⁷ Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸ And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.” 1Kings 18:7-8 NKJV

In last month’s devotional we looked at how Obadiah was an amazing man in the history of God's people. We saw how he was willing to risk his life to save the prophets of God. And how he served in the unfaithful, king's court, but was faithful and true to God.

I would like to take a look at three things we can learn from the story of Obadiah that will help us live a godly, Christian life in the 21^st century.

1)    God wants to use Christians who are in key positions in a secular and pagan society to accomplish his purpose in the world. 

What is God's primary purpose for the Christian in this world? Certainly, God is desirous of protecting His children. But there is a purpose in God's mind that is far more basic than our protection and sense of security in this life. He is interested in communicating His message of redemption to a lost world. Christians are to be “salt” and “light” as Jesus said in Matthew 5. Every Christian who rubs shoulders with a non-believer is in a strategic position to share the message of love and salvation with them. Those who happen to be in high level positions have an even greater chance of impacting the world with their faith. Ultimately our message is to bring people to Jesus so that they can be saved regardless of what their status in life, but if we happen to be next to those who have great impact and influence it could have a broad ranging impact.

2) God can only use Christians effectively, to accomplish his purpose in the world, if they are truly devoted to him.

Obadiah illustrates this fact beautifully. He had served the Lord from his youth. Every biblical character who has occupied a strategic position in a secular situation and has been used by God in unusual ways, emerged as this kind of person. So must every 21st century believer! We will never impress non-believers by living a ho hum, laissez faire, type of Christian life. I love the way the Message Bible puts the words of the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:11-12. “Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourself cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live and exemplary life in your neighborhood, so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.”

Jesus sent his disciples out into a very hostile world. And he said this, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as wise as serpents, and as harmless (or innocent) as doves.” Matthew 10:16 Today there are many Christians who are not acting wisely in their efforts to counteract the current evil trends, and attitudes in our society. Their strategy is bombastic and even offensive. Their behavior is defiant and aggressive. They are often more emotional than rational. In the process, they are violating biblical principles, causing non-believers to respond in anger. If they continue this course, these non-believers will surely, never be believers. Our ultimate responsibility as Christians, is to present Christ in love.

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I know I got a little "long-winded" with this month’s devotional. I really wanted to emphasize how important it is in the time period in which we live to always remain faithful to God and present to others a picture of His love through our example.

April 1^st and 2^nd I had the privilege of participating in Thunderbird Adventist Academy’s annual alumni weekend. This was as exciting event as the global pandemic had caused us to postpone the previous two alumni weekends. We had the joy of honoring the academy for it’s 100^th anniversary, as well as honoring 2 other class years. The music, sermon, and the special history readings were all great to hear. Thanks to all who planned and participated in this event, and a special thanks to Tanna Allison for her organization and work to make sure so many alumni attended and participated.

The week of April 4-6 I was asked by Glenview School Principal Brian Allison to participate in the annual outdoor school at Camp Yavapines. I was truly blessed to spend time with all of the young people and watch them make decisions for Christ. That was truly a joy. My job was to lead out in nature hikes and that was right in my wheelhouse so you can imagine I really enjoyed this job.

April 9^th I had the distinct privilege of being a part of the "mortgage burning" ceremony for the Bullhead City church. What a fabulous new facility this church now has, it has been many years since I’ve preached there and I was blown away with all the work they did to make this church a very representative facility to that community. Praise God for Pastor James Boundy, his wife Beth, and all of the key leaders who carried this project through to completion.

April 10-13 I was at the special spiritual retreat led by Elder Jorge Ramirez at Camp Yavapines. This was not your normal retreat since it centered more on study and reflection of some key passages in the Bible, as opposed to a retreat where you hang out and play games and have fun. For me it was great because I needed that time in the Word, and the comradery with my fellow workers.

The weekend of the 16^th and 17^th was a sad time for the family of Noami Douglas and the rest of the Douglas family which includes our former pastor Malcom who now pastors in Michigan. What made it sad was the fact that Nicole Douglas, Noami’s daughter, and Malcom’s sister had tragically passed away while giving birth to a son just a week earlier. We pray for the rest of the family in this time of grief, as she leaves behind her children, Jadon, Shiloh, Abel, and Benjamin. May God comfort, strengthen and give wisdom to this dear family in this time of grief.

The following week I had an opportunity of going back to Camp Yavapines to visit with the Maranatha leaders, John and Carolyn Houghton, to get an idea for all of the projects they’ve been working on to beautify our camp. This year’s project was especially difficult but God once again blessed them with the ability and strength to fix and repair our kitchen, particularly the roof.

Along with a number of interviews for open positions at our academy and in the pastoral field, the week of 17-22 was filled with many meetings. But the end of that week was truly a blessing as a I began a series of evangelistic meetings with our Chandler Fil-Am church.

Our Chandler Fil-Am meeting ran from April 22 until April 30^th, with nightly lectures, inspiring music, a nightly quiz led by Elder Lauran Mergenio. We had a marvelous meeting and I am truly thankful to the leaders of this church for helping Pastor Villamore Meriales prepare 6 precious souls for baptism. It was awe inspiring to see these individuals take their stand for Jesus. I was especially touched to see a disabled man be baptized. He was not able to walk but was so convinced he needed to be baptized that the church got a lift to help him in and out of the baptistry. It was amazing!

The last thing I wanted to share for this month was that on April 18^th the Arizona Conference office family had to say goodbye to one of key leaders, colleague, and friend, Elder Jorge Ramirez. As most of you know by now Dr. Ramirez had accepted a call to be the Under Secretary to the North American Division, and we will truly miss him for sure. But we gave him a great send off with Mariachi music and wonderful food from Shelly’s vegan kitchen. I know God will bless him in his new role, but we are truly going to miss him.

Just 2 weeks ago we were praising God for having raised the majority of funds needed to purchase the station. Now we are able to continue praising God for raising the balance just before we closed...right on time!

We were preparing to borrow the remainder of funds needed for the purchase. But our God worked in a different way, continuing to bring in additional funds from supporting members, viewers and org like you, and also impressing a supportive couple intending to loan funds for this purchase to donate the funds instead! By God's grace and faithfulness, we are now able to report that we closed on the purchase Tuesday, May 3, without having to borrow ANY funds. Amazing! Thank God and each of you so very much for your faithful prayers and support.

Now, instead of raising funds to pay back debt, we can instead stay focused on the mission, using additional funds that come in to pay related expenses and necessary improvements to reach as many of God's children as we possibly can. Please join us in praising God for His unquestionable goodness and faithfulness! He has certainly made Himself responsible for this project, and we praise His name.

Pictured to the left in the above image are two of our team members, Mark and Tyler, along with myself and Ruben, the General Manager for the TV station for over 20 years. Ruben, in blue, has become a new friend and brother in Christ, assisting at every step of this purchase process. A divine appointment for sure. His story will come in the future.

Good News TV has broadcast on various channels over the years in Phoenix, including 44, 22, and 41. Broadcasting at all in Phoenix is a huge miracle in itself. The station we just purchased has broadcast on 38 for many years, and this would have been our new permanent home. But God did another mighty miracle.

Instead of staying on channel 38, we investigated the opportunity to a premium location instead. Our new TV station, known as K14RK-D, is licensed for channel 14. As a result, we confirmed that instead of staying on channel 38, we were able to move immediately to channel 14, which we did.

What is so great about that? Well, as the image to the right indicates, the major news networks here in Phoenix are all grouped together on channels 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, and 15. This includes 3TV, CBS, PBS, FOX, NBC and ABC. So, by moving our broadcast from 38 to 14, we are now positioned right in between ABC and NBC. As viewers flip between their favorite news and sports programs, viewers can't help but run right into our Good News TV channels, giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to work on their hearts. We praise the Lord for helping us gain new viewers.

Chuck, a Phoenix-area viewer, approached us last Sabbath at Glendale church, introducing himself as the person who called in recently with a donation for the Phoenix TV station. He told us we had given him the address of the Glendale Church and another church, so he came and brought his roommate friend and his adult daughter with him! He said he really appreciated Pastor Venden’s message. Chuck’s roommate told us he is very loving and kind since he took him in when he was homeless and now brought him to church. We praise the Lord that He is reaching our viewers hearts and putting on their minds to reach out to others in need and come to church.

A viewer from Tucson called saying that she found us by flipping through the channels on her TV one day and stopping on GNTV with the intent to watch "for just a few minutes". Now, she watches it "all the time" and it is her "Go-to channel" and her "Lifeline". When she heard that GNTV was fundraising to purchase its own station in Phoenix, she wanted to be part of the blessings. She called to ask the address in which to send a check. When the check came, we were astounded of the amount... $50,000! We also received an envelope in the mail from another viewer with a $1 bill in it! We praise God for laying on the hearts of so many of our viewers and supporters to be part of this miracle!

Ken, a viewer in North Phoenix, describes his experience watching GNTV as a mourning process. At first he thought what he was hearing on the channel was simply not true since it was so different from what he had ever heard before. Then, when he realized it is all from the Bible, he became angry with the church he had grown up in for having not taught him and his family the truth all of their lives. Now he is settling into the truth, and although he is not yet a member he told someone at church a few days that he considers himself an Adventist at heart.

Thank you so much for being an important part of Good News TV and the many miracles God is doing! Contact us at 480-264-1116 or [email protected].

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Ultimately, building leaders who serve God is the quest of every Adventist School. After building the STEM plan we worked on implementing it.

Glenview Adventist Academy caught the “fever” and the staff made plans to house a 3-D printing lab that other Adventist schools from around the state could visit the school and partner with the GAA students to use the 3-D printers to create, collaborate, think critically, and communicate with each other. These are essential skills for 21^st Century Learning and GAA was anxious to share their program. Thunderbird Academy has begun plans to renovate their entire science “wing” to create a STEM-based center to continue the hands-on learning and collaborating at the secondary level.

However, we still had two unanswered questions: How will we connect students to TAA, and how will we teach them to serve through these investigative learning opportunities? Further prayer and conversations brought the idea of “tracks” that incorporate deliberately designed and coordinated outreach projects that involve community service and relationship-building. These “tracks” or pathways of learning would help students see the connections between what they were learning in their elementary school classrooms and what was being taught at Thunderbird Adventist Academy while at the same time realizing the needs of the community around them.

The plan’s outline for the Communications Track allows a student who shows interest or ability to visit TCE where the Filmmaking and Video Production modules are stored and hosted, or their school could borrow modules on Gaming Technologies, Digital Photography and Animation, or Marketing and Design from the Conference Education Office to learn more. The student would participate in outreach projects such as collaborating with Good News TV to create outreach videos, school promotional videos, or other inspirational media for use as outreach. If they continue to show interest, they can connect to Thunderbird Academy and pursue creating podcasts with the campus’s Real Talk podcast run by the Storm Ministries team, help host a film festival for other Seventh-day Adventist academies, or a variety of other projects. Another element is to include career professionals in the journey to share their expertise and wisdom with the students.

Each track is evolving as more people get involved and input is given. The team has designed tracks for Health, Engineering, and Environmental Management with plans to design others. Communicating these tracks will bring direction, clarity, intentionality, and purpose to not only the wonderful learning opportunities, but to the mission of our schools: Building Leaders Who Serve. We are excited to watch how powerfully God is providing and guiding in this process. If you would like to be a part of this exciting journey by offering your ideas, time, expertise, or financial support, please contact me in the Education Department where offering vital, authentic learning experiences is what we are all about.

.Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM