Christ The Power of God

A MIRACLE THAT TEACHES GENEROSITY

At a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, Jesus performed his first miracle. The number of guests may have been greater than expected.  But whatever the case, the wind ran out. Among the guests was Mary, Jesus' mother.   For years, she had no doubt pondered all the prophetic promises associated with her son, who she knew would be called "Son of the Most High." (Luke 1:30-32; 2:52)  Did she believe that in him there were powers not yet revealed!  What is evident is that  at Cana, Mary and Jesus felt compassion for the newly married couple and wanted to save them embarrassment. Jesus knew that the hospitality was a duty. So he miraculously turned some 100 gallons  (380 L ) of water  into "fine wine." (Read John 2:3, 6-11.) Was Jesus obligated  to perform this miracle?  No.  He simply cared about people and was imitating his heavenly Father by being generous.

Jesus miraculously provided a large amount of fine wine, enough for a sizable  group. Do you see what this miracle teaches us?   That Jesus would willingly perform such a marvelous deed assures us that people's feelings are important to him and to his Father.  Neither Father or Son is stingy. Now imagine how Jehovah will use his power generously in the new world to provide a rich banquet  "for all the people" earth wide. -Read Isaiah 25:6. 

Think of it!  A time is coming when legitimate needs and desires-such as nutritious food and proper housing-for every person will be satisfied.  May our joy overflow in anticipation of the generous supply of good things that Jehovah will provide for us in the earthly Paradise.

It is of interest that when the Devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread, Christ refused to use his miraculous power to satisfy  his personal desires.  (Matthew 3:2-4) But he use his power to respond to and satisfy the needs of others. How can we imitate Jesus' unselfish concern for others?   He encouraged God's servants  to "practice giving." (Luke 6:38) Can we show the noble quality of generosity by inviting others to our home to share a meal and a spiritual feast?  Can we be generous with our time after a meeting, aiding someone in need, such as by listening to a brother practice his talk?  What help might we be able offer to those needing assistance in the ministry?  We show that we have learned from Jesus by generously providing material and spiritual things to others as we are able.

Next time: Christ The Power of God -"ALL ATE AND WERE SATISFIED"

From the Watchtower magazine 

Christ The Power of God

"Christ is the power of God." -1 CORINTHIANS  1:24. 

JEHOVAH displayed his power through Jesus Christ in extraordinary ways.  The four Gospels provide faith-strengthening details about some of the miracles that Christ performed.  Likely, he performed many other miracles.  (Matthew 9:35; Luke 9:11)  Yes, God's power was manifested in Jesus.  For good reason, then, the apostle Paul could say about him:  "Christ is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:24)  Yet, what bearing can Jesus' miracles have on our life?

The apostle Peter said that Jesus performed miracles, or "wonders." (Acts 2:22) The powerful works that Jesus did on earth were foregleams of even grander blessings to come under his kingly rule.  They foreshadowed the miracles that  Jesus will perform in God's new world on global scale! His miracles also give use tremendous insight into his personality and that of his Father. Let us consider  a few of Jesus; miracles and see what effect they can have on our life now and in the future.  

Next time: Christ The Power of God - A MIRACLE THAT TEACHES GENEROSITY

From the Watchtower magazine 

When a Loved One Is Sick

In the Hospital

Be calm and alert.  A patient going into the hospital may feel worried and helpless. By being calm and attentive, you can help everyone to relax and also try to avoid making mistakes. Make sure that admittance forms are filled out correctly.  Respect the patient's right to make informed medical decisions. If he is too ill to do so, honor his previously written wishes and the authority of his next of kin or health-care agent. 

Take initiative.  Do not be afraid to speak up. Your respectable appearance and good manners can  move the medical team to take greater interest in the patient and can even move them  to improve the quality of his care. In many hospitals, patients are seen by various doctors. You can help them by communicating what others on the staff have said.  You know the patient, so point out any changes you notice in his physical or mental state.

Show respect and gratitude.  Hospital staff often work under stressful  conditions. Treat them as you want to be treated.  (Matthew 7:12) Show respect for their training and experience, confidence in their ability, and gratitude for their efforts.  Such appreciation can encourage them to do their best. 

No one can avoid getting sick.  But through forethought and practical assistance, you can help a friend or a relative  make the best of a difficult situation. -Proverbs 17:17. 

Next time: Christ The Power of God

From the Awake! magazine 

When a Loved One Is Sick

Medical appointments and hospital stays can be nerve-racking. As Maribel's experience shows, the assistance of a friend or a relative can be very helpful-possibly even life-saving. How can you help a loved one? 

Before the visit. Help the patient write down his symptoms as well as any medications or supplements he takes. Also list any questions  that should be asked  of the physician. Help your friend recall any details of his condition or any family history of the illness. Do not assume that the doctor already knows those details or will ask for them. 

During the visit.  Be sure you  and the patient understand what the doctor says. Ask questions, but avoid making assertions. Allow the patient  to ask questions and to speak for himself. Pay attention, and take careful notes. Ask about any treatment options. In some cases, it may be wise to suggest to the patient that he get a second opinion. 

After the visit.  Review the appointment with the patient. Make sure that he gets the right medication. Encourage him to take the medication as prescribed and to inform the doctor immediately of any adverse reaction. Urge the patient  to keep a positive outlook, and encourage him  to follow any additional instructions, such as that he get a follow-up treatment. Help him to learn  more about his condition.  

Next time: When a Loved One Is Sick - In the Hospital

From the Awake!  magazine 

HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE -When You Must Return Home

More important than what you do is becoming proficient at what you do

Get sound advice

Parents or other adults can help you acquire practical skills with banking, budgeting, and bill paying.  "I had to go back to basics," says a young woman named Marie.  "A friend helped me to list necessary and unnecessary expenses. I couldn't believe it-most of my expenses were completely unnecessary!  I also learned  how to cultivate  an essential quality for independent living-self-discipline." -Bible principle: Proverbs 13:10. 

Take steps to find employment

Use the time you would have been working to apply for jobs. A caution:  Some people would tel you to "follow your dreams" when it comes to a career. But looking for your 'dream career' likely will narrow your options for work and blind you to employment opportunities that are right in front of you!  Rather than waste time focusing on a particular type of work, keep your options open. Remember, more important than what you do is becoming proficient at what you do.  (Note: Plus, remember you are in your parent's house and they will not  deal with you waiting for your dream career to come along. You have to be practical and use common sense and logic.)   It has been observed that the more  experience  and skill workers  acquire, the more they enjoy their work.  You do have to do what you love in order to love what you do!

FOR PARENTS 

Take advantage of the time your children are at home to train them in the basic skills they will need for independent living.  These skills include money management (including judicious spending habits and responsible use of credit), doing domestic work (cooking, washing, and ironing clothes, and performing basic maintenance on a car), and social skills (the ability to get along well with others). 

Next time: When a Loved One Is Sick 

From the Awake! magazine 

HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE

When You Must Return Home

WHAT YOU CAN DO 

Talk to your parents about your moving back home. 

Discuss issues such as these: How long will you need to live at home?  While you are there, how will you contribute toward household expenses? What household chores can you take care of?  What steps will you take to regain your financial independence?  Regardless of your age, remember that you are back under your parent's roof and must abide by their rules. -Bible principle: Exodus 20:12. 

Learn to manage your money 

The  book The Complete Guide to Personal Finance:  For Teenagers and College Students says:  "The way you spend your money has a lot to do with whether or not you can be successful with personal financial management. . . .The basic fundamental concept of not spending your money on things you don't need is a vital concept to grasp." -Bible principle: Luke 14:28. 

Next time:HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE -When You Must Return Home - More important than what you do is becoming proficient at what you do

From the Awake! magazine 

HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE

When You Must Return Home

THE CHALLENGE

They are called "the boomerang generation"-young adults who left home and tried to live on their own but who fell on hard times and had to return home. Has that happened to you? 

Even if you love your dad and mom, moving back home can be difficult.  For example, a young woman named Sarah says:  "Living on my own boosted  by self-confidence because I didn't have to rely on others.  But returning home made me feel like a child again."  A young man name Richard felt similarly.  "I didn't want to go back home," he says, "but I couldn't  support myself.  I felt like a failure. 

If you are in a similar situation, this article can help you get back on your feet.

WHY IT HAPPENS

Money Issues.  Many young people face  a rude awakening when they first encounter the high cost of living.  "Any savings I had were drained trying to support myself," says Richard, quoted earlier. It was similar with Shaina, a young woman who left home at 24 and returned a year and a half later.  "I could have handled my finances better," she admits.   I left home with no money, and I returned home in debt." 

Employment problems.  Loss of a job can upset even the most careful plans for independent living-something that Shaina discovered.  "I graduated from a program in the medical field, and I joined an agency that helped me find work," she says.  "But when I lost the job, I was stuck.  I had been living in a rural area with no further job prospects in my field!" 

Unrealistic expectations.  Some young adults enter the workforce unprepared for what it takes to make a living.  Their work is often more difficult than they had expected.  To their dismay, they discover that  that their much anticipated independence has lost its glamour.  They certainly had not expected adulthood to be so challenging. 

Next time: HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE -WHAT YOU CAN DO

From the Awake! magazine 

LANDS AND PEOPLES/UZBEKISTAN

A Visit to Uzbekistan

TRANSOXANIA, the land between the Rivers Tartary, Turkistan. Many names have been used for the region that now includes Uzbekistan, the "Land of Uzbeks."  From as early as the 15th century, Uzbekistan's cities were useful to merchants traveling on the Silk Road, a network of roads that once connected China to the Mediterranean.  Cotton now dominates  the Uzbek textile market. Beautiful carpets made of cotton, wool, or silk are also sold here.

Uzbek culture has been influenced by many peoples throughout history. Famous conquerors and their powerful armies marched through the mountains and deserts of Uzbekistan. These include Alexander the Great, who met his beloved Roxanne here: Genghis Khan, from Mongolia; and Timur (also known as Tamerlane), a native region, who ruled over one of the vastest empires in history.

Magnificent, colorful monuments having domes covered with blue tiles shape the modern urban landscape in Uzbekistan.  Many of these buildings function as schools.

The Silk Road.  Already in use before our common era and living until the opening of the sea route to India at the end of the 15th century C.E., this trade-road network, part of which passed through what is now Uzbekistan, had a central part in world commerce.

The Aral Sea.   As a  result of water diversion for irrigation purposes, the Aral Sea-once the world's fourth-largest-lake-is vanishing. In cooperation with other Central Asian nations. Uzbekistan is trying to remedy the issue.  

Uzbekistan's changing alphabet.  Various languages were spoken here, and after Islamic conquest in the eighth century, Arabic was adopted. After the country entered the Soviet Union, the Latin alphabet was first used and then replace with Cyrillic at the end of the 1930's.  In 1993 a new law introduced the Uzbek alphabet, which is based on the Latin script. 

FAST FACTS 

Population: 30 million

Capital: Tashkent

Climate: Mostly arid, with low rainfall and low relative humidity

Land; Plains toward the west, mountains toward the east

Next time:  HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE -When You Must Return Home

From the Awake! magazine 

EVOLUTION

Does the Bible's account allow for living things to change over time?

Yes, the Bible says that God created living things according to their kinds." (Genesis 1:11, 12,21, 24, 25)  Can variation occur within a kind?  Yes.  However, does observed adaptation within a kind prove that eventually new kinds can evolve? No.

Consider an example: In the 1970's, researchers studied finches on the Galapagos islands.  They noted that climate changes caused finches with slightly larger beaks to survive more readily.  This, some concluded provided evidence of evolution. But was it evidence of evolution, or was it simply adaptation?  Years later, the finches with smaller beaks once again dominated the population.  This experiment led Jeffrey H. Schwartz, a professor of anthropology, to conclude that while adaptation may help a species survive under changing circumstances, "it is not creating anything new."

Can the Bible and the theory of evolution be reconciled?

The Bible says that "[God] created all things. (Revelation 4:11)  He did not "rest" until his creative work was complete.  (Genesis 2:2) the implication is clear:  God did not create a simple organism and then rest, or take a backseat, while that organism evolve over millions of years into various kind of fish, apes, and humans.   

That idea, called macroevolution , denies the role of Creator, who the Bible /God Words say "made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that  is in them." -Exodus 20:11; Revelation 10:6.  

Next time: LANDS AND PEOPLES /UZBEKISTAN-A Visit to Uzbekistan

From the Awake! magazine 

Evolution

EVOLUTION

 Some people say that life evolved. Others contend that God merely started creation off and then let the process of evolution take over. What does the Bible say? 


Does the Bible's creation account rule out the possibility that the universe began with the big bang?

The Bible says: That God created the beasts that walks upon the earth, the fish in the sea and the different types of birds that fly in the air,the stars and the planets and the sun and the moon  in the heavens (Genesis 1:13-18). Then he created man in his image  from the dust, then took a rib from man and created a woman companion from his rib for him (Genesis 2:7-23). He also made the trees etc, .    No evolution could ever produce a human being or anything else a, with all the complexity of how our bodies and brain is made and  works inside and out and how nature, the moon, the sun, the wind, the trees the flowers all of nature etc,. No human could do that either without failing in some way or other.  Humans may a tree or a plant or a flower, but unless God lets it grow, it is a failure.    

Of course many scientists believe that the big bang was a spontaneous, undirected  event that led to the self-arranging of particles of matter into stars and planets over a period of time.  (note: Well, scientist don't know everything) the Bible does not support that theory or view, but states that the formation  of the universe was a direct act of God.  

Next time: Evolution - Does the Bible's account allow for living things to change over time? 

From the Awake! magazine