Education

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil” (Prov. 3:5–7, NKJV).

This was a verse I loved while I was growing up, however it took me a few years to actually understand it. Some people read it and say, “Oh, it’s just such a complicated passage.” But it really isn’t. The verses hold one message: His way or yours? In other words, do you trust Him?

“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 then they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:26–27, NIV).

This is my favorite Bible verse, as it became my mantra in 2017. My husband moved from Iowa to Columbus, Ohio, to take a job at Amazon. One month after he started, he had a stroke while he was at work. The stroke changed every part of our lives. I became the breadwinner. He became dependent on me for basically everything. As my carnal nature is to worry all the time, this verse gave me great comfort, and I felt that God was helping me realize my need to depend on Him always.

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” (Ps. 34:7, KJV).

I love Psalm 34:7 because you can claim it in so many situations. For example, if you’re afraid of the dark, you can declare this promise when you’re scared. I personally claim this promise every night before I go to bed.

“This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15, NIV).

God loves us very much. No matter what we do, He will still forgive us because His love for us is unconditional.

Before the apostle Paul became a follower of Jesus, his name was Saul. Saul thought he knew all about God and that Jesus was a false messiah. He even convinced people to kill Stephen. Saul was angry that the disciples were preaching about Jesus.

Story by Gabriel Valez

If someone were to ask me what my definition of Spirit Week was, I would say “unity.”

For this year’s Spirit Week at New Jersey Conference's Lake Nelson Adventist Academy (LNAA), students and staff united to participate in spiritual, physical and brain games. The school was divided into two teams—team gold and team blue. Teachers selected students randomly to play games and earn points for their teams.