Closer To Heaven
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Sometimes God plants dreams in our hearts that are wild and seemingly impossible to achieve, like the one Max Mace had in 1970 to start a singing group to share joyful Christian music all over the world. Music is a tough business to break into, and pursuing it full-time as a ministry is even harder
Read more at the source: The Forty-Five Year Dream
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Vimeo / Stories of Faith.
Pastor Lawrence S. Dorsey II preaches “He Wants it All” for our 11a service.
Read more at the source: Normandie Ave Sabbath Service – 1/2/2016
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Normandie Ave SDA Church.
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| 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.
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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.
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| Photo: iStock |
Before my car accident this past December I loved to stay busy. I had a full time job plus I had a couple side jobs that I made some money on here and there. I depended on myself to make money, pay the bills, put money away in savings, and have a little extra for spending. My whole world changed when I learned I wouldn’t be able to go back to work until the middle of April. That would mean I would be without a job and income for four months!
The first few weeks were stressful and I was full of anxiety. I didn’t know how I would make it through this. I prayed and prayed and I heard God tell me to trust in him. From then on I knew that God would take care of me and my wife so I didn’t worry about my financial situation any more.
I came to realize that my faith in the Lord was not as strong as it should be and that God allowed me to face a situation where my faith could grow stronger. And my faith has grown tremendously in these last few weeks. God is opening up new doors for me.
Unexpected Wake-Up Call
You may think you are doing things right and walking the way Christians are supposed to walk. Then one day you get a wake up call. It might not be pleasant, but God uses these situations to mold us into stronger Christians.
Jesus had the perfect personality. Though we will never be perfect like Him, we can strive to be like Him. Sometimes we will find ourselves in situations that are out of our comfort zone. But what we do in these situations is what will enable us to become more mature in our Christian walk.
Look to God for guidance in everything you do. Paul tells us that “my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Do not despair. You will make it through the hard times and become stronger and more faithful. Keep your trust in Jesus.
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By David Wolstenholm. 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: Growing in Faith
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Family First.
Maybe the text in Ezekiel 33 is about you: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” Message magazine editor, Camela Monk Crawford, talks about our duty to wait, to watch, and to warn in these last days.
Read more at the source: The Watchman
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from ReviewandHerald.
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]
