Every Wednesday afternoon, I have a scheduled visit with my mom. The outing must always be in the afternoon because, as I am constantly reminded, seniors need a little more time to get ready. My mom’s name is Margaret, and she is eighty-seven years old as of April 2024. Traditionally, a Wednesday afternoon will include a medical appointment of some sort, groceries, shopping, scenic driving, and a meal together.
This past Wednesday, as we sat and ate a late lunch together, I asked my mom the following question, “Mom, how did you become a Seventh-day Adventist?” My mom was born on the tiny Island of Bermuda, a stone’s throw away from Holy Trinity, an Angelical Cathedral with its steeple and booming bells that would call the surrounding community to worship every Sunday. Mom’s family were non-practicing Anglicans, the occasional visits at Easter and Christmas or whenever a spiritual need arose that prompted them to attend.
The story of my mom’s conversion involves four sisters and a Bible study invitation. Her older sister Norma had accepted a Bible Study invitation from a Seventh-day Adventist preacher, Pastor Melashenko (A Canadian Pastor from Saskatchewan), and his church elder Clinton Hall. My aunt Norma then asked her three sisters if they would join the weekly Bible study. All three initially declined, but soon after, my mom joined her older sister in the weekly Bible Study. The two sisters would accept Jesus, present truth, and eventually be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The decision of those two sisters would dramatically alter the course of their family’s history in such a positive way that there would be evident and distinguishable differences and outcomes between the four sisters and their families. The Advent message that Norma and Margaret embraced included an emphasis on Jesus as one’s personal Saviour, healthy living, the importance of Adventist Christian education, and the Spirit of Prophecy writings.
The simple invitation from sixty years ago to study the Bible changed my family’s story. My mom accepted the Biblical imperative to “Come out of Babylon” and join the remnant people and the message of Bible prophecy. My mom then placed her three sons in an educational environment where Christian values and truths would be practiced and taught. Her support and commitment to Adventist Christian Education is a major reason I am a Pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist church today. Could it be that a simple gospel invitation to our family, friends, neighbors, and work associates could positively change their stories for the present and eternity?
Over the next two weeks, Pastor Doug Batchelor will delve into prophetic mysteries with sound biblical preaching (Prophecy Odyssey), which we, as Bible students, consider to be destiny-determining end-time messages. The biblical imperative to “Come out of Babylon,” or simply stated for modern listeners, “leave spiritual confusion,” requires a mental decision and a physical action. I am appealing to my church family to decide how each of us will carve out time to prepare spiritually for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the soon arrival of King Jesus and eternity. Maranatha!
Pastor Glenn DeSilva