The Undercover Adventist

  The Proper Use of Ellen White Within the Christian life, God has often used faithful messengers to encourage, guide, and call His people back to Him. One of those voices was Ellen G. White , whose writings have blessed many by pointing hearts toward Christ and toward a deeper study of Scripture. Yet with such a large body of writing, an important question arises: What is the proper way to use her writings? First and foremost, Ellen White consistently emphasized that her role was not to replace the Bible but to direct people back to it. She described her work as a “lesser light” leading men and women to the “greater light”—the Word of God. The foundation of faith must always remain the Scriptures. Her writings were meant to awaken interest in the Bible, clarify its principles, and encourage believers to study it more deeply. When her writings are used in a way that overshadows or substitutes for the Bible, they are being used contrary to her own intention. Another issue arises ...

Lessons of Faith from Joshua - Sabbath School Lesson 8 -  Tuesday The Power of Example The story of Caleb and his family in Joshua 15:16–19, echoed again in Judges 1:13 and Judges 3:7–11, offers a powerful window into how a life of faith shapes the next generation. Caleb was known for his courage, his wholehearted trust in God, and his willingness to claim God’s promises even when others shrank back. When Achsah and Othniel appear in the narrative, we see that same spirit rising in them. Othniel steps forward with bravery to conquer Kirjath-sepher, and Achsah boldly asks her father for blessing—first the land, then the springs. They mirror Caleb’s faith, initiative, and confidence in God’s generosity. His example is clearly forming their character long before they ever face their own challenges. This theme of persistence is reinforced in Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1–5 . Here, Jesus uses a woman’s unrelenting determination to teach us “that men always ought ...

  Tell the Children: Passing Down the Story of Salvation Text: Exodus 12:24–28 In Exodus 12:24–28, we find God giving His people a crucial command—not just to keep the Passover as a memorial, but to teach it . This was not a private ceremony to be kept in silence or secrecy. It was a divine appointment for storytelling , for legacy , for instruction . It was about remembrance—but even more than that—it was about transmission . Let’s read the passage: “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.” (Ex. 12:24–28, NI...

  “The God Who Still Speaks: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” Text: Exodus 3:1–6 There are moments in Scripture when heaven touches earth in a powerful way. One such moment occurs in Exodus 3, when Moses, a shepherd tending flocks in the wilderness, comes face to face with a burning bush—a bush that is ablaze with fire, yet not consumed. From this miraculous sight, God speaks. And what He says changes everything. Let us focus today on what the Lord says in verses 1–6, especially how He introduces Himself as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” What is the significance of this? Why does God describe Himself this way, and what does it mean for Moses—and for us? A Miraculous Encounter in a Dry Land (Exodus 3:1–3): Moses was in Midian, living in the quiet obscurity of a shepherd’s life. He had fled Egypt decades earlier, having failed in his own strength to deliver his people. Now, years later, God appears—not in a palace, not in a temp...