Are You Using the 1983 Calendar?
1 When was the calendar invented? Long before man appeared on the scene! “And God went on to say: ‘Let luminaries come to be in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night; and they must serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years.’” (Gen. 1:14) Yes, as Jehovah follows a schedule of events, he made it possible for man to do the same. In fact, the verb form of the word calendar refers to entering or scheduling.
A HELP TO IMPROVE FIELD SERVICE
2 The Society has provided us with a beautiful calendar for 1983. Are you using it to schedule your activities? It can help you to reach your personal goal for field service from month to month rather than leaving such to chance. The suggestion has been made to use a few minutes, perhaps at the time of your last family Bible study of the month when all are together, to plan the following month’s field service activity. The days and even the number of hours each one plans to use can be penciled in on the calendar. Could such a schedule help you to do more in field service than you are presently doing?
3 When you think about it, are not those hours spent in the preaching and teaching work among the most precious ones of the month? Should not other activities be made to fit around those times especially devoted to Jehovah’s service? They represent an important part of our sacred service, our monthly sacrifice of praise offered to him. “For everything there is an appointed time, . . . a time to keep quiet and a time to speak.” (Eccl. 3:1, 7) Even less important things are not left to chance, so we should have a planned, scheduled “time to speak” about Jehovah, his Son and his Kingdom. Of course, we should speak about those things at any appropriate time, but we are now concerned with scheduled times for public preaching. A good schedule will help us do what David foretold when he said: “About the glory of your kingship they will talk, and about your mightiness they will speak.”—Ps. 145:11.
OTHER USES
4 How else can we use the calendar? We can enter such things as circuit assembly and district convention dates, as well as the dates of approaching visits by traveling overseers. With these events in mind, vacation dates and months for auxiliary pioneering can then be planned. In this way we would not inadvertently schedule things of less importance that would interfere. Making good use of the calendar can help us to “go on walking orderly in this same routine.”—Phil. 3:16.
5 The Bible reading schedule for each week is printed on your calendar. Some write in a set time each week to do the reading, and they stick to it. The psalmist suggests that you do Bible reading daily.—Ps. 1:2.
WHAT ABOUT THE PICTURES?
6 Have you taken time to meditate on those beautiful scenes? Do they not give you a feeling of international brotherhood? They remind us of the unexcelled unity that exists in Jehovah’s organization as we all do the same work around the earth! Do you have small children? What could you teach them from the pictures about Jehovah’s organization and our work? With your help they, too, can come to appreciate the global scope of our work and brotherhood.
7 Have you thought about using the pictures as a basis for informal witnessing? When relatives, neighbors, salespeople or others are in your home, you could call their attention to the pictures and perhaps a conversation about the truth will ensue. They may come to appreciate that we are truly a society of international praisers of our God, Jehovah.
8 Yes, there are a multitude of uses for our 1983 calendar. Does it not keep you more conscious of the yeartext? Have you used it to help keep appointments for return visits or to make special calls on interested persons found in the territory? Do you jot down the hours and minutes you have spent in service so your monthly report will be accurate? You may find yet other theocratic uses for the calendar.
9 Do you have your calendar located in a convenient place? Where it will best serve the family? As a daily reminder of spiritual things, may it help us all to lead well-ordered lives. Jehovah is the great God of order. (1 Cor. 14:33) He wants us to “let all things take place decently and by arrangement.” (1 Cor. 14:40) Our beautiful 1983 calendar can help us to do so.