Our guest speaker last night was Pastor Nelson Stokes, Senior Pastor of the New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church here in Huntsville, AL.
His message was entitled “Diploptera Puncata.” This is a Pacific beetle-mimic cockroach does something no other cockroach does: they give birth to live young. Instead of laying eggs, Diploptera Puncata females house their young inside a uterus-like brood sac, and secrete a special “milk” from its walls for nourishment until the offspring emerge as fully-formed cockroaches. This milk has more energy enzymes than buffalo milk.
Pastor Stokes made the point, if God can give a cockroach this kind of nourishment, He can pour His overflowing river of love and grace to us. His key text was Romans 5:8. We are not an accident or a mistake. Rather, we are wonderfully made and unconditionally loved by God. Not only were we created on purpose, but we also have a purpose for our lives, and God is working for our good.
Pastor Stokes emphasized that we don’t understand God’s love. He paid the price on Calvary for us. All we have to do is say ‘yes’ to Him. God has so much love for us. The pastor ended his message by saying, “ I don’t know about you, but I want it all, God’s amazing love.”
In learning about the Diploptera Puncata cockroach, we felt more valuable and influenced to receive God’s love and grace.
Pastor Nelson Stokes
