Treasure Digest

• Q&A: Counting Pentecost in 2008
• Pulling Together
• Open House 24/7
• Career Choice and the 21st-Century Christian
• Laughter Is the Best Medicine
• A Cloak of Zeal
• Between the Harvests
• Turning the Hearts . . .Gifts Show Care, Concern and Love!
• Children's Corner - Helping Others [See PDF version]
• Share Your Treasures!

Q&A: Counting Pentecost in 2008

Question: Why is Pentecost on June 8 in 2008, instead of on June 15? The latter date appears to be seven weeks from the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the early date seems to be a week too early.

Answer: The instruction for counting Pentecost is found in Leviticus 23:15-16. It tells us to count 50 days from the day after the Sabbath (the Sunday) that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Normally, the task of counting is straightforward. However, when the Days of Unleavened Bread begin on the first day of the week and end on the weekly Sabbath, the Sabbath and the day after it do not both fall during the festival. There are conceivably two ways to count Pentecost in this circumstance—begin counting from the first Holy Day or begin counting from the day after the last Holy Day.

Which way is correct? Thankfully, there is a scriptural example that answers this question. In the year described in Joshua 5, the Unleavened Bread festival began on the first day of the week, just as it does in 2008. In verses 11 and 12, we find that the Israelites ate of the spring harvest on the day after the Passover, something they could not do until the wave-sheaf offering had been made (Leviticus 23:9-14). The wave sheaf, an offering taken from the spring crop before harvesting was allowed to begin, was offered on the same day from which Pentecost was to be counted (Leviticus 23:15).

The only way for the scene described in Joshua 5:11-12 to take place was that the wave sheaf was offered on the first Holy Day of Unleavened Bread, allowing the Israelites to begin eating the spring crop immediately. It also meant that Pentecost fell seven weeks from that day.

This example shows us how to calculate Pentecost in a year such as 2008, when the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the first day of the week and ends on the weekly Sabbath. That's why we know that the correct date for Pentecost is June 8.

This is not a new teaching, but rather it continues the teaching of the Church for the last three decades. It was reconfirmed by a thorough study commissioned by the Council of Elders that resulted in the study paper "Pentecost and Its Observance." This paper was sent to all elders in September 1997 and is posted on the Web at www.ucg.org/papers.

Those who have more complex questions and who desire more detailed answers than this summary Q&A can supply may also want to see the article "Counting Pentecost When the First Day of Unleavened Bread Falls on Sunday" that appeared in the January 2005 issue (www.ucg.org/un/un0501/countingpentecost.htm).

—Cecil E. Maranville

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Pulling Together

In 1885, the World Series of Mule Team Competition was held in Chicago, Illinois. The winning team of mules was able to pull 9,000 pounds. The second-place team pulled slightly less. Someone came up with the idea of hitching both the first and second teams to a load to see how much they could pull together.

It was assumed that the two teams would pull a little more than the total combined weight. However, instead of pulling only a little more than 18,000 pounds, together the teams pulled 30,000 pounds!

A young foreman named Ed Stiles, working the borax deposits in Death Valley, California, took this concept of multiple mule teams and applied it to the arduous task of hauling the loads of borax out of the extreme environment of the California desert.

Stiles noticed that a team of 12 mules was hauling loads twice the size that eight mules could have. This set him to thinking and experimenting. The maximum benefit seemed to be a 20-mule team, which ended up pulling 10 tons—about half the capacity of a modern railroad freight car. The Pacific Coast Borax Company later used this image of a 20-mule team in marketing their borax as a cleaning agent.

This concept of teams working together came to be known as synergy. Synergy is defined by Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary as the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. In other words, one and one equals three! It comes from the Greek synergia, which means joint work and cooperative action.

This synergy is all around us in metal alloys, combining drugs for greater effect, the combination of muscles in our bodies (opposing sets of muscles to maintain balance, etc.) and even in the animal world. Think of the birds in Africa that clean parasites off of larger animals, receiving protection in return.

What can we learn from this topic of synergy? First and foremost is that we can accomplish more with God than without Him. We can be better Christians within the body than without. We can serve each other in a variety of ways, each accomplishing more in service to others than we can if we only care for ourselves. A husband and wife working as a cooperative team can accomplish more as a family than as separate individuals.

God's Word usually talks about this concept of synergy under the heading of "love." How are we showing love and, by extension, practicing synergy?

Remember the example of the 20-mule team—we can do more together and with God than we can on our own.

—Dan Dowd
Pastor of the Milwaukee, Oshkosh and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, congregations

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Open House 24/7

The real-estate sign draped with a few balloons says, "Open house today." At once, my mind is tempted to stop and see it. If I had more time, I would enjoy going to open houses and touring model homes. Once in a blue moon, my wife and I do it as a cheap date. It is fun for us, and we look for ideas to better our home inside and out without having to spend a lot of money.

The Bible teaches us that we, too, should have a kind of sign says, "Open house—24/7." Our lives are to be lived like an open house. When people see our life unfold as they get to know us, what do they see and feel? As they walk through our "house," the rooms of our relationships, emotions and actions, do they react with "oohs and ahs" or "huhs and oops"?

The house plays a role in various biblical analogies. In the Old Testament, God was in the house. His presence was seen in the tabernacle and in the temple. In the New Testament, He was no longer in that same physical house, as God revealed Himself through Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). Since we are the house, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of God, our life as lights to the world is mainly about revealing the decor of the Great Interior Designer.

The question is, what do others see as your life is revealed? As people stop and see you, visit with you and tour your life, they are naturally desirous to see what the Designer and Builder has done.

When people tour your life and mine, what kind of impressions and ideas do they pick up about brotherhood, marriage, child rearing and priorities? Do they see who our mentor really is—whose footsteps we really travel in?

As a follower of Christ, you are a novelty, a firstfruit. Perhaps around your neighborhood, you are a "one of a kind," and God wants to design a model home out of your life. So don't hide God's design under a bushel basket. Reveal it, because a major part of our calling is to reveal the Great Designer.

—Stuart Segall
Pastor of the Crescent City, Eureka and Red Bluff, California, congregations

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Career Choice and the 21st-Century Christian

It is a wonderful blessing to enjoy one's work, and since most adults with full-time jobs spend about half their waking hours at work, that's all the more reason to find work you enjoy. While much can be said about this subject, there are several guiding principles that may be helpful for a Christian.

First, a job or career field should provide sufficient interest. As Dr. David Campbell said, "If you don't like it, you're never going to be good at it" (If You Don't Know Where You're Going, You'll Probably End Up Somewhere Else, 1974, p. 78). Boredom can lead to frustration, no matter how high the salary. Discovering one's interests and whether or not they mesh with a particular field is a challenge.

Career-interest or other tests along with a skilled counselor can be helpful in the discovery process. Sometimes taking a particular class or finding experience during an internship that strongly resonates with individual interests can help. Interests may change over time, and it is not uncommon to find new direction in mid- or even late-career stages.

A second principle to consider is that the employment or career should provide income sufficient for you and your dependents. This consideration is particularly important for heads of households, but should be considered by every adult, since circumstances such as illness or death may force a wife to take on financial responsibility for the family.

Not all jobs or career fields are equal in terms of the financial reward they provide. It is possible to have good work habits and character qualities, to work hard and still struggle financially. As one man remarked, "It is possible to work hard and go broke."

Also, the amount and difficulty of academic work in a particular field does not always correspond with its pay following graduation. So, although possible financial reward should not alone be the primary reason for choosing a career field, it ought to be considered.

A third principle is that work, as much as possible, should provide an element of service. "One motivation that seems important to almost everyone is the feeling that they are doing something worthwhile," said Dr. Campbell (p. 72). A Christian would want his or her work to provide some positive benefit to society, directly or indirectly.

A fourth principle is how much a potential career might provide time for relationships. Time for family and other relationships can contribute to general happiness and well-being. While some job descriptions carry with them regular hours, it is increasingly common to find a written or unwritten requirement for additional hours beyond a 40-hour week, sometimes including nights or weekends. (Long workweeks and limited vacation are more common in the United States than in a number of other countries.)

Whether or not the employee has a degree of control of extra hours is an additional consideration, since it may seem easier to require more of oneself than to have requirements imposed from without.

Follow your passion! If you do what you like, you will find you enjoy your labor and are likely to become proficient. Consider, "What would I do if no pay were involved?" To be successful where strenuous interest and effort are required, it is almost essential that a person's heart and mind be engaged in the pursuit.

While it is important to make decisions using facts and logic, it is also important to be honest regarding what you really want to do.

—Compiled from material from several members

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Laughter Is the Best Medicine

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place." So said American humorist Mark Twain.

Oh, how true that is. Humor and laughter have been proven to be a good medicine for the mind, for the heart and for the soul.

"How Laughter Works" by Marshall Brain explains that laughter does many things. It reduces stress and benefits the immune system, which helps us fight diseases. Laughter is also a great exerciser. Laughing 100 times provides as much as 15 minutes on an exercise bike, and laughter is great for your mental health. It actually releases stored up negative emotions such as anger, fear and sadness (http://people.howstuffworks.com/laughter7.htm).

There is strong evidence that laughter can actually improve health. I am reminded of my dear friend and coworker, Carole Gholson. Carole works in mail processing at the home office and has been fighting stage IV breast cancer for months. From the chemo treatments she has lost all of her hair, and her energy level is very hard to maintain. She still comes to work and, for me and all those around her, she has been a shining example.

Even though Carole has lost her hair and her normal energy, there are two things she has not lost: her faith in God and her wonderful sense of humor. Instead of us encouraging her, she spends a lot of time encouraging us. One of the ways she does this is through humor.

Every day Carole sends something funny to her closest friends—a joke, a cartoon, a funny photo—that lifts us up and makes us laugh. This moment of laughter bonds us together and says that we are all in this together, but let's have some fun along the way.

Cultural anthropologist Mahadev Apte says, "Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they feel open and free. And the more laughter [there is], the more bonding [occurs] within the group" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/laughter2.htm).

It would be easy for Carole to go the other route, that of self-pity, but she has chosen the route of faith in God and laughter, for hand in hand they are both the best medicine, not just for her, but for all those around her.

We all have our trials to deal with, but traveling that difficult road with laughter energizes us, changes our negative emotions and is a wonderful medicine to the soul. "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones" (Proverbs 17:22).

Laughter is one of the great gifts God has given us. God knew the importance of laughter way before the scientists discovered how valuable it is to our well-being. It is an important ingredient to our survival in this difficult world.

—Janet Treadway
Cincinnati, Ohio, East congregation

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A Cloak of Zeal

In Ephesians we read of the armor of God. It speaks of the various parts of the armor of a Roman soldier of the time of Paul, relating each piece to a necessary part of our defense against Satan and his influence. The only offensive weapon is the sword of truth. This is the weapon we use against the lies and deceits of Satan.

Another important piece of a Roman soldier's uniform is not mentioned in Ephesians—the cloak. The cloak was a garment that had many uses for a soldier. It was his barrier against weather, keeping him warm, and his blanket for covering at night. Put together with another, they could form a tent (much the same as the "shelter half" many soldiers in modern times have as part of their equipment), again, providing warmth.

To fight requires a soldier to be fired up—to have hot blood. He must have a zeal for the fight. The dictionary defines zeal as fervor for a person, cause or object; eager desire or endeavor. We also must have zeal, be hot for the truth, in our fight against Satan. The message to the church at Laodicea says Christ wants us to be hot, not lukewarm (Revelation 3:15). If not hot, He would prefer us to be cold.

Isaiah 42:13 says, "The L ord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies" (emphasis added throughout). Here is the picture of a warrior heated up for battle.

Isaiah tells of God's armor, much the same as that described in Ephesians. "For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak" (Isaiah 59:17).

Yes, God wears His zeal as a cloak, and we should have that zeal also. The Roman soldier had his cloak to keep him warm. Our warmth, our cloak, should come from the zeal we have for the Word of God. That zeal needs to include our efforts in the work of the Church, which is, after all, the work of God in this end time. So let's all put on the cloak of zeal.

—Newton Baker
Fort Worth, Texas, congregation

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Between the Harvests

As I was preparing for the Feast, I studied the harvest seasons of the Holy Land, and I tried to visualize the life of an Israelite living in the land of Canaan.

In the Holy Land, the latter rains would have ended by April, and it would have been very rare to receive any rainfall from May until after the Feast of Tabernacles. Water would have been used sparingly during the months leading up to the Feast.

During the Feast the Israelites prayed to God, asking Him to bless them with the early or former rains. This was symbolized in the water-pouring ceremony that was conducted at the end of the Feast (probably the occasion of John 7:37-38).

Prior to the Feast the Israelites would have harvested figs, dates, pomegranates, grapes and olives. The Feast was a time of great joy, coming at the end of the harvest season. When the Israelites returned home after the Feast, they were faced with a lot of hard work. Shortly after the Feast the early rains began to fall. The much-needed water began to soften the hard, baked earth, which allowed the farmers to begin planting their grain for the spring harvest.

In the Bible there are several references to plowing in order to ready the field for the seed, but one author described the process as being more like scraping and scratching. Breaking up the hard, stony soil for planting was hard work. But if the farmer was willing to invest himself in this effort, he would enjoy the fruit of his labor during the spring harvest.

Psalm 126:5-6 instructs us, "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

Evidently the "lazy" choose not to invest in the necessary hard work for a good harvest: "The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing" (Proverbs 20:4).

Perhaps there is a lesson that we can learn from the post-Feast experience of the Israelites. We experienced a very joyous Feast with fellow members of God's Church. We heard wonderful messages about the Kingdom of God, enjoyed good food and fellowshipped with brethren. But after we return home, it is easy to experience post-Feast letdown.

We are faced with problems that we left behind as we enjoyed the Feast. Sometimes we face persecution for taking time off from work or school. Our coworkers, neighbors or relatives may not share the same vision of the future. We return to a society that has very different values from those of the Kingdom of God. So at times after the Feast, we must "go forth weeping," being willing to invest the necessary hard work for spiritual growth.

With God's guidance and help, we can face our trials and overcome our problems and shortcomings. Through the power of His Spirit, we can be ambassadors for His Kingdom. Then as we gather with our brethren for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, we can do so with joy, knowing that we have produced spiritual fruit that is pleasing to God and reflects the Kingdom that we pray for each day.

As we examine ourselves prior to Passover, the beginning of the spring harvest, we will be able to measure spiritual growth that we have experienced. Let's invest the effort now so that we can enjoy a wonderful, joyous Spring Feast!

—David Baker
Senior pastor for Asia (excerpted from United News Asia)

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Turning the Hearts . . .Gifts Show Care, Concern and Love!

As I write this, the stores abound with Christmas shoppers—buyers trying to find the perfect gift or just any gift to help in their celebration. While we do not celebrate Christmas, gift giving is something that we need to include in our families.

When was the last time you gave a family member a gift—not for any special time or occasion, but just because you loved him or her? Gifts are nice to receive any time but especially when they are unexpected. They show thoughtfulness and, if they are truly something that person needs or desires, the gift is especially appreciated.

One of the five love languages has to do with gift giving and receiving. "Gifts are visual symbols of love" (Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages, 1995, p. 75). And again Mr. Chapman writes, "Gifts come in all sizes, colors, and shapes. Some are expensive, and others are free. To the individual whose primary love language is receiving gifts, the cost of the gift will matter little, unless it is greatly out of line with what you can afford."

He goes on to say, "Gifts may be purchased, found or made. The husband who stops along the roadside and picks his wife a wild flower has found himself an expression of love, unless, of course, his wife is allergic to wild flowers. For the man who can afford it, you can purchase a beautiful card for less than five dollars. For the man who cannot, you can make one free. Get the paper out of the trash can where you work, fold it in the middle, take scissors and cut out a heart, write 'I love you' and sign your name. Gifts need not be expensive" (ibid., p. 76).

While gifts are particularly appreciated by those whose love language is receiving gifts, they are appreciated by everyone as showing concern, care, thoughtfulness and love. The giver who takes out time to shop for or make a gift is showing care for the receiver. To create a gift or spend money to buy a gift shows sacrifice for the one who receives it. The world can definitely use unselfish, thoughtful people and you can be one of them. It just takes being interested in the welfare of others and doing what you can to add to their joy.

After all, God sets us a wonderful example. As James wrote, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). God also gives us spiritual gifts as described in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. So, God has put forth the example of gift giving.

Try an experiment. When it is least expected, bring a gift home for a family member. Wrap it or put it in a decorative bag or have a long stem rose put in cellophane wrap and give the gift to an unsuspecting family member. See what reaction you receive. You will be pleasantly surprised.

It is not only the parents who can do this for their children. Nor is it only for spouses to do for one another, but children can do it for each other and for their parents too. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). When we give, we show an expression of love to the receiver. And we all need to know that those who are closest to us love us.

I can't wait to hear what that unsuspecting receiver will say and feel after you give him or her an unexpected gift!

—Gary E. Antion

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Share Your Treasures!

Do you have any short items of biblical wisdom, humor or practical information that you would like to share in this section? Or if you have any suggestions, please contact United News, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027 or mike_bennett@ucg.org.

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