Examining the Bible Scriptures Daily, Such instructions gave Jesus ‘the tongue of the taught ones’ so that he would ‘know how to answer the tired one with a word.’ (Isa. 30:20; 50:4; Matt. 11:28-30) Being awakened to timely counsel from the Word of God each morning will not only help you to cope with your own problems but also equip you with ‘the tongue of the taught ones’ to help others.”
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
SUNRISING, SUNSET
Faith
Faith
Definition: "Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld." (Heb. 11:1) True faith is not credulity, that is, a readiness to believe something without sound evidence or just because a person wants it to be so. Genuine faith requires basic or fundamental knowledge, acquaintance with evidence, as well as heartfelt appreciation of what that evidence indicates. Thus, although it is impossible to have real faith without accurate knowledge, the Bible says that it is "with the heart" that one exercises faith.—Rom. 10:10.
Why do many people not have faith?
Faith is a fruit of God’s spirit, and God gladly gives his spirit to those who seek it. (Gal. 5:22; Luke 11:13) So persons without faith are not seeking that spirit, or they are doing so for a wrong purpose or are resisting its operation in their lives. Many things influence this:Lack of accurate Bible knowledge: The Bible is a product of God’s spirit, being inspired by God. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Sam. 23:2) Failure to study it hinders any development of true faith. Although church members may have Bibles, if they have been taught the ideas of men instead of the Word of God, they will lack real faith in God and his purpose. To solve life’s problems, they will be inclined to rely on their own ideas and those of other humans.—Compare Matthew 15:3-9
.Disillusionment with religion: Many have been disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the churches of Christendom, which claim to teach God’s Word but fail to live in harmony with what it says. Others were adherents to a non-Christian religion, but they saw bad fruitage from its practices or found that their beliefs did not really help them to cope with the problems of life. Lacking accurate knowledge of the true God, such persons draw away from everything related to religion.—Compare Romans 3:3, 4; Matthew 7:21-23.
Do not understand God’s permission of wickedness:
Most people do not understand why God permits wickedness and so blame him for all the bad things that take place. They do not realize that man’s inclination toward badness is not because of God’s will but because of the sin of Adam. (Rom. 5:12) They may be unaware of the existence of Satan the Devil and of his influence on world affairs, so they ascribe to God the vile things perpetrated by Satan. (1 John 5:19; Rev. 12:12) If they are to some extent aware of these things, they may feel that God is slow about taking action, because they do not see clearly the issue of universal sovereignty and do not grasp the fact that God’s patience down till this time affords them an undeserved opportunity for salvation. (Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9) Also, they do not fully realize that God has a set time when he will destroy forever all who practice wickedness.—Rev. 22:10-12; 11:18; Hab. 2:3.Lives dominated by fleshly desires and viewpoints: Generally, persons who lack faith that has real substance have devoted themselves to the pursuit of other interests. Some may say that they believe the Bible but they may never have thoroughly studied it or may have failed to meditate appreciatively on what they read, on the reasons for it, and how it applies to everyday life. (Compare 1 Chronicles 28:9.) In some cases, they failed to nourish the faith they had but, instead, allowed a desire for unrighteous things to dominate the inclination of their heart so that they drew away from God and his ways.—Heb. 3:12.
How can a person acquire faith?
Rom. 10:17: "Faith follows the thing heard." (Compare Acts 17:11, 12; John 4:39-42; 2 Chronicles 9:5-8. A person must first find out what the Bible says, and he will strengthen his conviction if he examines it carefully so as to be convinced of its reliability).
Rom. 10:10: "With the heart one exercises faith." (By meditating on godly things to build up appreciation for them, a person impresses them on his figurative heart.
Faith is strengthened when a person acts on God’s promises and then sees the evidence of God’s blessing on what he has done.—See Psalm 106:9-12.
Illustration: Perhaps you have a friend of whom you would say: ‘I trust that man. I can count on him to keep his word; and I know that if I have a problem, he will come to my help.’ It is not likely that you would be saying that about anyone you met for the first time yesterday, is it? He would have to be someone with whom you had long association, someone who had proved his dependability time and again. It is similar with religious faith. To have faith, you need to take time to get to know Jehovah and his way of doing things.
Efe. 4:26 & Eph. 4:26
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
WHICH SPIRITUAL BOAT ARE WE?
WHICH SPIRITUAL BOAT ARE WE?
A Tugboat Always pulling someone into the truth. Always working hard -- slow, but steady.
A Barge Always being pushed or shoved by a tugboat. Very useful but lacks initiative "I'll help clean the Hall if I'm asked."
A Sailboat Requires good weather--a fair weather publisher. "We're not always going to have good weather, but I hope things won't become too choppy."
A canoe Easily upset.
A Battleship Stirs up contentions and disturbs peace.
A Submarine Stays out of sight. Surfaces for the Memorial and the visit of the Circuit Overseer.
A Raft Drifts along with the tide.
A Pleasure Boat Unavailable for everything else except gatherings.
A Speed Boat Comes into the truth fast, spending lots of time in the ministry and make all the meetings. But, gradually runs out of gas.
A Show Boat Has the newest of everything, but tends to be shallow spiritually-speaking.
A Fishing Boat Hard worker, but always tries to be in the ministry.
A Speaker
A Speaker used this illustration regarding our relationship with Jehovah and our faith in holding on during this time of the end; When we are right at the brink of Armageddon and we feel like we can't hang on another minute.
A man was is in the mountains, it's night time, he wanders off the road and falls off a cliff. He grabs on to a tree root and holds on for dear life. He hangs there all night during this raging storm and every time his grip weakens, he grabs on tighter, his life hangs in the balance. His muscles ache and finally near dawn he feels his grip loosening and he thinks he cannot hold on another minute. Then the sun rises and he looks down and realizes that all during that stormy ordeal - HE WAS ONLY TWO FEET OFF THE GROUND.
Isn't it wonderful. The point being - we are right on the brink of Armageddon and just when we feel we cannot hold on another minute in this darkened, terrible world - we could be only one day away from salvation. We're only 'two feet off the ground.'
The Stranger
The Stranger
A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to
our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with
this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.
The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the
world a few months later.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young
mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors:
Mom taught me the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the
stranger He was our storyteller He would keep us spellbound for hours
on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he
always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even
seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major
league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never
stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing
each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to her room
and read her books (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to
leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger
never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed
in our home...not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long-time
visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears
and made my
dad squirm and my mother blush.
My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for
cooking. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He
made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked
freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant,
sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced
strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet
he was seldom rebuked.. and NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our
family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at
first.
Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you would still find
him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and
watch him draw his pictures. His name?....
We just call him, "TV."
He has a younger sister now. We call her, "computer."
The sheep of this illustration
The sheep of this illustration VERSES AT BOTTOM Matthew 25:31-33,are those who submit to Jesus’ kingship.
The Bible indicates that we are living in "the last days" of Satan’s rule. (2 Timothy 3:1) Soon, Jehovah God will send Jesus Christ to judge mankind. What will happen at that time? Jesus gave the answer in one of his illustrations. He said: "When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."—Matthew 25:31-33.
The sheep of this illustration are those who submit to Jesus’ kingship. Jesus likened them to sheep because they follow him as their Shepherd. (John 10:16) These sheeplike ones will gain life under Jesus’ perfect rulership. It will be a happy life in a new world free of poverty. Goatlike humans, who reject Jesus’ rule, will be destroyed forever.—Matthew 25:46.
God’s Kingdom will bring an end to wickedness. Then poverty will be a thing of the past. Instead, the earth will be inhabited by people who love and care for one another. That such a new world is possible can be seen in the loving international brotherhood of Jehovah’s Witnesses, for Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves."—John 13:35.
Matthew 25:31-33. “When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.
Matthew 25:46. And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.”
Time is short for building true faith start today.
everlasting life
For those who gain everlasting life in the near future
So what will you do with your spare time?
Here is another calculation that will help you appreciate that you will never lack for anything to do:
1 Billion seconds is approximately equal to 32 years. Therefore, if you could travel instantaneously to every star in the galaxy one by one, one star per second, then you would visit 1 billion stars in 32 years.
Now, there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, so that mean to visit every star in our galaxy (one per second) would take 3 thousand, 200 years. (3,200yrs)
But here are an estimated 100 billion galaxies of 100 billion stars each, so to visit every star in the universe would take 3,200 years per galaxy X 100 billion galaxies, so that the time taken to visit each star in the universe at one per second would take you; 320 TRILLION YEARS | 320,000,000,000,000 years!!!
That is just in case you had nothing else to do. And if you paused even for one additional second at each star, then the time would double: 640 trillion (640,000,000,000,000) years.
(The above was done using round figures, you and calculate it more precisely if you want. It is more like 317,100,000,000,000 years, but what is 3 trillion or so years between friends?)
Here is one more: There are about 6 billion people on Earth today. Let's work with just that figure. If you consider that you could get to know 10 people per year really well, say working with them 8 hrs a day, socializing with them 3, 4 hrs a day, going on vacation with them, etc., then it would take you 600,000,000 years to get to really know 6,000,000,000 people.
And even if you got to know 60 people per year, you still must take 100 million years to get to know that many people.
So what will you do with your spare time?
Are you the one?
As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.
Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing"
"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washing up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen."
"I understand," my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don't you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference ?"
The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "Made a difference to that one!"
This is why we preach, we are looking for the Meek.
KINDNESS TO STRANGERS
KINDNESS TO STRANGERS A RESPONSIBILITY
Kindness to all men, as the Son of God explained so forcefully, is a Christian responsibility. The apostle of Jesus Christ admonishes us to keep this responsibility always in mind; Paul wrote: "Let your brotherly love continue. Do not forget kindness to strangers, for through it some, unknown to themselves, entertained angels." What rewards came to Abraham, Lot and Manoah because they were kind to all men! They entertained angels and received blessings from the Most High, because they never forgot "kindness to strangers."—Heb. 13:1, 2; Gen. 18:1-10; 19:1-29; Judg. 13:8-20.
How can Christians today show kindness to strangers?
By following the example of Jesus Christ. He showed kindness to all persons, and the most important way he did this was by inviting others to feast upon spiritual food, the truths concerning the "kingdom of the heavens." To advance the interests of God’s kingdom Jesus showed kindness in every way. Right from the beginning of his ministry he showed hospitality to strangers so as to help them spiritually .
The purpose is that you may walk in the way of good people
The purpose is that you may walk in the way of good people
Proverbs 2:20 The purpose is that you may walk in the way of good people and that the paths of the righteous ones you may keep. 21 For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. 22 As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.
The Bible's advice to you is that you must repent and turn around from your bad course and God will then forgive you. You need to search for the true God, Jehovah, and understand what this verse is saying
Isaiah 55:6,7.Search for Jehovah, YOU people, while he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near. 7 Let the wicked man leave his way, and the harmful man his thoughts; and let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will forgive in a large way.
World events today confirmed by the Bible say that God's war to remove all the wicked will be very soon. You need to build your faith NOW while there is still time. We will help you to do this if you wish. But you need to follow.
Thank you to my follows
Thank you to my follows, Really you are helping with these verses' THANK YOU TO ALL WHO FOLLOW.
Mt 24 :14 good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come
1 Cor9:16 If, now, I am declaring the good news, it is no reason for me to boast, for necessity is laid upon me. Really, woe is me if I did not declare the good news!.
Mark 13: 10 Also, in all the nations the good news has to be preached first.
Mt 28:18 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things."
Romans 10:18 Nevertheless I ask, They did not fail to hear, did they? Why, in fact, “into all the earth their sound went out, and to the extremities of the inhabited earth their utterances.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah.
What comes to your mind when you hear the term "Hallelujah"? Perhaps it reminds you of Handel’s "Messiah," a musical masterpiece from the 1700’s that features the dramatic Hallelujah chorus. Or you may think of the famous American patriotic song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," also known as "Glory, Hallelujah." Surely, from one source or another, you have heard the word "Hallelujah." Perhaps you even use it from time to time. But do you know what it means?
Hallelujah—The English transliteration of the Hebrew expression ha·lelu-Yah´, meaning "praise Jah," or "praise Jah, you people.".
Jah—A poetic shortened form of the name of God, Jehovah. It appears in the Bible more than 50 times, often as part of the expression "Hallelujah."
God’s Name in Your Name?
Many Bible names are still popular today. In some cases the original Hebrew meaning of these names actually included the personal name of God. Here are a few examples of such names and their meaning. Perhaps your name is one of them.
Joanna—"Jehovah Has Been Gracious"
Joel—"Jehovah Is God"
John—"Jehovah Has Shown Favor"
Jonathan—"Jehovah Has Given"
Joseph—"May Jah Add"
Joshua—"Jehovah Is Salvation"
"Jah" is an abbreviated form of "Jehovah.".
Bible Terms for God.
The Hebrew text of the Holy Scriptures uses numerous terms for God, such as Almighty, Creator, Father, and Lord. Yet, the instances in which he is referred to by his personal name far outnumber all of the other terms combined. Clearly, it is God’s will that we use his name. Consider the following list of terms as they appear in the Hebrew Scriptures....................
Jehovah—6,973 times
God—2,605 times
Almighty—48 times
Lord—40 times
Maker—25 times
Creator—7 times
Father—7 times
Ancient of Days—3 times
Grand Instructor—2 times.
.DO YOU LOVE THE NAME OF YOUR CREATOR AND CALL ON IT?.
Light in the Bible
Light in the Bible means understanding. Jesus was the light and gave us understanding!
JOHN 3:36 He that exercises faith in the Son has everlasting life; he that disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
JOHN 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him. 18 He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged. He that does not exercise faith has been judged already, because he has not exercised faith in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 19 Now this is the basis for judgment, that the light has come into the world but men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked. 20 For he that practices vile things hates the light and does not come to the light, in order that his works may not be reproved. 21 But he that does what is true comes to the light, in order that his works may be made manifest as having been worked in harmony with God.”
2 Thessalonians 1:8 in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. 9 These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.
Jeremiah 17:5 This is what Jehovah has said: “Cursed is the able-bodied man who puts his trust in earthling man and actually makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from Jehovah himself.
Who died for you?Was it Buddha?Gandhi?Mohammed? Or someone else? Jesus Christ himself gave his life for you, that you might live. Look to him and forget the others, THEY ARE DEAD IN THE GRAVE. JESUS IS GODS CHOSEN KING AND IS NOW RULING IN HEAVEN!
False Prophets
Isa. 5:20 & Isa. 5:20
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
MUSLIMS AND SOME CHRISTIANS NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD SAYS HERE!
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar if it is not the one that denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one that denies the Father and the Son. 23 Everyone that denies the Son does not have the Father either. He that confesses the Son has the Father also.
1 John 4;20 If anyone makes the statement: “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also.
1 John 3:10 The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother
Jesus said there would be more earthquakes Matthew 24:7
Jesus said there would be more earthquakes Matthew 24:7http://biblize.com/search?q=Matthew+24:7&q_scope=
Once upon a time...
Once upon a time...there were four people; their names were Anybody,
Somebody, Nobody, and Everybody.
Whenever there was an important job
to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody
could have done it, but Nobody did it. When Nobody did it, Everybody
got angry because it was Anybody's job. Everybody thought that
Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it. So,
consequently, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody
could have done in the first place.
HOW COULD A GOD OF LOVE DESTROY ANY HUMANS?
HOW COULD A GOD OF LOVE DESTROY ANY HUMANS?
That question is understandable, for the destruction of human life is not pleasant to contemplate. Really, though, it was God's love that impelled him to take such drastic measures against the wicked. To illustrate: When a patient develops gangrene, doctors often have little choice but to amputate the infected limb. Few would enjoy performing such a procedure, but a good doctor knows that the alternative - the spread of infection - is worse. Because he cares, he carries out this unpleasant task for the good of his patient.
Similarly, Jehovah did not enjoy destroying the Canaanites. He himself says: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked". (Ezekiel 33:11, Darby) At the same time, he purposed for the nation of Israel to produce the Messiah, the one who would open the way for salvation for all those exercising faith. (John 3:16) Thus, God simply could not allow Israel to become infected by the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, He therefore ordered the Canaanites to be cut off, or evicted, from the land. In so doing, God demonstrated outstanding love - love that moved him to perform an unpleasant task for the benefit of his faithful worshippers.
DID NOT THE CANAANITES' DESTRUCTION CONFLICT WITH GOD'S LOVE?
On the surface, God's exterminating the Canaanites might seem inconsistent with his love. (1 John 4:8) However, that love becomes quite apparent when we take a closer look.
God knew long beforehand that Canaan's inhabitants were headed in the wrong direction. Yet, instead of immediately wiping them out, he patiently allowed 400 years to pass until their error had "come to completion". - Genesis 15:16.
When the sin of the Canaanites reached the point where all hope of improvement was gone, Jehovah brought their end. Even so, he did not blindly execute all Canaanites. Why? Because not all were beyond reform. Those willing to change, such as Rahab and the Gibeonites, were shown mercy. - Joshua 9:3-11,16-27; Hebrews 11:31.
Sal. 130:3, 4 & Ps. 130:3, 4
DOES THE BIBLE CONDONE HUMAN WARFARE?
DOES THE BIBLE CONDONE HUMAN WARFARE?
Does God's commanding Israel to destroy the Canaanites justify human warfare today? No, for at least three reasons:
1. No earthly nation today has special favor with God. When the Israelites rejected Jesus as the Messiah, they ceased to represent God in any official capacity - including that of executioners. (Matthew 21:42,43) Jehovah thus held the Israelites to the same standard as other nations(Leviticus18:24-28) From that time on, no earthly nation could rightly claim to have God's backing in warfare.
2. Jehovah no longer assigns his worshippers to any specific land or geographic region. Rather, his servants can be found in "all nations and tribes" of the earth. - Revelation 7:9; Acts 10:34,35.
3. Jesus clearly indicated that his followers would not engage in warfare. When warning of an impending attack on Jerusalem, he instructed his disciples not to stay and fight but, rather, to flee, which they did. (Matthew 24:15,16) Instead of taking up arms, true Christians put their complete trust in God's Kingdom, which will soon remove all wickedness from this earth. - Daniel 2:44; John 18:36.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Everybody
What About Christian Truth?
What About Christian Truth?
What of the truth proclaimed by Jesus Christ? Did everyone recognize it as a message from God? No. Even though Jesus was right there in the midst of the people of Israel teaching them and performing miracles, most of his listeners did not discern that he was the foretold Messiah—the Christ, or Anointed One.
To the Pharisees who asked when God’s Kingdom was coming, Jesus himself said:
“The kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness.” He added: “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17: 20, 21) God’s appointed Ruler, Jesus, was among them! But those Pharisees refused to open their eyes to the evidence that he was fulfilling the Messianic prophecies and to accept him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”—Matthew 16:16.
The response to the truth proclaimed by Christ’s first-century disciples was similar. While miracles helped to demonstrate that God was supporting the disciples, the truth was still not plain to most. (Acts 8:1-8; 9:
32-4 1) Jesus commissioned his followers to “make disciples of people” by teaching them. As a result of listening and learning Scriptural truths, sincere seekers of truth became believers.—Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:42; 17:2-4,
32-34.
It is the same today.
The “good news of the kingdom” is being “preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” (Matthew 24:14) This is ,. not necessarily being done “with striking observableness”—in so obvious a way that every individual on earth will recognize it as a message from God. Yet, God’s truth is recognizable and strikes a responsive chord in honesthearted individuals who want to worship God in the way approved by him.—John 10:4, 27.
The fact that you are reading this shows that you are likely a sincere seeker of truth. How can you determine which religion is teaching it?
Features of True Religion
Consider the practices and teachings of first-century Christians:
• They looked to God’s Word as their guide.—2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21.
• They taught that Jesus was God’s Son, distinct from God himself and subordinate to Him—1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Peter 1:3.
• They taught that the dead will return to life by means of a future resurrection. —Acts 24:15.
• They were known overall for the love that prevailed among themselves. —John 13:34, 35.
• They did not worship merely as individuals but were organized into congregations and were united under overseers and a
central body of elders that looked to Jesus as Head.—Acts 14:21-23; 15:1-31; Ephesians 1:22; 1 Timothy 3:1-13.
• They were zealous preachers of God’s Kingdom as mankind’s only hope.—Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8.