SDA Youth in the Last Days

     A man walks down a beach, searching. His feet sink into the sand and waves lap at them with every step. He stops and stoops down to pick up a stone. A smile plays on the corners of his lips as he holds it in his hand. To the ordinary person, it’s a rough and beach-worn stone; chipped and full of imperfections. But as this man gazes at the stone, he sees past those chips and scratches, past its dull appearance, and sees in it a beautiful gem, full of possibilities      He slips the stone in his pocket, and takes it home to polish it. First he puts it in a tumbler with a bunch of other stones. As it is tumbles, its many imperfections are chipped away. When the man finally takes it out of the tumbler, he holds in his hand a beautiful gem, no longer the dull stone it once was. Then he carefully covers the whole stone with a layer of polish. Once it is dry, the man picks up the stone and rubs his finger along its smooth, glossy surface. A smile of satisfa...

    Bang! Our front door slammed shut as my brother and I raced inside. Crash! We both skidded to a stop and spun around, wondering what had broken. “Ashley, look!” My brother exclaimed, pointing to the clock that usually hung by the door. The clock lay on the floor, the glass front of it broken off. “Oh no… What have we done?” I said slowly, picking up the glass pieces on the floor. That clock had always been unsteady on the wall, but now we knew how unsteady it really had been. “What’s mom gonna say?” Aidan said softly.     We didn’t have to wait long to find out. Mom was not pleased with us for slamming the door, resulting in the clock breaking. Although, the clock still worked, it was just the glass front of it that had broken off. My brother and I were both in charge of buying a new clock, though.     A few days later, after we had replaced the batteries in the broken clock and swept up the millions of tiny glass pieces, the clock now hung back up ...

The traveler’s dusty feet plodded heavily down a rocky path, aching with every step. His stomach groaned as he imagined the delicious meal he was sure would follow his father’s welcome. He gazed into the distance, his eyes wandering past the rippling fields of grain, past the little white clusters of sheep scattered over the green hills, and past the many herds of cattle, his longing eyes finally resting on the tents of his father.      Footsore and weary, he plodded for hours, until he finally rounded a bend in the trail near his home. He stopped as he noticed his brother standing over a nearby fire, preparing soup.      “Let me have some of that soup! I am so hungry!” He cried. He waited impatiently as his brother, deep in thought, continued to stir the pot of soup.      “Give me your birthright. Then I will let you have the soup.” Jacob finally said.      Momentarily, Esau thought of h...

   During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in all the smoke and crossfire, he had lost touch with his companions.    All alone in the jungle, he could hear the enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling quickly for cover, he carefully found his way up a high ridge where several small caves in the rock were. Quickly and quietly, he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him came up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.    As he waited, he quietly prayed, “Lord, if it is your will, please protect me. Help me to get out of this alive.”    After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He prayed again, “Please Lord, protect me.” Suddenly, his eyes focused on something near the entryway. A small little spider began to build...

A horse gallops wildly through the deep dark woods. On its back rides a terrified girl, her small, weak hands clinging to the reins draped about her horses neck. Her dress is torn and dirty and her unraveled braids fly out behind her in a tangled and wind tossed mess. The trail, full of potholes, rocks and fallen logs, snakes its way through an ominously dark and dreary forest. Dark, sinister trees threaten to grab her and pull her off of her horse. At every bump in the trail, the girl bounces, nearly losing her grip. Her knuckles whiten as she tightens her grip on the reins. She looks down at the blur of rocks and logs racing beneath her and imagines with terror what would happen if she lost her grip. Behind her sits a Man, His face a picture of tender kindness and pity. He longs to help the girl who clings so desperately to the horses reins. The girl’s eyes, full of fear and blinded by tears, look imploringly at the One riding behind her. “Little girl,” He says, His eyes s...

    The day dawned bright and sunny in the land of Moab. In a small little house on a hillside, an older woman yawned, and slowly climbed out of bed. She headed down the stairs, and into the kitchen, to find her two daughters-in-law preparing breakfast. The 3 women laughed and talked while they finished preparing breakfast, and then sat down to eat. The older woman, who’s name was Naomi, suddenly became solemn, looking quietly at her two daughters-in-law.     “Mother Naomi, what’s the matter?” One of the women, Orpah, said.     Naomi sighed, and looked kindly at the two women. “Ruth, Orpah, I have decided that it is time for me to go back to my home town in Judah. My husband and two sons are both dead, and I feel that it would be much better for me to be back in my home town, Bethlehem.”     “We will go with you!” Ruth exclaimed quickly. Orpah nodded, “Yes, we will gladly go back with you!”     Naomi shook her head. “No...

A few days ago I woke up to a gory sight out the window.  An elk stood in the shallow part of the lake, but not alone.  Two dogs swam about it, trying to gain a deathhold on the poor beast, and drown it.  This went on and on, and it appeared the elk grew weaker and weaker. Had the elk stayed on land, it would have had no difficulty fighting the intruders.  But once it stepped into the water, it was vulnerable. You and I are in the exact same situation as that elk.  1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Satan is no dummy.  He knows our weak points, and will use every tactic imaginable to try to bring us down.  But we have a firm foundation, and that is Jesus. We have solid ground, in the secret place of the Most High.  Every time we compromise, every time we ignore the Holy Spirit and heed the devil’s whis...

All was quiet in the temple and only an occasional snore would echo through the silence. Then suddenly, “Samuel, Samuel!” a voice called. A boy stirred sleepily and rubbed his eyes. “Coming, sir!” he yawned as he jumped up and ran to an old man's bedside. “Here I am sir,” he cried, eagerly. The old man slowly pulled himself up and looked at the boy quizzically. “I didn’t call for you Samuel, go back to your bed.” Samuel reluctantly obeyed and tiptoed through the darkness, back to his bed to sleep. Again, Samuel heard his name called, and again, he rushed to the priest’s room to see what he could do to help the old man. But as before, Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” Then it happened a third time. “Samuel, Samuel!” The voice called. Samuel sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes in confusion. “C-coming sir!” Samuel said bewilderedly as he ran to Eli’s room. “I’m sure you must have called me!” He exclaimed. Eli gazed at the little boy standing befo...

When a butterfly starts its journey, it is a small, helpless caterpillar. The only two things it does is eat and grow. That's similar to a Christian. We must feed on God's word in order to grow in our relationship with Him! Once the caterpillar has eaten and grown, it enters into the chrysalis. Then it changes and grows, until it emerges a beautiful butterfly... or does it? When a butterfly first emerges, its wings are limp and useless. It is not until the butterfly has done some wok that it can actually use its wings and fly. Christians are similar in a way. We are saved by God's loving grace but the transformation doesn't stop there. The next step we have to do is to be sanctified, by letting the Holy Spirit come in and change us from the inside. Then, we can begin to do God's work. Now, what if the caterpillar decided one day to be naughty, that the changes were too hard, and that it wasn't going to bother to do all that work?  What if it liked being a...

     A man sat outside of his dwelling taking in the delicious view of the mountains, hills, and chuckling streams.  And as he squinted his eyes toward the horizon, he noted three travelers coming his way.  Being a courteous man, he immediately ran up the dusty path and entreated them to stay by and eat a little.  They accepted his invitation and rested themselves under a shady tree before setting out once again.  But before the travelers had left their generous host, they communed among themselves, and decided, Yes, we’ll tell him .  The Lord told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom because of its great wickedness.  But He didn’t just tell him and leave; He wanted to hear what Abraham thought about it first.  Why?  Because Abraham had become God’s friend.      That is just one example of the closeness involved in a friendship with God.  Think of someone who is your friend that you look up to--a ment...

A tomato seed is planted in the ground. One day, the seed sprouts and begins to grow. Eventually it turns into a handsome plant and a few small tomatoes start to grow.      “I think I would like to keep all of my fruit to myself.” The tomato plant says to itself as it admires its ripening fruit. Over the next few weeks, the fruit turns from a pale green to a deep red. The plant is proud of its fruit and spends hours just gazing at it.      Days pass, and slowly the plant watches as the fruit starts turning a strange shade of brown and slowly begins to shrivel up.      One day, the plant no longer can stand the smell of the rotting fruit and tearfully lets it fall to the ground.      Large rain clouds roll in overhead and a giant storm looms on the horizon. Large drops of water plop here and there and multiply in strength and speed. Soon buckets of water are flying down from the clouds and landing on the earth below. A nea...

Bang, bang, bang! You hear someone pound on the door. You glance out the window and gasp as you see a brightly dressed man standing on your doorstep, waiting for you to answer the door. From the colors of his uniform, you can tell that he is a messenger from the king.   You rush to the door and open it eagerly. The messenger hands you an official looking envelope and then hurries back to the palace. You eagerly tear open the seal and then read the beautiful writing that flows across the page. You gasp in delight! It is an invitation to an audience with the king! The letter says that you will be able to ask him some favors and that he will grant them!   You immediately begin to get ready. You choose your finest clothes to wear at the palace and you spend hours just trying to think of what you will ask the king.   Finally the day of your audience with the king arrives. You are ushered into the anteroom and you sit down to wait. As you wait, do y...

     The sun began slipping away behind the hills as Jesus and His disciples walked out of the beautiful city of Jerusalem towards the Garden of Gethsemane, His favorite place to commune with His Father. Though His disciples were largely ignorant of what was about to transpire, Christ knew that this night would be exceedingly difficult for Himself.      As they arrived at the garden, Jesus bid the rest of His disciples remain at the gate while He took His three closest earthly companions, Peter, James, and John, upward with Him towards the heart of the garden. Suddenly, Jesus began walking slower and slower, struggling more with each step into the garden. When they reached the secluded area, He told them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death,” and bid them tarry and pray.      At this point, unbeknownst to the observing three, the weight of the sins of the world had begun to lay heavily on the Redeemer, resting weightier every mom...

“I’ll do something about it once it gets here,” the weathered old farmer muttered to himself, pruning one more branch off of his barren apple tree. For years he had tended this orchard, but nothing but a few rotten apples had ever grown. Situated on this island’s shore, his little orchard consumed all of his time. He did have a book on growing apples, but he didn’t really feel like reading it. Thus, he spent all of his time pruning, fertilizing, and watering it - all his own way, hoping that something would grow. “Tidal wave! The boat will leave the island at midnight sharp!” The warning call resounded across the island. As there were no hills on the small island, complete evacuation was the only escape route. The old farmer looked up from his work. His gaze met an enormous wave slowly thundering towards the helpless island. “I’ll do something about it once it gets here. I mean, it’s gotta be at least a mile away yet. Once it’s actually close, I’ll grab my stuff and head t...

The day dawns bright like any other day. The sun sends its warm rays down toward earth, birds chirp merrily in the trees, and everyone goes on with their normal everyday lives.      A man and woman get into their brand new car and head to their downtown office to work. They impatiently make their way through slow traffic and finally arrive at their large office. Before long, they are both sitting at their desks, in expensive leather chairs, working on important jobs.      A yellow bus winds its way down the road to an elementary school. The blond curls of a little girl bounce as she chatters merrily with a friend. Soon the bus comes to a stop and they arrive at their destination. The girls skip happily into school, and sit down at their little desks.      Back in the suburbs of the city, a mother and her children start the new day by turning on the TV. The siblings squabble over shows and fight over the remote, and the mother, tired fro...

“ Let there be light ” God’s thunderous voice booms across a shapeless, dark object. Immediately, you see streams of light flowing across a lump of darkness.    “ Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters ” God’s voice booms and you watch in wonder as clouds rise and form a blanket around a mass of swirling water.    “ Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear ” God says, and you watch in awe as dry land peeks out from beneath the rolling waves.    Then God says, “ Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth ” Immediately, the bare and desolate landscape turns a vivid green. You stare in delight as meadows bloom and forests appear.    “ Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let t...

Last Friday night I was on my knees asking God what He wanted me to do, yielding my will to His. Suddenly I heard God speaking to me. Not audibly, of course, but I seemed to almost hear God calling me to give myself wholly to His plan for me. “Yes, Lord? Here am I.” And then it was really weird. I had this super strong impression. Go to 286 7th Ave S and offer them Bible studies. “No! I don’t want to, Lord!” Wait, didn’t I just say, “Here am I?” I wrestled for a while, unwilling to go. Finally, I hopped in bed and grabbed the magazine beside my bed. Adventist Frontier Missions. I read bit and then came across a section that said, “Will you answer His call to reach the unreached?” (Paraphrased) I lay down, giving myself all the reasons for why not to go. After a few minutes, I hopped out of bed and grabbed my phone. “Hopefully that address doesn’t even exist,” I thought to myself. Ugh, forget that, there it is. I finally fell into a restless sleep. Sabbath morning, I woke up. Guess ...

It’s dark. There’s no moon, and the clouds cover the stars. There is no light whatsoever, and you can’t see anything; not even your hand if you were to put it right in front of your face. You can hear sounds that only the night makes, and you begin to feel a chill creeping in. All you want to be is home! You’re out in the middle of the woods, lost in the darkness. You could find your way home— if only you could see something; anything! But alas, there is no light. All is pitch blackness.  Suddenly, you bump your toe on something. Jumping, you think it’s a wild animal but realize it’s only a rock. Wait a minute, this rock feels funny. You reach down and feel the object carefully, making sure that whatever it is doesn’t decide to bite. Your heart jumps; it’s a flashlight! In your joy you pick it up and fumble around a little. It feels kinda old, but you refuse to let your hopes down. You feel for the switch, and immediately there’s a beam of light stretching in front of you. Hap...