Intercer Adventist News

Closer To Heaven
You are here: Home / Archives for News and Feeds / E-GraceNotes / Bible Says

Real Prosperity

By

Photo: Timothy Smith

There is no doubt that the Bible talks about prosperity. God wants to prosper His people. Notice what David wrote: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).

According to this a person who is “planted” in the Lord’s ways will prosper. The word literally means to “push forward.” We talk about those who “get ahead” in life. In reality those who truly “get ahead” are those who have learned who to hang around, what advice to follow and where to “plant” oneself.

This verse talks of “movement” in life. Those who start walking with the wicked will eventually begin to settle in with them. Their movement leads to standing around sinners and sitting with mockers. This leads nowhere.

A friend of mine talks about being careful who we hang with and where we hang out. He says that if we frequent the barbershop we will eventually get a hair cut. He isn’t against barbers. He says this to remind us that no matter how wise or strong we may think we are…if we hang out with the wrong people it will affect us.

Planted trees

On the other hand, those who find pleasure in God’s ways and concentrate on them will be like a tree planted by an ever flowing source of refreshment. They will be fruitful in life and never dry up. They will prosper.

Paul talks about the fruit of the Holy Spirit who is sent from God (outside) to dwell in us (inside). The Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control inside all of us. I’d say that is being fruitful! And, having the Holy Spirit live inside us enables us to withstand anything that life can throw at us. No matter how tough things get, no matter how barren life seems, we need never dry up and die (wither). Rather our lives will make a difference. We will prosper (push forward).

The prosperity God wants us to have, may or may not have anything to do with money, success or fame. But, it will have everything to do with being a loving, consistent man or woman. And that is worth more than gold.

Respond to this article
______________________________

By Chad McComas. Copyright © 2006 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.

Read more at the source: Real Prosperity

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

Meaningful Meditations

By

Photo: Lynne Lancaster

“Then they were glad because they were quiet, so He guided them to their desired haven” (Psalm 107:20).

In today’s “information age” when our senses are continuously bombarded with stimuli, silence can be an obscure commodity. We often find ourselves longing for quietness and mental peace amidst the onslaught of turmoil and catastrophe.

If one’s wealth in this world is measured by his thinking, as author and naturalist Sam Campbell believed, then managing our everyday thoughts is of extreme value. A definition of meditation which I like is: Stilling the endless chatter of your mind and listening for the still small voice of God within.

Meditation and prayer are huge subjects and mean many different things to different people. For myself, I have found four things that give consistency and meaning to my personal quest for quiet times of meditation and prayer.

First I must be truly committed to my allotted time. I choose early mornings to minimize interruptions. When I need encouragement to continue this discipline I review mentally what happens when I skip days.

Next I need a special, private place. This can be a specific chair or desk, or if the weather allows, a place outside. Some people like to have two chairs so they can imagine Christ sitting beside them. Since I am a visual person I have a picture that I like of Jesus—rugged, windblown, smiling slightly, kind yet piercing eyes. I know it’s just an artist’s conception, but it helps me stay focused.

Helpful Tips

It also helps to have needed materials together and in a handy place. Many people read from the Bible or other inspirational books. Some listen to uplifting music and write in prayer journals. My weekly prayer journal entries help me concentrate not only on what/whom I am praying about, but also serve as a wonderful source of peace and encouragement as I review page after page of requests followed by the answers God has sent. (I’ve been doing this for 10 years.) My journal also keeps my prayers organized—each day I pray for a certain category—so I never feel like I’m forgetting something really important! I don’t say the same words every day, although I have written and memorized short prayers that express my heart’s desire towards God which I repeat often.

Finally, I find that joining with other like-minded people in discussion or actual prayer time is beneficial. Prayer partners and prayer chains not only give more things to pray about but also more opportunities for sharing thankfulness and praise. Like all other spiritual disciplines, meditation and prayer become more meaningful with practice and experience. And as we grow spiritually we will lavish less of our time in the noisy crush and rush of “life in the fast lane” and devote more energy toward developing a spiritual standard for ourselves and following generations.

Isn’t it fascinating that the most real things in the world are invisible? And becoming aware of the presence of the Unseen is one of the most real and fascinating things of all.

Respond to this article
______________________________

By Brenda Dickerson. Copyright © 2006 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®.

Read more at the source: Meaningful Meditations

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

The Mighty Wind

By

Photo: iStock

I was startled in my hotel room by an unusual noise that I didn’t recognize and so I crept to the window to take a peek. Looking out of my third story window, I noticed that the flag pole was flexing like a reed in a storm, and the flag was flapping violently. I got dressed and made my way down to the hotel lobby where I met the manager helplessly watching through the front window.

The park bench in the breezeway toppled over, and the potted shrubs that lined the front of the entrance skittered here and there across the parking lot. This wind was stronger than anything that I had ever encountered, and I learned later that sudden gusts of 80 mph had been tabulated in many areas that evening. I never saw the wind that night, but I witnessed its effects as I watched the tangible evidence that it was rushing through.

Later, as I reflected on that blustery experience, I was reminded of an analogy that Jesus brought to a Pharisee named Nicodemus. This man was a genuine seeker of truth, but was having difficulty in wrapping his thoughts around heavenly things. He sought Christ in the darkness of night, and as he struggled to understand, Jesus explained the experience that one has when the Holy Spirit is at work in their life.

The Wind and the Spirit

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:6-8).

When the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives something tangible and miraculous takes place. This invisible presence visibly affects who we are, the choices that we make, and who we become if we allow it to blow through our lives. The effect can be quite startling, not only to us, but to the world that watches. Positive changes occur in our spiritual experience when the invisible Spirit wind blows.

Respond to this article
______________________________

By Michael Temple. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.

Read more at the source: The Mighty Wind

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

Friends with God

By

Photo: Christopher Bruno

If you aren’t a Christian, you may have asked yourself, “Why should I be a Christian?” You may wonder what it is about Christianity that causes so many people to “join up.” One benefit that Miguel Valdivia sees is that:

Christians Are Friends With God

The world is a marketplace, not only of consumer goods and living standards, but also of ideas. Ideologies drive wars and economies. They impact history and help shape our individual lives. Most of us have a primary ideology by which we live. I have chosen Christianity, and here are some of the basic spiritual truths I’ve discovered.

1. God is good. A careful reading of the Bible shows that God is involved in a cosmic  confrontation with an enemy who wants to harm you and me, and one of the ways he does that best is by getting us involved in doing bad things—what we call sin. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death.” 1 But God doesn’t want us to die, so He came up with a plan to rescue us: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 2

2. God has a purpose for our lives. God has an eternal plan of salvation for humanity as a whole and for each of us as individuals. The biblical God is a personal God. He pleads, “My son [my daughter], give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways.” 3 The Holy Spirit has been promised to guide us and teach us God’s saving truths: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” 4

3. God wants to free us from guilt. One of Christianity’s greatest gifts is God’s free offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. An Old Testament prophet expressed God’s offer: “ ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ” 5 The New Testament tells us this renewal is possible through Christ’s sacrifice. “In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according with the riches of God’s grace.” 6

4. God wants to be our Friend. The Bible teaches that God is not distant or disinterested in our affairs. He wants to be our Friend! Jesus said, “I have called you friends.” 7 Life isn’t perfect, but knowing we have a Friend in high places can help us to walk through life’s darkest passages without fear.

1 Romans 6:23. 2 John 3:16. 3 Proverbs 23:26. 4 John 16:13. 5 Isaiah 1:18. 6 Ephesians 1:7. 7 John 15:15.

Respond to this article
______________________________

Miguel Valdivia is the managing editor of Signs of the Times ®. He writes from Nampa, Idaho. Reprinted with Permission. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.

Read more at the source: Friends with God

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

The Good Samaritan

By

Photo: Kenn Kiser

Stopping to help fellow bikers resulted in double blessings.

In Bible times, the good Samaritan rode a donkey. But today you might find a good Samaritan on a motorcycle. My husband and I belong to Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), a ministry to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to bikers. We often have opportunities to witness because we are willing to stop and help one who needs a hand and possibly a prayer.

This past June, my husband and I were coming home from Americade, an upscale motorcycle rally at Lake George, New York. Riding our Honda Shadow ACE Tourer motorcycle, we were trying to stay ahead of a rainstorm that was following us. To beat the storm, we decided not to take country roads but instead take the New York State Thruway and the Massachusetts Turnpike to get to our home in Milford, Massachusetts. We paid the toll, and almost immediately after we entered the thruway, we noticed four stranded motorcyclists beside Gold Wing and BMW motorcycles on the side of the highway. We decided to stop to see whether we could be of assistance.

On this 80-degree day, one man, sweat pouring off his face, was underneath his bike, looking at the tire. We introduced ourselves and asked if we could help. When they saw the CMA vests we were wearing, they asked if we had come from Americade. They were returning to Long Island from the same event and had popped a tire on the BMW while coming through the toll booth.

The situation was frightening because of the heavy truck traffic just a few feet from all of us! The couple with the breakdown seemed to be having trouble deciding what to do. I knew I couldn’t do anything except pray, so I sat on the guardrail and silently prayed that God would intervene. The man who owned the bike got out a patch-repair kit. The Gold Wing owner had an air compressor, so he could check the air pressure. The patch didn’t hold, nor was there enough air pressure in the tire so that he could ride to the nearest exit to Lee, about a five-mile ride off the highway.

Just In Time

In frustration I said, “Where are the cops when you need them?” Then I asked the group if they would mind if we prayed. They seemed shocked but willingly held our hands as my husband prayed for protection and guidance. After we had prayed, one of the women located a BMW dealer only about a 40-minute drive off the highway. Her husband raised his hands toward heaven and said, “Thank You!” He couldn’t believe there was a dealer and that he was open for another 45 minutes. They tried the repair kit again, and this time the plug held! The air pressure was also correct, so we knew God had doubly answered our prayers. We decided to follow the BMW off the highway to make sure they made it safely.

I gave the couples my business card, which includes my email address and information about the book I wrote, Listen to the Cry of the Child. I briefly told them that God helped me come out of the darkness from sexual abuse to recovery. In return, one of the men handed me his business card. I remembered my previous comments when I saw that he is a police officer. I then learned that the other man is a retired police officer.

The experience itself was a blessing, but there was more to come. The very next morning we received an email message from the woman who had been riding the BMW with the tire problem.

She thanked us profusely for taking the time to stop and help them, making sure they were safe, and driving to the next exit. She told us that the BMW dealer had only one tire of the size they needed in stock, “which must have been waiting for us!” They got on the last ferry and made it home by 9:00 P.M. The following day we received a message from her husband. He told us that as police officers, they see so many tragic accidents from both motorcycles and cars on highways and that we had helped prevent another tragic accident! They had been terrified when stranded by the busy highway. When I had lamented, “Where is a cop when you need one?” he had been thinking the very same thing and wishing for the protection of the police and lights. They could not thank us enough!

The next day a beautiful basket of flowers and greenery was delivered to our door from this thankful couple. I was so moved by the emails and flowers and appreciation for our offer to stop and help. We often stop to help someone, but this was the first time we had been thanked with a basket of flowers. Because we had their address, we were able to mail them information about the Long Island Chapter of CMA, along with a Hope for the Highway Bible and recent newspaper articles about CMA.

Centuries ago, a wise man described the principle that CMA members use to share the gospel: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10).

Respond to this article
_______________________________

By Barbara Hansen. Reprinted with persmission from Signs of the Times, June 2005. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION ®.

Read more at the source: The Good Samaritan

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

About Intercer

Intercer is a website with biblical materials in Romanian, English, Hungarian and other languages. We want to bring the light from God's Word to peoples homes. Intercer provides quality Christian resources...[Read More]

Lucian Web Service


Intercer is proudly sponsored by Lucian Web Service - Professional Web Services, Wordpress Websites, Marketing and Affiliate Info. Lucian worked as a subcontractor with Simpleupdates, being one of the programmers for the Adventist Church Connect software. He also presented ACC/ASC workshops... [read more]

Archives

Categories