"When I Am Weak, Then I Am Powerful"

Did those early Christian allow the negative view of their opposers to stop them?  No. The apostles Peter and John, for example, viewed it as an honor to be persecuted for following Jesus and sharing his teachings. (Acts 4:18-21; 5:27-29, 40-42) The disciples had no reason to feel ashamed.  In the long run, those first-century Christians did more good for mankind than the opposers did. For example, the inspired books written by some of those Christians continue to give help to millions of people. And the Kingdom they promoted not only is in existence  but will soon rule all of mankind> (Matthew 24:14)  By comparison,  the great political power that persecuted the Christians has collapsed into the ash heap of history, whereas those loyal disciples  are not kings in heaven. Their opposers, however, are dead; and if they are ever resurrected, they will be subjects of the Kingdom that was promoted by the Christians whom they hated.

Today, as Jehovah's people, we are sometimes looked down on and ridiculed as being unintelligent and weak.  Why?  Because we do not agree with the attitudes of those around us. We try to be humble, meek and obedient.  The world, on the other hand, admires the proud, the arrogant, and the rebellious.  In addition, we do not get involved in politics, and we do not join the military forces of any country. We not fit into the world's mold, so we are considered to be inferior  to others. - Read JOHN 15:19; ROMANS 12:2/

Despite what the world thinks of us, Jehovah is achieving extraordinary things with us.  He is accomplishing the greatest preaching campaign in human history.  His servants today produce the most widely translated and distributed journals in earth and use the Bible to help millions of people to improve their lives.  All credit for these remarkable accomplishments goes to Jehovah who uses a seemingly weak group of people to perform these powerful  works.  But what about us as individuals?  Can Jehovah help us to be powerful?  If so, what must we do to get his help? Let us now consider three specific things we can learn from the example set by the apostle Paul.

Next time:"When  I Am Weak, Then I Am Powerful" - DO NOT RELY ON YOUR OWN STRENGTH

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