PAC - Pacific Union Conference

PAC posts - 136

The Great Gift

(También español) The night before Christmas morning was the most exciting time of my life as a child. Those brightly colored presents under the tree were irresistible to my young eyes.

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Fundamental Belief Number 9: Understanding the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ

(También español) The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of the Christian faith and Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. These events not only illustrate God's love for humanity but also serve as the cornerstone of God's plan for atonement—bringing humanity back into harmony with Him. But what does “atonement” truly mean, and how does it reflect God’s character?

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The Last Word: Covered in Forgiveness

(También español) The first Bible that I remember as belonging to me personally was regular book size, not too big, but certainly not small. It had a leatherette zippered cover. There was a little cross on the zipper pull, so you always knew if your Bible was open or closed.

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A Joyful Hymn of Thanksgiving

(También español) The primary duty of the Israelites during the celebration of the New Year, as articulated by priestly law, was to be “altogether joyful,” (Deuteronomy 16:15) and to “rejoice before the Lord" (Leviticus 23:40) in recognition of the numerous blessings bestowed upon them through their agricultural endeavors.

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Rags to Riches

(También español) Macedonia was a mess. The early Christians in that area were facing challenges beyond their control and asked God for help. God relayed their request via vision to Paul. “Come over to Macedonia and help us,” a man in a dream called out to the sleeping persecutor-turned-evangelist. 

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O Come, Let Us Be Thankful!

(También español) The first thanksgiving feast was not the one to which the Pilgrims and the Native Americans sat down more than 300 years ago. The Scriptures tell of countless others that occurred long before.

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Ministering to the Young at Heart

(También español) Hey! Leave him alone!” she yelled at the man on the street who was speaking harshly to an elderly man as she was walking by. “What gives you the right to treat him that way?”

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Adventist Pioneers in the West Beginnings: Pacific Press

(También español) The history of the publishing work in the West and that of Pacific Press go hand in hand. When James and Ellen White came west for the second time in 1874, it was clear that printed materials were needed to share the Adventist message, just as they had been when the movement started back East.

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The Transformational Power of Joy

(También español) After I concluded a weekend series of sermons at a local church, a couple approached me, requesting a private conversation. I assumed they either had marital issues or wanted to delve deeper into my presentations. I was entirely wrong—they wanted to talk about: me.

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A Debt of Love

(También español) According to a United Press International article published in 1973, the “uglies” picketed an American Airlines ticket office in Fort Worth, Texas, to protest alleged discrimination in hiring when the company advertised for good-looking people.

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Fundamental Belief Number 6: Creation

(También español) The Creation story has thrilled me since I was a child. In Sabbath School classes at church and in Bible classes at school, I discovered that this fundamental belief of Creation was intensely personal to me. 

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Unwelcome Abundance

(También español) Those words, “unwelcome abundance,” have been percolating in my head for some time. I’ve tried to shake them off, but somehow they keep coming back. I wonder where they’re from—a book, a poem, a movie?

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The Good Sabbath

(También español) Few words are more conspicuous in the Bible’s account of Creation than the enthusiastic declaration: “God saw that it was good.” 

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The Glory of the Ordinary

(También español) The Gospel of John, after introducing us to John the Baptist, introduces us to the first of the apostles, Andrew (John 1:35-42). Although Andrew was the first of the twelve apostles, he is one of the least known.

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The Sabbath Bridge

(También español) At first, it doesn’t seem all that strange. According to the book of Acts, we see Paul, who lived part of his life as Saul, a persecutor of Christians, sitting in a synagogue on the Sabbath.

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Fundamental Belief Number 4: The Son

(También español) Is Jesus the Son of God? One fundamental question we need to ask when we read our Bible is whether that question is true or false. Perhaps we should start by asking if Jesus claimed to be God.

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An Idea Whose Time Had Come - Part 3

(También español) That was then, this is now. Randy Hill, who spent part of 1985 working as a Taskforce youth pastor in the Simi Valley church in California, is now vice president for youth and young adult ministries for the Pacific Union. Hill recently provided an update. 

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The Son of Joseph

(También español) Although, strictly speaking, it is not a religious festival, Father's Day gives us a chance to reflect on a familiar theme in our tradition.

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An Idea Whose Time Had Come part 2

(También español) What do Sandra Roberts, executive secretary of the Pacific Union Conference; Tony Anobile, vice president for church ministries of the Southwestern Union, and Ray Tetz, director of communication and community engagement for the Pacific Union Conference, have in common?

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Fundamental Belief Number 3: The Father

(También español) Throughout my adult life, whenever I needed a prayer breakthrough, I called my parents. My wife and I are convinced that my father has a direct link to the throne of God and that God hears and answers his prayers.

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“When Mother Tucked Me In”

(También español) Every year during the month of May, I find myself wishing for one more visit with my mother. It has been 22-plus years since she fell asleep in Jesus, and yet I miss my mom on Mother’s Day more than on her December 19 birthday or the anniversary of her death.

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“Lest We Forget”

(También español) Do you remember the time when…” That’s the preamble to most family stories—often recounting something embarrassing or surprising.

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Birth of a Mission

(También español) Say the word “Pathfinders” to an adult Seventh-day Adventist and an interesting thing might happen to their face. A faraway look captures the eyes as a gentle smile lifts the corners of the mouth.

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God Kept the Door Open for Me

(También español) May I please, please, pleeeeeeeease come teach a lesson to the three- and four-year-old class at Stepping Stones?” my fifth-grade self asked Shirleen Brown, the daycare director at my church.

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“They Served Me”

(También español) Liss’ warm smile lit up the screen as she joined our videoconference from behind her desk in northern California, where she holds the position of operations director for Kaiser Permanente Health Connect.

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A Mother’s Legacy

(También español) My mom always reminded me,” Dr. Wesley Phipatanakul recalled quietly, blinking through his wire-rimmed glasses, “that the most important thing in the world was my relationship with the Lord.”

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Four Teachers Who Changed My Life

(También español) The closest thing to a “family business” in my family is being a teacher. My dad taught science and math and was a small school principal. His parents were both teachers, and so was his sister.

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In Search of Proper Education

(También español) To Adventists living in the twenty-first century it may seem that Christian education has been central to their church from its inception. That, however, is far from the truth.

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The Power of Example

(También español) The day dawned cloudy and gloomy as I peered through the window of my hotel. A certain uneasiness lingered in my heart, knowing that I would be attending a funeral that morning.

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Your Daughters Shall Prophesy

(También español) If it weren’t for Grandpa, I may not have felt the call to pastoral ministry. He was the first pastor I knew. I saw his deep love for Jesus and caring concern for people.

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The Language of Heaven

(También español) There are many computer and app-based language learning systems. Recently, our daughter Amanda applied some birthday money to the language program “Babbel” to become conversant in Spanish.

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P.G. Rodgers: Builder of Black Adventism

(También español) Dr. H. Claude Hudson, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP, and Charlotta A. Bass, publisher of the California Eagle, Southern California’s leading Black newspaper, were among the guest speakers at Wadsworth Seventh-day Adventist Church in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 1931.

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The Power of Memory

(También español) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Ironically, most of us either do not know or forgot who said this.

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Finding My Purpose

(También español) He was 14 and I was 12 when our relationship began—too young for “serious stuff,” my parents said. But as the years rolled along, through academy and college, the “serious stuff” developed.

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The Revitalized Church

(También español) Have you ever visited a church that just exuded life and vitality? Many of us have experienced this type of church in some form, where—from parking lot to pew, in the prayers and the praise, and throughout the program all the way to the potluck table—the glow of Jesus and His love shone through in a palpable and contagious way.

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As Time Flies By

(También español) Wherever we turn, we hear people talking about how fast time passes. The psalmist mourns that his days are like a handbreadth and his years are like nothing (Psalm 39:5).

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The Preamble to the 28 Fundamentals

(También español) The Preamble to the 28 Fundamentals is probably the least read portion of the official statement. Yet it is essential in order to understand the Adventist perspective on the list of doctrines that follow.

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Maranatha

(También español) "The defendant will please rise for the reading of the verdict.” This is the moment of highest drama in the criminal trial. Guilty or not guilty?

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Thoughts for the New Year

(También español) Although in one sense the first day of the new year is no more to God than any other day, yet He often puts into the hearts of His children at that time a desire to begin the new year with new resolves

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A White Christmas

(También español) Most people would not choose the Christmas season to visit the small town of Washington, New Hampshire—home of the first Sabbath-keeping Adventist congregation.

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From Joy to Mourning

(También español) It was to be a day of joy and celebration. Every year, the Jewish religious cycle concludes with the completion of the reading of the Torah and a celebration known simply as “rejoicing in the Torah.”

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God With Us

(También español) A million miles away from our planet orbits the massive James Webb Space Telescope. This marvel of astronomical engineering has amazed both scientists and the general public with dazzling pictures of our universe.

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A Welcoming Place

(También español) My wife, Jennifer, and I were walking with our granddaughters on a beautiful fall afternoon. Macy had shared her scooter with one of the neighbor boys, and now he had suddenly zoomed away.

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The Big Question

(También español) The Lord Jesus had spent several days with His disciples by the Sea of Galilee. While they were there, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to tempt Him by demanding that He show some sign to authenticate His claim to be the Messiah.

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The One Who Had Mercy

(También español) In Deborah Stone’s book, The Samaritan’s Dilemma, the issue of a panhandler in her hometown of Henniker, New Hampshire, was brought up at a town hall meeting, highlighting the current state of our society.

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We Are His Treasure

(También español) What is your most loved treasure? We all have something. And I don’t mean something costly like a car, a painting, a sculpture, or gold and silver possessions. I mean those things that tug at our heart: a childhood photo or toy, baby’s first shoe, a graduation memento, a postcard from a loved one.

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Stewardship Series Part 4: In the Image of God

(También español) What does it mean to be created in the image of God? This idea of reflecting God’s personality and character—being a representative of the Almighty—is so crucial for the believer that Paul suggests that God Himself is leading the charge.

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The Sign of Stewardship

(También español) When our son Tyler was 3 years old, he and his big sister were watching Sesame Street on the local PBS station. Suddenly Bert and Ernie cut away to a smiling man who obviously didn’t live on Sesame Street.

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The Seeds of Greed

(También español) The term “greed” could be defined by relating it to several examples: the excessive desire for riches, a desire to satisfy sensual appetites, and even the fervent craving for something good.

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When Faith and Work Are One and the Same

(También español) There is no line of distinction between faith and work. As assistant vice president for community partnerships and director of the Institute for Community Partnerships at Loma Linda University Health, I live out my faith in the work of enriching people’s lives through outreach, education, and mentorship.

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Divorce by the Book

(También español) When is it lawful, in the eyes of God, to divorce a spouse? Jesus uttered one major saying concerning that subject. His words were reported by three New Testament Gospel writers

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Blind Camp Coming to Cedar Falls

(También español) This July, for the first time since 2001, staff will welcome an anticipated 15 -20 blind campers to Camp Cedar Falls in Angelus Oaks, Calif., for an integrated junior/blind camp.

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Learning to Trust God Through the Storms of Life

(También español) I will never forget the day of April 27, 2011. It was a day when I experienced firsthand that God was looking out for me. My name is Santiago Hernández. I am majoring in religion with an emphasis in health sciences at Pacific Union College, where I also play soccer. 

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Your Target: To Be Like Jesus

(También español) Of all the requests that the gospel makes of us, the most difficult are those that have to do with physical suffering. We are willing to leave father, mother, siblings, spouses, children, home, possessions, and homeland for the gospel.

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“I Will Return”

(También español) Luke 15:18 tells of a transformational moment toward which the prodigal son has been heading for years. His arrival at this moment was not planned, but it was scripted. Every act of this young man’s life was leading him directly to this moment.

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An Adventist School Is A Place Where . . .

(También español) Youth are immersed in the Word of God and are taught the real gospel. They get a true picture of the character of God as a loving heavenly Father, come to understand the plan of salvation, and personally decide to accept God's invitation.

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God Is in This Story

(También español) As a second grader, Colin moved in with his grandma, Pamela. They lived in Paradise, California, where Pamela worked as a nurse.

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Source and Aim of True Education

(También español) True education means more than the pursual of a certain course of study. It means more than a preparation for the life that now is. It has to do with the whole being, and with the whole period of existence possible to man.

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Take a Closer Look at Adventist Schools

(También español) Every year I look forward to the special “Education Issue” of the Pacific Union Recorder. Since 2018, the April issue has focused on the ministry and powerful work that takes place in the Seventh-day Adventist schools across the Pacific Union.

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“He Knows Me by Name”

(También español) It was when I was a 14-year-old high school student at Golden Gate Academy in 1958 that I realized that Jesus loves me and knows me by name—including how to correctly pronounce Trujillo.

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Unto These Hills

(También español) I am reminded of Ps. 121 when I look at the hills around me. My Camarillo, Calif., home is surrounded by hills—hills that were dry and brown because of the drought; hills that were scarred by the aptly named “Hill Fire” in 2018

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Love in Action: A Story About Families and Healing

(También español) Losing one parent when you’re an adolescent is devastating, but human words fail to describe the pain of losing both parents nearly back-to-back. Yet that was the harsh reality Fiona and Gared Lin faced at the ages of 13 and eight, respectively, when they lost both of their parents three years apart, in 2016 and 2019. 

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The Powerful Name of Jesus

(También español) “If I’m successful I’ll be happy.” A recent article in the Harvard Business Review begs to differ. One study finds that 72% of successful CEOs and entrepreneurs are depressed and suffering with mental health issues.

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Sharing Christ No Matter Where He Leads

(También español) When I’m asked why I chose to become a pastor, I’m not sure how to answer. It's not something that I chose; rather, it chose me. Up until a certain point in my life, I had never dreamed or even thought of being a minister.

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Black Adventist Women Clergy Advancing the Gospel, Part 1

Part 1 Republished - Women have worked to advance the gospel from our earliest days as an organized church, yet when discussing their role, an important sub-group is often excluded from the story. White women are often overrepresented, while the accomplishments of Black women and other trailblazing women of color are less recognized.

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Countdown Time

LEA ESTE ARTÍCULO EN ESPAÑOL There was a mountain waiting for me to climb, and I decided it was my time to try. At 14,505 feet, Mount Whitney is the...

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All God's People

January 2023 begins with our 263rd episode of All God’s People, the video blog launched in May 2017 as an experiment in weekly, short, newsy, inspirational...

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Important Rules

I am a compulsive list-maker. To-do lists cover my refrigerator and are stuck on my laptop via Post-it Notes. There is always a grocery list and various...

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All God's People

January 2023 begins with our 263rd episode of All God’s People, the video blog launched in May 2017 as an experiment in weekly, short, newsy, inspirational...

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All God's People

January 2023 begins with our 263rd episode of All God’s People, the video blog launched in May 2017 as an experiment in weekly, short, newsy, inspirational...

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The Priceless Bargain

Jesus told two little stories in Matthew 13:44-46 about men who unexpectedly discovered something, which they then gave up everything to obtain—a treasure...

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We Have Seen His Star

Ah, the holidays! Cookies, pies, pine trees, jingle bells, presents, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, Christmas lights, and caroling! Christmas is usually all of these things. Somehow, they all remind me of home—of all the houses I have called home.

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