jmcortes
Someone has said: “Faith is not faith until it’s everything that you’re holding on to.” When Jesus Christ is the entire focus of your life, He will be everything that you’re holding on to. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be … Read more
Inquiry (noun): : an official effort to collect and examine information : the act of asking questions in order to gather or collect information (www.merriam-webster.com) “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord”—Isaiah 1:18. “He [Jesus] said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou?”—Luke 10:26. Would … Read more
I had the honor of being the executrix of an estate for one of my mother’s many first cousins. I was also in charge of her health care. I say it was an honor because she was like a sister to my mother who had only brothers, so she was like an aunt to me. … Read more
As president of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America, marking November 26, 1789, “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” More than 200 years later, we still have much for … Read more
We had a wonderful and profitable time the weekend of August 23 and beyond. The General Conference, North American Division, Atlantic Union, and five local conference Stewardship directors held meetings on stewardship on Friday night and Sabbath morning and stewardship training seminars at Mount Vernon church on Sabbath afternoon. The churches were packed and the … Read more
A recent study by the Barna Group revealed that eight of the top 10 post-Christian cities in the United States are in the Atlantic Union territory: Albany, New York (1), Burlington, Vermont (2), Portland, Maine (3), Providence, Rhode Island (4), Hartford, Connecticut (5), Boston, Massachusetts (7), Buffalo, New York (8), and New York, New York … Read more
One Sabbath each year the staff, students, and parents of the Flatbush Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School in Brooklyn, New York, get together at the school for a Sabbath celebration. Sabbath services are conducted on the school premises for the students, parents, and community. In an effort to fully engage in the NY13 evangelistic thrust, the … Read more
During 2013 and beyond there will be an unusual increase of new members into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is as result of the NY13 evangelistic initiative in the New York Metropolitan area. We rejoice for the approximately 2,000 souls already baptized since the beginning of the year and the many more who will join … Read more
In Psalm 103, ‘A Creation Hymn of Praise,’ David expresses his “all-pervasive attitude of gratitude to God for the marvelous things He has done in his life, in nature, in his personal salvation experience, and for the redemption of God’s covenant people.” It is said that “praising God for His goodness is the highest form … Read more
We envisioned a version of the Compassion Movement. We hoped it would become a lifestyle for many. We prayed it would catch a life of its own and that it would create a positive effect around our union. And, yes, we prayed it would go beyond. We wished it would go viral and just spread … Read more
In his devotional book, The Chosen, Dwight Nelson shares the following statistic regarding people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior: 75 percent of all Christians in America today accepted Christ before the age of 14. This means that three out of four men and women who are Christians chose Him as their Savior … Read more
Maintaining a balance of mind, body, and soul is necessary to live a happy and fulfilled life. All three are interconnected and, should a weakness or imbalance in one of these dimensions of life exist, it could be crippling to the others. For example, if you are suffering from severe emotional stress of the mind, it can cause … Read more
As we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of youth, young adults, adults, and children, accompanied by officers from the New York Police Department, local television reporters, photographers, and many church leaders, I could not stop thanking God for what we were experiencing, and feeling totally grateful to Him for allowing the New York … Read more
Plans are firmly in place for the Greater New York and Northeastern conferences to hold a joint camp meeting on June 29 in support of NY13. It is occurring on the first weekend of English camp meeting for both conferences. The venue is the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. In addition to … Read more
We can boldly declare that students in Seventh-day Adventist schools receive a complete education—strong academics as revealed in the CognitiveGenesis study, in which our students at all grade levels outperformed the national average in all subjects. High academic standards combined with spiritual nurture create an unparalleled culture of excellence at each of our schools. Our … Read more
Someone wrote, “Evangelism is more caught than taught.” In other words, new disciples will catch on to soul-winning when they go out to do personal evangelism with more experienced witnesses. Classroom evangelism, where one learns the basics, is important, but most evangelistic skill is learned and “caught” through practice. Indeed, it’s not just something you … Read more
“My mother ruined our lives. She divorced my dad, and that changed my life and the lives of my brothers forever.” These were the words of a Christian young man, who was letting me know that he hardly ever calls his mother because he has a tremendous amount of resentment toward her. He wishes his … Read more
Adventist Christian education grows leaders. Many programs are introduced in schools to develop leadership skills in students. More importantly, Adventist education instills the concept of service as a paramount tenet of leadership. There are more than 350 working definitions of leadership. A simple definition is “leadership is influence,” by John Maxwell. There is also a … Read more
Can you recall what they used to call places where you fill your car with gas? They weren’t called “gas stations” or “fueling centers,” but “service stations.” When you pulled in, someone would run out to greet you and serve you with gas, wash your windows, check your oil, check your tire pressure, and wish … Read more
In 2011, New York 2013 (NY13), probably the boldest soul-winning initiative in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was born. Its purpose? To reach the people of Metro New York City in 2013 and beyond with the gospel of Jesus Christ. (NY13 is part of a larger world-wide initiative to reach the major cities of the world … Read more
NY13 is upon us. What are we doing? Are we only planning, streaming, and video recording? There’s an old song that goes this way: “A little talk with Jesus makes it right, all right.” This is what prayer is, just talking to Jesus. We live in a complex society and confused world. We face decisions … Read more
The faithful steward is someone who is doing the best he can with the things that God has given him. The Lord calls us to be faithful stewards in everything we do. This is why it is so important, among many things, to honor God with our time, gifts, money, health, and relationships. We must … Read more
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else”—Isaiah 45:22 (ASV). The nations of the world have been looking to their idols for centuries, but all in vain. Many have looked to their boastful philosophies of humanism and secularism, also in vain. … Read more
Atlantic Union College (AUC) submitted in December 2011, a completed application to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education for the purpose of reestablishing degree-granting authority. Over the past several months, AUC has continued to submit additional documents to the state as well as a complete audited financial statement. Additional documents were submitted as requested. Most … Read more
The Atlantic Union Conference Executive Committee at its February 16, 2012 meeting approved in principle a proposal for the development of an evangelistic and gospel medical missionary training school. NETS or Northeast Evangelism Training School is envisioned as a non-accredited diploma pastoral and lay training institute conducted on the campus of Atlantic Union College to … Read more
Late last year, the Atlantic Union College (AUC) Board of Trustees (BOT) voted to submit an application to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) for the reestablishment of degree-granting authority at Atlantic Union College. This was done after its accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) was discontinued … Read more
