Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. Deuteronomy 8:2.
God will prove His people. . . . If the message [the 1844 proclamation] had been of as short duration as many of us supposed, there would have been no time for them to develop character. Many moved from feeling, not from principle and faith, and this solemn, fearful message stirred them. It wrought upon their feelings, and excited their fears, but did not accomplish the work which God designed that it should. . . .
God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome. . . . Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols. . . . Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.
God proves His people in this world. . . . Here, in this world, in these last days, persons will show what power affects their hearts and controls their actions. If it is the power of divine truth, it will lead to good works. It will elevate the receiver, and make him noblehearted and generous, like his divine Lord. . . .
Young and old, God is now testing you. You are deciding your own eternal destiny.
Maranatha p. 43
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray that God will guide D and M. The meeting did not go well and they are unsure of the next step. L
—– Bill has cancer in the mouth that is growing fast. More than a year ago he injured his upper front tooth. Did not see a dentist about it. He thought the tooth had just been pushed up into the gum. Now he finds out the root was injured, abcessed and he is losing several of his front teeth and roof of his mouth from cancer that apparently orginated from the injured nerve. He has been dignosed with squamous carcinoma in advanced stage. Doctors wanted to do extensive surgery removing much of the oral cavity. Then do radiation and chemo. He has chosen to not do that. He is trying some natural things. Little is working for him at the present time. The site is pushing up into the nostril area and roof of mouth. His mouth is raw and painful most of the time. He has lost a lot of wt, now weighing about 150 pounds. As he said, skin and bones. Al and I prayed with him. He knows we are contacting the _____ Church Family for prayer for him. Thank you for bringing your petitions to our great God for our friend, Bill B. Jane and Al
—– In early June 2014 Intercer [a Romanian-English global ministry website] celebrated 17 years of activity! Intercer started as the first created Romanian Adventist website, and today Intercer has a network of biblical websites continuing to be the most popular Romanian Adventist website, with a monthly average of 60,000 unique visitors. Intercer activity started from zero in 1997. Please pray that God will continue to bless Lucian and his good ministry. Rose
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Dear Friends,
Years ago, we lived for a short time in a coastal city in North Carolina . There was a beautiful park in the middle of town where we often took our children for a walk. The park had a little lake in the center of it. The five mile walk around the lake gave us good exercise. The walkways were bordered by beautiful azalea bushes of various hues. No matter how many times we walked in this park, we never tired of its beauty.
In the lake there were many alligators. These alligators stayed in the water among the cypress trees that grew in one part of the lake and never ventured close to the people. They posed no danger as long as everyone stayed out of those cypress trees. In fact, on one side of the lake children swam and we could rent paddle boats and rowboats. When a person rented a boat, he was always warned to stay away from the cypress trees. It seemed like the alligators had an unwritten rule that said, “You don’t bother us, we won’t bother you.”
One night all that changed forever. After the bars closed one night, a man and his buddies, who had been drinking way too much, decided to steal one of the boats on the “human” side of the lake. This man bragged that he was so tough, that he could go over to the “alligator” side and survive. Even as drunk as they were, his friends protested. He would not listen. Unsteadily getting into one of the boats, he began his last journey. His friends refused to go with him. They stood around for awhile and then staggered home. All that the police found the next morning, was the empty boat and the man’s hat floating on the surface of the water.
After that incident, there was one huge “gator,” that became very bold. He often ventured over to the shore on the “human” side and stalked anyone who looked like he would make a good meal. Of course, out in the daylight with many people around, he was not successful, but it did make everyone uncomfortable and the authorities were trying to decide what to do with him.
One day, as we were walking along, we noticed a person sitting near the water. That big old alligator must have thought he would taste good, because it was stalking him. The man got up and moved to another place where he could sit and look out over the water. Soon, the alligator swam over to where he was. We stopped to watch for awhile. No matter where that man went, that alligator followed. Finally, the man became so nervous that he left.
So it is with us. We have an enemy, who is seeking to destroy us. This enemy is much more dangerous than that big, old alligator. The Bible warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, . . . walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8,9 The evil one is continually stalking us, trying to destroy us “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev 12:12
Praise God, we have a Savior Who will soon completely destroy the evil one! Our Great Redeemer says to Satan, “I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” Eze 28:18,19 Precious promise! We look forward to that time when our great adversary along with sin and sinners will be no more. Malachi tells us, “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Malachi 4:1 “What do ye imagine against the Lord? He shall make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:9
What a wonderful day that will be when sin will be totally eradicated from the universe. John speaks of this grand and glorious time in Revelation 20-22. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new…. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Rev 21:1-8
May we resist the devil for we have the promise that if we do, he will flee from us. (James 4:7) May we accept our Dear Saviour’s offer of salvation today, while the door of mercy is still open. May we allow Him to cleanse us from all sin, that we may be ready for His Coming and to dwell with Him forevermore.
Rose