Closer To Heaven
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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Shawn Boonstra, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/1-some-principles-of-prophecy-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/
Daily Lesson for Monday 31st of March 2025
Nothing is quite as frustrating as urgently needing to communicate, perhaps at a clinic or pharmacy, while in a foreign country where you barely speak the language. You know what you need to say, but you do not have an adequate vocabulary to say it.
With God, a different problem emerges. “ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,’ ” He says, “ ‘so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (Isaiah 55:9, NKJV). The problem isn’t that God doesn’t have the vocabulary to communicate with us; the problem is that we don’t have the vocabulary or intellectual capacity to understand Him fully.
Psalms 139:1-6
Psalms 147:5
Romans 11:33
1 John 3:20
The truth of the matter is that we will never fully understand the mind of God because He is infinite and omniscient. After all, we can barely understand everything about the creation; how would we fully understand its Creator? We can’t.
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Though we will never understand everything, we can understand what is necessary for our salvation. (See 2 Timothy 3:14-15.) When the apostles explained the gospel to their audiences, they frequently referred to fulfilled prophecy, from which we can deduce that one of the key purposes of prophecy is to illustrate the plan of salvation. Indeed, in the end, Bible prophecy must ultimately, in one way or another, lead us to Jesus and the promise of salvation that He offers to all humanity.
After all, the Lord, through whom all things were created (see Colossians 1:16, John 1:1-3), comes down to this earth and then offers Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of every human being, even the most wretched. That is how much God loves all of us. Having done all that for us, the Lord would obviously want everyone, wretches included, to know what He offers us in Jesus. And prophecy can do just that.
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Though, yes, there is much that we don’t know, why is it crucial to focus now on what we do know and to follow what we know—as opposed to obsessing over what we don’t know? |
(1)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-01-god-wants-to-be-understood/
Daily Lesson for Sunday 30th of March 2025
Walk into any Christian bookstore and scan through the titles on Bible prophecy. You will quickly discover that there is a mind-boggling assortment of views and interpretations, and it can be tempting to believe that no one can truly understand what books such as Revelation are saying. For example, one author says the antichrist is nothing but a metaphor; another says he is still coming in the future; and another that he was a reference to something or someone in the days of the pagan Roman Empire. As one old preacher put it, “Perhaps the Bible is like an old violin; you can play any tune you’d like on it.”
The Bible itself, however, does not suggest any such thing. Instead, it invites us to read, assuming that God is not speaking in vain and that we can know the truth of what He is saying through His Word.
Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
Many universities offer courses named “The Bible as Literature” or something similar. For the believer, it can be astonishing to sit through countless lectures, only to discover that the professor reads the Bible the same way one might read pagan mythology. The idea is that there may be a kernel of moral “truth” in the stories, but one can make of the stories whatever one wishes. To these teachers, the idea that this book was inspired by God is laughable.
Thus, the instructor reads the Bible but does not hear the voice of God speaking. Others come to conclusions clearly at odds with the message of the Bible. Without being surrendered to the Lord, and without a heart open to learning the truth, those who read the Bible will likely come away not only missing its message but misunderstanding the loving and holy character of the God revealed in its pages. This could be easier to do than many realize, which is why just reading the Bible without the right tools and (most important) the right attitude under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can be hurtful.
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Someone not known to be pious was found reading the Bible. When asked what he was doing, he responded, “Looking for loopholes. Looking for loopholes.” Why is that exactly the wrong attitude to have when reading God’s Word? |
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-01-whoever-reads-let-him-understand/
March is Women’s History Month, a perfect time to celebrate the often unsung contributions of women. I want to tell you about Eva B. Dykes, the first Black American woman to complete the requirements for a Doctoral degree in 1921. Though she died in 1986, Dr. Dykes remains a symbol of courage, scholarship, and spiritual […] Source: https://atoday.org/editorial-dr-eva-b-dykes-an-inspiring-adventist-woman/
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]
