom. 12:16; Phil. 2:5; 1:27). But if my thoughts are contrary to God’s, then I must exchange my thinking with God’s and for that process, He has given us His inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word. So what is our need? We are to study the Scripture, but for that to be effective, we also need to develop the art of biblical meditation.

AUP organized an outing today. Hundred of students went door to door to talk with people, take surveys and distribute "The Great Hope" which is a remake of "The great Controversy". I went with Pastor M. Cadalig. Here on the picture is some people of my group taking a survey from parents whose students attend the local Adventist school.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Luke 4:1.

Why was it that at the beginning of His public ministry Christ was led into the wilderness to be tempted? It was the Spirit that led Him, and He went, not in His own behalf, but in our behalf, to overcome for us. There was no compulsion about it. He was led by the Spirit, His humanity to be proved, as one who had undertaken to stand at the head of the fallen race.

Christ had been, and was then, in perfect harmony with the Father. He was to be tried and tested as a representative of the race. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to meet the foe in personal encounter, to overthrow him who claimed to be the head of the kingdoms of the world.

Pastor Cadalig asked me to present my ideas on the literal fulfillment of the time periods of Daniel 12. It was received positively and there were many questions from the students to which God helped me to answer. I am very happy that finally this view can have an hearing. I remember especially when I was asked to stop teaching the Bible after I mentioned my ideas during Sabbath hours to a group of Adventists. This was in Zasovskaia, Russia, in July 2006.

            During the 1888 General Conference, resolutions were proposed that “nothing should be taught in the college contrary to what has been taught”... She [Ellen White] noted that she “felt deeply, for I knew whoever framed that resolution was not aware of what he was doing”...

            Such a resolution would not only perpetuate errors then taught... but would also slam the door against the Spirit of God who might have further light for honest truth-seekers. 

            Herbert Douglas, MOTL, 423.