Am I an Adventist?

Here are three questions in degree of importance: (1) Am I a Christian? (2) Am I a Protestant? (3) Am I an Adventist? It is possible to be an Adventist, without being a Christian. It is not possible to be a an Adventist without first being a Protestant. It is best to be an Christian first, then a Protestant and then an Adventist. Biblical History teaches us that the correct sequence of importance in a believer's life is to be a Christian first, Protestant second, and Adventist third. That said, how well do you measure up with key doctrines and beliefs that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had since 1863? Take the simple test. How many of these beliefs do you hold dear and follow?

1. That Christ's second coming is imminent and will be literal, not metaphorical, seen by all the world
2. That the seventh day, Saturday, not Sunday, is God's Sabbath and the obligation to keep it is perpetual
3. That God does not eternally torment sinners, but rather that the dead "sleep" until the second coming and last judgment
4. That Christ ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, thereby mediating to us the benefits of His death on the cross, saving us by His righteousness, not our own deeds
5. That in the last days Christians will be tempted by apostasy, but will be called back to divine truth — the "third angel's message" of Revelation 14 — by a small "remnant" of faithful believers
6. That the remnant would be marked by a recurrence of the prophetic ministry

How did you score? Did you score 6/6, 5/6, 1/6 or 0/6? As a Christian, Protestant, and Adventist for the last 18 years, I have met people who struggle or have completely rejected some of the biblical and foundational beliefs of Adventism. Jehovah's Witnesses who reject the literal second coming of Christ, instead stating that He came spiritually to San Diego in 1914 or so. Countless Christians who reject the biblical sabbath as Saturday, and instead observe Sunday as the Lord's Day. Ministers and pastors who at funerals teach that the dead aren't really dead, but are in glory and Heaven already while the saints on earth mourn and weep. Desmond Ford, a good Christian and bible scholar, who taught in late 70s and early 80s that there is no Heavenly sanctuary, no significance to 1844, and that there is no investigative judgment at all leading a wave of countless church members out of the church in confusion and disbelief. Walter Rea who published "the White Lie" to discredit Ellen G. White as a inspired writer and prophetic voice charging Ellen White of plagiarism, only to have his accusations responded too in a rebuttal book called "The White Truth".  People like Dale Ratzlaf, Dirk Anderson, Christian Silva, Hugo Gambetta and others who have rejected the Adventist Church as the remnant church of Bible prophecy, and as a result have separated themselves from the Seventh-day Adventist movement to form or establish their own church. Each of the six historic and foundational beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was  organized officially in may 1863, has been, is being, and will be attacked until Jesus returns. If personally, you don't believe and accept any of these six core beliefs of Adventism, why don't you? If you accept most or all of these six beliefs, why do you? Why be Adventist? Is it because you were born an Adventist or became one before you could become Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, etc.? You like the Adventist lifestyle on health, dress, etc.? Why be an Adventist at all?

For me, the answer is simple. "While there is no perfect church, the only church that stands in the light of Bible prophecy, and is preaching the message that the book of Revelation says the remnant church of Bible prophecy will be preaching is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I wish more churches were preaching the three angel's messages. So, as a Christian and Protestant, I am an Adventist by conviction more than by conversion or by birth."

As the Seventh-day Adventist Church gets ready to celebrate on May 18, the 150th anniversary of it's organization and mission as a world-church, may you restudy, recommit, and rededicate yourself to being a Christian, Protestant, and Adventist. God bless you!

God's GPS for the Lost

If you live in a big city, you have seen the slogan or billboard as you drive. "Man Up", "Get Tested", "Protect Yourself." All of these slogans speak to the moral decay and lax attitude of modern society and culture towards sexuality in all of its forms. Our society has plunged head first into sinister vortex and black hole from where there is literally a small chance or return. We seem to have no moral compass or guide to help us along the way, due to the godless entertainment and Satanic voice that emanates through popular music, movies, tv shows, and popular literature. To stop here in our assessment and journey of society is superficial though. What good is it just to condemn the woes of our modern society and culture without taking an action or a stand for what is right? "Where shall we turn to? To Whom shall we go?" It isn't enough to curse to the darkness. We need to light a candle, or better yet be a candle and light in the midst of the darkness that prevails in our world. In the midst of darkness, there is hope. While many people, especially youth, have no moral compass or guide to help them make good decisions for their life and future, other youth are discovering and living according to God's GPS, God's Positioning System. Just like when your lost looking for an address and depend upon your GPS on your smart phone or vehicles, God has provided us with a GPS, God's Positioning System, to help us find our way in life and make the best decisions we can. When lost in your life and in need of directions, turn to God's GPS, the Holy Bible. Use it to help you live and make good decisions in your life.

What God's GPS teaches us:

1. Be Honest and Ethical: If you always tell the truth, you never have to worry about telling a lie to cover a previous lie.

"When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil." Matthew 5:37

2. Live a Sexually Moral and Upright life: Don't compromise. Remember, Beauty is skin deep, but ugliness is down to the bones!

"But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts.  If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell. ³⁰ If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:28-29.

3. Care for you Body and Mind: Don't put alcohol, drugs, in your body. Keep your body and mind in the best shape possible. You only get one pair for the rest of your life.

 "All of you surely know that you are God’s temple and that his Spirit lives in you." 1 Corinthians 3:16

4. Respect Others: Respect means treating others with dignity and allowing others to have their own opinions and thoughts even if you disagree.

"Don’t condemn others, and God won’t condemn you.  God will be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly as you treat them." Matthew 7:1, CEV. 

"Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about" - Matthew 7:12

5. Have Tolerance towards others: Tolerance means people have the right to believe what they perceive as truth even it is morally wrong; Tolerance does not mean that you have to accept what someone else believes as truth if it is morally wrong. If something is morally wrong, just because someone chooses to believe it and live it does not make it right. It is still wrong.

"The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” Matthew 22:39

6. Stand up for Truth:  Truth exists. There are some things that are right, and others that are wrong. Stand up for what is right. Defend what you believe. Don't sell truth at any cost. Love it, Live it, Share it.

John 17:17, "Your word is the truth."

Living your Life to Please God First

Living Your Life to Please God First

By Pastor Salvador A. Garcia, Jr.

 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14, NKJV

It’s happened to all of us. At some point, we find ourselves living to please others. Maybe it’s our parents, our teachers, our friends, or our church pastor. We live in a world today where the age old adage: “Aim at something, and you’ll hit something; Aim at nothing, and you'll hit nothing” is true. It definitely pays to live your life with goals in mind, be they educational, relational, career, etc. However, it is possible to live your life with goals in mind that try to please others instead of pleasing God? Is it possible to live our lives in such a way that instead of being a people-pleaser we become a God-pleaser? Can we live our life in such a way that we please God every day of our lives? The answer might surprise you. Read on.

Pleasing God first

I am sure you know of at least one person who is living their life to please others instead of living their life to please God. Maybe you have a friend in school whose parents push him to get straight A grades and will not accept anything less than perfection. Maybe you know of a parent who is pushing his son or daughter to excel in a sport that he or she doesn’t really enjoy. Maybe you know a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse who is living their life to please their significant other instead of living to please God. At any given moment in our life, we are either living to please ourselves, to please others, or to please God.  Too many of us live our lives to please everyone else, and in the end it leaves us feeling lonely, burnout, and unsatisfied. Is there a difference you ask? The answer is yes. You see, if you live your life to please yourself or others without living your life to please God, chances are you may not be living your life to please God at all. However, when you live your life to please God first and foremost, God will allow you to exceed the expectations that everyone (including yourself) has ever had about you.

Pleasing God first in your education

If you live your life to please God first, He will give you wisdom and make you smarter that your teachers. Don’t believe me? Here is the Bible verses that says so:

“I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Your precepts.”

Psalm 119:99-100

When we live our lives to please God in our education then God promises to make us wise by giving us more understanding than all of our teachers. Isn't that great, especially when it comes to testing time! You know all the answers to every question your teacher will give you! Amen! What an amazing promise.

Doing well in school and getting good grades is important. In fact, the better your grades are the more success you may have in college and graduate school. When you put God first in your education and you work hard, then God will give you success! In fact,the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Plan to reach the top of the summit in your educational goals, to determine to work hard and give your 110% effort. Then, God will give you understanding and wisdom beyond your teachers and professors! Invest the time and energy now, so that you can reap the rewards later. Study hard now, so that you can fulfill the plans God has for your life later. Otherwise, if you only have fun now, you'll work hard the rest of your life. Education and good grades is important so put God first in your education and He will help you to reach the top and excel!

Pleasing God first in your relationships

What would happen if you lived you life to please God even in your dating and relationships? How would that change the way you date currently? For one, you would be more concerned about becoming the best available person for someone else to date, than you looking for the best available person to date. Your focus and attention would shift drastically. No longer would you be “desperate” to meet and get involved with anyone who is available (i.e., “I need to be in a relationship with someone else at any give moment”), but you would focus on preparing yourself to be the best spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.

Living to please God first in the area of relationships and dating means you follow what God has already specifically spoken to you in the Bible. What are some things that God has already spoken regarding relationships in the Bible? First, God has said that if you are a Christian and follow Jesus Christ, then you should only date people who are Christian and follow Christ. If you want to be safe rather than sorry, follow what God has said. Don’t try to change it or justify it by saying, “Oh, she is getting Bible studies.” Instead just be faithful and follow what God has said. Follow the popular Christian slogan: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Second, God has said that sex is meant for marriage, not while you are dating. Let me remind you that sex is a broad term that includes oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, and foreplay. Some people think that only vaginal sex is sex. In fact, they will say something like, "Oh, we are both still “virgins”, and have never really had any sex", when all the while they have been having oral sex and foreplay that falls into the “yes you did have sex” category! If you want to please God first when it comes to dating and relationships, then purpose not to have any sex until you get married with the person who is your husband and wife. Be like the young couple who were sexually abstinent during the time they dated.  On their wedding day they arrived at the wedding alter, the preacher said “you may now kiss the bride!” When they kissed, it was the first time they had ever kissed while they dated! Okay! Maybe you will not take it that far, but you get the idea. Save sex for the honeymoon. Live your dating life in order to please God.

Pleasing God first by fulfilling Your God-given purpose

So far so good, huh? If you live your life to please God first, you will excel in your grades and education (remember Psalm 119:99) and prosper in you dating life. But there is a third reason why it pays to live your life to please God first rather than living your life to please others. Discovering your true purpose in life is that third reason. Today, our society suffers from a condition that I will call “I don’t know what I am here on this earth for”. That is why today there is an empty feeling that fills people that has led to all sorts of philosophical ideas like existentialism (Give your life it’s own purpose), hedonism (The purpose of life to please yourself), Machiavellianism (Use any means to achieve your purpose), etc. The truth is that when you live your life to please others instead of to please God you will end up feeling empty, wasted, and without satisfaction. You will not know, “why God put you on this earth for.” At best you will only be able to speculate instead of being able to know without a shadow of a doubt why God put you on this earth for. The amazing thing about living your life to please God only is that when you live your life to please God first, God will automatically lead you to discover your God given purpose in life.

Your purpose in life does not have anything to do with your career, your education, where you live, or your race. It has to do with living your life in such a way that every single day you are living and doing exactly what God intends for you to do. Imagine if God had to hand-select someone for an important mission here on earth. If you were living your life to please God, your name would be on the top of the list of candidates. Wow! God would hand select you for that special mission! So go for it. What are you waiting for? The benefits far outweigh the costs. Living your life to please others only and God last will only end in failure: Failed relationships, failed college degrees, and failed careers. However, living your life to please God first will end in satisfaction, discovering a life of purpose, receiving true wisdom and education, and preparing yourself to be the best boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse for someone else in the near future. Your decision today can mark the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Go ahead, turn the page and allow God to begin writing a new chapter in your life.

- Live your life today and every day to please God first -

Is God's Grace Scandalous?

God's Grace ... It's amazing ... It's wonderful ... It's moving ... It's powerful.  God's Grace is satisfying, uplifting, and lasting. But wait.

God's Grace ... A lamb ... A Cross ... A Sacrifice ... A Fateful Friday ... A Dark and Lonely Day ... A Savior Lying in the Grave. God's Grace is inexplicable, confounding, illogical.

God's Grace. With our tiny human brains, intellects, and reasoning, We would never have come up it! It's beyond human reason or understanding, and beyond the realm of human invention.

The innocent One taking the place of the guilty, suffering for other people's sins and transgressions, and dying for guilty sinners as their Substitute. Amazing, yet scandalous!

Why? Because God didn't have to die in the place of sinners. He is perfect and holy, and could have chosen to remain separate from sinners. Yet instead, God chose to come down to this earth and dwell among us. In other words, God decided "to move into the neighborhood". He came to live amongst us in order to "seek and to save that which was lost." And God dies for us on a cross as our substitute, and offers us forgiveness, peace, and assurance that we can have eternal life. Scandalous! ...

It doesn't seem fair, it seems unjust, and illogical. That is not what human justice does. The guilty must pay, the transgressor must be punished, the criminal must be locked up in jail to pay for his/her crime. But God's Grace says, "I'll take your place, I'll pay your sins, I'll die in your behalf." More that this, God offers us the perfect life of Christ in exchange for our messed up imperfect life. Scandalous? Yes. Amazing? Altogether!

God's Grace is amazing, it is wonderful, it is moving, and it is powerful. It is inexplicable, confounding, illogical, and scandalous! Yet it is altogether lovely, deep, heart-fixing, soul-satisfying. I want to live God's Grace, taste it, eat it, and revel in it. I want to experience it, share it, and love it.

God's Grace is Amazing!

"For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing." Ephesians 2:8-9, The Voice paraphrase Bible

~ S.A. Garcia

Local Prayer Vigil for Family and Victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

When: Wednesday December 19, 2012

Time: 7:30 - 8:30pm

Location: Culver City Spanish 7th Day Adventist Church

Address: 5320 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 

All are welcome! ... Let us come together to pray for healing, comfort, and encouragement!

What's Controversional about Standing up for Truth?

CONTROVERSIAL

DEEP CHRISTIAN VALUES

HOMOPHOBIC

DOOMSDAY THEORY

CONSPIRACY THEORY

CRAZY CULT MEMBER

DANGEROUS BELIEFS


What do all of the following words have in common? They have been used recently by the mainstream media (www.tmz.com) to describe the moral beliefs of a new Christian convert who has taken a stand for truth. So what is so "Controversial" about standing up for something these days? Isn't it wise to stand up for something in our life? Or should be just blend in with society and adopt those values and morals that go with the times? 

For instance, the New Bible of Psychology is no longer classifying certain "Temper Trantrums" as Bi-Polar, etc., nor is it including Homosexuality as a disorder as it had in the past. Times change, and so every field of study must keep up with the times or be left in the sphere of irrelevance. But what about truth and faith? Aren't they something that is worth standing up for, or are they merely miniscule ancient creeds that need to be eroded and buried in ancient catacombs and graves of non-importance? The truth could indeed be closer that we imagine.

Unless, we stand for something, we run the risk of falling for everything . If we allow society to dictate our views, we may end up espousing loose moral values, being Sexually promiscuous, Dishonest, implementing Situation Ethics,  Machiavellianism (the end justifies the means), adopting Religious Plurality and Universalism.

Truth exists, and it must be bought and never sold at any cost . So my question is, "What do you believe to be truth that you are willing to stand up for?" Is there any Truth that you are willing to die for?" ... In our personal, organizational, and societal efforts to be relevant, we run the risk of abandoning truths, both moral and religious, and may end up actually becoming 'INSIGNIFICANT" and "IRRELEVANT".

People today are searching for truth, purpose, and meaning. While America may not be religious, it is definitely spiritual. People are searching for God and for truth. Someone who stands and believes in something greater than themselves is more likely to live with more purpose, meaning, and significance, than one who doesn't.  

There are three things we can be sure of in in our lives:  Number one, God exists. Number two, "I'm not god". Number three, "Your not god either".  

So let's go in search of truth even if it means being labeled controversial. Let's stand and live for something. Let's find something that we are willing to defend as truth, and even die for if necessary. After all, MLK Jr. once said, "You have not yet learned to live, until you've found something that you are willing to die for!" Let's examine everything that seems suspect and counterfeit, and let's buy, love,and share the truth. Buy the truth at any cost. Love truth more than life itself. Share the truth at every opportunity. Live your life with a purpose and mission. Today can be that day for both you and me.

~ Sal Garcia