President’s Perspective
Waiting for the Light
I
t’s definitely not my best personal quality. I try to man-
age it when I must, but I’d rather avoid it whenever
possible. Among my other faults, this one is a result of
at times being impatient. Maybe I’m just too rushed and
hurried. Whatever the reasons, I do not like waiting. Waiting in traffic, wait-
ing for an appointment, waiting to check out at a store, waiting in line to board
a plane, waiting at the curb to pick someone up. I suppose I’m just anxious to
instantly have the reward, the finished product, or, the purpose for which I’m
waiting, quickly fulfilled. Having shared this personal challenge, I wonder
how well I would have fared had I been among those who, as described in
Matthew 4:16, were 2,000 years ago, “sitting in darkness.”
Matthew is actually quoting a passage from Isaiah 9:2, in which the Old
Testament prophet adds the thought that not only were the people sitting in
darkness, but even worse, they were “living in the land of deep darkness” and
the “shadow of death.” How much worse a fate could there be, than to have to
wait in the darkness and in the shadow of death? Doesn’t it seem that with all
of the terrible things that daily define the news, both locally and worldwide,
that we are indeed a people who are living in the darkness? In a land of death?
A people waiting for something, for someone better to appear?
Thankfully, the passage quoted above ends with the declaration that
upon a waiting people, “a light has
dawned!” The passage in Isaiah
prophetically foretold what Matthew
announces in the same words, that the
light which gives light to the world
had come in the presence of the baby,
born in Bethlehem. In its essence,
isn’t the Advent, both the first and
the second, about faithfully waiting?
Remembering that even during the
long wait, when the night is at its
darkest and coldest hour, that the
light is drawing near? Remembering
that the brilliant dawn of His coming,
is soon ready to destroy and forever
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Connection
banish the bleak night of sorrow and death in
which we now wait?
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that, “Now faith
is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
about what we do not see.” For now, we see only
the glimmers of His light. Yet very soon; sooner
than we might hope or even imagine, we who
live in the darkness, will see Him, who is a great
light. That’s great news for all of us who do not
like waiting. It’s great news for all of us who
long to see Jesus and go home with Him! May
the promise of His soon coming, give confidence
and peace to your heart at the start of this new
year.
STEVE HALEY
President
Evangelism Boot Camp
Evangelism Boot Camp is just around the corner
January 26-28, 2018. Ralph Ringer, director of
church growth and evangelism training for the
Southern Union, and David Hartman will host the
weekend at Indian Creek Camp. It will cover the
nuts and bolts of how to prepare for, implement,
and follow-up a ShareHim evangelistic meeting
in the local church.
The training weekend will cover these pertinent
topics: How to. . .
· Win Friends for Christ
· Preach Dynamic Evangelistic Sermons
· Use Computer Generated Graphics
· Make Effective Calls
· Do Soul Winning Visits
To register call
Marjie Noll in the
ministerial department
at 615-859-1391.
Deadline for
registeration is
January 11.
Kentucky-Tennessee Conference
Connection
Volume 17, No. # 1
Connection
magazine is published
quarterly by the Kentucky-
Tennessee Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists.
Steve Rose Executive Editor
Denise Pope Layout & Design
Printed By College Press, LLC
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