Author: jeremiahtan963404

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

June 30th, 2022

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Apologies for being a day late with this update again this week, we have been “all systems go” with Vacation Bible School each evening!

I tell you: it has been wonderful to see the kids’ faces, their excitement, their optimism, their eagerness to have fun and learn about Jesus in a creative setting… it warms the heart to see them playing and learning and growing and deepening their faith in Jesus.

But perhaps even more heartening has been how the numerous volunteers of both churches have come together in such a great spirit to serve our kids, contribute to the overall vision, and really ‘be the church’ in creating supportive community in which our families can thrive. There has been a wonderful lightness and optimism, and a sprit of helpfulness (even as some last-minute changes have needed to take place behind the scenes), where people have stepped up to contribute time, energy, and sometimes even financial resources.

Contrastedly, the world gives us so much to be cynical about, so much to be frightened about, so much to be guarded about, so much to be pessimistic about: It’s easy to forget that goodness, generosity, love, and openness can still thrive in our strained and stressed-out society.

So if you haven’t dropped by to observe an evening of VBS, I encourage you to do so! Consider this your invitation. Come be part of thriving Christian community, not just for an hour on Sabbath morning, but get involved in the daily living of the Gospel. And don’t forget that, even after VBS week finishes, we have mid-week prayer groups, food bank, zoom worships, etc. you can be a part of. Don’t hesitate to ask about particulars of what we offer, or even offer to host a gathering/activity of some kind. The church facility is available to you, or activities can be held of course in the park across the street, your own home, etc.

I pray you and your families have a good remainder of the week as you find and fulfill your purpose in Jesus.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

June 23rd, 2022

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18

One day last week, while I was scrolling through Facebook, I saw an ad for a device that looked like an asthma inhaler, and the ad said it was a “drug-free” way to reduce stress, anxiety, and interrupt oncoming panic attacks. I thought: “That’s interesting, I wonder how they do that without ‘drugs’, (which can mean any chemical compound that has an effect on the body), and why it looks like an inhaler if that is so?” So I clicked on the ad to try to find out what the device actually does. After scrolling through testimonials and the like, I finally got to a description of what it does: when you start breathing into it, it activates a sound recording counting slowly, indicating when to breathe (stops hyperventilation, regulates breathing rhythm), while emitting a soothing scent (and there were a few to choose from). So: a counter to regulate breathing, and a pleasant scent to smell. Would work, I suppose, on a basic level.

But that got me to thinking about breathing, and how it’s generally involuntary, but can be controlled voluntarily when intended. And it made me realize, we have several involuntary functions our muscles perform (such as heart beating, intestines digesting, kidneys filtering blood, etc.), and of course voluntary actions we control with the conscious part of our brains (walking, working with our hands, turning our heads left & right, etc.), and then there are a few which are ‘blended’, able to be either voluntary or involuntary. Blinking would be one of those (think about it: how many times have you blinked today? But how many times have you consciously commanded your eyelids ‘blink now’? Yet you can voluntarily do so any time you choose (in fact, I bet you’re consciously doing it right now!)), and breathing is another.

I praise the Lord for the involuntary aspect of breathing, since it would be incredibly tiresome to have to consciously tell our lungs every several seconds ‘breathe in/out now’, and what about when we sleep? And what about babies? So the involuntary aspect is crucial. But it’s also needfully voluntary, in cases like blowing on hot food, holding one’s breath for swimming, singing in a choir, etc.

Going back to our highlight verse above, we’re told to “pray without ceasing”. At first thought, we might be inclined to react, “but that’s impossible!” For some of us, to sustain a 10 or even a 5-minute prayer can be difficult. Also, we need to work and talk to people and drive our cars and the like, so just what was the Apostle Paul meaning when he wrote this?

I think this verse necessitates another way of conceiving our prayers. That they not be so much ‘events’, or voluntary communications we undertake, but more like breathing. More like something we constantly do which sustains (spiritual) life. Ellen White uses the illustration of prayer as breathing in saying “Although there may be a tainted, corrupted atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its miasma, but may live in the pure air of heaven. We may close every door to impure imaginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the soul into the presence of God through sincere prayer. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth and will have constant communion with heaven. …Let the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may grant us a breath of the heavenly atmosphere. We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.” Steps to Christ, p.99

So I pray that our faith relationship with God would be less like picking-up & hanging-up the phone, and be more like having the communication line continually open. When you were a teenager, did you ever just keep the phone line open with your girlfriend/boyfriend so you could constantly be in their presence? I’ve even known people who’ve fallen asleep with the phone line open with their dear one. Could it not be so with God as well? Just, making our mental space a welcome place to Him at all hours of the day & night? Down to the minutia of daily tasks and the like? According to scripture, He wants to hear. It’s crazy to imagine! That is some kind of love.

What a blessing and opportunity it is to be connected to heaven, even constantly! We need never walk in darkness, we need never feel alone, knowing that God is attentive, caring, and interested in our day-to-day mundanity.

May God bless you and your families the remainder of the week.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

Please read (or at least scroll) to the bottom of this e-mail to see important prayer requests & announcements, including Vacation Bible School starting June 27th , and church Blood Drive & Car Show events.

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

June 15th, 2022

“Many who heard [Jesus] were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him?’” Mark 6:2

In addition to the many societal problems we seem to be enduring recently (which I discussed in last week’s devotional), we seem to be in a renewed period of “culture wars”, debates over issues covering everything from sexuality/gender to reproductive rights to political vilification. I have to be transparent that, in addition to the personal level, I experience trepidation on a pastoral/professional level in trying to anticipate navigating questions and conversations about such topics. So many of them are not really discussed in the Bible, yet, we are called to “be ready in and out of season” (2nd Timothy 4:2).

So I look to Jesus. What would Jesus say? How would he navigate such issues? The obvious answer is deftly and wisely, perfectly! But how does that play out on the practical level?

So I ask myself: What were “culture-war” type issues in Jesus’ time and place during his ministry? And upon looking, we find many. There was the issue of the Roman occupation of Israel during this time. There were issues between the Jewish subgroups of Pharisees & Sadducees. And there were debates as to just how to enforce Moses’ law in such an environment.

We’re likely familiar with the stories in which people tried to ‘trap’ Jesus in impossible scenarios. But each of the ones we’ll look at below have to do with these “culture war”-type issues. The first is the time Jesus was asked about paying Roman taxes (Luke 20:20-26), the second is Jesus being questioned regarding marriage in the afterlife (Mark 12:18-25), and the third is about Jesus being grilled regarding stoning a woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:3-11).

So, first: regarding the tax question and the issue of Roman Occupation: Jesus is presented with a seemingly impossible binary choice: to affirm the paying of exaction of pagan occupiers or not? To answer the one way would be popular with the people, but attract the ire of Rome, and certainly distract from Jesus’ Spiritual purpose in his preaching. To answer the other way, however, would be to offend everyone from the Pharisees to the Zealots. But Jesus does an amazing thing: rather than simply answer “yes” or “no”, he nimbly evades their ‘cage’ of merely two answers by affirming God’s supremacy, and putting money in its true place: ‘If Rome cares about these pieces of metal so badly, then give them their pieces of metal’ (my paraphrase). He contrasts that with what God is due, and how much that is more important (many times over!). The people are, rightly, astonished and impressed by his answer, and question Him no more.

Then, the issue of marriage in the afterlife: the Pharisees and Saducees had perpetual debates about whether an afterlife existed at all: so a group of Saducees presents Jesus with, again, a seemingly impossible scenario, in which a hypothetical multiple times-married woman ends up with multiple husbands in the (supposed) afterlife. Jesus rebukes the premise of their question and responds that people will be similar to angels in their non-marrying status in heaven. Again, his critics are silenced, and slink away sheepishly.

And finally, Jesus is publicly pressured to answer as to whether a woman caught in adultery should be stoned, as Moses’ law insists. Again, rather than go with the seemingly necessary “yes” or “no” diametrically-opposed choices, Jesus takes some extra time, subtly pointing out the woman’s accusers’ secret sins to them (Desire of Ages p. 461), and stating that whoever had no sin could rightly throw the first stone. And the woman’s accusers backed away, ashamed and humiliated. (Interestingly, using this metric/standard, Jesus Himself very well could have done so himself! But he didn’t, living out the principle of John 3:17, that he had come to the world to save rather than condemn people).

So what do we see in each of these 3 cases? Rather than submit to his accusers’ pre-packaged “boxes” of binary choices, Jesus impressively chose a 3rd way which elevated principles upward and forward, rather than conforming to presumed conclusions.

Could we, as church members, be called to do something similar in the current ‘culture war’ environment of society? “Are you for or against Black Lives Matter?” “Are you for or against the LGBTQ movement?” “Are you for or against abortion?” “Are you for or against gun rights?” “Are you for or against Trump and the narrative of what happened at the last election?”. Notice: with any of these, if we say a simple “yes” or “no”, we’re going to make friends of some and enemies of other (and no-doubt the forcefulness of the ‘dislike’ of the one group will be stronger than the ‘like’ of the other).

So what if, in each of these (and other) scenarios, we rather directed people’s attention upward to God and positively forward to understand the issues in a new context? This would no-doubt take supernatural wisdom, creativity, and nimbleness beyond what we naturally possess. But the Bible clearly says that God/the Holy Spirit can supply wisdom, and even words, when asked for! “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5. “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26. “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12. Admittedly, that last quote is about more serious situations of arrest, and defending oneself/one’s positions publicly, but couldn’t it also be true in a lesser sense in individual situations? Is this not something we should pray for in personal interactions?

I can’t spell-out for you how you should answer any of the societally difficult questions posed 2 paragraphs up; your responses will of course need to be determined by what you know of the person asking you the questions, and just how they’re posed. But I think to depend on Jesus’ example, and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom are the only way to rightly navigate these discussions.

God of course would not have us get distracted and “into the weeds” of these societal debates and issues. We cannot let them distract from the main purpose we have as Christians: to witness well to a loving God who plans to solve all issues shortly. We need to have a God-honoring, encouraging response to all of these issues, and we cannot let them take our primary purpose, our “eyes”, off of God’s great plan of salvation and promise to rescue his faithful people at Jesus’ 2nd coming. Let any discussions on the topics above be bridges to speaking positively of God, His Word, and His will in our lives, and may we be faithful in honoring Him in all we do and say.

As I leave you today, I want to quote a verse that, as read, deals with temptation. Study Bible footnotes will contain a note here that says the word can also be translated as “tested”, so I have put it that way in the example below. Again, I ask if this principle couldn’t also be true for giving wise, creative, and “out of the box” answers that open up people to higher considerations and conversations in daily life?

“No test has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1st Corinthians 1:13

I hope that we can always be praying for, looking for, and finding, those “ways out”, both in our temptations, and in our “tests” of giving good answers as Christians, to tough issues.

May God bless the remainder of the week for you and your families.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

Please be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this e-mail to see important prayer requests and announcements, including resumption of Dr. Maria’s discipleship series at a neighboring church, and VBS prep meeting for our big week at the end of the month!

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

June 8th, 2022

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 4:24-26

It is incredible: sometimes I don’t know how society manages. I thought we were careening on the edge of breakdown before the pandemic, and then when it came, I thought “this must be the end-all, be-all of what society can handle.” But as the urgency of that crisis has waned, other crises (some inevitable, others manufactured), have come up in its place. Angst, turmoil, and potential chaos are everywhere. We’ve got serious concerns about financial crisis, mental health crisis, war crisis, ecological crisis, immigration crisis, political crisis, crises of drug use, gun violence, etc. I really wouldn’t blame someone for having a nervous breakdown in light of all these things.

And yet, into all that fray, Jesus speaks peace to us. “Peace I leave you. My peace I give unto you. I do not give it as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and be not afraid.” John 14:27

Upon hearing such words, we have two possible reactions. One is to angstily cry back to him “How can you expect us to calm down in the light of this, and that, and this other thing?!”, as we continue fretting, worrying, getting ourselves into a tizzy over all the stuff.

The other option, of course, is to believe, and trust, and shut the door to the panicked voices inside our heads, telling them “Jesus is the Lord of my head-space, and he has assured me it’s okay to trust and be at peace.”

In choosing which option we take, perhaps it’s helpful to remember that Jesus himself was at his highest level of crisis as he uttered this to his disciples. This was in the same time period in which he’d said “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” (John 12:27) It was the same time he knew he’d be betrayed into the hands of sinful men (John 13:11). It was the same night he agonizingly prayed, to the extent that drops of blood emanated from his forehead (Luke 22:44).

So, if Jesus could assure his beloved friends of peace, and that God would see to their preservation, while in his own hour of ultimate crisis, how can we do any less than believe him? Jesus truly had every excuse/reason to disbelieve, as he could not supernaturally see beyond his tomb (Desire of Ages, p. 753). Yet he held firm, emerged victorious, and we are part of the subsequent movement of faith in Him who now has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

As I reflect, and look out the window just now, I see that, simultaneously with all those problems listed above, we live in a nearly paradisiacal community of peace and prosperity. And I think: would it be such a crime if we just switched-off the perpetually panicked news cycle and lived locally? Just, interacted with people who came into our sphere of immediate contact, like people did (had no choice but to do) before the advent of technology?

And I remember that these news companies depend on viewers/listeners staying tuned-in & attentive. They need financial success like any other company, and advertisers pay more for more people tuning in. So that financial situation fosters a necessity of sensationalizing the news. Something in our psychology is more attuned to pay attention (and to consume/buy products) when we are scared/nervous than when we are at ease.

So, while I don’t want to wave away any of those crises listed above, as they are truly concerning and meritorious of attention, and while we should be aware of the ‘signs of the times’ as prophecy is being fulfilled, I perceive that we as Christians cannot let those things unseat our inner peace.

So I think it’s more crucial than ever that we take some quiet time with Jesus each day, let him orient our compasses as to what’s truly urgent and worthy of our attention & concern, and go forth with other things in light of that.

And I remember Jesus’ very profound (& likely perceived as very backwards by many) advice in the sermon on the mount: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I think this, accompanied with Philippians 4:4-9 quoted below, is a heavenly prescription for peace that is so needed just now! Read this final passage, and pray God’s peace into your heart.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

May God bless you all this week and beyond.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

June 1st, 2022

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay.’” Romans 12:19 (quoting Deuteronomy 32:35)

Lately I have been reading through the life of King David, and I have been remarkably impressed that, though given the chance, he did not take the lives of those who were pursuing him and wanting him dead. Twice he had the opportunity to kill Saul, but didn’t (1st Samuel 24:4, 26:11-12), and also didn’t want his men to kill his son Absalom, who was trying to pursue and kill him!* (2nd Samuel 18:5)

Though king David repeatedly prayed in the Psalms for his enemies to be avenged (Psalm 3:7, 55:15, 68:21), he seemed to not want to take the advantage into his own hands! How paradoxical!

And Jesus, of course, talked of being peacemakers, and of turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:9, 39), but so much more valuable than simply giving the instruction in the abstract is putting it into practice! Jesus, amazingly, “walked the walk” of his own teaching: not calling down obliteration on his enemies (though he could have – Luke 9:54-55, Matthew 26:53), but praying forgiveness for his persecutors (Luke 23:34). We similarly see this benevolent principle exemplified in his followers as well, as Stephen cried out in Acts 7:60 while being stoned.

While we likely wouldn’t want anyone dead in our daily lives, nor would we physically harm them if we could, we can certainly sympathize with those who do, as we ourselves have likely indulged in fantasies of enemies’ demise.

But to turn away from harming, or even of wishing harm upon enemies is not weakness, rather it is great faith and confidence in God setting things straight in the long-run.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t pursue justice: the Bible has the principles of fair penalty for crimes committed, and even the death penalty for murderers (Genesis 9:5-6, Leviticus 24:17-22). But in such cases justice is to be meted out by a ‘disinterested’ authority, not by the vengeance of those offended. In fact, God established “cities of refuge” where people could run from avengers, and ensure examination of their case to determine guilt or innocence (Deuteronomy 19:1-3, Joshua 20:1-9).

But this idea, of refraining from vengeance (of all forms) takes both huge restraint and huge trust. It involves looking to God, seeing our situation from God’s viewpoint, asking ourselves how God would like to see the situation resolved, rather than just basedly following our own desires.

So I consider this in the case of the war in Ukraine, and in the recent mass shootings that have devastated communities near and far (not that those people shouldn’t be stopped by force, but) the revenge, the final payment, must be God’s.

Those who give up on God’s justice having the last say are left with 2 alternatives: 1) to despair that numerous injustices will go unaccounted for as time marches on, or 2) to take revenge, to try to ‘right’ perceived wrongs themselves.

I see it as a huge freedom to let go of grudges, envies, interactions filled with animosity (though I admit, mine are small compared to some). I would just rather live my life at peace and with the promises of God in my purview than harboring perceived slights and wrongings, that only clutter up the mind.

I similarly pray for you, that you and your loved ones would be on a path of peace, helpfulness, encouragement, and delight as we bask in the warming rays of God’s love, sharing fellowship with each-other (1st John 1:5-7).

I pray that your day, your week, your overall path of life would be as King Solomon wrote in the Proverbs: “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (4:18).

May God bless you and your families the remainder of this week and beyond.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

*In fact, in both cases, when Saul and Absalom did die, David mourned them loudly, causing others to despise him and say “you love those who hate you and hate those who love you!”(2nd Samuel 1:11-12, 17-27, 18:33, 19:4-6). The picture under the heading above is an artist’s depictions of one of those mournings.

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

May 25th, 2022

“A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:18

“Woe to those who plan iniquity,to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out, because it is in their power to do it.”

Micah 2:1

The above are the faces of those who will never be in 5th grade. Their lives were cut short with no warning, and through no fault of their own. Dear Jesus, please remember them and restore them when you come in glory.

Meanwhile, we’ve been going through our week, pretty normally probably, when, once again, our hearts were impacted and our minds shocked with the tragic news that there has been another school shooting, this time in Texas, in which over 20 people died. 4th graders! Innocents! Getting ready to wrap-up the school year soon, and then horror and devastation decimate this small-town community. I tell you, I’m sick to my stomach about it!

I send up a prayer for those devastated families, and the community at large. While this shooting, as others have, will fade into the background of the national consciousness, a wound has been opened that will not be resolved for years, decades, in that small Texas town of Uvaldi. Lord: grant them consolation! Wrap your arms around this community going through unimaginable loss. And this, in addition to two more hate-fueled shootings last week, at the grocery store in Buffalo, and the Taiwanese congregation in South County here. Lord Jesus…

With hardly any delay, people start pointing fingers at who’s to blame. While seeking causes is of course useful in the sense of trying to prevent future disasters of this kind, too often fault-finding and political finger-pointing seem to become an end in-and-of themselves.

Obviously, the deranged shooter is to blame: to harbor homicidal thoughts and act on them rather than pre-emptively turning himself in for help or merely taking his own life, is unthinkable and evil beyond words. But then, who else is to blame as well? The family, for not ‘blowing the whistle’ on him to authorities? For letting him have access to a military style weapon in a household setting? The school? For not harboring bullying or not seeing warning signs and acting? Politicians? For being on the ‘wrong side’ of the gun debate? Violent video games? The Internet? Several or all of the above?

I’m afraid those who look for merely societal reasons for atrocities like this find themselves metaphorically hitting their heads on the glass ceiling of the fishtank: The mental, emotional, and spiritual disease that is at the root of all the contributing factors listed above is sin. Sin, in its thousands of manifestations, is the cause of all human strife, turmoil, and struggling. We will never solve the problems of society unless we can properly diagnose what is its source. And the majority of those in power have willingly turned a blind eye to it.

Yet… many of us (Christians included) also make a friend of sin: get comfortable with it, let it into our households and into our minds. Cobble together a way of life that includes some light and some darkness. We rationalize. We justify. We forget that the author of these “fun” or “harmless” sins, is also the inspirer of depraved homicidal intent. Of Torture. Of Warfare. Of Genocide and rape, the list goes on. I tell you, I want no part of it! I want to hate sin in every shade of its existence. Because, to accept violent movies or video games is to say that beholding it, entertaining it in the abstract is somehow fundamentally different than endorsing it in reality.

Many people, from social media users to politicians, are and will be voicing both their heartbreak and outrage (probably more tipped on the latter). But any of the proposed solutions that exist on merely a societal level will be merely putting a band-aid on the situation.

We need repentance. We need revival. We need loving Christian communities who embrace and hold up people who feel excluded, bullied, & alienated. We need a worldview of loving service to all children of God. Yet will this be publicly called for? I think it’s more likely that airport-style security will be called for at schools instead. And perhaps arming teachers (I shudder).

Many lose their faith in a future Kingdom of peace and glory because the malaise of societal murkiness encloses them. But this is when we need to cry out the most: “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” This is why we need a Judgment day: for the innocents to be affirmed & rewarded (Daniel 7:22), and for the guilty to be punished (Revelation 20:14-15). Too often in this world the opposite happens, and to give up hope in the tables being righted is, in my view, to give up to utter despair in the grandest sense.

Our daily yearning should be “come quickly, Lord Jesus”, and our task, in the meantime, is to band together, to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn” as Paul says in Romans 12:15. To invite people to the community of God and the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9, 22:17).

I… can’t believe people get comfortable in this wretched world. As nice a bubble as we can make for ourselves, its still in the midst of the stenchy quagmire from which we need rescue.

Let us never (and I write this with tears in my eyes) lose hope that Jesus will come to save, that God has a different, a better reality for us, in which “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Hug your loved ones a little tighter this week. May God bless and keep you until we next meet.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum

Anaheim SDA Church

Mid-week Pastor’s Update

May 18th, 2022

“What you intended for evil, God intended for good” Genesis 50:20

Have you ever encountered a detour? More than in your car trip to a destination, but in your life? My life had a ‘detour’ that wasn’t funny at the beginning, but which I can now look back on with a smile and a chuckle. I ended-up getting a job in 2011 which I had interviewed for 7 years earlier, in 2004! Though a slightly different job description, it was at the same place, with the same boss. After the fact, I joked with her that my kids owed their existence to her! Because it was in that intervening period that I became fluent in Spanish, went to South America, and met my wife. 🙂 So both professionally & romantically, that turned out okay. 🙂

But man: as I read the scriptures, and consider our world’s history, I see that humanity has been on a series of detours, delays, setbacks, fits and starts, and changes of direction that are on the one hand depressing, but on the other hand inspire me to consider how God hasn’t given up on us time after time, though we’ve deserved it.

Our quote above comes from Joseph’s 15-ish year span of detour from the journey he & his father had intended, but things turned out fine for him & his family (for a time). Then there’s Israel’s 40-year delay in the wilderness before entering the promised land, sparked by Israel’s rebellion after the spying out of the land of Canaan (Numbers 13-14). Still, that situation ended up ‘okay’, as God did lead them to their destination of the Promised land to dwell in (book of Joshua).

But then, though the Israelites should’ve learned the lesson from their previous deviation & delay, they departed from God’s plan again when they urged Samuel to give them a king to rule them (1 Samuel 8). Though Samuel urged them not to, they insisted & pressed him, and he conceded after God gave him permission.

But then, a few generations later, God’s original plan was again thwarted when Israel split into the northern & southern kingdoms over a disagreement of leadership. The northern kingdom tobogganed pretty quickly into rebellion and eventual loss of their kingdom, while the southern kingdom of Judah held on somewhat better and had spurts of faithfulness in its history.

But even so, they were not faithful in the long-run, and had to be subjected to 70 years’ exile in Babylon (I think it’s important to note that, through this series, though many of these things were prophesied ahead of time, it doesn’t mean they were God’s will. Had they been faithful, the journey could’ve been pretty quick from Egypt to Canaan, the 12 tribes staying together, and the Messiah eventually coming to it). They needed a generation-long ‘time out’ to consider what was important regarding countryhood, and daily faith-life, and being covenanted with God.

When Jesus came some hundreds of years later, the Jewish leadership of course rejected him, and Christianity, after the first century or so, had to grow exclusively in the Gentile world. God’s “plan A” of the nation of Israel being the means by which people were educated of Him & His salvation had to be jettisoned.

Over the next several centuries, Christianity became incredibly corrupted as it experienced political success, wealth, & power, to the point that the institutional church became a persecutor of those trying to live by a simple, Biblical faith. (Once again, though this was prophesied to happen, it doesn’t mean it was God’s will for it. It serves to show us, though, that God does know what choices will be made and what eventualities will result, even as He disagrees with them. It also hugely endears us to him for continuing on, despite the numerous frustrations.)

So God raised up the Protestant Reformation to bring people back to the centrality & primacy of pure faith, dictated by scripture, rather than by the institutional church (see chapters 4 through 15 of The Great Controversy for details on this). Bibles being available, services being held in the common language, and missionaries going forth were returns to pure, primitive faith, which stood out in marked contrast to the corruptions, bloating, and power-wielding that had occurred within Catholicism.

But even Protestantism has a checkered and blotched history. Infighting, dividing into factions, and not fully giving-up man-made doctrinal errors meant that the work of reform was left only partially done.

But, praise the Lord, the scripture twice in Revelation discusses an end time group (called the ‘remnant’), who exemplify purity: including keeping the commandments of God & holding to the faith & testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17 & 14:12). And we believe God called up Seventh-day Adventism to spark that final, worldwide message that is represented by the 3 angels’ messages of Revelation 14.

But now, after skipping stones through history & its many detours and divergences, now that we come to ourselves, the question us begged: will another bout of unfaithfulness and backsliding necessitate another ‘detour’ either of time (as we saw twice in the Pentateuch), or direction (as we saw with Christianity going to the Gentiles & later the Protestant Reformation)? Or will we be ‘onward to glory’ sooner than later, as we cooperate with God & He works through us?

I, for one, feel for God, having been let-down, frustrated, and disappointed time and time again through history. He has been so faithful & long-suffering despite our race’s infidelities! Praise the Lord for the truth communicated in 2nd Timothy 2:13: “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”, for without it we surely would be without hope.

I for one want to be part of a generation and a movement that makes him proud. We have all received this faith and this narrative from the generations who’ve gone before, but it is up to us & our generation if we will treasure it & pass it on to the next.

You have likely, as I have, suffered losses of some beloved family members, who we hope to see at the glorious resurrection. But imagine how we’d feel at the resurrection if we rose to learn it took 500 more years and three more movements on the part of God to finish the work!

I really believe, and want, this to be the last movement, and indeed the last one or two generations that exist on earth before Jesus comes. I want everything & everyone to be renewed, restored, and recreated to glorious perfection! And I don’t want to be like 50 generations before me that have compromised in some fashion or other.

I pray that our response to this historical truth would be two-fold: firstly, that we would marvel at God for His enduring faithfulness through all our ficklenesses & frailties, and secondly, that we would resolve in our hearts to, with God’s help, stop the trend of sliding toward compromise & corruption. That we could be a generation God is truly proud to call his own. May He brag over us in the heavenly courts as he did over Job! But may we learn those lessons & character developments without the suffering & discipline so many have needed before us.

May God bless you and your families the remainder of this week and beyond.

Sincerely,

Pr. Mark Tatum