Each One's Gifts...

The apostle Paul was unmarried at the time he traveled as a missionary.

Was this because he opposed marriage ? Hardly.
The apostle Paul was single because he chose to remain unmarried for " the sake of the good news. "
{ 1 Corinthians 7:7, 9:23 }

Paul had the power to refrain from marriage, yet he recognized that not everyone can be like him.
He said; " Each one has his own gift from God,one in this way, another in that way. "
{ 1 Corinthians 7:7 }

Singleness can become a road to happiness, even though it may not be the one you had intended to travel.

Certainly, marriage is included among the many gifts recieved from Jehovah.

But the Bible indicates that singleness can also be a "gift "-- if you can make room for it. "
{ Matthew 19:11, 12 } { 1 Corinthians 7:36-39 }

What then are some benefits of singleness ?

Paul said that married couples are anxious for "the approval " of
their mates , whereas the unmarried are anxious for the things of the Lord. "
This highlights one of the greatest benefits of singleness..
the opportunity to serve Jehovah " without distraction."
{ 1 Corinthians 7:32-35}

The Bible does not say that a single person lives without distraction completely.
A person liveing alone , however, generally has fewer distractions then one who is careing for a family ,
since he is the only person to be taken into consideration when he makes a decision.....

For example, when God directed Abraham to leave Haran and move to
the land of Cannon, the Bible says:
" Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot the son of his brother and all the good things they had accumulated
and the souls whom they had aquired in Haran, and they got on their way. "
{ Genesis 12:5 }

Although Abraham's family situation did not hold him back ,
no doubt he spent considerable time organizing his household for such a mission...

Compare Abraham's move with that of the apostle Paul.

While Paul and Silas preached the good news in the city of Thessalonia, an angry mob formed against them.
That same night, the brothers sent both Paul and Silas out immediately to Beroea.

On another occasion, in Troas, Paul recieved a vision to " step over into Macedonia and help [ them ].
" Now soon as he had seen the vision , he left for Macedonia.

Clearly , Paul's haveing no wife allowed for great freedom of movement in a short time period of time,
something that would have been more difficult with a family...
{ Acts 16:8-10, 17: 1-15 }

Another benefit that singleness offers is greater freedom of personal choice.
When you live alone , deciding where to live , what and when to eat, or even what time to go to bed is usually easier...

This freedom also extends to spiritual activites.
More time is available to engage in personal study of God's Word , share in the public ministry,
and take advantage of opportunites to be of help to other people.

Therefore , weither you are single because of choice or because of circumstances, be determined to use your time wisely.

You will have a happier life when your singleness is spent helping others..
{ Acts 20:35 }

If you desire marriage, do not imprison yourself with negitive emotions or live your life
as though you were only half a person because that " special one' has not yet come along.
Keep yourself busy in God's service, and as Paul said, you may find that singleness can be a gift..

The Holy Spirit...

The human spirit is not the answer to our need to connect
with God....

The Bible reveals we came to know God through the Holy Spirit..
The Holy spirit is the life and power of God..

It is the seed of enternal life, Where by we become..
" Children of God : { 1 John 3:1-2 }

God's Holy Spirit is the power that transforms a person through
repentence, baptism and continual renewal.

We are not born with the spirit of God. God gives it to thoses
who voluntarily turn from their sins and accept his rule over
their lives... { Acts 2:37-38 }

It is each person's free choice..
The ability to recieve God's Holy Spirit is unique to human beings among all creation..

By the Holy Spirit , eternal life is imparted as an ernest or pledge--
a guarantee that we will possess the fullness of salvation at a future time...
{ Ephesians 1:13-14 }

But the gift of the Holy Spirit is also something more.
It is not only a pledge , God's spirit allows us-------
while yet in human flesh-- to touch the eternal mind of
the creator..

It imparts to humans mind the comprehension of spiritual things..
Human beings are not naturally receptive to spiritual knowledge
from God.. " The natural man does not recieve the things
of the Spirit of God-- nor can he know them because they are not
spiritually discerned , " the apostle Paul tells us...
{ 1 Corinthians 2:14 }

The human spirit is incomplete without contact with it's creator..

But coupled with the added dimensions of God's Holy Spirit ,
we can communcate with God's mind , understand his thoughts
and cultivate a relationship with him..

As Paul wrote , " For what man knows the things of a man except
the spirit of the man which is in him ? Even so no one knows the
things of God except the spirit of God. " { verse 11 }

The Spirit of God allows us to share the mind of the Creator,
to participate in the divine nature , to see things from a higher
perspective--- God's perspective.

In addition to opening our minds to spiritual comprehension,
the Holy Spirit imparts to us God's spirtual characteristics
and attributes...

God acts upon and operates in receptive minds through his
Holy Spirit.. His Spirit within us creates internal changes that
bring about an entirely new outlook..

His Spirit flows through our minds and empowers us to live
good and Godly lives.. We become at one with the Creator
in Spirit and in purpose . " We become partakers of the
divine nature " { 11 Peter 1:4 }

In doing so.. We become a new creature.

Thats why the Bible describes conversion as being " born from above " or " born again ".

The apostle Paul entreats us to partcipate in this magnificent
expirence : Let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus "
{ Philippians 2:5 } and in { Romans 12:2 }

Do not be conformed by this world , but be transfered
by the renewing of your mind...

The Destiny of Mankind...
One futher question remains..

What will be the nature and the scope of the immortality God
offers us ??

The apostile Paul explained that Jesus Christ was the " Firstborn " among many brethren ", { Romans 8:29 }
that we are "children of God " and heirs of God " versus 16-17 , that God is in the process of bringing many sons to glory "
{ Hebrews 2-10 }, that we are the offspring of God " { Acts 17:29 }

We are know children of God , born from above ,
and transformed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus came in the flesh that we might eventually be like him..

" Beloved , now we are the children of God ; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be ,
be we know that when He is revealed , we shall be like Him ,
for we shall see Him as He is " { 1 John 3:2 }

In this life we are given the mind of Christ
{ Philippians 2:5-8 }

through Jesus Christ liveing his life in us { Galatians , 2-20 }

At the resurrection , we will be like him and we will be glorified. We will be immortal..

This in no way implies equality with God in all his attributes..
Imortalized human beings will never be equal to God.

He is forever the supreme creator and sustainer of the universe,
utterly sovereign in power and glory.

But we will be immortal children of God , shareing an internal
family relationship with him..

Inherit all Things...

God made us in his image for a purpose that goes far beyond
this physical existence. Not only may we have a relationship
with him now, but we can aspire to an enternal relationship
with him..

Our life on the earth is but a starting point of an infinite
adventure ..God offers us the wonderfull opportunity to
transcend the the limatations of physical reality..

He who overcomes , " God declares, " Shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be my son"
{ Revelations 21:7 }

That is an incredible destiny of the human race..
And it is that great potential that makes us human...

Animals do not have it--- nor do androids....
God eagerly desires to give us eternal life.
And that day will come, God will embrace us,
and cherish us and welcome us.

And we will touch the stars..

Keith W Stump...

The Holy Spirit...
Matthew 3 :13.. Then Jesus arrives from Galilee to the Jordan,
to John to be baptised by him..

14.... But John restrained Him, saying , I have need to be baptized by You , and do you come to me ?

15.. But answering Jesus said to him, Allow ( it ) now ,
for it is becoming to us this way to fufill righteousness,
Then he allows him..

16... And haveing been baptized , Jesus went up immediately
from the water , and behold ? The Heavens were opened to Him,
and He saw the Spirit of God comeing down as a dove ,
and opening upon Him..

17.. And behold ! A voice out of the Heavens saying , This is My Son the Beloved , in whom I have been delighted..
{ Ps, 2:7 }
{ Isa 42: 1 } Behold My Servant , I will uphold Him; My Elect in whom My Soul delights !
I have put My Spirit on Him; He shall bring forth Justice to the nations...

{ John 17:3 } And this is everlasting life that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ , whom you have sent..

Look Around You

Creation: Creation is the strongest evidence that God exists. Take time to really look at creation.
From the minute (uniqueness and complexity of a snow flake) to the immense (vastness and order of the universe),
God's fingerprint is clearly evident.
What are the odds that all of this is here purely by chance?
Quotes:
"It is difficult to discuss the beginning of the universe without mentioning the concept of God."
Stephan Hawking, A Brief History of Time

"For there is no other way (without revelation), to know God but by the manifestations in nature."
Sir Isaac Newton, Christianson

"The Universe has been wrought for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator." Nicolaus Copernicus

"I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle.
God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.
" Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy)

Miracles:The existence of miracles proves the existence of a higher power.
There are instances of people who are filled with cancer one day and the very next are perfectly free of cancer cells.

Look Beyond You

Morality: With few exceptions, every society throughout history has accepted the same basic moral principles despite vast cultural diversity:
love is better than hate; stealing is wrong; murder is not right.
If we are a creation of God it makes sense that we would share in His values.
Religion:A vast majority of societies throughout history have believed in some higher power and a life after death.
Where do these yearnings come from?

Look Within You

Human Mind: Human minds appear to be uniquely designed to understand the world around us.
No other animal comes close to us in being able to understand and interact in the environment around us.
If not for being created in God's image, why are we so different and special?
Purpose: Another area is the need for meaning and purpose that dwells in every human.
Why would such a hunger exist if there was no God?
What would be the purpose?
Enjoyment: Only God could create a world that brings immense enjoyment: the view of a sunset, the sounds of birds and waterfalls,
the smells of a rose or pine forest.
Could random chance cause not just a habitable world but also a world so full of beauty?
It appears that this world was created for the sole purpose of our enjoyment.

Look Behind You

Others: Millions throughout history have asked, "Is there a God?" and have found Him.
This personal experience has not just "altered" their life but radically shifted it, even to the point that they were willing to give up their lives.

Scripture:
"For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts.
Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known about His existence and great eternal power.
So they will have no excuse." Romans 1:19, 20

An aspect of the Bible that one may find significant is it's inner harmony..
This is really remarkable, considering...
that the Bible's 66 books were written over a period of 1,600 years.

Suppose you went to a public library and chose 66 religious books that had been written over a period of 16 centuries..
Then you had thoses individual books bound into one volume.

Would you expect that volume to have a common theme and a harmonious message ?
Hardly. That would require a miracle..

Consider this: The books of the Bible do have such a common theme,
and they do corroborate one another.
This demonstrates that there must be one mastermind , or author,
who directed what the Bible writters recorded..

Are God's Eyes Upon You ?

Does Jehovah , the master creator, have the ability to see ?
Of course He does !

The Bible reasons plainly: " The one forming the eye, can he not look ?"
{ Psalm 94:9 }

Jehovah's vision is vastly superior to that of humans.
Not only does he see our outward appearance but he is also..
" the examiner of hearts," and he can make " an estimate of hearts."
{ Proverbs 17:3,21:2 }

Yes, he has the ability to evalute our thinking , motivation, and
inmost desires.

Jehovah is aware of the difficulties we may encounter in life,
and he respondes to our entreaties.
The psalmist wrote :
" The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous ones , and his ears are toward their cry for help.

Jehovah is near to thoses that are broken at heart; and thoses who are crushed in spirit he saves."
{Psalm 34:15,18 }
How comforting it is to know that Jehovah understands our
circumstances and heeds our heartfelt supplications !

Jehovah God is aware of works committed even in utter darkness.
Yes , " all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting."
{ Hebrews 4:13 }
So weither our actions are good or bad , they are all noted by God.
{ Proverbs 15:3}

For example , Genesis 6:8,9 states that..
" Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah " and that he "
walked with the true God."
Yes , Noah gained Jehovah's approval and blessing because he was
obedient and upheld God's righteous principles.
{ Genesis 6:22 }

In contrast , the people of Noah's day were violent and depraved.
God was not blind to this situation.
He " saw the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every
inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time."
Eventually , Jehovah brought destruction upon the wicked ones
but preserved alive Noah and his family.
{ Genesis 6:5 ,7:23 }

Will Jehovah look with favor upon you ?
Indeed, the eyes of Jehovah..
" are roveing about through all the earth to show his strength in behalf of thoses whose heart is completed toward him. "
{ 2 Chronicles 16:9 }

Soon he will again remove from the earth all wicked ones and deliver thoses who are meek at heart.
{ Psalm 37:10,11 }

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow ( concerning the promise ),
as some deem slowness, but is long- suffering toward us,
not haveing purposed any ( of us ) to perish,
but all of us to come to repentance..

From the Bibles Viewpoint

Is Your Life Predestined ?

One morning two men were driveing to work when they decided to
take a shortcut along a street where one of them used to live.
On the way they saw flames shooting out of the windows of a house..
They stopped their truck and used a ladder they had with them to rescue a mother and five children.
" Maybe it was fate, " said a newspaper report of the incident.

Many people feel that whatever happens to them,
good or bad has been decided by a force greater them themselves..

For example,
the 16th century Reformer John Calvin wrote:
" We define predestination as the eternal design of God,
whereby he determined what he wanted to do with each man.
For he did not create them all in the same condition,
but foreordained some to everlasting life and others to
eternal damnation."

Does God really ordain ahead of time what our actions and our final destiny are going to be ?
What does the Bible teach ?

The " Logic" of Predestination

Some who believe in predestination reason basically as follows:
God is omnisicent.
He knows everything , even what is going to happen in the future..
He knows what each person is going to do with his life,
and he allready knows the exact moment and manner of each
person's death..

So, according to their thinking,
when the time comes for an individual to make a decision,
his choice cannot be other then the way God has forseen and fordained it;
otherwise,
God would not be all knowing..
Does this reasoning seem sound to you ?
Consider what it's logical consequences would be.

If some force has allready determined your future,
then trying to take care of yourself is useless..
Choosing to smoke or not to smoke would make no difference
to your health or that of your children.

Wearing a seatbelt while rideing in a automobile would have no effect on your safety.
But this is faulty logic..
Statistic show that people who take precautions suffer fewer
fatal consequences...
Carelessness can result in tragedy.

Consider another line of reasoning.
If God chooses to foreknow everything,
then even before he made Adam and Eve,
he would have known that they would disobey him.
But when God told Adam that he must not eat from
" the tree of the knowledge of good and bad "
or he would die,
did God allready know that Adam would eat from it ?
{ Genesis 2:16,17 }

When God told the first couple:
" Be fruitfull and become many and fill the earth and subdue it,
and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every liveing creature that is moveing upon the earth,"
did he know that their wonderfull prospect of life in a paradise was doomed to failure?
Of course not.
{ Genesis 1:28 }

Taken to it's logical conclusion,
the idea that God foreknowns all decisions would mean..
that he is responsible for all that happens
including wars, injustices, and suffering.
Is that possible ?
A clear answer is provided by what God says about himself.

" You Must Choose "

The Scriptures states that " God is love " and that he is a lover of justice.
He has allways urged his people:
" Hate what is bad and love what is good."
{ 1 John 4:8 } { Psalm 37:28 } { Amos 5:15 }

On numerous occasions he encouraged his loyal ones to choose
a virtuous course.
For example,
when Jehovah concluded a covenant with the ancient nation of Israel,
he said to them, through Moses:
" I do take the heavens and the earth as witness against you today, that I have put life and death before you,
the blessing and the malediction ;
and you must choose life in order that you may keep alive,
you and your offspring."
{ Deuteronomy 30:19 }

Did God establish ahead of time the choice that individuals would make ?
Evidently not

Joshua, a leader of God's people in ancient times,
exhorted his countrymen:
" Choose for yourself today whom you will serve
As for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah."
{ Joshua 24:15 }

Similarly,
God's prophet Jeremiah said:
" Obey, please , the voice of Jehovah in what I am speaking to you, and it will go well with you, and your soul will continue to live."
{ Jeremiah 38:20 }

Would a just and loveing God encourage people to do right in the hope of a reward if he knew that they were destined to fail !
No,
Such encouragement would be hypocritical.

So when good or bad things happen in your life,
it is not because theses events are inevitable
Very often, ' Unforseen occurances '
are simply the consequences of other people's decisions
weither wise or unwise
{ Ecclesisates 9:11 }

No , your future is not planned out before you,
and your decisions determine what your everlasting future will be

Spouses pulling together as " genuine yokefellows".

" Do Not Become Unevenly Yoked "

A camel and a bull plowing together can look to be very uncomfortable.
The yoke linking them together -- intended for two animals of simular size and strength-- make both beasts suffer.
Concerned about the welfare of such draft animals, God told the Israelites: " You must not plow with a bull and an donkey together."
{Deuteronomy 22:10}

The same principle would apply to a bull and a camel.
Normally, a farmer would not impose such a hardship on his animals.
But if he did not have two bulls, he might yoke together two animals he had available.
But because of the difference in their size and weight, the weaker animal would have to struggle to keep up the pace,
and the stronger would have a great burden to bear.
The apostle Paul used the illustration of an uneven yokeing to teach us an important lesson.
" Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers, " he wrote.
" For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have?
Or what shareing does light have with darkness? "
{2 Corinthians 6:14}.
How could a Christian become unevenly yoked?

One way would be if a Christian chose a marriage mate who did not share his or her beliefs.
Such a union would prove uncomfortable for both parties, the couple disagreeing on fundamental issues.
When Jehovah originated marriage, he gave the wife the role of " a complement," or " counterpart."
{ Genesis 2:18,footnote}
Likewise, through the prophet Malachi, God referred to a wife as a " partner" { Malachi 2:14}
Our Creator wants married couples to pull together in the same spiritual direction, shareing the burdens and reaping the benefits equitably.

By marrying " only in the Lord," a Christian shows respect for our heavenly Father's counsel.
{1 Corinthians 7:39}
This lays a foundation for a united marriage, which can bring praise and honor to God as both spouses serve him as
' genuine yokefellows' in a special sense-- Philippians 4:3.

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