Once upon a time, Jehovah created a paradise garden on the newly formed Earth, and in it, He created two people, and told them to be fruitful and multiply and be the masters over the Earth and all the living creatures of the skies, lands, and oceans. His purpose therefore was to fill the paradise with many, many happy people, who had everything they ever wanted—all without laboring or pains.

Yet, the people Adam and Eve deliberately (stupidly, I must add) disobeyed God by taking a route independent from Jehovah's loving guidance. Like rebellion teenagers, they thought they would be in much more freedom, but in reality, they lost freedom, just as if teenagers who choose to do drugs and smoke but ended up harming themselves. In return, They got much suffering.

So has Jehovah's purpose for the lovely Earth been ruined? No, His plans are just delayed for a while, not gone to waste at all. Right now, He is just giving us humans the "freedom" we have chosen, to prove to us that our "freedom" is actually costing us a lot: human government that has led to greed, insecurity, pain, and misery. At the same time, Jehovah has been waiting for more people to turn from their old bad way of living, so when He is ready to fulfill His purpose, there will be a multitude of good people to inhabit the new Earth paradise.

What will the paradise be like? Here are some of its main features:

*No evil—everyone will be good
*No death—everyone will live forever
*No sickness—everyone will be healthy, with no suffering and pain
*Full of security and peace—children can freely play with lions and wolves
*No famine—all food will be abundant
*Filled with justice—God will be our King

So how can we "quicken" this process? In other words, how could we "help" Jehovah, our Heavenly Father, fulfill His plans for our futures?

To answer that, we need to keep in mind that God's purpose is for righteous people to inhabit the Earth. So if we want His purpose be fulfilled sooner, we must turn from our bad ways to embrace an acceptable way of living.

But where should we start? Being a virtuous person can be quite hard at times, as we inherited a sinful nature from the first two people. But especially, it is hard for us because Satan is our king, and he tries his hardest to tempt us into doing what God hates. We know he is winning for the time being by what happens daily in our world (I don't need to list the daily monstrosities—you know them all).

But God knows our weaknesses, and He is most forgiving of our sins when we repent. Therefore, repentance is the first step to becoming good .

What does it take for you to repent? What does repentance really involve?

Let's say you shoplifted at your local Walmart store. To repent for your action, you need to:

1. Admit that shoplifting at Walmart is a bad thing to do

2. Feel sorry that you shoplifted.

3. And never shoplift again.

When you have truly repented, Jehovah will forgive you. He clearly states in His Holy Scriptures that He does not like to punish any people—He wants the wicked to turn from evil so He can embrace them. He also says that the wicked who become good will be forgiven for their past wrongdoing, while the good who turned evil will have their good deeds forgotten. So we must focus on the Now for a bright future. It is not too late to say "sorry" for the wrong you did and change your ways.

Remember that I said that you have to truly repent. The keyword here is "truly." True repentance means that you stick to step #3 above: never do the wrong again. Just because Jehovah is forgiving does not mean that we should abuse His love. And just because He is forgiving does not mean He is not just. As a matter of fact, Jehovah is a lover of justice.

So when we put forgiveness and justice together, we get a judge-like figure in Jehovah, who judges things fairly: He acquits those who have truly repented and sentences those who claim to have repented but continually repeat the same offenses.

But no matter how hard we try, none of us can become 100% virtuous according to the Holy Scriptures, so something has to help bring us closer, much closer to God and closer to the paradise. That something is faith in Jesus Christ, Son of Jehovah. Faith in the Christ is the only path to salvation; having faith in him will save us.

Who is Jesus? Do you not agree that before we can have faith in someone, we first need to be acquainted with that particular person? How can you properly have faith in someone you don't even know?

What does "Son of God" mean? In my next issue, you will receive the answer to this question and have the privilege to learn about the most wonderful man ever lived, so stay tuned!

Q & A with Shirley

This month's questions are sent to me by Miguel de Luis Espinosa, 37, Spaniard, male, former Catholic Seminarian, still Catholic, roleplayer, wargamer, writer, blogger, attorney at law, GTD and Kaizen fan. His blogs are eldietario.com (Life development/productivity bilingual blog) and vidaypalabra.com (Life development from a Catholic perspective, non for profit, on Spanish only).

Question: What does a blind person feel at worship?

Answer: These questions seem to be targeted at individuals who are born blind, so my answers may differ greatly from that of those individuals. Well, personally, I feel completely serene and at peace during worship. I feel gratitude and love for Jehovah in my prayers. I can't thank Him enough for all the blessings He has given to both my mother and me. And I also feel extremely hopeful for the future He has in store for the lovely Earth and righteous people. Finally, no more evil! And finally, I feel justice has been served, and feel triumphant on behalf of those righteous people.

Question: Is church worship hard to understand for a blind person?

Answer: Not at all for me. However, I'm not a church goer (surprised?). I find that the most accurate teachings are from the Bible, and I do careful studying at home.

Question: What's the first idea that you connect to the word mom, a voice, a caress, maybe food?

Answer: The item mentioned itself. Like I've said, this is meant for people who have never seen before, as opposed to those who lost their eyesight later in life, as it is the case with me. So if anyone mentions something, I can immediately see it in my mind's eye.

Shirley's Corner

Guess what! My book "Embrace Ultra-Ability! Wisdom, Insight & Motivation from the Blind Who Sees Far and Wide" has snatched up another honor! It has been placed as Award-Winning Finalist in the National Best Books 2008 Awards in the Philosophy category! After winning nine book awards, what can I possibly say? I'm beyond thrilled!

Simon & Schuster, Tarcher/Penguin, HarperCollins, Hyperion, St. Martin's Press, McGraw- Hill, and John Wiley & Sons, are some of the publishers whose Titles are among the winners.

So that's all, folks, for the November issue of my newsletter. Before the next issue arrives in your inbox, take a moment or two to meditate on Jehovah's great purpose for humankind. How do you feel about His plans for our future? What can you do to change your way of living in order to be among the privileged to inhabit the forthcoming paradise?

Content Copyright by Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved

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Best regards,

Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author
Miracle survivor, inspiring author and contributing author of 23 books by age 25, poet, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, advocate, and a co-author in the bestselling Wake Up...Live the Life You Love book series
Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club
http://www.shirleycheng.com
Having a bad day? Then meet Shirley Cheng, A.K.A. the modern day Helen Keller, to inspire, empower, and motivate you to go for the gold medal in life!
"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope haul you high!"
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