APRIL 5, 2013 | UNITED STATES 134th Gilead Graduation—“Imitate Their Faith” The 134th class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead graduated on Saturday, March 9, 2013, at the educational center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Patterson, New York. This school trains experienced ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be more productive in their ministry. Friends, family members, and other guests joined the graduating students to make up the 9,912 who attended the program. Mark Sanderson, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, served as chairman of the program. He reminded the audience of the inauguration of Gilead School, which took place 70 years earlier on February 1, 1943. On that occasion, the president of the school, Nathan Knorr, indicated its purpose with these words: “There must be hundreds and thousands more that could be reached [with the good news of God’s Kingdom] if there were more laborers in the field. By the Lord’s grace, there will be more.” Was Brother Knorr’s faith misplaced? Consider an example. Shortly after the school began, Brother Knorr visited Mexico looking for areas where the Gilead-trained missionaries could be assigned. During his visit, all the congregations within 240 kilometers (150 mi) of Mexico City were invited to a meeting, and 400 people attended. Now, almost seven decades since the first Gilead graduates arrived in Mexico, more than 200,000 would be expected if the same area was invited to a meeting today! “What Is in Your Hand?” Anthony Griffin, a member of the United States Branch Committee, developed that theme, which was based on Exodus 4:2. In that account, God asked Moses: “What is that in your hand?” Moses’ answer was: “A rod.” Jehovah used that rod as a symbol of the authority and the commission he gave to Moses. ( Exodus 4:5) Moses did well when he used his authority for God’s glory, but he displeased God when he used it to glorify himself and to berate his brothers, as he did at “Meribah.”— Numbers 20:9-13. Brother Griffin compared the rod of Moses to the spiritual training that the Gilead students have received, urging the students not to use it to assert authority over others. Instead, he advised them: “Use what you have been given to bring praise and honor to Jehovah, and you will continue to be a blessing to those whom you serve.” “Remember the Manna.” Stephen Lett of the Governing Body highlighted the following four lessons that we can learn from the manna that God miraculously gave to the Israelites in the wilderness. Continue to work hard. (Numbers 11:8) To benefit from the manna, the Israelites had to move quickly to gather it and then work to prepare it for eating.— Exodus 16:21. Never murmur against Jehovah’s provisions. ( Numbers 11:5, 6) The Israelites grumbled about the manna, but God took their murmurings personally. Like the manna, the spiritual food we receive is not always exciting, but it is always nourishing. We should be ever grateful for each of Jehovah’s provisions. Fully trust that Jehovah will provide for you. God provided the manna reliably day by day, including a double portion on the day before the Sabbath. ( Exodus 16:22- 26) Likewise, we trust that God will provide for our needs.—Matthew 6:11. Disobedience never results in a blessing. ( Exodus 16:19, 20, 25-28) Israelites who tried to collect manna on the Sabbath got nothing except Jehovah’s displeasure, and those who on the other five days of the week saved manna for the next day found that it had bred maggots and developed an offensive odor. Brother Lett then exhorted the students to remember the lessons we learn from the manna, for then Jehovah will “open to you people the floodgates of the heavens and actually empty out upon you a blessing until there is no more want.”— Malachi 3:10. “Be Ready for Life in the New World.” William Samuelson, who oversees the Theocratic Schools Department, explained that although we are understandably ready, or eager, for life in the new world, it is even more important that we be ready in the sense of being prepared. This requires us to “be sound in mind.”—1 Peter 4:7. We show soundness of mind by the way we deal with our own imperfections. We should not blame Satan or the world under his control for all of our flaws, perhaps thinking that we will correct our defects in the new world after God removes those bad influences. Right now, we can fight negative traits, such as selfishness, by working to “put on the new personality.”— Ephesians 4: 24.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 18:54:16 +0000
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