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Nonprofit Organization REVIEW AND HERALD. PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION U.S. Postage 55 WEST OAK RIDGE DRIVE PAID HAGERSTOWN, MD 21740 Hagerstown, MD Permit No. 261 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED [DITORIAL The Road Map to Success n the journey of life everyone would cultivate the habit of regular Bible study. like to arrive at the destination called Another idea is to attempt to identify "success." In the King James Version of with the characters of the Bible. Put the Bible, Joshua 1:8 contains the only yourself in the middle of the verses and occurrence of the word success to be found paragraphs and stories. Let God speak to in that entire version of the Bible. you personally and prayerfully. The words of our text provide us with Look for promises from God to claim "If the believer the road map that leads to success: "This as you read. Look for commands to obey. book of the law shall not depart out of thy Look for examples to follow. And look for would be a mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein the failures of others that can serve as winner in the day and night, that thou mayest observe warnings to you. to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way he Bible not only tells us about our game of life, prosperous, and then thou shalt have Savior but invites us to trust Him and he/she is not good success." T to receive Him. Indeed it is the Bible that shows us the will of our Lord for us. here is no way by which we can If you would find success in your only to read arrive at the desired spiritual destina- personal life, your marriage, and your the Word of T tion that God has planned for us if home life, then take time to digest the we either reject or neglect to follow this Word of God on a day-to-day basis, and divinely given road map—the Word of you will find in your own experience that God but also God. His Word will be your road map to One of the disciplines of discipleship success. to heed the that each believer must choose to impose Holy Bible, book divine! Precious on himself if he would be a winner in the treasure, thou art mine! Word of God." game of life is not only to read the Word of God but also to heed the Word of God. Dr. Donald G. King, is the executive secretary Every day let God speak to you of the Atlantic Union Conference and editor of through the pages of His Holy Book by the GLEANER 1998 r setting aside a regular time to do this and be Decem ER, About the Cover: Students at Atlantic Union College meet for Bible studies on an on-going basis to enhance their spiritual relationships with God. Photos by Daryl A. Morson a member of the Berea Seventh- GLEAN day Adventist Church, Boston, MA. ion Un December 1998, Vol. XCVII, No. 12. The Atlantic Union GLEANER is published monthly by the Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 400 ic t Main Street, South Lancaster, MA 01561. Printed by Review and Herald® Publishing Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. Third- lan class postage paid at Hagerstown, MD 21740. Annual subscription price, 57.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Review and Herald® Publishing At Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. 2 How to Cure Biblical Boredom and Have an Exciting Devotional Life usyness, Biblical Boredom, and Biblical Illiteracy are three Read the stories more than once to get the fullest diseases affecting many persons within our contemporary understanding—One reason that many persons think the Bchurch community. As I speak to many members within the Bible is boring is that they do not understand the stories, nor churches they confess that often their interest in scripture is really the messages. lacking and thus their knowledge and understand- Contemplate for the day the part of the ing of it is profoundly affected. More and more I Bible that you have read—Ask yourself am urged to bring the challenge that something several times throughout the day what is going must be done to create a renewal in scriptural on in the story and what is in it for me. reading, especially in devotional life. I have asked a few persons, who I know are enjoying the Remember that the Bible can bring you reading of scripture, to use their experiences to comfort, explanation of life situations, an help me formulate some suggestions as to what one understanding of the history of the world, might do to make the Bible a book of personal and personal peace and empowerment inspiration? And while some had no answer, a Those who have read the Bible have discov- number shared the following ideas: ered that their minds are more ordered and their times more organized. Read more readable translations—Try to Read the Bible with someone else at times, not just by read the Bible in a language closest to that which you speak. yourself—Talk about it. Share in its excitement and For example, some people enjoy others the The Message, New mysteries. King James Version, others the New International Version, while those who are seeking to get closest to the original say that Read the Bible with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is they chose the New Revised Standard Version. There are many guiding you as you read—The Spirit will use it to trans- more translations that one might choose. form your life, point you to the duty of the day and help you to understand your personal responsibilities. Keep your reading Bibles near to your bed—One person said to me, "When I wake up in the mornings and just before Try to learn how to speak with a biblical accent—That I go to bed at night the first thing and the last thing that I means integrating the biblical stories into your speech, want to read is the Bible." understanding that the Bible is the word of God. You can therefore use the stories that you have read to bring hope and Read the Bible as a story book—Some parts of the Bible comfort to others. are a narrative history, some parts of it are poetry, other parts of it are parabolic stories, other parts are human interest Never forget to pray before you read the Bible—Prayer is stories. Do not just read verses and little pieces, but read a the key to unlock the wisdom of treasures stored in God's large section, a chapter or two or three, or a whole book at a word. time, as much as you can enjoy. Read a full story or an understandable part. D. Robert Kennedy, Ed.D, Th.D, professor of Religion, Atlantic Union College 8 199 non-Adventist friends, relatives, or individuals from the ber SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE! em community to attend? How has their life been impacted by Dec any of you had the opportunity to participate in the NET attending the series? We would like to hear from you about your M'98 evangelistic series, the NeXt Millennium, with Pastor NET '98 experience (200-250 words) by January 15, 1999. Send ANER, Dwight Nelson. How has attending this series impacted your life? your information to Ednor A. P. Davison at the Atlantic Union GLE Was there any special event that occurred at the location you GLEANER, PO Box 1189, So. Lancaster, MA 01561; send a fax to ion Un ic attended that really impressed you? Were you able to invite any (978) 368-7948; or e-mail to [email protected]. t n la At 3 - lorifying God and Growing His People Spiritual Body is what the Freeport SDA church is al Building C Tabout. One of the best ways that we haul found to further those goals is small group: n January 1998 the Freeport Seventh-day ministry, using Kim Johnson's "Spiritual Bod] Adventist Church embarked on a mission to Building Lessons." In a Body Building group, I increase community among its members. The person is challenged to consider God's plans fo church leaders established two small groups whose His church by studying such vital issues as the purpose was to discover what Christ meant when priesthood of all believers, every member ministry He prayed that we would be one with Him. Using spiritual giftedness, growing as disciples of Christ the "Body Building" Lessons, written by Kim and love sharing to enlarge the kingdom. Johnson and distributed by the Ministerial As- Not only have the Body Building Lessons strength sociation of the General Conference, these two ened our understanding of ecclesiology, but the grout groups spent twenty-two weeks learning to process that is an integral part of the curriculum ha: love each other at a deeper level, finding their been a tremendous catalyst for developing deepe] spiritual gifts and ministries, and understanding personal relationships and commitments among the biblical vision for the "church." participants. By the end of the twenty-two weeks, many This material is not just another "program' members discovered heights of friendship and de- to run your church through, it is life changini grees of support that they had never experienced vision of what church can and should be. A: before. One group decided to remain together study- more people in the congregation experience ing about prayer and becoming an intercession group Body Building, it is a joy to see God glorifiec for the church; others are currently planning how to and to see such growth in His people.