Intercer Adventist News

Closer To Heaven
You are here: Home / Archives for News and Feeds

Window Shopping

By

Photo by Pixabay

I remember the first time I saw her. It was 49 years ago, and we were in the college cafeteria just after semester break. She was a new face on campus and being not “socially attached” to anyone at the time, I immediately began to plot how best to impress her and get a date.

I determined this venture was worth spending some of my hard-earned cash on; so, throwing caution to the wind, I purchased two tickets to a Victor Borge concert at Constitution Hall. Since the concert was sold out, I was offered provisional seats on the stage itself just inches from the maestro. The cost was exorbitant, but this only served to convince me that this would surely make the hoped-for-impression.

It must have done the trick. That young lady and I are still dating each other. We’ve also been married for 47 years.

Dating is exhilarating. Everyday is new and exciting; feet walk on clouds, hearts skip beats, life looks beautiful through those rose-tinted glasses. Is that normal? Absolutely! Is it wrong? I hope not. Dating is, in fact, part of our Great Physician’s plan. He fully intended that His children grow up, mature, and seek companionship. “It is not good that the man should be alone,” He told Adam in Genesis 2:18, KJV.

We’re attracted to other people by many things. It could be as whimsical as a smile, or as basic as a feeling of security. But the final selection process—the process that ends with a nervous “I do” uttered before witnesses—must be carried out using issues far deeper than looks and feelings.

Dating is a time for discovering which is the right person for you. It’s a time to get to know what makes us tick; what we like and don’t like; how we spend money; what we believe in; what our habits are.

Dating is a grand experiment, and that may be as far as some couples want to go. But the man and woman who desire to deepen their relationship must make a commitment. They become more and more exclusive until, finally, they pledge to love, honor, and cherish “until death do us part.”

There is Someone who loves you very much. This person has had His eye on you ever since you were born, and He wants to be first in your life. I wonder if we are as fair with Him as we are with one another. In short, are you committed to God, or are you just “dating” Him?

Are you window shopping—looking here and there for someone who will bring you the most benefits? If God promised to make you rich, beautiful, or famous, would you attend church more often?

Is God your blind date—the stranger you hardly know yet who you expect to meet all your specifications? Is He on your heart’s short list only when you can’t find anyone else?

Are you trying to double-date with God? Instead of making Him first in your life, do you expect Him to share time with your career or many social engagements?

Maybe you think you can “go Dutch” with your Creator—He takes care of His obligations, you take care of yours. That way, you won’t be “beholding” to Him for anything.

Perhaps you consider yourself “going steady” with God, but not willing to move up to the next level—being totally committed to Him “until death do us part.”

The ultimate cad in the dating scene is the two-timer—one who pretends to be committed to you while maintaining developing friendships on the side. Have you ever said Yes to God, then returned to your old way of life?

The Bible says that our Great Physician is a “jealous” God (Exodus 34:14). That means He has chosen you, and He doesn’t want anything or anybody to take you away. Like any serious suitor, He longs to spend time with you because He has invested everything He owns in your relationship. He has paid every bill, including your ticket to heaven. No, He’s not trying to impress you or make Himself look good. He’s simply saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love;I  have drawn you with loving-kindness (Jeremiah 31:3).

How could anyone resist a love like that?

Read more at the source: Window Shopping

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

The Seeing-Eye God

By

Photo by Pixabay

Several weeks ago during my morning quiet time, I prayed for God to show up somewhere and make Himself evident. I talk to Him most days, and I believe in Him, but sometimes, I need a little handholding and reassurance. And I was going to the ophthalmologist that day for what I believed would be a diagnosis that I did not want. So I was feeling a little insecure.

I went through my morning, met a friend for a business lunch appointment, and then went to my eye appointment. I had been there two weeks earlier and was asked to return. Another round of pupil dilation, a couple of tests, and then the doctor came in to review things. He looked over papers twice, looked in my eyes, and then declared that everything was good. He blamed the mistaken condition on a machine that gave an inaccurate reading last time. “Your optic nerve looks fine today. Come back in six months–good-bye.“

Hours later at home after my pupils had come back to their normal setting, the significance of my day suddenly dawned on me. God had literally “shown up” today. He was there in my eye appointment. Now I know that He doesn’t or can’t go about healing every medical condition (I still have some of those), however, I had asked to SEE Him today. I had to laugh at the way it transpired. He is the creator of symbolism.

 As I have been reading Luke 11, I realize that asking is important, whether God acts or my eyesight just gets better. Verse 9: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you ”(NIV). I believe that He delights in surprising us and reminding us of His love. So I am emboldened to ask for more.

Thankfully, my perspective on life has very little to do with my optic nerve. Yet I filter everything that I view through the lens of God’s love and my faith in Him. “If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don’t get musty and murky. Keep your life well-lighted as your best-lighted room” (Luke 11:34-36, MG).

Read more at the source: The Seeing-Eye God

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Soul Sifting

By

Photo by Pixabay

I have a rather unromantic confession to make: The best day of my life was not my wedding day. In fact, it has nothing directly to do with my wife or marriage. It’s not a magic moment, a party, or any celebratory moment either. The best thing that ever happened to me was losing it all on a normal day five years ago.

You see, the best day of my life was the day that I lost a job. It was a well-paying, high-profile job. It meant that I was somebody. It was the center of my identity, the source of my pride and the pedestal upon which I proudly stood. And on that wonderful day, I lost it all. Over the course of the next year, working random jobs of mowing grass and at a youth detention center, I continued the losing process: financial standing, pride, and even the will to live at one point.

One year to the day of losing that job, I was going nowhere but in debt, was completely depressed and felt there was no hope for me. The proverbial “rock bottom” was my forwarding address and I was there for about a month of absolute hell on earth. Relationships had gone sour. I was alone and lonely. I felt no love, no hope and no destiny for someone who had made a living telling people about the meaning of life and their eternal purpose in God. Now that same God was a distant entity unconcerned with my present disaster of a life.

But I was not alone in feeling alone. Apparently, it’s a common place for those God has chosen to live, at least for awhile. At the famous last supper with Jesus and his disciples, Peter speaks up wanting to be the greatest in the kingdom and so willing to declare his devotion to his Rabbi. And Jesus responds with a stunning line: “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat” and that Peter would end up denying Jesus that very night.

And it happened, just as Jesus said. Peter denied he even knew his leader and friend and he ended up feeling shame. Such shame that he wept, lamenting over what had happened. One minute, things were great and he was willing to do anything and the next, he was broken over his own spiritual condition.

But I wonder if Peter would say the same. I wonder if that was the greatest moment of his life. There’s something in the broken moments that remove all of the “self” and allow me to see life for what it really is. It was only after Peter realized he couldn’t follow Jesus in his own strength that he became a great leader testifying of the life that Christ lives through us.

The same can be said for Paul, the apostle formerly known as Saul. His blindness made him see. Struck down on the Damascus Road, Saul was on his way to persecute more Christians and God had another thing in mind. It was in his state of brokenness that God was able to show him the true way of life. It is the path through brokenness, the sifting of the soul, that enables us to truly live. It is death that leads to life. Our attempts at being something for God are for nothing if we have not travelled the road of the broken. It is the path that Jesus walked and He continually calls us to do the same.

Read more at the source: Soul Sifting

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Those Growing Bones

By

Photo by Pixabay

Getting our kids to eat healthy can be quite a task but being persistent has its benefits. One benefit is supporting the growth of healthy bones and teeth.

As children grow, the body demands calcium to support bone development. Infants need calcium so that bones can increase to support their ever growing weight and size. Calcium from breast milk and/or formula meet the infants’ need. However when they become toddlers and children, they need a steady supply.

Between the ages of 10 – 15 years old, the weight of bones double1 but this is the time growing children and teenagers abandon calcium sources. This compromises bone density and bones are more vulnerable to breakage. For example, children and teenage boys who don’t get enough calcium have more forearm breakages than those who do get enough calcium.2 

When teenagers and children have low calcium intakes, they increase their risk for osteoporosis or brittle bones as they get older. Here’s why. During teen years and up to age 25, bones increase in density. After this, the body maintains density. When we reach 40 years old, we start to lose calcium. If we do not have significant stores, our bones can become brittle in the later years of life. What we do now for growing bones can affect our children’s bones in later years.

Where do we get calcium? One of the most abundant sources of calcium is from milk and dairy products. What are the best sources? Keeping a steady supply of milk, cheese and yogurt in the daily diet will help keep bones strong. If milk sources cannot be digested due to allergies for example, there are other sources of calcium. Soy, almond and rice beverages can be a source of calcium. Don’t forget to read the label to make sure calcium has been added. Broccoli, beans, bok choy, spinach, almonds, tortillas and tofu with calcium sulfate are other sources that contain calcium. Getting these foods in the diet will help provide calcium for bones.

Don’t forget that growing bones need more than calcium. Other nutrients to support bones include vitamin D, magnesium, potassium, boron, fluoride, iron and many others. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, will help meet the demands for these nutrients.

How much calcium do growing bones need?

Calcium Requirements*

Birth to 6 months  – 210 mg
6-12 months  – 270 mg
1-3 years old  – 500 mg
4-8 years old  – 800 mg
9-18 years old  – 1,300 mg
*Source: Eunice Kenndy Shriver National  Institute of Child Health and Human Development website.

1. How much Calcium in our bones? www.idph.state.ia. Accessed, December 29, 2010.
2. Ryan LM. Forearm fractures in children and bone health. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity: December 2010 – Volume 17 – Issue 6 – p 530–534.

Read more at the source: Those Growing Bones

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Healthy Living.

Contemporary Pioneers

By

Photo by Nrico, Flickr Creative Commons

Sometimes we’re tempted to think that the glory days of pioneers exploring new frontiers is a thing of the past. After all, when was the last time you saw a true pioneer?

If you cannot think of any, maybe it’s time to redefine what a pioneer is and does.

Note to self and anyone else reading these lines, pioneers are not required to drive covered wagons and travel the Oregon Trail.

What do pioneers look like today? Typically, they look like everyone else. They live in normal houses, drive to work in regular cars and wear everyday clothes. But this is usually where the similarities end.

Instead of thinking like average people, pioneers dare to dream and question why. They go places in their reasoning that most have never imagined. The word “no” has no place in their vocabulary. In fact, as far as they are concerned “no” means “yes.” Reality is a primer for future possibilities. Nothing is set in concrete.

It is the pioneers who create new technologies, discover disease cures, create new expressions of art, write new songs, forge positions of compromise to pass critical legislation, and risk their lives to extend help to those held hostage by the forces of poverty and ignorance. True pioneers are not distracted by praise, personal attacks or political pundits. With laser-like accuracy their focus is riveted on fulfilling their life mission.

Jesus is a Pioneer when it comes to our salvation. Paul says we should be, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). NIV

Who do you think of as a twenty-first century pioneer?

Read more at the source: Contemporary Pioneers

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

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