Art Club:

If you are interested in learning how to develop artistically for the glory of God, Art Club is the place for you! We will be holding creative space meetings for beginners to advanced individuals on a weekly basis. In the weekly meeting, you will have the opportunity to learn basic art skills, work on collaborative art projects, or simply work on your own projects with artistic individuals. On a few weekends during the semester, we will also hold field trips to go out and enjoy the landscape in a whole new way! We are looking forward to doing art with you!

Gardening Club:

The gardening club is an agriculturally focused group of awesome people who farm at the Weimar greenhouses from now until February. Each group in the club picks the amount of land they would like to garden, enabling each person to adapt the gardening club to their schedule. The club also presents opportunities to learn about agriculture in occasional group meetings. At the end of the year, the garden club will host a harvest party around the end of February.

Pre-Med Club:

Pre-Med Club is a community of young students who aspire to be medical doctors. We provide resources for getting into medical school, shadowing opportunities, networking with physicians, and social events. This year we have exciting endeavors like setting up a mentorship program where you can have a physician of your interest help guide you on your medical journey. Sign up today so you can be a part of our members-only events!

Running Club:

The goal of the running club is to promote health and wellness among the student body. Joining this club is a fantastic opportunity for students to socially engage with others while getting adequate physical exercise. The club meets twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays an hour before breakfast. There are three different levels in the club which cater to the fitness level of the members: fast, medium, and slow. Club members will get free gear and entrance for the Weimar Institute 10k trail race on November 8th. 

If you are interested in joining one of these clubs, email weimarsa@weimar.edu.

The story is told of two friends. Two friends, that when observed, could easily be labeled as best friends. One friend had been blessed with great riches and wealth, while the other friend was rather poor. Despite their differences, they loved spending time together. From school, to work, to church, to even free time, they could almost always be seen together. Even in the moments they were apart, they would think about each other and tell others about each other. Now the wealthy friend loved to share what he had with anyone who asked and even those who didn’t ask. He especially loved giving gifts to his best friend. In fact, one of his favorite things to do was to give gifts to his best friend as a surprise. To the outsider, their friendship was the epitome of perfection. However, there was something peculiar about their friendship. They never really conversed with one other. Odd as it may seem, it was true. Aside from saying “hello” in the morning and a few casual words throughout the day, nothing else was really spoken. This broke the heart of the wealthy friend. He longed for the day when they would once again have a meaningful conversation, like they used to. He tried to tell his best friend that two-way communication was vital for their friendship, but all he would typically receive was a nod. As time passed, their friendship began to wane, and although the wealthy friend continued to give his friend gifts, there was no acknowledgement that they were received at all.

While this is a true story, it is not your typical one. Why? Because this story of a strained friendship has been seen in over and over again in ages past and in the present day. If you hadn’t guessed it, God is that wealthy benevolent friend, and you are that poor friend. Far too similar to the story, God is mistreated. The facts are simple and the question is relevant. There’s you and there’s God. Are you best friends?

The good news is that God has claimed you not only as His child but also as His best friend. This is a great spot to be in! The God of the universe calling you His best friend! More than just claiming you as His child and best friend, He treats you as such. “The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watch care, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son” (Steps to Christ p. 100). He treats you as if you were the only soul in need of saving. Do you treat Him as your only Savior and best friend? The facts are still simple and the question remains. You and God. Best friends?

There is a lack, a piece missing in the puzzle. Far too often, prayer is the one point in your friendship with God that is lacking. Friends that have one-sided communication can hardly be called friends, let alone best friends. Communication, the foundation of friendship, is a two-way street. However, even when it is two-way, it does not mean it is the communication of a friendship. Through times of ease and prosperity, it is easy to thank God and praise Him, but when life goes horribly wrong, is it your first inclination to turn to Him? Even if it is, that doesn’t mean you are treating God as your best friend. Far too often, God is treated like a vending machine; going to Him when you have wants; praising Him when you get what you want; being frustrated when there is an outcome that is wrong in your eyes; and thinking you didn’t say the right prayer when nothing comes out. You and God. Best friends?

Every morning something special happens. While you are still asleep, your best friend is waiting. Waiting for the perfect time to wake you up so you can spend the entire day together. When the appointed time comes, He wakes you up. As your eyes begin to open and you realize it’s time to get up, His heart leaps for joy inside, for the long awaited time has come for Him to commune with you. But His heart is broken as He sees you get out of your bed, flip through your Bible pointlessly, and begin your day, leaving Him behind, and losing that special appointment with God. You rush off to class, to work, to the various appointments throughout the day, doing your best not to be late. All the while, not realizing that you were not just late but completely neglected your appointment and privilege to commune with God. You and God. Best friends?

Real prayer is more than treating God as if He’s done nothing for you, missing your appointments with Him, and treating Him like a vending machine. To truly commune with God is so much more! Communing with God is not just having your mind continually drawn to Him. “In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life” (Steps to Christ p.93). Your wants, joys, sorrows, cares, and fears are to be kept before the Father. Every minute detail that affects your day-to-day life is to be shared with God. This is what it means to commune with Him. As blessings are continually poured out throughout your day, will they go unnoticed? Or will every evidence of God’s watchcare be a reason for praise? As you rise each morning, will you miss your appointment with God? Or will it be your greatest joy to commune with God? God longs for the day when the facts and question are still there, but have changed. You and God? Best friends.

Dear Adoniram,

I got your text about the “knowledge of God”. Honestly, like you, I’m really struggling to understand what it is. I read the chapter in Ellen White and looked up every verse I could find with some form of the “knowledge of God”.

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

In this life of our’s, we are called to seek a knowledge of God. A knowledge that should affect all things “that pertain to life”. A knowledge that brings us upward and onward toward virtue, glory, and “the divine nature”. In 2 Peter, an encouragement is given to“grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Knowing God is the stuff of the Christian’s life. With a knowledge of God you will not sin (1 John 3:6), and without it, you cannot love (1 John 4:8). We know Him “if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3-4). In a place where “there was no knowledge of Him;” His “people was destroyed for lack of it” (Hosea 4:1, Hosea 4:6). The Christian’s life is the “fragrance” of this knowledge to the rest of the world (1 Corinthians 2:14-17). If man is to “glory” in anything he should glory in that “he understandeth and knoweth Me” [God] (Jeremiah 9:24), A knowledge of God is eternal life (John 17:3).

Instead of clearing up this issue, the above paragraph sounds more like a riddle than a description. After some prayer and some thoughtful quotes from the Spirit of Prophecy, I think we can synthesize it down to what it is instead of what it does.

But to do that, I need you to tell you a story.

There was once a family doctor, beloved of all his staff and patients. He often would get into trouble with his staff for spending too much time with the patients — which I suppose is better than the alternative. For you see, he genuinely wanted to see his patients improve and do better. One of these patients was a man who had been a chain smoker for many years. Each time he came in with his various ailments the doctor would begin to ask the patient about his smoking habit. As if on cue, the gentleman would simply respond, “I know what you’re gonna tell me Doc. ‘Quit smoking’ — well it’s not gonna happen.” The doctor would stress how much this choices was going to hurt him in the long run, but the patient simply wanted to smoke.

However on one such trip to the doctor’s, the conversation took a very different turn. The physician looked at his chart as he walked to the exam room, knowing this man and his typical ailments very well. He stopped short in the hallway as he read the purpose for the gentlemen’s visit: Wants To Quit Smoking read the chart.

“Just can’t be…” the physician squinted at the words. This man had for years on end had refused any and all encouragement to stop smoking. “What could have changed his mind?” “Some new scientific study maybe…no it couldn’t be that.” “Perhaps a friend of his has passed away due to lung cancer?” “What could have possibly changed his mind.” The baffled physician stepped into exam room #3. Before he could even ask the question-the gentlemen, looked up, and met the physician’s confused look.

“See, doc, I’ve just got to quit — you have to help me quit.” The doctor taken aback by the unusual sincerity in his patients’s voice answered, “Believe me, I’ve been wanting to hear that from you years, but what could have possibly changed your mind?” “You were committed you would never quit…” Such a shift of gears seemed to jolt the physician’s usual flow. As if a dam had broken, and his patient had lost all of his fight.

“Well Doc, it happened like this.” “My wife and I were visiting our grandkids, which is probably one of our favorite things to do. Our youngest granddaughter who’s just the cutest little thing you ever did see, she loves to talk, play house, and sit on my lap whenever I come to visit.” The physician could see the gleam of joy in the old gentleman’s eye as he continued his story.

“One evening, my little granddaughter had on a princess dress and was pretending she was getting married. I watched her prepare and go through all the motions and mid-“wedding” she ran over to me and sat on my lap- looked up at me and asked me a question. “Grandpa?” “Yes,” I replied, “Do you love me?” she asked. “Of course I do,” I replied. “Are you going to be at my wedding grandpa?” “Yes of course I will be there — wouldn’t miss it for anything!” She then replied, “But if you love me and you want to be at my wedding than why do you keep smoking?” “If you keep smoking grandpa you won’t be at my wedding ‘cause you may not live that long grandpa.” With that she jumped off my lap and continued her wedding preparations.

I realized she was right. And I supposed, just supposed, that maybe if I kept at it, smoking that is, her little wedding play is the closest I’d ever get to the real thing.”

“Boy that got me.”

“I’d never seen it that way. Got kinda choked up.” That’s why I called in here to get an appointment as quick as I could. Please Doc — tell me what to do.”

Take a minute.

Adoniram, that’s where the story ends. That man is still in the present tense as far as I know. He may have gone back or sworn off of smoking ever since. But let me ask you to play pretend a little bit yourself. You’re the doctor now, what’s your prescription? More science? Counseling? Electronic Cigarettes? What would you prescribe?

Stay with the granddaughter.

“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him” (1 John 3:6).

The devil’s greatest ploy is not to get you to make mistakes. It is to separate you from the “little girl” — the knowledge of God. It is to twist and malign that knowledge so that your knowledge of God is powerless. He doesn’t exist, He does but He doesn’t care, He does and He hates you, or the all time favorite — you are God: the ultimate authority. In many ways the descriptions I have just listed are the true idols we worship. Not of wood and stone, but of ideas and culture. Powerless unlike Philippians 3:10 which reads, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.” The power of His resurrection is the power of living a victorious life.

Who then could crush these ideological idols? 1 John 5:20 sums it up nicely, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

“We must know Him as He reveals Himself. A knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education and of all true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation. It is this alone that can make us like God in character. This is the knowledge needed by all who are working for the uplifting of their fellow men. Transformation of character, purity of life, efficiency in service, adherence to correct principles, all depend upon a right knowledge of God. This knowledge is the essential preparation both for this life and for the life to come.” -Ministry of Healing p. 409, emphasis added.

What is a knowledge of God?

You know when people try to explain a seed sprouting? All the different things that have to be just right? Water, light, soil…and then…it just starts. That’s it. It’s that thing that makes a seed that goes from dormant to living. I think its that moment when all the Bible study, prayer, service, baptism…and then…it just starts. Your life just starts. Eternal life just starts.

 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).

When was the last time your knowledge of God changed?

Without your knowledge of God would you be in the same place in you life? I hope I wouldn’t. There’s a country song I heard recently called “That’s How I Got to Memphis”. I’m not a huge country fan, but I really like this song. Look it up if you get the chance. There’s a line in it that goes something like this, “If you love somebody enough, you’ll follow wherever they go, that’s how I got to Memphis”. Definitely a sappy song, but essentially this fellow ends up in Memphis because he’s looking for his lost love. Story goes that the word “Memphis” is interchangeable with wherever the listener is. So how did you get to Memphis? To where you are now? Hopefully it was out of a knowledge of God.

If there was a first step to the knowledge of God I think it would be this.

His Memphis was Calvary.

So in all our righteous desire to know God, to follow Hosea’s exhortation “Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord,” remember that He first knew you and loved you (1 John 4:19).

That’s how He got to Calvary, It was the knowledge of us, Adoniram, that got Him to Calvary. Such is the narrative we are called to emulate — to reproduce. Remember that the power of the knowledge of God is found not in your ability to “know God,” but rather in that you are “known by God” (Galatians 4:8, 9).

We’ll talk soon,

Mark

It was mid-July. You know, that part of the summer when it is sticky hot and all you want to do is – nothing. Well, I was definitely busy. My sister and I were leading out in kids programming at a week-long deaf camp meeting. These kids were all very special to me; most of them were CODAs, which means that they were Children of Deaf Adults. Our job was to teach them about Jesus while their parents enjoyed their grown-up camp meeting experience.  

When I had seen the kids at the beginning of the week I  had thought, “Wow, this is going to be an interesting week!” They all looked bored and tired and hardly responded to anything that I said. I had worked with kids in the prior to this was not surprised by their reactions. 

One thing about working with children is that you don’t always know what is going through their heads. Sometimes, I wonder, Do they get what I’m trying to say? Am I making any connections with them? Are they learning anything?

***

It was an exciting time in Israel’s history. King David had finally prepared a place for the Ark of God to be moved to his new capital Jerusalem. And today, the Ark would be moved to its new home. Unfortunately, this day of rejoicing and excitement quickly turned to one of fear and anger.  Uzzah, one of the sons Abinadab in whose house the Ark had been kept, reached out and grabbed the Ark in an attempt to stabilize it on the ox cart that it was riding on and was struck dead. David decided that it would not be a good idea to continue with the moving of the Ark that day, so it was placed in the house of one of David’s soldiers named Obed-Edom. I wonder what questions Obed-Edom thought about.  Would he and his family die, like Uzzah?  Or would they be blessed by the presence of the Ark in their home? Maybe nothing would happen at all. Like me, he must have tried to predict what the outcome of his actions would be.  

Well, he was in for a surprise. The Bible says, “And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household” (1 Chronicles 13:14).  But wait. Obed-Edom did not do anything out of the ordinary. All he did was open his home to the Ark of God. He welcomed the sign of God’s presence to his household for three months. That’s all. But God did not leave this simple act unnoticed. In fact, God was so pleased with that He blessed Obed-Edom and his whole family. 

***

The week of camp was nearly over. We dismissed the kids as usual and sent them to their parents for lunch. It seemed as if the kids were constantly under our care, and meal times were the only times when we did not have to supervise them. This one day, my sister and I sat down at an empty table. Tired and hungry, I silently prayed for my food and all the kids that we had been working with. Even though we had spent nearly a week with these children,  I still was not sure if the kids were connecting with us and what we were teaching. With these thoughts, I proceeded to eat. I had barely started eating, however, when I felt a little tap on my shoulder and heard a little voice say, “Can we sit with you?” When I turned around I saw several of “our” kids coming towards us with their trays of food. I thought to myself, Awww,  of course!  I wasn’t about to keep them from sitting with me! In no time at all, they filled the surrounding seats at the table and chattered excitedly as they ate. Later, I overheard some of the children enthusiastically telling their parents what they had learned that day and about the activities they had done with us.

Inevitably, we reached the end of the week. As we packed up to leave, I thanked God for the awesome week that I had experienced. I also thanked Him for the connection that my sister and I  had been able to make with the children.  Like Obed-Edom, I did not do anything out of the ordinary. It was just a simple week of lessons and fun, and nothing fancy. But I learned so much about Jesus and His love through these children. It was like God was telling me that He saw my work and was blessing me through these children.

Soon, the car was packed and it was time to say goodbye. The kids were sad to see us leave. They hugged us tightly and promised to invite all their friends to attend the next year’s kids’ program. I could tell that they meant it with all their little hearts. It was an emotional parting. At home, I reflected on this experience. If anyone had grown during that week, I certainly did! 

Sometimes we do not know how things will turn out when we serve God. What we can know is that there is something special when you give what you have and allow God to turn it into something beautiful. There is something special about watching God transform our actions into a blessing. Do you get what I mean? You can only know this by experiencing it!

Stuck. Like strands of tough paper mache, my bad habits seem to enclose me with their relentlessly fragile grip. Every time I try to break free I hear another side of myself protest, But I like the paper mache. It’s pretty and it covers up my raw image. I’m comfortable here. Is it really worth it to break free just to have more freedom to fall? 

 At the same time, God created each of us with a desire to grow—to move forward. But somehow I believe that God’s desires for me to walk towards Him are overshadowed by His hatred of sin. Forgetting that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, this feeling of guilt holds me back. I am stuck. 

This experience is not unique to me. As Christians, we often find it hard to hope for a change in our lives. Though Christ’s omnipotence has been unquestionably demonstrated, somehow we limit God’s power to change us. Often, we consecrate ourselves to God and resolve to do better. We believe that He is working in us and think that perhaps we finally are moving forward! But, alas! The devil’s temptation eventually proves too strong for our frail human will and we stumble and fall. Discouraged, we lie in the mud while he gleefully slaps on more paper mache. The spirit of resignation tempts us to stay there. 

Who am I to think that God will help me? Just look at the mess I am in! Maybe I wasn’t sincere after all. Maybe I never have been. Perhaps…perhaps I am not the kind of Christian God can change.

Wait a minute! What are you saying? There is no limit to God’s power and there is also no limit to His desire to change you. The love of the Omnipotent Father was powerful enough to enable Him to give His Son for the very people who held no remorse for putting Him to death. What you should be saying is this: 

Who am I to think that God can’t help me? Just look at the mess I am in! God hates this sin even more than I do. I may not always have the hatred for it that He does, but He is able to give it to me as He has promised. For “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). Perhaps…perhaps I am just the kind of Christian God wants to change. 

But you cannot change unless you believe this. You must reach up the hand of faith to grasp God’s outstretched hand of Omnipotence. He will help you up out of the mud and set your feet again on the firm path. He will wipe the stains of your failure from off your soiled paper prison. And then He will begin to teach you how to change. 

“I will walk ahead of you”, He says. “I will walk backwards so I can face you and hold your hands. I know the trail. Keep your eyes on mine, beholding my love for you. I will point out the beauty along the way. I will show you the right steps. Do not look down at your paper but up to the real joys and struggles of the road which I have prepare to teach you.” 

And though your prison holds you in an awkward gait, He encourages you—one step at a time. And yes, sometimes you stumble and sometimes you forget to look Him in the eye with honesty and trust. It is then that you fall. Again. But each time He has hold of your hands. He never lets go but gently encourages you to believe His power to change, to grow, and to mold you into His image. And so you walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Because when you occasionally steal that quick peek down, you still see the paper mache. But He keeps asking you to believe. So you determine to do so. Because, by this point, you love those eyes. And you are beginning to trust them too. 

And then one day, the two of you reach the gate of the city of God. Fear is in your eyes because you wonder if you are worthy to enter. But the gate swings open and you safely pass through. Then He stops and says “Look deep into my eyes.” As you do, you are surprised. For they act like a mirror which allows you to see yourself through His eyes. In place of your paper mache habits and faults are strands of thread, each a different color. Together they are woven into a robe of many colors. In amazement you ask, “Where did my papers go, Lord?” He gently answers, “When you stopped looking at yourself but looked instead to Me, it was then that I could remove them. I took away each one and replaced it with good. It was painful and you often felt the road becoming steep as your muscles were made to work for the first time once free from the paper. But as you looked unto Me, you were changed into My likeness—a righteous child of God.”

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are change into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Am I a Christian?

Do I look like Him? 

What do people see when they look at me?

Yes, He’s promised that His work will be seen. So if His love abides inside, it will be more than obvious. And if it doesn’t show… that means it isn’t there. 

But sometimes, I’m too good at pretending. Better than I would like to be. I can keep the “looks” in pretty top shape. No one would ever know whether I’m really like Him on the inside, through and through. And in the world of confusion we live in today, genuine seekers are often treated like outcasts, while blatant hypocrites are perceived as pious and honorable.

Maybe it’s because we’ve all forgotten what loving Him really looks like. Maybe we’ve just settled on a standard of formalities, and we can’t even visualize the freshness and depth of a real relationship with Him. 

That’s when He pulls me aside, and reminds me what really matters on this journey.

“…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

So easily, I fall into the habit of focusing on “the looks.” But that’s not what He thinks of. He looks at the heart. To Him, it doesn’t matter what I look like, how many times I’ve fallen, how many sins stain my garments, or how broken I am. In His eyes, I am beautiful, because He sees beyond all that. He sees my heart, and He values it more than anything. He wants to hold it in His hands, and give me His heart in return. But so often, my heart is the very thing I withhold from Him. I willingly give Him my outward looks, my superficial service, and my checklist Christianity. But I hold on tight to my sinful heart, refusing to open my hands and accept the heart He wants to give me.

But what if that changed? What if I let go of everything? What if I gave Him my heart? 

Then, His heart is mine. And nothing is the same. My focus isn’t on “me” and “my heart” and “my looks” anymore. Instead, I can’t take my eyes off Him, and I can’t stop thinking of Him. All I want is to see Him, to know more of Him, to be with Him, and to please Him—to fill His heart with joy.

That’s the miracle of being in Love with Love Himself. A new life is born inside, and this love grows until it overflows. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance are poured out like a fountain. Following in His steps, reflecting His character, and being pure even as He is pure aren’t items on a checklist anymore. They’re actually a picture of our relationship. It’s what the union of His heart and mine looks like.

And my taste is ruined for fake formalities and pretensive pageant. I don’t want a picture-perfect, on-the-script religion. “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning…but let it be the hidden man of the heart, …even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.” (1 Peter 3:3-4) I won’t be satisfied with anything less than a real relationship with Him. His heart in mine. Filled with His Spirit, His Love.

And herein is happiness. “Every burden is light, for the yoke that Christ imposes is easy. Duty becomes a delight, and sacrifice a pleasure” (Steps to Christ, p. 39). Burdens don’t go away once you’ve joined hearts with Him. Neither does duty, pain, or sacrifice. One day they will—but right now, we live in a world of sin. And even life together with Him will hurt sometimes. But it’s so much better to hurt together than to hurt alone. The pain will be inescapable, no matter what life you choose to live. But the special thing about life with Him is that pain doesn’t kill joy. Love is worth the pain, and so even when love hurts, we smile through the tears. We press a little closer together, and our hearts are united a little bit more, and in the end, we have a little bit more joy because now it’s a little bit more worth it.

…I stand back for a moment to take it in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something quite so beautiful. Beautiful? Yes. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than His heart. Love is beautiful. And when His beauty, His Love, dwells in you, and overflows from you, everyone else can see it too. And they’ll get a little glimpse of how beautiful He is. 

No, He doesn’t worry about the outward appearances. But He doesn’t do away with beauty, either. He knows how to make the outside look good. Life with Him is beautiful. There’s no question about that. But if you try to do it on your own, you’ll either lose the beauty, or you’ll lose Him. You can’t create that beautiful life by yourself. Beauty without His life is impossible. And life with Him can only be beautiful. He never disappoints. He never gives anything less.

He’s really the only one worth living for. So long as you have Him, you have everything. The happiness, the beauty—all those things will follow, as we seek Him first. It’s okay if you’re broken. It’s okay if your heart doesn’t look perfect. Let go of your heart, and let Him give you His own. Cling to Him. Delight yourself in His Love. The less beauty you see in yourself, the more you can see His beauty. The less is seen of you, the more His glory is revealed. Let Love consume you, and choose to live the most beautiful life.