Perspectives | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Did My Life Make a Difference?

Editorial by Ken Flemmer

One of life’s nagging questions that many have asked over the ages is, “Did my life make a difference? What impact have I had?"

As director of Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) and its programs, I want to assure you that the answer is YES. Our organization distributed more than 625 Thanksgiving baskets just last week! Thank you to all who helped support the Holiday Giving Project! We look forward to distributing turkeys and fixings for the Christmas holidays also.

Yes, ACSGW is making a difference in the community. I can fill a number of pages with facts and statistics on how this is happening.

For example, last year ACSGW distributed 93 tons of food to nearly 3,500 families. That number will be even higher for 2016, as over the past three months about 10 more families have been served each day since late summer. That is a 25 percent plus increase. We’re grateful for all the support, including the assistance of 144 volunteers!

Perspectives: The Elect and the Election

Perspective by James Standish

Many people are shocked by the outcome of the election. Not Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind Dilbert. Over a year ago, Adams predicted Trump would win.

The odd thing?

Adams nailed it.

How could a Clinton-supporting cartoonist see what all the pundits, poll producing prognosticators and professional politicians missed? Easy, Adams explains, he doesn’t study polls, instead he studies the art of persuasion. And, he explains, persuasion is based on emotion. Tap into the emotional truths of your audience, and you persuade them.

In Adams’ analysis, the most persuasive candidate wins. Everything else is just noise.

Make Gratitude a Way of Life

Editorial by Art Calhoun

Multiple studies have shown that practicing gratitude results in being more resilient, more relaxed and less materialistic. It is difficult to be depressed and full of gratitude at the same time. This should not be surprising for people of the Word. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.” (Col. 3:17). And “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thes. 5:18).

The Greatness of God

Editorial by Paulo Macena

When King David decided to build the house of God, he prepared and planned for it. The Bible says that he bought all types of resources needed to build the temple. “Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might,” David said (1 Chr. 29:2).

David was so passionate about his mission that he used his own fortune to build the temple, and joyfully expressed the reason why: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in Earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all” (1 Chr. 29:11).

Editorial: We’re Big Kids Now

Editorial by Olive Hemmings

I recall one day sitting on the steep, red oak-stained, concrete front steps of our tiny, rural home in Jamaica on long, carefree days full of wonder and expectation. My twin brother, J. Olive, and I couldn’t have been more than 3 years old because our younger sister was not yet born. On this fine day, mother gathered food for dinner from lush crops surrounding the house and firewood to cook in our homey, outdoor kitchen.

The fowls “cackled” as they lay eggs, the dogs playfully barked, somewhere a cow mooed, and the sound of water gushed over rocks in the nearby stream, invoking a mysterious flow of cool, shadowy air as the sun bore down upon our little faces—unforgettable scenes of childhood.