| LETTERS

I was impressed with the article by Thurman C. Petty, “What Have We Done?” (December 2009), and the compelling picture of Jesus, Creator of the universe, caring about us in this little corner of the universe called Earth. In fact, God loved us, long before Creation, with a love that we will not fully understand until eternity. Love infinite, immeasurable—the love of our beloved Master, Jesus!

 

 

 

Gratitude 

Thank you for listing the farming industry first in the editorial “Openhearted Listening” (December 2009). So many times people list professions such as doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and say “even farmers.” I am a retired farmer, and it was a constant irritation to be at the tail end of such a listing. Your listing was of working people, and I appreciate it very much.

 

Thanks again. May God continue to bless the entire magazine.

 

Jim Grubbs 

 

 

Heart Transplant 

I find it important that Creation is brought to our attention once again, as accepting a creative God is very important. This was nicely explained in the article “Creation Wonders” (John T. Baldwin, Leonard R. Brand, Arthur Chadwick, and Randall W. Younker, August 2009).

 

The four reasons quoted in the paragraphs titled “Special Creation and Other Biblical Doctrines” are important and nicely formulated. But I missed a very important fifth reason: God also wants to re-create our heart.

 

We talk about Creation in the past and look to the new Creation in the future. Sabbath is the link between those two times of Creation. But in between God is willing to create in us a new heart, or re-create our old, hard heart. Creation means instantaneously. Many Christians think that a new heart is no longer created by God, but that we evolve into a better being. This is a wrong interpretation of what the Bible tells us and shows that even when accepting the seven-day Creation week, we can still be evolutionists in our own hearts.

 

Many honest Christians struggle with sins they cannot get rid of. They want to evolve to a better human, yet sin is sin. Everybody has weaknesses that ultimately may lead to sin; and yes, we evolve to a better human as step by step our personality is polished by God. But struggling again and again with one specific sin makes us wonder why this is so. Do we still believe in a creative God able to re-create us in such a way that we are saved from our weaknesses? If we ask our Creator, might He re-create our weakness into a strength? Are we truly creationists?

 

Johan Vanbrabant 

 

 

Magazine Appreciated 

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I appreciate your publishing encouraging experiences of people in search of God’s Word. I am touched with the samples of Adventist World I have read so far.

 

I am a Kenyan by nationality and an Adventist, too. I am in my first year of Dalian Medical University in China. It’s very difficult to find a Seventh-day Adventist church here, so I am requesting that you send me words of encouragement. I will share any messages with my friends so we can start our own Sabbath school.

 

Calvin 

 

I am currently living in the East-Central Africa Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is great to always receive the Adventist World magazine. I commend the work that the team goes through to make sure we get it.

 

I continue to keep track of how the magazines have been of great help to a lot of people. I don’t know about the other parts of the world, but I have been to eight African countries, and young people in Africa are the majority of readers of Adventist World. The Adventist youth are always ready to read about anything that can improve their livelihood and help them achieve more in life. It seems the church does little in empowering young people in Africa. I might be wrong, and if I am, I am open to correction.

 

An example was July 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Adventists and the World Health Organization (WHO) had a health conference. The topic was “Including Young People’s Participation in Health Decisions,” and among the panelists, not one youth was represented, even though young people were sponsored to that meeting. I spoke, and it was noted. But it is not enough for this to be noticed, but really worked on.

 

Every country I travel to in Africa I look for an Adventist family to stay with, and I talk extensively with the youth in the church. They are wonderful people with passion for the Lord.

 

Please keep up the good work. I pray that you will continue to find funding for this great magazine so that in Africa and beyond we will always be edified by the Word of God.

 

 

 

Inspiration 

Can I purchase copies of this magazine to be distributed in my local church? The content of Adventist World is superb. The copies we receive for the church elders have been received with much enthusiasm and pleasant surprise because of the work of our church throughout the world.

 

Marcos de Oliveira 

 

Unfortunately, at the present time Adventist World in South America can be obtained only through a subscription to Revista Adventista. But you can read it online in various languages—including Portuguese—at www.adventistworld.org. For other languages, once you are on the Web page, please click on the upper right window and choose any language of your preference.

 

 

Letters Policy: Please send your letters to the editor to: letters@adventistworld.org. Letters must be clearly written and to the point, 250-word maximum. Be sure to include the name of the article, the date of publication, and page number with your letter. Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.