Behind the Scenes with Better Life
May 2021

“FOLLOW ME”
by Charlie Oliver,
Executive Director of Better Life

Two of my favorite words, spoken by Jesus, are “Follow Me.”  It’s a simple phrase that results in a changed life, and an invitation that requires a choice. My favorite Book provides many examples of people and the life changing decisions that they make.  Let’s look at two of them.

After considering the cost of accepting Christ’s invitation, the rich young ruler was dismayed and walked away grieving. He had an abundant life, surrounded by earthly riches. When he looked at all he had through human eyes, he concluded that the loss of his earthy possessions and power would be greater than the gain of heaven.

Philip, a disciple of John the Baptist, responded to Christ’s invitation to “Follow Me” quite differently than the rich young ruler. This was no time to ponder! He eagerly accepted the invitation, because in Jesus he saw the very Messiah foretold by John the Baptist!

These two decisions represent the choices you and I have the privilege to make each day when we set our sights on Jesus. In those two stories we see two paths. We have the path taken by the rich young ruler, and must wonder at the loss to both himself and to those with whom he could have shared the good news. With Philip, we don’t have to wonder! We know that, through his testimony, Nathaniel was introduced to Jesus and became a disciple as well. And someday we’ll get to hear the many stories of those whose lives were changed as a result of Philip’s singular decision. 

Let’s make this a little more personal. What will your response be when Jesus speaks to you? Even now Jesus is speaking to our hearts. If you haven’t already won’t you join me and fall in love with Him, and follow Him? 

Like Philip, Better Life shares this good news so that others may also experience Christ’s invitation to “Follow Me”. And, on that great day of His return, we’ll finally be able to see more fully the way Jesus has used and multiplied our meager offerings. -CO

Man Wants to Bring Catching the Light to the Philippines

We recently were contacted by a viewer from Reno, Nevada, who had started watching Better Life while in prison. During his stay his heart was changed as he came to see his need of a Savior and accepted Jesus’ gift of life. Now his heart burns to serve Jesus in some way.

After his release he made friends with a Seventh-day Adventist friend in the Philippines who also has a burden to work for Jesus. As our friend is now released from prison, he is planning to move to the Philippines and serve God there. 

In an email to Better Life he confessed that his ADHD made it difficult to focus on some of the programing but he particularly enjoyed our Catching the Light program. He only wishes he would have watched more of it before his release. 

As he looks forward to serving Jesus in the Philippines he writes, “One idea I have is to do something like Catching the Light but in Tagalog, the language of the Filipino people, or to translate (with permission) Better Life’s Catching the Light series.” 

We praise God that souls are being touched and fires are being started in the hearts of men and women to finish this great work.

We got another call from Reno, this time from a lady who wanted to know how her siblings might be able to watch messages from Ty Gibson. She also wanted some good Bible studies and we were able to direct her to a good source for that too.

But what she said next was music to our ears. She told us that Better Life had helped her to understand better the character of God and that she was so glad we had decided to broadcast into Reno, NV!

The reach God has given Better Life continues to amaze us. A man from Lusaka, Zambia, contacted us asking  for prayer. He told us that both he and his wife were HIV positive and they had some additional health challenges on top of that. We’re sure that he would also appreciate your prayers as well. 

We received a touching call from a lady in Eugene who is living at a memory care facility. She told us that she was scared. When we asked her why she said she was afraid that something would happen to her at night and no one would be able to find her. Later we were able to call her back to try to bring her some comfort through prayer. She also told us that she was open to joining a Bible study class if there was one available. Isn’t it wonderful that God has placed Better Life in communities like Eugene to be a beacon of hope for those in need?

Another lady from Eugene called and told us that she had just turned vegan about three months prior. We asked her what prompted her to make this significant decision and she said that as she was clicking through the TV channels she just decided that this was something she needed to do. 

She said that she watches Chef Mark Anthony’s program on Better Life and when she heard him suggest to get rid of all the bad food in her house, she did! She says she quit eating meat cold turkey! She said that she used to be a real meat lover so this change was a bit of a challenge for her, but she did it! 

A lady from Sacramento wrote Better Life thanking us for being there for her mother who used to watch the channel in a care home in Brookings, Oregon. She said that her mom enjoyed watching the children’s hour.

Dwight, a retired Church of God pastor, called us from Florida to thank us for the Better Life nature channel. When we asked him how was it that he found Better Life all the way in Florida he told us that the retirement community where he lives provides TV service to its residents and we were one of the channels they gave him! Praise the Lord!

We got a wonderful email from a lady in England who found Better Life and was curious about the ministry. She wrote, “I have been watching your Better Life TV with interest. I am a Catholic, but I know nothing about your way of worship.” We were happily able to send her some information about the Bible beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.

Thank you for your prayers and support that help Better Life continue to minister to people around the globe. Now is the time to move forward quickly to accomplish God’s mission of winning the most souls for Him.

Thank you for supporting the outreach ministry of Better Life.

NEWS NOTES

CAMP MEETING INFO
Due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s Better Life camp meeting will once again be broadcast on our main channel instead of being held as a local event.

Since 3ABN will be holding its Spring Camp Meeting from June 8th through 12th we will be joining them this year by adding some additional Better Life camp meeting programming during that time. 

Stay tuned for more details regarding program dates and times  to be shared later this month.

BETTER LIFE TODAY
We’re excited to announce an upgrade to our Better Life Today program that includes a totally refurbished set and updated graphics, too! 

Our first program will feature the amazing testimony of our newest employee Jeanette Stark.  Beginning with the death of her father at age 8, Jeanette spent many of her younger years living out a dysfunctional childhood. This included shoplifting at age 12, smoking by age 13, drinking when she was 14, pregnant at age 15 and shooting meth by the time she was 19 years old. But at age 20 she heard God say to her, “Jeanette, I have a better plan for you.”  

You can see this and other new programs beginning Sabbath, May 15th. Tune in at 8 am, 2 pm or 8 pm that day to see our new look! More new programs will follow soon thereafter!

Please consider becoming a monthly donor. Your credit card or bank card can be used to make an automatic donation each month. You don’t even have to write a check! Thank you for your prayers and support. It’s never been easier to become a regular contributor to God’s work. Click HERE to go to our donation page.

Call (541) 474-3089