No matter what the field of labor, you will have far greater soul-winning success if you demonstrate a genuine interest in others. Think of intentional ways to bless and minister to the needs of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, church visitors, and others in your community. As you do, here are several small but important kindnesses that will make a significant difference in your Christian witness:

• Be grateful?Express your thanks for emails, texts, gifts, cards, or other kind words or gestures.
• Be hospitable?Freely invite people to your home. Offer warmth, food, and fellowship.
• Be generous?Give small tokens and gifts whenever possible to show your love and appreciation.
• Be inclusive?Welcome people into your social circle. Include people in conversations.
• Be helpful?Notice when work needs done and jump in to help. Bear others? burdens.
• Be polite?Let others go first and choose first. Listen well and don?t rudely speak or interrupt.
• Be interested?Ask questions about the interests of others and take care to remember the details.
• Be gracious?Overlook the faults of others (see Proverbs 19:11). Don?t censure or criticize.

Follow these simple suggestions, and you will have far greater success.

In the Bible?s record of the life of Christ, we behold unselfish love in action. Luke summarized it well when he wrote that ?Jesus . . . went about doing good? (Acts 10:38). Love was not merely a feeling or an emotion to Jesus. It always led Him to action. Character is revealed not merely through our disposition or intentions, but through tangible deeds. Thus Ellen White encourages, ?Crowd all the good works you possibly can into this life? (Christian Service, p. 85). As we behold Christ from the cradle to the cross, going from one good deed to the next, let us consider how our lives might reflect the life of Jesus.

Another way to behold the character of Christ is to contemplate the fruit of the Spirit: ?But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? (Galatians 5:22, 23). As you meditate on each of these attributes, ask God to manifest them through you. Through the power of His grace, let your love bless others and lead you to labor for their salvation. Let your joy exude enthusiasm and inspire hope. Let your peace make you an anchor of security and strength. Let your long-suffering inspire others to trust in God. Let your kindness attract others and soften their hearts. Let your goodness touch their lives with compassion. Let your faithfulness inspire faith in others. Let your gentleness make you approachable and your self-control give you moral strength. Of course, none of these traits are inherent in the human heart. We can manifest them only as we pray and ask God to fill us with His Spirit.

In the contemplation of Christ we linger on the shore of a love that is measureless. We endeavor to tell of this love, and language fails us. We consider His life on earth, His sacrifice for us, His work in heaven as our advocate, and the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him, and we can only exclaim, O the height and depth of the love of Christ! ?Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.? ?Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.? 1 John 4:10; 3:1.

?The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 333, 334.

In the seven unambiguous I AM statements made by Jesus that are recorded in John?s Gospel, He consciously and intentionally applied the sacred name of God, revealed in the Torah, to Himself. Historians of intertestamental Judaism and first-century Judaism remind us that no Jew would ever take upon his lips the formulation of ?I AM.? This name belonged only to God, who identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush: ?I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? (Exodus 3:6, NIV). ?God said to Moses, ?I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ?I am has sent me to you? ? ? (verse 14, NIV).

Yet Jesus did not hesitate to take the most sacred name in Judaism and apply it to Himself. In seven deliberate statements, He expressly identified Himself with the Trinity and with the God whom, for centuries, the Israelites had declared to be their unique and all-powerful Deity:

1. ?I am the bread of life? (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).
2. ?I am the light of the world? (John 8:12; 9:5).
3. ?I am the door? (John 10:7, 9).
4. ?I am the good shepherd? (verses 11, 14).
5. ?I am the resurrection and the life? (John 11:25).
6. ?I am the way, the truth, and the life? (John 14:6).
7. ?I am the true vine? (John 15:1, 5).

No, it is not good that people should be alone! Though everyone will go through a season when they have no marriage companion,they need not be alone. Human beings were created for social interaction, and it is in relationships that they grow and thrive best.

The season of being alone is tough because there is no one to warm us up when we are cold, no one to help us fight aggressors, and no one to lift us up when we are down. Ecclesiastes 4 speaks of the benefits of two rather than one, but at the end of verse 12, the writer introduces an additional idea: A threefold cord is not quickly broken. In a marital relationship, that third person is God. For the unmarried, that other person must also be God.

He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

When we adore God, we are like the angels, awed by His glory. These angels hover by the throne of God, ready and available to do His will. They come and go based on God's command. Therefore, the heart of worship is being available to God on a daily basis. It is not a weekly act on Sabbath morning. It is a day-to-day experience. 

Worship is a lifestyle. For Christians, there is no such thing as sacred and secular. Everything belongs to God. Whether we eat, drink, play, or work, we do it all in the presence of God and for His glory. We are to be a people who are constantly available to Him. If we have not worshiped on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, how can we expect to worship on Sabbath? All we have done is attend church.

If someone says to me, Charles, if you climb up to the top of that cliff and jump off, you're going to fall to the bottom and die. I climb to the top of the cliff and jump. Sure enough, I fall to the rocks below. What killed me? What pronounced judgment on me? The person who delivered the warning? No. My life ended because I ignored the words.

This may be a hard concept for some to accept. We want someone?someone really big and powerful?to avenge the wrongs done to us throughout our lives. We want a mighty hand to hurl death and destruction at our enemies. But according to Jesus, judgment rides on our acceptance or rejection of God's warning message. What happens to us on that final day isn't the act of an angry God. It's the act of a defiant or complacent self.

We choose whether to jump off the cliff or not.

Two words at the beginning of Philippians 2:17 sum up Paul?s approach to his possible impending death: ?even if.? Even if Paul is to die as a drink offering, he can still say: ?I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me? (2:17, 18). A depth of experience is bound up in the words even if. No circumstance, not even the possibility of death, can rob Paul of his joy in Christ.

As Paul speaks here of his joy, he uses an interesting play on words, not easily translated into another language. The New International Version translates the two words Paul uses for rejoicing as glad and rejoice. Both words are forms of the same word in Greek. The first word, translated as ?glad,? is the common Greek word for ?to rejoice? (chairo). The second word, translated as ?rejoice,? is the very same word with a prefix added. The prefix is the Greek preposition syn, meaning ?together with.? The combined word Paul uses?synchairo, which changes to sygchairo for pronunciation purposes?means to co-rejoice or mutually rejoice together. So Paul says that even if he is about to die, he rejoices and co-rejoices or mutually rejoices together with the Philippians. So they, too, should rejoice and mutually rejoice with him.

Paul is sharing why he can rejoice under such difficult circumstances. He can personally rejoice because he does not rejoice alone. He is mutually rejoicing with the Philippians. His warm fellowship with them enables him to rejoice. He rejoices because he knows he is surrounded by the body of believers?his friends and spiritual family. Paul gives profound testimony to his appreciation for the church and its fellowship. It enables him to rejoice, ?even if.?

Paul seems to have sensed, however, that it would be tempting for readers to misunderstand this whole race analogy. When the Christian life is compared to a running race, it would be easy to see Christian growth in terms of human effort and accomplishment. This could easily seem contradictory to what Paul had just said in Philippians 3:7?11 about the sufficiency of Christ for salvation. It might even give the idea that initial salvation and forgiveness are based on God?s gift, but continued Christian life and growth are based on human effort?running as hard as one can. It is fascinating to see how skillfully Paul sets aside any such view.

As soon as he says he is pressing on to ?take hold? of the victory, he qualifies it by using a passive voice to show that, ultimately, the action is not his. He says, ?I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me? (3:12; emphasis added). In other words, he can only run the race and try to take hold of the victory because he is already safe in the arms of Jesus Christ, who took hold of him. Jesus ?took hold? first, and only that empowers Paul to ?take hold.? This is not a matter of Christ beginning the work and him finishing it. Christ?s initial taking hold is vital throughout the whole process, and without Christ?s continuous presence, Paul could never take hold.

God desires man to exercise his reasoning powers; and the study of the Bible will strengthen and elevate the mind as no other study can. Yet we are to beware of deifying reason, which is subject to the weakness and infirmity of humanity. If we would not have the Scriptures clouded to our understanding, so that the plainest truths shall not be comprehended, we must have the simplicity and faith of a little child, ready to learn, and beseeching the aid of the Holy Spirit. A sense of the power and wisdom of God, and of our inability to comprehend His greatness, should inspire us with humility, and we should open His word, as we would enter His presence, with holy awe. When we come to the Bible, reason must acknowledge an authority superior to itself, and heart and intellect must bow to the great I AM.

There are many things apparently difficult or obscure, which God will make plain and simple to those who thus seek an understanding of them. But without the guidance of the Holy Spirit we shall be continually liable to wrest the Scriptures or to misinterpret them.?Steps to Christ, pp. 109, 110.

Christianity is a relationship with God and Jesus Christ. But it is more than a relationship. Hosea 2:20 says, ?And you shall know the Lord.? Knowing has something to do with doctrine. Doctrine is teaching. It tells us about God so that we can truly know Him and know who He is!

In addition to knowledge of the other person, there are other key aspects to close relationships. It is important not only to know the other person but also to understand ourselves and the proper relationship between us. Doctrine tells us about ourselves and how to relate to God. It tells us who God is, who we are, and how we as humans are to relate to God and the rest of humankind.

Knowing God is also important because our lives are shaped by the people or things we admire the most. If we admire God the most, we will be transformed into His image, which will enable us to have an even closer relationship with Him. Doctrine is not an end in itself. It has meaning only if it leads to a mature relationship with our Creator God, who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. This is why we should accept God for who He is and put Him first in our lives.

Philippians 4:14?20

How do you say thank you for a gift? In some cases, it can be awkward. Some gifts are just too big and too generous for a mere thank-you note. Only another gift in kind would do the job, but that might almost be insulting. Saying thank you is not always easy.

In these closing verses of Philippians, we see how Paul says, ?Thank you.? The Philippians have given him wonderful gifts to keep him sustained while a prisoner. Now we see a masterful thank-you that not only expresses warm gratitude for the gifts but also focuses beyond these specific gifts to the Christian commitment and fellowship that stand behind them. . . .

Paul concludes with a doxology to God. Ultimately, the glory is God?s. He is the One who stands behind even the Philippians? generosity. All good comes from Him. It is not unusual to find Paul breaking into a doxology when he is overwhelmed with God?s goodness (see, for example, Romans 11:36). Notice, too, that in the doxology, Paul changes from speaking of ?my God? to ?our God? (4:19, 20).

Paul has ended his thank-you. All that is left now are a few verses of final greetings and a benediction.