You are my refuge, my share in the land of the living ones.—Psalms 142:5.
At the time that David composed this psalm, he was not in a palace or even in a house. He was in a cave, hiding from his enemies. King Saul was the one hounding David, seeking to take his life. David fled to a cave that was hard to approach. (1 Sam. 22:1, 4) In this remote region, it might have seemed to David that no friend was at his side to give him protective support. (Ps. 142:4) That was when David called out to God. By the time David composed Psalm 142, he may have learned what had befallen High Priest Ahimelech, who had unwittingly given him assistance when he was fleeing from Saul. Jealous King Saul had Ahimelech and his household killed. (1 Sam. 22:11, 18, 19) David felt responsible for their deaths. It was as if he had killed the priest who had helped him. If you had been in David’s position, would you have felt responsible?
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
You are my friends if you do what I am commanding you.—John 15:14.
While Jesus was friendly toward people in general, he was a close friend only to those who met specific requirements, such as his 11 faithful apostles. (John 13:27, 30) The only individuals whom Jesus embraced as friends were those who followed him and served Jehovah. Hence, when you consider whether you should choose a certain individual as a close friend or not, it would be wise to keep Jesus’ statement in mind. Ask yourself such questions as: ‘Does this individual demonstrate in words and deeds that he is obeying the commands of Jehovah and Jesus? Does he have the same Bible-based values and morals that I have? Will being in his company encourage me to put the Kingdom first in my life and to be a loyal servant of Jehovah?’ If you are sure that the answers to those questions are yes, you have found a good companion with whom to enjoy your leisure activities.—Ps. 119:63; 2 Cor. 6:14; 2 Tim. 2:22.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
How do you make weighty decisions in life? Do you perhaps decide first and then pray to Jehovah to bless the decision you have made? Consider what Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, did when the combined forces of the Moabites and the Ammonites came up against him to wage war. “Jehoshaphat became afraid and set his face to search for Jehovah,” says the Bible. He declared a fast for all Judah and collected the people together “to inquire of Jehovah.” Then he stood up in the congregation of Judah and of Jerusalem and prayed. In part, he pleaded: “O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For in us there is no power before this large crowd that is coming against us.” The true God heard Jehoshaphat’s prayer and provided a miraculous deliverance. (2 Chron. 20:3-12, 17) When making decisions, should we not rely on Jehovah rather than lean upon our own understanding?
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Whereas, most people just want to get on with their life, over one third of Muslims agree with senseless violence against their non-Muslim neighbors, i.e., no belief in love of neighbor or live and let live. Why? Their Quran (Koran) no where says to love thy neighbor as does the Bible. For example, the Bible says at, John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” And at Matthew, “22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” And at Mark 12:31, “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Authorized King James Bible; AV)
The France/Jihadist Critical Mass
by Michel Gurfinkiel
PJ Media
June 3, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3525/france-jihadist
On May 25, a 21-year-old soldier named Cédric Cordiez was stabbed in the neck in the La Defense district of Paris. He survived, but the aggressor's intention was clearly to kill him (possibly even to sever his head). Four days later, a suspect referred to as Alexandre D., a 22 year-old-convert to Islam, was arrested. He confessed to having acted "on religious grounds."
The Cordiez case is quite similar to the public killing and beheading in London of Lee Rigby, a British soldier, on May 22. One of Rigby's murderers, Michael Adebolajo, a 28-year-old British-African convert to Islam, claimed to have acted in order to retaliate against the British military operations "against Muslims" in Afghanistan. "It is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," he said before being arrested by the police. "We swear by Allah Almighty that we will never stop fighting you."
Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, drew another, even scarier, parallel: he mentioned Mohamed Merah, the deadliest jihadist terrorist to have operated in France so far.
A French citizen of Algerian descent, Merah shot eight people in eight days last year, from March 11 to March 19: seven were killed on the spot, one survived as a quadriplegic. The victims were selected according to clear criteria. Merah first targeted "defectors ": young men of North African or Caribbean origin serving in the French military (and thus likely to fight or to have fought other Muslims in places like Afghanistan or Mali). Then he murdered Jews (since Jews are deemed to be, as a race, enemies of Islam): three preteen children and a teacher at a Jewish school.
"There are several dozens, perhaps even several hundred, potential Merahs in our country," Valls somberly observed during a press conference on May 29. Indeed, investigations linked to the bombing on September 19, 2012, of a kosher shop in Sarcelles led the police, one month later, to a ramified Islamist network involved in stockpiling weapons and explosive material and in gathering information about Jewish personalities and organizations. Sources say that several other networks have been found since then.
However, some wonder whether the French police and security agencies are indeed "discovering" radical and seditious groups and individuals or just dealing more seriously with groups and individuals they already knew. The fact is that both Merah and Alexandre D. had been followed closely for years and identified as security risks prior to their crimes. The police and the agencies were aware that Merah had extensively traveled to no less than 25 Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Far Eastern, and African countries, including Afghanistan. They even had been briefed negatively about him by the Pakistani and American security agencies. Nevertheless, they had not taken steps against him.
As for Alexandre D. — or Abdelillah, as he insisted on being called after his conversion — Le Monde reports that he was put on file as early as February 20 by SDIG, the special branch of DCRI (the domestic security agency) that monitors Islamist activities. Nothing was done to prevent him from taking action.
Why not? One answer is that democratic countries are not supposed to arrest or intern citizens on the mere suspicion that they might be involved in crimes in the future. Another answer is that preventive action can be counterproductive, as any police department knows: as soon as you arrest suspects, other suspects, or criminals yet undetected, go into hiding.
There are more in-depth explanations as well. Like many other Western security agencies, DCRI and its twin sister DGSE (the French equivalent of the CIA) seem to have difficulties adjusting to a new society inside (multi-cultural, multi-ethnic) and new geopolitics outside (a multi-polar or even apolar world, rather than the Cold War bipolar system). Regarding the specific issues of terrorism and sedition, recent parliamentary reports have pointed to the need for more personnel, including religious experts, translators, psychologists, profilers, and computer wizards. The reports also recommended broader powers of investigation, including electronic investigation, and more inter-agency cooperation.
The ultimate explanation for the French security agencies' shortcomings or inconsistencies may be the extent to which radical Islam, a philosophy and a way of life that rejects democracy and the open society, has grown among the French Muslim minority. Elisabeth Schemla, one of France's most respected journalists, just published a thorough investigation on French Islam, Islam, l'épreuve française (Islam, The French Test). According to her, there are at least 7 million Muslims in France. But the relevant point, Schemla says, is that, by all accounts, about one third of that community — 2 million people at least — "is embracing radical Islam." And this subgroup is clearly expanding, either by winning over more Muslims or by attracting converts.
To use the language of nuclear physics, this is very much like a "critical mass," the point where changes in quantity translate to changes in quality, and where fusion is made sustainable. A democratic government can handle lots of security issues when it enjoys the near unanimous support of its citizens. Things are much more difficult when a sizable and growing part of the nation is in a state of virtual secession, if not virtual civil war. Radical Muslim preachers indoctrinate scores of young French citizens into the concept of jihad (which may mean either religious militancy or holy war). Transnational networks provide for actual military or terrorist training in terrorist camps and facilities all over the world, from the Mahghreb to Syria to Afghanistan or even further. At the end of the day, "dozens and probably hundreds" of new Merahs come back to France.
Manuel Valls must certainly be praised for bluntly appraising the jihadist threat in his country. However, will the global policies of the socialist François Hollande administration, to which he belongs, be helpful? The administration is going to pass a law to allow foreign residents to vote in local elections. This is a reform likely to turn more cities into Muslim enclaves, and to consolidate the grip of radical Islam all over the country.
Michel Gurfinkiel is the Founder and President of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, a conservative think-thank in France, and a Shillman/Ginsburg Fellow at Middle East Forum.
Related Topics: Muslims in Europe, Radical Islam | Michel Gurfinkiel This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.
IS REALITY REAL? I BELIEVE IT IS, CHECK MY ARTICLE BELOW:
Many In Islam Are Inbreed With Hate and a Love For Violence By Their Religious Leaders:
INTRODUCTION:
Let’s face it, only do we routinely hear of members of only one religion becoming suicide bombers to kill others because they have been obviously inbreed with a lust for violence, greed, and hate of others in direct contradiction to what Jesus (Yeshua) said in the inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, at Luke 10:25-27, “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (Authorized King James Bible; AV). Also, at James 2:8, “Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:” (AV).
The inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, clearly shows that Almighty God (YHWH) does not consider one race and/or ethnic group superior to another and this is clearly shown at Acts 10:34-35, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Yet many discriminate against others on these false basis – really though, there are only two types of persons in Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) sight – bad and good.
EARLY TRAINING FOR VIOLENCE:
Many in Islam are NOT TO BE TRUSTED due to some of their religious leaders inbreeding them with their personal agenda of a lust for violence, greed, and hate from infancy. These selfsame people fail to realize that most of mankind is being mislead by the religious leaders of evil false religions and/or egotistical men who believe what they say takes precedence over the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible. In addition, it is not what either the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an or other so called holy book actually say, but how religious leaders be they priest and/or imams or muftis or what ever teach the people is the interpretation of what is written either in the Bible or the bible knockoff the Qur'an that matters and governs actions. It matters not what the Bible and/or the Bible knockoff really say. Therefore, it is the religion at fault, irregardless of what their particular holy book, be it the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an may say. Neither in so called Christianity or in Islam are most individuals actions really governed in any way by what their particular holy book really says, but they are governed by the interpretation of their religious leaders. Thus, knowing this reality, one would be either just plain stupid and/or dumb to even bother looking at a particular religion's holy book and expect the members would conform to it. Take the Rig Vede and find me for example a Hindu actually conforming to it instead of the interpretation given to it by his religious leaders, like looking for a needle in the haystack per K.S. Lal, India's greatest historian.
Reality being that many Muslim religious leaders train children from infancy up to be haters and to love violence. A good example is the evil training of the religious leaders of the Red Mosque in Pakistan.
The Imam of the Red Mosque in Pakistan and many other clergy of Islam train their youths from infancy to be lovers of violence and hatters. Time World had this to say with respect the religious leaders at the Red Mosque, “Nearly two years after the arrest of Abdul Aziz on multiple charges of inciting violence against the state of Pakistan, the firebrand cleric of Islamabad's radical Red Mosque has returned to the pulpit with a promise that he will continue with his struggle to establish Shari'a, or Islamic law, throughout the country.” [source - retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892254,00.html on 10 /14/2012]
So what can you expect of a religion many of whose religious leaders preach violence and educate the children to be violent? Violence.
Unfortunately, Abudul Aziz is NOT the exception among Muslim religious leaders. We are all aware of the evil religious Sheik Osama bin Ladin and how he got young men to carry out his evil plans to destroy the World Trade Center (WTC), and murder over 3,000 innocent individuals.
And here is an account with respect this early evil training and how it breeds into youths a love for violence and hate of an 8 year old girl,
“Islamic child abuse: Muslim 8-year-old girl calls on Islamic youth to back jihad in Australia
This is what Muslim children are weaned on ..... blood. And this is Australia, not Gaza. So is yesterday's violent action by Muslims in Sydney so surprising? Madrassas in the West must be monitored. This is not a controversial proposal; it is essential.
"Girl, 8, calls on Islamic youth to back jihad" Jared Owens, The Australian, September 17, 2012.
Eight-year-old Ruqaya speaks at the Khilafah Conference in Bankstown, Sydney. Picture: James Croucher Source: The Australian
AS Julia Gillard struggled to explain how Muslim children could be used to incite violence, eight-year-old Ruqaya yesterday fronted a congress of Islamic fundamendalists in Sydney to espouse her love for jihad. Addressing a 600-strong crowd at the Australian chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bankstown in the city's west, the young girl urged all Muslim youth to fight for the restoration of the Islamic caliphate, a single global government for all Muslims established under strict sharia law.
"My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, as the world gathers against the believers in Syria ... seeking to hijack our sincere and blessed uprisings, children in Sydney would like to send their message of hope and support to the Muslims of (Syria), especially to the children and mothers," she read from notes. "These uprisings have demonstrated that this umma (global Muslim community) is alive and well, her love is for jihad, she is unshackled herself from the fear which she held, and she yearns to once again live under the banner of (the Islamic state).
"Children as young as myself can be seen on the streets joining the uprisings, risking their lives to bring food, water and medicine to their wounded family members, some of them never returning to their mothers ... Nobody is too young," she said.
Ruqaya was the seventh of nine speakers at the "Muslims Rise" conference.
Organisers of the event invited the media to report on her address.
Julia Gillard yesterday expressed her horror at images showing Muslim children carrying inflammatory placards at a protest in Sydney on Saturday, including one that read "Behead all those who insult the Prophet".
Another sign at the protest read "Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell".
"I do not want to see in the hands of anyone, particularly children, offensive signs that call for the killing of others," the Prime Minister said.
"This is not the Australian way.
"We believe in freedom of religion and we believe that every religion should be treated with respect."
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international political movement devoted to restoring a caliphate, the last of which collapsed in the 1920s.
The movement hopes Islamic fighters in Syria will replace the Assad regime with a caliph-led state that will eventually annex other Muslim countries and promote Islam in the West. [[world domination is their eventual goal.]]
The caliphate would also threaten Western nations with jihad if they did not prevent their citizens from defaming the Prophet Mohammed or Islam.
It would be established under the same constitution imposed under Mohammed, which could not be reformed.
Ruqaya said: "We must work hard to achieve victory. It is enough that your generation and your parents' generation were raised in the absence of the khilafa (caliphate). Do not allow my generation to be added to that list."
Khaled Sukkarieh, the chairman of the Islamic Council of NSW, said images of children at the protest shocked many in his community. "Someone put that (banner) in the hand of a child.
"That is a poor, innocent child. It is abhorrent and a very sad way of using children," Mr Sukkarieh said. [source - retrieved from http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/09/islamic-child-abuse-muslim-8-year-old-girl-calls-on-islamic-youth-to-back-jihad-in-australia.html (Sunday, September 16, 2012) on 19/14/2012]
Now the above article should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind with respect many Muslim religious leaders training youths from infancy – it says it all.
SOME EXAMPLES OF HATEFUL VIOLENCE RESULTING FROM EVIL TRAINING OF YOUTH:
Now let’s look at how hateful and lustful for violence many in Islam are due to their training by their religious leaders:
If, as expected, it turns out to have been Somali Islamic militants who carried out a twin suicide bombing in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday night - killing 64, many as they watched the World Cup final - that will be lethal confirmation of the group's long-threatened ambitions to spread their terror beyond Somalia's borders.
Simultaneous explosions tore through crowds watching the Spain-Netherlands game at a rugby club, where 49 people died, and hit patrons at an Ethiopian restaurant, where 15 were killed. A spokesman for the Ugandan government said vests and body parts at the scenes indicated the work of suicide bombers. The U.S. embassy in Kampala confirmed that one American was among the dead at the restaurant. A church group from Pennsylvania were inside at the time, according to Associated Press, and several Americans were among the scores of wounded. (See pictures of the front lines in the war on the Taliban.)
Kampala's police chief, Kale Kaihura, said he suspected Somalia's extremist al Shabaab group were behind the bombings. While al Shabaab is a fragmented organization, and no one leader speaks for all its factions, Sheikh Mohammed Ali, spokesman for al Shabaab in Kismayo, the main city in al Shabaab's heartland in southern Somalia, tells TIME: "This is the work of mujahedin. We were happy with those guys who did that, God will reward them." Ali did not confirm that al Shabaab was responsible for the attacks, but he did say the bombings were in response to calls in the region for a stronger international force to intervene in Somalia's ongoing civil war, he said. "Ethiopia and Uganda and Burundi and Kenya are our number one enemies," he continued. "They have surrounded us and they are planning to attack Somali soil. We assure them that we shall attack them on their soil." He added the group had previously planned an attack on Entebbe airport, outside Kampala, but "unfortunately last year it was unsuccessful."
Al Shabaab's involvement in Sunday's attacks seems likely. Last year, al Shabaab announced its alliance to al-Qaeda. The group repeatedly threatens death to Americans, Ugandans and Burundians, who make up the bulk of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, and Ethiopians, who invaded Somalia in 2006. No other group in East Africa has the capacity to carry out such an attack - and at the start of the World Cup, al Shabaab threatened to execute anyone caught watching broadcasts of the tournament in Mogadishu, which it deemed frivolous Western entertainment. "Al Shabaab has telegraphed their intention to do something like this, and people have been anticipating something of this order for a while," said one Western intelligence operative. (See pictures of a Jihadist's journey.)
Islamic militants have operated in Somalia for as long as the Taliban has in Afghanistan, and there are broad similarities between the two. Both sets of militants offer the imposition of strict Sharia law as the solution to countries beset by lawlessness and feuding warlords. Both also welcome al-Qaeda as a guest in their countries and allowed the group to set up bases from which to launch attacks on the U.S., including the bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 - which killed more than 200 - and 9/11.
The al Shabaab group, however, is a more recent phenomenon. It was originally the armed wing of a group calling itself the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which briefly ruled Somalia in 2006. The ICU included moderate and extremist members, and after the extremists declared a jihad against its Ethiopian neighbor, Ethiopia invaded in late 2006, toppling the ICU and helping install in Mogadishu the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Somalia's internationally recognized government which, until then, had largely existed only in exile. Al Shabaab became the primary resistance force in Somalia and the Ethiopians eventually withdrew in 2009 after fighting a bloody insurgency against its soldiers. Since then, lawlessness has prevailed across Somalia, and a deadly stalemate holds in Mogadishu, as al Shabaab and other Islamic groups battle African Union peacekeepers and the TFG. (See more on Somalia.)
Al Shabaab has also become ever more extreme, regularly using suicide bombers. Western intelligence operatives and diplomats in the region add that this is related to the group's increasingly international makeup - leadership and strategy is now in the hands of foreign militants, particularly veterans of Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and ethnic Somalis from the U.S. - and ambitions. In October 2008, the group killed around 30 people in a series of bomb blasts in Somaliland. Last September, the U.S. shut down its embassy in Pretoria and three other consulates in South Africa after intercepting a phone call from an al Shabaab figure in Mogadishu to supporters in Cape Town in which an attack on the U.S. in South Africa was discussed.
So what of the international response? Ethiopia's invasion, which after initial success quickly became a bloody quagmire, cautions against a repeat. Until now, the U.S. has confined itself to attacks against individual leaders of al Shabaab, using missiles fired from battle ships offshore or drones and, once, attack helicopters. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, however, proposes far tougher action and, according to Western intelligence operatives, has readied an invasion plan.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. was prepared to provide any necessary assistance to Uganda. President Barack Obama was "deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added: "The United States stands with Uganda. We ... will work with them to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice." Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed condemned the "evil and ugly nature of the perpetrators" and added: "Neither the region nor the international community will tolerate the spread of insecurity."
However, it could be that al Shabaab is trying to provoke just such an escalation. "It's a risky move on the part of al Shabaab because it most likely will precipitate some kind of a fairly firm response from Museveni - if [Uganda responds] in a robust way, this could be a very significant blow to al Shabaab's military capacity," says E.J. Hogendoorn, Horn of Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group. "But if they respond in an indiscriminate manner, it could actually galvanize a Somali response against AMISOM [the African Union peacekeeping force] and play into the hands of the al Shabaab." (See more on the rise of extremism in Somalia.)
A Western intelligence operative adds that al Shabaab will be hoping for a "disproportionate response." The primary challenges of Somalia, he says, are to create a stable political center and to fight a counter-insurgency against al Shabaab. A stronger display of foreign force - what the analyst calls "going kinetic" - would be a "misreading."
- With reporting by Nick Wadhams / Nairobi “
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
His wives . . . inclined his heart to follow other gods.—1 Kings. 11:4.
Things took a bad turn after Solomon became king. Solomon formed “a marriage alliance with Pharaoh the king of Egypt and [took] Pharaoh’s daughter and [brought] her to the City of David.” (1 Ki. 3:1) In time, Solomon built a house for her (and perhaps her Egyptian maids) outside the City of David. Why? The Scriptures say that he did so because it was not fitting for a false worshipper to dwell near the ark of the covenant. (2 Chron. 8:11) Solomon may have seen political advantages in marrying an Egyptian princess, yet could he justify it? Long before, God had forbidden the marrying of pagan Canaanites, even listing certain peoples. (Ex. 34:11-16) Did Solomon reason that Egypt was not one of those listed nations? Even if he reasoned that way, would such rationalizing be valid? Actually, his course ignored the clear risk that Jehovah had mentioned—that of turning an Israelite from true worship to false.—Deut. 7:1-4.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
“You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)
As written, “In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1); however, this was only the beginning with respect the creation of the physical universe. It was NOT the beginning of the creation by Almighty God (YHWH). The first entity created by Almighty God (YHWH) was the spirit creature we now know as Jesus Christ. In Proverbs this is revealed as, “Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago. From time indefinite I was installed, from the start, from times earlier than the earth. When there were no watery deeps I was brought forth as with labor pains, when there were no springs heavily charged with water. Before the mountains themselves had been settled down, ahead of the hills, I was brought forth as with labor pains, when as yet he had not made the earth and the open spaces and the first part of the dust masses of the productive land. When he prepared the heavens I was there; when he decreed a circle upon the face of the watery deep, when he made firm the cloud masses above, when he caused the fountains of the watery deep to be strong, when he set for the sea his decree that the waters themselves should not pass beyond his order, when he decreed the foundations of the earth, then I came to be beside him as a master worker, and I came to be the one he was specially fond of day by day, I being glad before him all the time,” (Proverbs 8:22-33).
We should be obedient to our maker and if we are he will be our comforter, “I—I myself am the One that is comforting YOU people. “Who are you that you should be afraid of a mortal man that will die, and of a son of mankind that will be rendered as mere green grass? And that you should forget Jehovah your Maker,…” (Isaiah 51:12, 13).
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Shortly after Jesus’ baptism, Satan tried to entice Jesus to pursue selfish desires rather than to keep Jehovah as the most important Person in his life. The Devil presented Jesus with three temptations. First, he tried to appeal to fleshly desire, tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread. (Matt. 4:2, 3) Jesus had just fasted for 40 days and was very hungry. So the Devil urged him to misuse his miraculous powers to satisfy his hunger. How did Jesus react? Unlike Eve, Jesus focused on Jehovah’s Word and immediately rejected the temptation. (Matt. 4:4) In his last desperate attempt, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. (Matt. 4:8, 9) Jesus immediately refused the offer. He realized that accepting it would be tantamount to rejecting Jehovah’s sovereignty—God’s very right to be the Most High. In each case, Jesus answered Satan by quoting scriptures that contained Jehovah’s personal name.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
“Abraham put faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” and he came to be called “Jehovah’s friend.”—James 2:23.
Abraham’s faith was made evident by his peace-loving ways. For example, as Abraham’s flocks and herds increased, tension developed between his herdsmen and those of his nephew Lot. (Gen. 12:5; 13:7) The obvious solution was that Abraham and Lot separate. Instead of using his age and status with God to tell his nephew what to do, Abraham proved himself to be a true peacemaker. “Please, do not let any quarreling continue between me and you and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen,” Abraham told his nephew, “for we men are brothers.” The patriarch continued: “Is not the whole land available to you? Please, separate from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right; but if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” Lot chose the most fertile part of the land, but Abraham held no grudge against him.—Gen. 13:8-11.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Because we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight . . . , and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.—Hebrews 12:1.
Many of the faithful ones whom Paul mentioned in chapter 11 of Hebrews had circumstances similar to ours. For example, Noah was living when the pre-Flood world was ending. We are living near the end of the present system of things. Abraham and Sarah were called upon to leave behind their homeland to pursue true worship and await the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise. We are urged to disown ourselves and gain Jehovah’s approval and the blessings he holds out for us. Moses journeyed through a fearsome wilderness, heading for the Promised Land. We are on a course through this dying system of things, heading toward the promised new world. What these men went through, their successes and failures, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, is truly worthy of our consideration.—Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
[Jehovah] is healing the brokenhearted ones, and is binding up their painful spots.—Psalms 147:3.
We need comfort in many areas of life. One of the greatest causes of grief is the loss of a loved one in death, especially a beloved marriage mate or a child. Comfort may also be needed because a person is a victim of discrimination or prejudice. Poor health, advanced age, poverty, marital problems, or distressing world conditions can give rise to a personal need for comfort. In times of distress, we may need comfort that soothes our heart, our mind, our emotions, and both our physical and spiritual health. For example, consider the heart. God’s Word acknowledges that our heart can be “broken and crushed.” (Ps. 51:17) Even in severe situations, God can bring relief to a stricken heart if we pray to him in full faith and observe his commandments.—1 John 3:19-22; 5:14, 15.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
The minding of the flesh means death, but the minding of the spirit means life and peace.—Romans 8:6.
How can we pursue “the minding of the spirit”? By regularly setting our minds on the things of the spirit and allowing a spiritual inclination and attitude to develop in us. As we do this, we have a mind-set that is “under subjection to the law of God” and is “in harmony with” his thoughts. (Rom. 8:7, When we are faced with a temptation, we will be moved to make the correct choice—one that is in accord with the spirit. Therefore, it is vital to set our minds on the things of the spirit. We do this by ‘bracing up our minds for activity,’ building our life around a spiritual routine that includes regular prayer, and Bible reading and study. (1 Pet. 1:13) Rather than allowing the things of the flesh to distract us, let us set our minds on the things of the spirit. Doing so will bring us blessings, for the minding of the spirit means life and peace.—Gal. 6:7, 8.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.—Galatians 5:22, 23.
We are wise to take stock of ourselves to be sure that our words and actions give evidence that we are directed by holy spirit and are producing its fruitage. (2 Cor. 13:5a; Gal. 5:25) If we see that we need to cultivate some aspects of the fruitage of the spirit, we can cooperate with holy spirit to a greater degree in producing such qualities. We do this by studying each aspect as it is revealed through the pages of the Bible and discussed in our Christian publications. Thus we can discern how the spirit’s fruitage should be manifested in our everyday life and then work to cultivate it to a greater extent. As we observe the results of the operation of God’s spirit in our own life as well as in the lives of our fellow Christians, we clearly see why we must be guided by it.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Peter was being kept in the prison; but prayer to God for him was being carried on intensely by the congregation.—Acts 12:5.
Their prayers in behalf of their beloved brother were intense, heartfelt pleas. So the death of James had not plunged them into despair; nor had it caused them to view prayer as ineffective. On the contrary, they knew that the prayers of faithful worshippers mean a great deal to Jehovah. If such prayers are in harmony with his will, he answers them. (Heb. 13:18, 19; Jas. 5:16) What can we learn from the response of Peter’s fellow Christians? Keeping on the watch involves praying not just for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters as well. (Eph. 6:1 Do you know of fellow believers who are beset by trials? Some may be enduring persecution, governmental bans, natural disasters, or less noticeable hardships. Why not make them the subject of your heartfelt prayers?
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Do not be lying to one another. Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it.—Colossians 3:9, 10.
In a Christian household, what can help family members to treat one another with kindness and goodness? Accurate knowledge of God’s Word plays an important role. Some family heads include a study of the fruitage of the spirit as part of their weekly Family Worship evening. Such a consideration is not difficult to arrange. Using the research tools available in your language, select material on each aspect of the spirit’s fruitage. You might consider just a few paragraphs per week, spending several weeks on each aspect. As you study the material, read and discuss the cited scriptures. Look for ways to apply what you learn, and pray for Jehovah to bless your efforts.—1 Tim. 4:15; 1 John 5:14, 15.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
Do not be lying to one another. Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it.—Colossians 3:9, 10.
In a Christian household, what can help family members to treat one another with kindness and goodness? Accurate knowledge of God’s Word plays an important role. Some family heads include a study of the fruitage of the spirit as part of their weekly Family Worship evening. Such a consideration is not difficult to arrange. Using the research tools available in your language, select material on each aspect of the spirit’s fruitage. You might consider just a few paragraphs per week, spending several weeks on each aspect. As you study the material, read and discuss the cited scriptures. Look for ways to apply what you learn, and pray for Jehovah to bless your efforts.—1 Tim. 4:15; 1 John 5:14, 15.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
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When we are faced with a temptation, we will be moved to make the correct choice—one that is in accord with the spirit. Therefore, it is vital to set our minds on the things of the spirit. We do this by ‘bracing up our minds for activity,’ building our life around a spiritual routine that includes regular prayer, and Bible reading and study. (1 Pet. 1:13) Rather than allowing the things of the flesh to distract us, let us set our minds on the things of the spirit. Doing so will bring us blessings, for the minding of the spirit means life and peace.—Gal. 6:7, 8.
