Does God care if we are happy?

[El Naked Neck]

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE TRUE RELIGION
How can ‘the road to life’ be found? Jesus said that the true religion would be evident in the lives of the people who practice it. “By their fruits you will recognize them,” he said. “Every good tree produces fine fruit.” (Matthew 7:16, 17) In other words, those who practice the true religion would be recognized by their beliefs and their conduct. Although they are not perfect and they make mistakes, true worshipers as a group seek to do God’s will. Let us consider six features that identify those who practice true religion.


God’s servants base their teachings on the Bible. The Bible itself says: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) To his fellow Christians, the apostle Paul wrote: “When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Hence, beliefs and practices of the true religion are not based on human views or tradition. They originate in God’s inspired Word, the Bible.

Jesus Christ set the proper example by basing his teachings on God’s Word. In prayer to his heavenly Father, he said: “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Jesus believed the Word of God, and everything he taught harmonized with the Scriptures. Jesus often said: “It is written.” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Then Jesus would quote a scripture. Similarly, God’s people today do not teach their own ideas. They believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and they base their teachings firmly on what it says.

Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name known. Jesus declared: “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Matthew 4:10) Thus, God’s servants worship no one other than Jehovah. This worship includes letting people know what the name of the true God is and what he is like. Psalm 83:18 states: “You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Jesus set the pattern in helping others to get to know God, as he said in prayer: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:6) Similarly, true worshipers today teach others about God’s name, his purposes, and his qualities.

God’s people show genuine, unselfish love for one another. Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” (John 13:35) The early Christians had such love for one another. Godly love overcomes racial, social, and national barriers and draws people together in an unbreakable bond of true brotherhood. (Colossians 3:14) Members of false religions do not have such a loving brotherhood. How do we know that? They kill one another because of national or ethnic differences. True Christians do not take up weapons to kill their Christian brothers or anyone else. The Bible states: “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. . . . We should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.”—1 John 3:10-12; 4:20, 21.

Of course, genuine love means more than not killing others. True Christians unselfishly use their time, energy, and resources to help and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) They help one another in times of distress, and they deal honestly with others. In fact, they apply in their lives the Bible counsel to “work what is good toward all.”—Galatians 6:10.

True Christians accept Jesus Christ as God’s means of salvation. The Bible says: “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.” (Acts 4:12) As we saw in Chapter 5, Jesus gave his life as a ransom for obedient humans. (Matthew 20:28) In addition, Jesus is God’s appointed King in the heavenly Kingdom that will rule the entire earth. And God requires that we obey Jesus and apply his teachings if we want everlasting life. That is why the Bible states: “He that exercises faith in the Son has everlasting life; he that disobeys the Son will not see life.”—John 3:36.

True worshipers are no part of the world. When on trial before the Roman ruler Pilate, Jesus said: “My kingdom is no part of this world.” (John 18:36) No matter what country they live in, Jesus’ true followers are subjects of his heavenly Kingdom and thus maintain strict neutrality in the world’s political affairs. They take no part in its conflicts. However, Jehovah’s worshipers do not interfere with what others choose to do about joining a political party, running for office, or voting. And while God’s true worshipers are neutral regarding politics, they are law-abiding. Why? Because God’s Word commands them to “be in subjection” to the governmental “superior authorities.” (Romans 13:1) Where there is a conflict between what God requires and what a political system requires, true worshipers follow the example of the apostles, who said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”—Acts 5:29; Mark 12:17.

Jesus’ true followers preach that God’s Kingdom is mankind’s only hope. Jesus foretold: “This 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.” (Matthew 24:14) Instead of encouraging people to look to human rulers to solve their problems, true followers of Jesus Christ proclaim God’s heavenly Kingdom as the only hope for mankind. (Psalm 146:3) Jesus taught us to pray for that perfect government when he said: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:10) God’s Word foretold that this heavenly Kingdom “will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [now existing], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I'll give ya that one. I didn't make it very clear. I try to post short and sometimes stuff that is crucial to understanding is left out. And you are right - MY walk is the one that matters most. I try hard everyday to be a good example of what a Christian woman is, and yet somehow I fail. Not always, but often.

 

[Beekissed]

It may look like failing. I don't call it that....I call it learning. Every lesson that is worth learning is a hard one. We remember these best because they weren't easy to learn and sometimes we fell and bloodied our knees. You know what I say about falling down? It's a good place to pray....one is already on their knees!

It took me 40 years to learn a simple lesson, Debiraymond! I felt like Moses when I finally learned it!!! How stupid can one be that it takes 40 years to get one simple thing right....one thing that turned the tide for my life. The one thing that I had overlooked in the Bible all those years. I felt like an idiot!

Now, every day I have to remind myself of that one thing because I had been doing it the wrong way for 40 years. I hope that one day it will just come natural to me and I won't have to keep relearning it. It is getting easier but I have a long way to go.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Just checking in, it's late but I'll have to get back to you on this one.

Rancher

 

[featherbaby]

Quote:
Yes I did. It just came to me and I liked it.

 

[Wolfwoman]

Does the Earth care for her creatures and wish them comfort? I would say that she does, because of all that she has to offer.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Yes I did. It just came to me and I liked it.

I like it too! And your avatar is adorable!

 

[featherbaby]

Quote:
Yes I did. It just came to me and I liked it.

I like it too! And your avatar is adorable!

I can't take credit for the avatar....I found it when I first joined and it gave me a playful, peaceful feeling which reflected my basic personality. It seems to me if animals that are not normally friends can get along......so can people!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Quote:
I totally understand. I had a similar experience. I tried really, really hard to find a new church home when I moved to my new home. Seriously, I tired at least 2 dozen in an effort to find some place that felt right. The longest I attended one was over a year. I really liked the service and LOVED the preaching. Learned a TON that year. The problem? After a year of effort on my part, a year of volunteering for everything I could volunteer for, a year of faithful attendance to both church and Sunday School, I could still walk in the door, sit through the service and leave with not a single soul talking to me. I felt so alone and unwanted. I finally decided that when I left the parking lot crying every week that it clearly wasn't worth it. I tried with a second church and had a similar experience. I just gave up. The effort was making me really angry with God and it was killing my spiritual life. I finally decided that being in a pew every week wasn't worth it. It has been over a year since I went to church. I miss it, but I don't think anything will change until I am old enough to be in the old lady/widows Sunday School class.

Everyone in my bracket is married right now and dealing with raising children. I am not. Married people and parents play with other married people and parents. They do not play with old single women.

So I'm out until I have someone to go with so I don't have to sit alone.

I have Christian girlfriends who I meet with every few weeks. My family are all Christians and I talk to my sister every day practically. She keeps me on track when I am prone to wander. Maybe one day I'll get back, but for now this will have to do.

Truthfully, I think the modern American church is way off from what was originally intended. The Megachurch is killing true Christianity (in my opinion). How can you hold each other accountable when there are 10,000 members in the church? How can you be a family when you don't know but 1% of the church? We are to gather together, but all evidence points to those gatherings being small and intimate. I wonder what God will ultimately say about the mega churches that spend zillions of dollars in their building program while many in their cities are going hungry. What will He say when scores of people are leaving those churches unloved?

Okay, so that was off topic. Am I going to get my own thread closed?

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I totally understand. I had a similar experience. I tried really, really hard to find a new church home when I moved to my new home. Seriously, I tired at least 2 dozen in an effort to find some place that felt right. The longest I attended one was over a year. I really liked the service and LOVED the preaching. Learned a TON that year. The problem? After a year of effort on my part, a year of volunteering for everything I could volunteer for, a year of faithful attendance to both church and Sunday School, I could still walk in the door, sit through the service and leave with not a single soul talking to me. I felt so alone and unwanted. I finally decided that when I left the parking lot crying every week that it clearly wasn't worth it. I tried with a second church and had a similar experience. I just gave up. The effort was making me really angry with God and it was killing my spiritual life. I finally decided that being in a pew every week wasn't worth it. It has been over a year since I went to church. I miss it, but I don't think anything will change until I am old enough to be in the old lady/widows Sunday School class.

Everyone in my bracket is married right now and dealing with raising children. I am not. Married people and parents play with other married people and parents. They do not play with old single women.

So I'm out until I have someone to go with so I don't have to sit alone.

I have Christian girlfriends who I meet with every few weeks. My family are all Christians and I talk to my sister every day practically. She keeps me on track when I am prone to wander. Maybe one day I'll get back, but for now this will have to do.

Truthfully, I think the modern American church is way off from what was originally intended. The Megachurch is killing true Christianity (in my opinion). How can you hold each other accountable when there are 10,000 members in the church? How can you be a family when you don't know but 1% of the church? We are to gather together, but all evidence points to those gatherings being small and intimate. I wonder what God will ultimately say about the mega churches that spend zillions of dollars in their building program while many in their cities are going hungry. What will He say when scores of people are leaving those churches unloved?

Okay, so that was off topic. Am I going to get my own thread closed?

I completely agree with you!!! When I found I missed the teachings, I found I could get them online and usually for free. When I left the church, somehow I was supplied with new Christian friends. Ones that don't have a church home either. And, a key point with me, when I left, I was able to accept other beliefs into my life that have lead to some really awesome friendships. The Commandment to love others as you would yourself applies to ALL human beings. I have broadened my outlook, and have been rewarded for it.