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, August 4, 2011
Real Help for the Living and the Dead
The Bible directs us to the best Source of help—our Creator, Jehovah. He can deliver us from death itself. (Psalm 33:19, 20) Today, he is available to help us. He thus provides real hope, unlike false hopes from spirit mediums.
Tamba, mentioned in the introduction, learned firsthand the difference between the false hopes that spirit mediums offer and the truth that Jehovah holds out to us. Mediums claimed that if he did not perform a sacrifice to his dead ancestors, he would fail the school exam. Tamba had begun to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He had learned the real condition of the dead and also the evil source of those who pretend to be dead ancestors. Despite great pressure from his mother to get help from a medium, Tamba refused, telling her, “If I fail, I will try harder next year.”
What was the result? He finished first in the exam! His mother was amazed, lost faith in the mediums, and never mentioned sacrifices of that nature again. Tamba learned that Jehovah warns us to avoid making “application to dead persons in behalf of living persons.” (Isaiah 8:19) Bible study gave Tamba the confidence that if he took delight in God’s law, he would succeed.—Psalm 1:1-3.
What, though, about the loved ones we have lost? Is there no hope for them? In addition to helping us who are alive, Jehovah has promised to help those who are in the grave. After describing how powerless the dead are, notice what the prophet Isaiah announces in chapter 26, verse 19: “Your dead ones will live. . . . Awake and cry out joyfully, you residents in the dust!” The prophecy further states that “those impotent in death” will live again.
Imagine that! The helpless billions who lie sleeping in the grave will be brought back to life! In fact, the Bible reveals that Jehovah has “a yearning” to give life to the dead. (Job 14:14, 15) Do such promises sound too good to be true? Jesus Christ was so sure of this hope that he described the dead as already alive in Jehovah’s eyes.—Luke 20:37, 38.
Would you like to make this hope your own? Continue to take in accurate knowledge from the Bible. As you study, you will be convinced that Jehovah can help the living and the dead and that his promises are “faithful and true.”—Revelation 21:4, 5.
Why not check the Scriptures here? BIBLE ON LINE http://t.co/0d2Qsoi
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