The morning Manna will be provided at 6am. Thanks.

Studying Genesis in the SSnet.org series Lesson 2, may the Holy Spirit be the speaker to your heart. 

The Topic today is: "The Crucibles leading to refinement"

The Opening Hymn will be 229 "Spirit of the Living God"

The Sabbath School Quarterly, downloadable from SSnet.org in the Teacher's Edition is on page 22 and for the laymen edition or Standard Edition, on page 18.

The SSnet.org site allows anyone, anywhere to read the lesson in their own language. Choose your own language to see God speaking also to your heart.

---Bitter experiences can have a positive function. Provided you are faithful.

---Christ suffered the same bitter experiences with his family and friends and disciples because they needed refinement. They were uncut diamonds and needed to be cut to be shiny.

---They were dark unwanted iron cores that needed to be melted so that the hot iron can be separated from the garbage that should be thrown away.

---In this crucible is refinement for all of us in similar vein as the examples of the Old and New Testament.

---The End is fantastic.

---Did your family ever go bankrupt? We did. My uncles did. It is embarassing, humble experience. Shameful. We learned a lot of things. Our eyes opened.

---We lived from the hand to the mouth. Scarcity. Temperance. Carefulness. We could see others suffering too.

---Our bedrooms were two uncemented brick structures with no ceiling and no electricity. Candles. No water system but a drum brought in daily with fresh water.

---No bathroom but the long-drop.

---The kitchen was a sink-plate for the roof and wood structure attached to the two bedrooms. Storage room was a tent.

---Our worker that followed us got a room build with mud stacked in boxes for the walls. Around wooden poles. Her floor was smeared with cow-dung mixed with ground and water.

---We kept worshipping the Lord. House worship. Sabbath-school and church attendance and prayermeetings. Pathfinders. We studied. We prayed.

---Two years later the Lord took us out and gave us a better house in town. We were back on our feet.

---We have a big family and all were helping us with giving us a truck, this place to stay, food. God send them to us. God will do that to all who depend on Him.

---Through it all we had our regular meals for breakfast, lunch and supper.

---Later, looking back, we smiled at the experience. It made our family "friendlier" to other people around us, because we were aware of them.

---We thanked the Lord. So can all of us.