Keys707 Blog

How Faith Works

By David Berg

God loves to precipitate a crisis. He sometimes lets things happen to make us pray and believe Him for the answer. He wants us to take a definite step of faith by making specific requests and expecting specific answers.

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Faith in God, trust in God, gives a feeling of rest of body, peace of mind, contentment of heart, and spiritual well-being. When we know that God loves us, we know everything is going to be okay.

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We’re supposed to believe God’s Word simply because He said so. It’s like a child who has to trust his parents even though he doesn’t always understand why he must do or not do this or that. He just has to “do it because Daddy says so.” Because the child trusts his parents and feels secure in their love, he takes their word for it. That’s the way we should be with God. We should say to Him, “Yes sir!” and believe it and do it simply because He says we should. That’s one way of showing our love and confidence in Him.

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How do you get faith? It’s a gift of God and available to anyone who wants it. The problem is, a lot of people don’t want it until they need it, and then they suddenly find they don’t have the faith they need because they have no background of faith in God’s Word. As no good building is without a good foundation, there is no solid basis for faith without the Word; faith in God is built on His Word. So if you feel like you’re weak in faith, there’s a simple cure: God’s Word will increase your faith.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”1—meaning it comes through reading God’s Word or learning from someone who is teaching about God’s Word. The more you fill your heart and mind with the words of God, the more faith and the less worry, fear, and stress you will have.

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When you pray, expect an answer. God is bound by His Word, so remind Him of His promises. Never doubt for a moment that God is going to answer, and He will. He has to. He wants to. Trust Him and thank Him for the answer, even if you don’t see it immediately.

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Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.—Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. Romans 10:17

David Brandt Berg (1919-1994) was the son of well-known American evangelist Virginia Brandt Berg. In 1968, David and his wife and teenage children pioneered a ministry to the counterculture youth of Huntington Beach, California. This ministry grew into an international Christian missionary movement known today as the Family International (TFI).

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Bring Back the Joy

Question: I feel less happy than I did when I was younger. How can I regain some of the joy of life that I’ve lost?

Answer: At some point, most adults have looked at a child playing blissfully and wished they could turn back the clock. Children at play look happy, carefree, and thrilled about life. They laugh a lot, are easily entertained, and get excited about the simplest things. They have their problems and hurts too, of course, but they are resilient. Children live in the moment and generally spend more time being happy than adults. Here are a few ways you can recapture some of that childhood magic.

Rediscover the world around you. Take a closer look at things that form the backdrop of your days—buds on the tree you pass on your way to the car, rays of morning sun through the kitchen window, white clouds against a cerulean sky, the spiderweb on the drain spout.

Savor your food. Don’t just eat and run; slow down long enough to think about and enjoy it. When was the first time you had that dish? What favorites do you have now that you didn’t like as a child?

Learn something. Children don’t have time to get into ruts because they’re too busy discovering new things. Take up a new hobby or activity. Read a new author. Travel, if only vicariously via travelogue.

Reward yourself. Set a goal for the week and pick out a reward for when you reach it. Anticipation is one of the best incentives, and it works at any age.

Talk to a child. If you want a fresh perspective, ask a child about almost anything. Wit, wisdom, imagination, hope, pathos—they’ve got it all. Don’t be surprised if you are revisited by some of your own childhood thoughts.

Take downtime. Your world won’t come crashing down if you stop doing and accomplishing for a few minutes. Relax. Contemplate happy thoughts. Let your imagination run wild.

Be thankful for small things. A child can be delighted by a cheap gift, a chance to go outdoors, a bit of attention, a free swing at the park. Think of the little things you enjoy, and give thanks.

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The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age.—Khalil Gibran (1883–1931)

Quotes From Leo Buscaglia

• A single rose can be my garden, a single friend, my world.
• Death is a challenge, it tells us not to waste time. It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other.
• Don't brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever.
• I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.
• Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.
• Love is life and if you miss love, you miss life.
• The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.
• Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
• Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.

Activate Your Life - Refresh and Refocus

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What Matters Most

Written by Akio Matsuoka

“I’ve been so busy with life that I haven’t had time to think,” a terminally ill woman in her forties told me when I visited her at a hospice. “I realized while lying here that I barely know my husband, my children, or my mother-in-law, who also lives with us. I’ve been wrapped up in caring for them—shopping and cooking, doing their laundry, cleaning after them, helping them with their homework—and yet I can’t say that I really know what they are thinking or what they are going through. I can’t tell you when was the last time that I had a deep conversation with any of them.”

I heard a similar lament recently while attending a seminar. The main lecturer finished and opened the floor for a casual question-and-answer period. An elderly man who was the retired CEO of a large company stood up and spoke to the 100 or so attendees. “I am 70 years old, currently in excellent health, and recently retired with a substantial pension. I was looking forward to finally relaxing and spending time with my family, but yesterday my wife asked for a divorce. I have worked hard my entire life, always for the family that I loved. Where did I go wrong? Why has my life turned out this way?”

I often hear people say that they want their loved ones to be happy, and that is why they need to work so long and hard. Unfortunately, the more successful they become, the busier they get and the less time they have to spend with their families—and the less they reap of the rewards they expected from their investment. While the dying woman’s and the retired man’s motives may have seemed noble at the time, the lives they led to hadn’t been able to satisfy the needs of their loved ones’ hearts.

The Bible tells us, “Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”1 The original Greek word translated “share” is koinónia, which means “participation,” “communion,” “fellowship.”2 In other words, it pleases God when we sacrifice other things to make time to help others, to participate in their lives, to share in their victories and struggles, to have heart-to-heart interaction with them—in short, when we make time to love.

1. Hebrews 13:16 NLT

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New Beginnings

“I began to see that the things I owned, owned me.”

By Michael, from Canada

As the son of a successful corporate lawyer, growing up was pleasant for me. In my early teens my parents sent me to an elite private boarding school. Due to my great interest in art, I was then sent to a high school specializing in art and academic studies. My artwork and academic achievements there won me a scholarship at the Ontario College of Art, Canada’s most prestigious art college.

When I entered college, I was placed in the third year of the four-year art course—only the second student in the history of the college to receive this placement. At the end of my fourth year, I was given another scholarship and a grant to travel. After returning from extensive travels in Europe, I was hired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where I worked for four years as a graphic designer. I also did freelance illustrations for a top agency in New York and for major newspapers, magazines, book publishers, TV, and animation companies.

I had climbed the ladder of success in my field, but it wasn’t enough; my heart was not satisfied. I began to understand that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). I began to see that the things I owned, owned me. I wanted to find the true meaning of life.

Then one cold winter night on the downtown streets of Toronto, Canada, I met a total stranger who, in less than an hour, explained passages to me from the Bible that changed my life in the most profound way. That night I asked Jesus into my heart and found the greatest of all riches—Jesus and the Word of God.

“I traded bitterness and confusion for peace and love.”

By Shirley, from India

Am I doing the right thing? Is this what’s going to make me truly happy? What if…? I was on my way to an interview for a job overseas, and my mind was plagued with uncertainty about my future. I was still reeling from a broken relationship, and my family and friends agreed that a change would do me good; my colleagues at work called me an escapist.

I had been raised to believe in God, but had become upset, bitter, and resentful toward Him after my father died in spite of the deals I tried to make with Him. Now when I faced this life-changing decision, I didn’t know who else to call on. I decided to give God one more chance to prove Himself. Walking to that appointment, I prayed, “God, if You’re real, help me with this decision.”

As my mind returned to that crowded Mumbai sidewalk, I saw him—a stranger with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. He stopped me and asked for directions. Something about him struck me as unusual. How did he manage to stay so cool, unperturbed, and untouched by the near-chaos around us? We talked, and the conversation turned to choices and decision-making, God and the Bible. He showed me from the Bible how I too could have the peace that he had found by inviting the Prince of Peace, Jesus, into my heart. I prayed with that stranger right there on the sidewalk, and immediately felt a wonderful inner peace—and I forgot all about that interview!

That was the beginning of a deeper and more personal relationship with my Creator, Friend, and Companion. As I got to know Him better, I didn’t want to keep it to myself. Now I live to help others experience the love, joy, happiness, and hope that Jesus has given me.

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Power Up!

Jesus told His followers that He would “send the Promise of the Father” upon them, so they would be “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). If you have received Jesus as your Savior, if you have been “born again of the Spirit,” then you have already received a little of that Holy Spirit power. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve received the full measure of the Holy Spirit. This is usually a separate experience that happens later.

A glass of water makes a good illustration. If the glass has at least some water in it, you could say that it’s a glass of water, even though it’s not a full glass. Many Christians are like glasses with just a little water, a bit of God’s Spirit. But those who have prayed for an infilling of the Holy Spirit are like glasses that have been filled till they overflow.

Have you received the full power of God’s Spirit? If not, you can right now. You just have to ask for and receive it by praying a simple prayer like the following:

Dear Jesus, I know that I need more of Your love and power in my life, so please fill me with Your Holy Spirit right now. Amen.

Power for what?

Love power. God is the very Spirit of love itself, (John 4:24; 1 John 4:8) so when He fills you with His Holy Spirit, your heart overflows with love—love for Him and love for others.

Prayer power. In order to receive or transmit messages, a two-way radio must be plugged into a power source; the greater the power, the better the radio operates. Prayer works the same way, and it’s powered by the Holy Spirit. Spirit-filled prayers reach their destination loud and clear, and they really get results (Romans 8:26–27).

Power to get more closely connected. Shortly before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them a Comforter or Helper, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen, empower, lead, and guide them in their spiritual lives and relationships with Him. “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

Power to make positive changes in your life. Self-help books, resolutions, and willpower aren’t enough! What you really need to make positive changes in your life is God’s help. You may be able to make some changes yourself, but to get real and lasting deep changes, you need the renewing power of the Holy Spirit (See Titus 3:5).

Power to share the Good News with others. If you find it difficult to share your faith with others, you’ll be happy to know that one of the main purposes of the Holy Spirit is to give you the boldness and the courage to tell others about the Lord and His love.

The Family International

Acts 1:8

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Trust God Anyhow

By David Berg

The Lord lets us go through tests sometimes. He can even make it appear as if He is being a little too hard on us, so that we’re tempted to think, “How could God let us suffer like this? How can He let that sort of thing happen?” The Devil is always around to try to make you doubt and even criticize the Lord, like he did with Job.

God said about Job, “There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). But the Devil challenged God, “Well, You just let me work him over and we’ll see!” So God allowed the Devil to put Job through many tests and afflictions. Job lost his family, his wealth, and his health—and that’s when his sin came to the fore. The Devil had been right about that. Job’s sin was self-righteousness, self-perfection. His sin was that he didn’t think that he had any sin, and he couldn’t understand why God was doing all this to him.

It wasn’t until he hit rock bottom, sitting in a heap of ashes, scraping boils from his body with a piece of broken pottery, that he finally confessed he wasn’t as righteous as he had thought he was—and then God delivered him! Job learned his lesson, the Devil gave up, and God gave Job a new family, restored his health, and made him even more prosperous than before.

Someone once said, “God allows some things to happen to make you humble, other things to keep you humble, and yet others to make sure you’re still humble.” While some experiences may be painful at the time, they can be seen as God’s “intolerable compliment”—an indication that He loves us (Hebrews 12:6).

One thing is certain: God knows what He’s doing. So whenever we don’t understand why He allows something to happen, we just have to wrap our questions in a little bundle of faith and tuck it away till some day He reveals why. I’ve had some things happen to me that I couldn’t understand, except that they kept me humble and eventually furthered the Lord’s plan for my life.

We don’t always know right away why God did or allowed certain things to happen, and in some cases we may not know till we get to Heaven. I have a whole lot of questions that I’m going ask when I get there. We’ve just got to trust Him anyhow!

One of the great questions of this life is why God allows seemingly bad things to happen to people, and specifically to us. We probably won’t know the complete answer to that till we get to Heaven. We can see part of the answer and understand some of the reasons, but we won’t fully comprehend till we get up there and see the whole picture. I think that’s going to be part of our continuing education in the afterlife—learning why. Like Paul wrote: “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV).

The name of the game is faith and trust—faith to trust God. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him! Though I have had a tough time and I don’t know why, yet will I trust Him! Though He let this or that happen, yet will I trust Him! Though He lets an affliction beset me or my loved ones, I’ve still got to trust Him.”

God loves to see if you’ve got real faith and you’re going to trust Him no matter what. That’s the greatest victory of all, when you seem to be defeated and you still trust the Lord. That must please the Lord more than anything—that even when it looks like you are lost and defeated, you still trust Him, like Job. Faith in the face of disaster or agony, faith in the face of death!

Look at all the martyrs and saints in God’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews, chapter 11! It says, “These all died in faith” (Hebrews 11:13). That’s the greatest thing that could be said of them. They died without receiving all that God had promised them—some were even martyred—but they never lost faith; they never lost heart. They died trusting.

The Family International

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The Place Where You End, I Begin

By Jesus, speaking in prophecy

There is much in life that seems impossible, but with Me, all things become possible. When you look at life or yourself, you often only see problems and impossibilities, and that perplexes you. You fall down in despair, knowing that you can’t bear the weight of all the difficulties, demands, and responsibilities, or even cope with the faults and failings that fill you and surround you.

I’ve shown you the face of seeming impossibilities both within and without so that you could see My hand and power at work and believe, and so that you could be set free from trying so hard to overcome in your own strength. Your confidence in Me has been renewed, knowing that I really am your salvation, your hope, your deliverer, that your salvation is in Me.

Now, as I lift you above the fog of futilely trying to do it all yourself, above the fear and frustration, above all the lying vanities,1 and pull away the facade of impossibilities and show you that your strength and hope lies in Me, you find great peace and confidence. You find hope where there was no hope. Your faith in Me has grown, even though your confidence in yourself has been shaken. You have seen Me keep you and deliver you so miraculously that now you better understand that even though you can’t, I can.

You’ve seen that there are some situations in which nothing but prayer can prevail. Your will, your charm, your goodness, your cleverness, and all such tactics may fall short. But sincere, desperate, humble prayer moves My hand and gets things done when nothing else can. This is a precious gift from Me. Humility is also a very precious gift, though humans don’t always see it that way at first.

How difficult it is to rescue a drowning man when he’s still frantically trying to save himself. His mind is full of fear and he’s a danger to all who come near to help him. Often I want to help you more, but I must wait until you stop struggling so hard. When you’re in a great battle with your fears and problems, you must learn to trust Me to save you and cease from your frantic efforts in the flesh so I can speak to you, still your heart, and bring you out of many waters.

Fight to be calm and to have faith, to believe in Me. Then cast all your cares upon Me.3 Trust Me without reservation and learn to rest, having done all you can; for giving it all to Me is the best thing you can do.

When you feel your fears crushing you on all sides and there’s no apparent way to escape, call on Me and let Me command the storm to cease and bring you up into My secret chamber where all is peace. In an instant I can lift you up and set you upon My rock, My mountaintop, high above the cares of this world.

What may seem like a place of great defeat for you and your pride is not a place of total failure, complete loss, or of despair and utter hopelessness. Just the opposite is true, for just beyond the line that marks your limits is where I begin, an eternal sea of limitless power and possibility that is yours in Me.

A soul that has come to the end of itself, to the end of its human endurance and abilities, is actually a greater threat to Satan than a soul full of its own self-confidence. That’s why he attacks with such fury and force, trying to cause those who are broken to despair of life and fall into great self-defeat and condemnation, feeling totally worthless. He doesn’t want them to see that they’ve come to that place of great power—that sacred place where they end and I begin. He doesn’t want them to discover what infinite power is there; that My Spirit is ready to rush in and fill them and give them the pure power of My presence in them, lifting them up. What wars are fought at the border of My kingdom to prevent those weary souls from calling out to Me and casting themselves upon Me that I might deliver them.

The Family International

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High Risk, High Reward

Written by Peter Amsterdam

When you get an out-of-the-box idea or an opportunity arises that would be a departure from your normal way of doing things, your immediate reaction might be to play it safe—to shy away from the idea, or to hesitate to capitalize on the opportunity because it’s new and untried and seems risky. But if you wait too long to decide what to do, the opportunity may pass you by. At times like that, you need to calculate the risk.

It’s not merely a matter of being willing to take risks, because that can also lead to recklessness. Taking calculated risks is about assessing potential gains versus potential losses, and making wise decisions accordingly. You do sometimes need to risk failure for the sake of the potential rewards, but generally there should be a greater probability for a positive outcome than a negative one. The keys are first to understand the odds, and second to do whatever you can to improve them.

Military strategy makes a good analogy. Defensive strategy tends to play it safe. But caution and self-preservation can’t be an army’s only considerations. If they were, that army would never manage to gain new territory. Successful strategies include taking risks, departing from the norm, doing the unexpected, and seizing the moment.

It’s difficult to decide to do something that involves a high degree of risk, even when there is potential for great reward, but life is full of such situations. Here are a few points to keep in mind the next time one comes your way:

Assess the time factor. Few windows of opportunity stay open permanently. Sometimes the choice to pursue or not to pursue a certain opportunity must be made rather quickly, but don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a hasty, ill-advised decision.

Study the situation. Thoroughly and objectively consider the pros and cons, and calculate the odds for success as best you can. Then try to determine what you can do to improve those odds.

Learn from others. Try to find accounts of others who have taken similar risks, and examine why they succeeded or failed.

Include God in the decision-making process. God can and wants to help things turn out well for you,1 and He will if you’re in tune and in step with Him.2 He sees the whole picture, and He will help you see it more clearly if you ask Him to.3

Don’t abandon common sense. Risk-taking is not about abandoning common sense, and neither is trying to find God’s mind on the matter. God wants us to exercise our faith in Him, and He does sometimes work in mysterious ways, but He also gave us the power to reason for a purpose. He expects us to think things through.

Be willing to take action. You can’t afford to be impulsive, but you also can’t wait for everything to be perfect and risk-free; you need to be prepared to commit when the time is right, to seize the day.

If a seemingly golden opportunity should come your way and it’s right for you, you can be sure that God planned and orchestrated it. When that’s the case, a calculated risk can become the gateway to success.

1. Jeremiah 29:11
2. Psalm 84:11; 1 John 5:14–15
3. Jeremiah 33:3; James 1:5

Peter Amsterdam has been active in Christian service since 1971. In 1995 he became co-director (together with his wife, Maria Fontaine) of the Christian community of faith known as the Family International. He has authored a variety of articles on Christian faith and theology.

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Who Can Judge

Written by Peter Amsterdam

Some Christians give Christianity a bad name because of their strongly judgmental attitudes,which come across as self-righteousness. Such people may think they are upholding the faith or standing for good causes, but their pronouncements are often harsh and overlook the fact that God loves all people, including those who have rejected or not understood Him. When we interact with people whom we feel are in the wrong, God still expects us to respect them as people whom He created and loves.

God doesn’t condone evil or wrongdoing and neither should we, but we also need to bear in mind that Jesus taught through both word and example that judgment should be tempered by mercy and forgiveness.1 We may be convinced that someone’s actions are wrong or misguided, but God still expects us to be compassionate with the person.2 We may not agree with others’ beliefs or approve of their actions, but that doesn’t make it right to adopt a judgmental attitude toward those people. We need to consider how Jesus would respond, and act accordingly.

Doing so isn’t always straightforward or clear cut. Jesus cautioned us to not judge or condemn others,3 but He also told us to “judge righteous judgment,”4 which involves discerning, evaluating, and differentiating between right and wrong. How do we know when to apply each admonition?

If someone does something that is obviously morally reprehensible, it is reasonable that you would feel compelled to speak out, especially if others are being harmed or led astray as a result.

But there are some situations when right and wrong aren’t so clearly delineated. Something that is wrong under most circumstances might be necessary under other circumstances, such as committing violence to defend oneself or other innocents. In other situations, only time will tell. Jesus said that we would be able to judge people and situations by their fruits,5 meaning we will know only after the situation has played out.

We also need to guard against common pitfalls in the judging process, such as the temptation to make blanket judgments about certain types of people or situations, or to make issues more black-and-white than they actually are.

We shouldn’t feel compelled to judge every person we encounter whose life seems to have gone wrong, or condemn others because of the poor choices they seem to have made. We should be more concerned about helping them than about judging them. We can’t know the burdens and weights that people carry, or all the reasons they make the choices they do. Only God is in a position to pass wise and fair judgment.6 He knows their hearts.7 He understands everything about them in a way that we would never be able to.

We can offer advice or support when appropriate, but it’s not likely that people will be receptive to offers of help if they aren’t presented lovingly. We need to remember that we are also sinners8 who need God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness, which can cover a multitude of sins.9

Judgmentalism portrays the opposite of God’s unconditional love. Judging or labeling people by their perceived weaknesses, or their past, or their physical characteristics, or their age, or their ethnicity, or their beliefs, or any other factor works against the inclusiveness and spirit of love that should be the hallmarks of our lives as Christians. We should be known for our love and lives that manifest the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.10

* * *

1. John 8:3–11; Matthew 12:10–14
2. Matthew 9:13; 12:7; Luke 10:30–37; Galatians 6:1
3. Matthew 7:1
4. John 7:24
5. Matthew 7:20
6. James 4:12
7. 1 Samuel 16:7
8. Romans 3:23
9. 1 Peter 4:8
10. Galatians 5:22–23 NLT

The Family International

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Counsel together, Work together, Meet God together

By David Berg

A good executive is not a boss!––He is a servant! Jesus wasn't just trying to teach His disciples humility when He said, "He who is greatest among you must be servant of all!" A good executive simply is not a dictator! He must call his people in and talk to them and find out what they think and go a great deal by what they say. If he sees their ideas are good, all he has to do is say, "OK!"

A good executive is really a servant! He listens to his employees! When the top people don't even communicate with their co-workers, then of course they don't understand the problems of those under them.

So when it comes to things that are practical, the leaders ought to listen to their helpers! When it comes to the inspirational, you're supposed to be good, or you shouldn't be the leader! But when it comes to the practical, they probably know more about it than you do! (Read Acts 6:1-4.) Once you have made the decision, okayed your workers' suggestions, accepted them, approved what they have to do or want to do, you should then agree together to do it.

Any officer, any general who doesn't listen to his officers and doesn't pay any attention to his men, is going to be in trouble! Every good king is surrounded by many counselors who tell him what to do! Did you know that even God works that way?––He calls in His chief counselors and spirits and Angels and asks them, "What do you think we should do about this?" He listens to their different plans and suggestions and then He has the Godly wisdom to know who is right and to make the choice! If you don't believe it, read Genesis 1:26; 1 Kings 22:19-22; Job 1:6-12 etc.!

Any smart executive is going to pump people power!––He is neither going to try to be the pump, nor the water, nor the bucket! He's merely going to be the guiding hand that takes hold of the handle and grabs the bull by the tail and pumps!––I'll tell you, you'll get action then! Let the people's well, the repository of God's rain, provide the water! Let the pump, his counselors, bring it to him and then let his spouts guide it into his buckets and not try to run everything himself!

God not only listens to his Heavenly counselors, Spirits and Angels, but don't forget, He even listens to us and does what we ask Him to do! But a tyrannical spirit makes a leader like the Devil, the first would-be dictator, who didn't want to listen to either God or the other angelic forces!

He declares his independence from all righteous rule and people and goes about doing his dirty work amongst the whole universe as a dandy bad example of what not to be and what not to do! So we have hell on Earth and even some hell in the heavenlies at present in the Spirit World, until God throws him out completely and all his devils, in the coming Tribulation and Wrath of God after the Rapture.

So we all need to work together, we need to listen to each other, counsel together, agree together, decide together and then work it out together. If we're going to be an effective body, every member must work together with all the other members––not just one, not just a few, not even the majority, but with all working together as a body, which Christ described as His Body, the Church and with Himself as the Head.

God bless you and keep you together––even when you're apart! Never get so far apart you can't stay together in spirit. The only way we're going to win this war is to fight it together and not against each other, but together with each other against the Enemy!

Let's win it together so we can shout the victory together and greet God together in the end!

Then and only then will you be a wise leader and a good executive!

The Family International

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How to Find Real Love

by David Berg

To be genuine and lasting, romantic love must be based on a more enduring foundation than mere physical attraction or fleshly gratification.

It must include an unselfish desire to protect and help and make someone else happy. It must also involve admiration for the other person’s finer qualities. A person can be in love with their partner’s mind, spirit, sentiments, and bearing—all of which have little or nothing to do with physical beauty. Real love is a spiritual thing; it’s not merely physical. It’s mostly manifested in spiritual and mental companionship and compatibility, the likes and dislikes and habits that the two people have in common.

When I was a young man, my mother once told me not to put the physical features first in my quest for a soul mate, but to seek something more in a woman than that. “Most of all,” she advised, “seek that indefinable thing called personality. Seek the liveliness of the spirit, the fascination of the mind, the irresistibility of the heart, the magnanimity of the soul.” The things of this earth can satisfy the body, but God has made us so that our spirit can only be satisfied by the things of the spirit.

God’s Word tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”1 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”2 “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”3

If you put the desires of the flesh first, then you’ll find that nothing ever satisfies, not even the most total indulgence. Those who seek only to gratify their flesh will never find complete satisfaction and happiness. The things of this earth can satisfy the body, but only God and His true love can ever fill that aching spiritual void in the heart, because He created that place for Himself alone.

True happiness comes not in your personal pursuit of selfish pleasure and satisfaction, but in finding God and giving His love and life to others, and bringing them happiness. Then happiness will pursue and overtake and overwhelm you, personally, without you even seeking it for yourself.

I once knew a woman who was always seeking the man of her dreams but never finding a relationship that satisfied or lasted because she was always seeking to get love, to receive love, to be loved. When I suggested to her that perhaps she needed to learn to give love and to love unselfishly for the benefit of another, this struck her as an entirely new thought. It had never even occurred to her before! She went out and soon found what she had been looking for all the time—by finding a man she could make happy by giving him her love.

That’s the secret: Look for someone to make happy, and then happiness will find you! “He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”4 Those are God’s laws of the spirit and are just as definite as the laws of physics, such as the law of gravity. God’s laws of the spirit never fail. They always work for you or against you, depending on your actions and motives. And the first law is the law of love—unselfish love for Him and others. If you will obey that law and give the love that is His and others’ due, you will also receive love, “for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”5

Life, liberty, and the giving of happiness to others—these are things that only God can give and the only things that will ever satisfy your spirit. So if you want to be happy and make someone else truly happy, seek the satisfaction of the spirit that can be found only in God and His love!

1. 1 John 2:15–17
2. Colossians 3:2, KJV
3. 2 Corinthians 4:18
4. 2 Corinthians 9:6
5. Luke 6:38

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Love Without Partiality

By Maria Fontaine

You see and hear it all the time—discrimination against minority races, minority religions, and minorities of all kinds, from governmental oppression and persecution to prejudiced individuals with their rude jokes and antagonistic behavior. What a stark contrast that is to the way God is and the way He wants us to be! The Bible tells us that “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34).

In just about every country, lines are sharply drawn between the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the predominant race and the minority races, the predominant religion and the discriminated-against smaller religions. The mainstream majority invariably denigrates and despises the minority.

Racial and religious discrimination and hatred are thriving in the world today. The Bible says that in the Last Days “the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12), and this can be clearly seen in an increasingly hate-filled society. The news media is full of more and more headlines of bigotry, cruelty, and crimes against those who are different or hold differing views from the majority.

We must not let ourselves be influenced by or fall into society’s way of dealing with differences between people. God has given us a better way, and that is to love one another.

In our dealings with others we must be very careful to “not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). We can’t love or even sympathize with people unless we understand them, and we can’t truly understand them without putting ourselves in their place or trying to see things from their perspective.

We need to look for the good and the possibilities in people and situations. Whether someone is black or white or yellow or brown, a Jew or a Gentile, Buddhist or Hindu or whatever, should have nothing to do with it. It’s sin that the Lord doesn’t like, not people’s race or color or social status.

Were you belittled and criticized and condemned for all of the wrong you had done? Or were you told that regardless of what you had done, there was a wonderful loving Father who loved you so much that He was willing to send His beloved Son to die for you, to make a place for you by His side where you could be forever happy and at peace with Him? “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

We’re all hopeless without God’s love, and that’s the only thing that can save us! While God teaches hatred of sin, He shows great love for the individual sinner, just as He did for each of us.

God created people to be different, and He loves them all. His great love and grace reach out to all of His creations the same. He didn’t make some that He loved less and others that He loved more. He doesn’t love people with a certain color of skin any more than He loves people with another color of skin. If we show a prejudicial, belittling, demeaning spirit like that toward others, it must hurt Him very much.

We are supposed to love all people the same. Jesus gave His life for all humankind. How could He love one person more than the other, when He has shown the very greatest love possible by dying for each of them?

Like the universal heavenly Father that He is, God loves all people equally. When you’re a parent, as your children come along, you love each one to the fullest. You put everything you can into each one according to their particular needs. You give your life over again for each one. And regardless of their differences, you love each one individually with as much love as you have to give.

That’s how God loves. Can we love the same?

God created people to be different, and He loves them all. His great love and grace reach out to all of His creations the same.

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