Since the marriage arrange@@ ment in@@ st@@ itu@@ ted by Jehovah is a lasting one , it is vital that cou@@ ples ende@@ av@@ or to keep the f@@ l@@ ame of their love ab@@ la@@ ze and maintain an at@@ mo@@ sp@@ here in which love can grow . ​ — Mark 10 : 6 - 9 .
We too can “ see ” such a wonderful time ​ — and it is near indeed ! ​ — Rom .
Ab@@ out ten years later , Paul is in M@@ ace@@ don@@ ia and Timothy is in Eph@@ esus .
It could be that an individu@@ al is ac@@ ting in a way that is not appro@@ pri@@ ate .
What wrong conclu@@ sion might some draw when thinking about showing kindness to others ?
De@@ ath is like s@@ le@@ ep in that the dead are un@@ consci@@ ous and cannot do anything .
Who can say that he has to@@ t@@ ally fre@@ ed himself from walking in acc@@ ord with the flesh ?
We read : “ Abraham got up early in the mor@@ ning and sa@@ d@@ d@@ led his ass and took two of his att@@ end@@ ants with him and I@@ sa@@ a@@ c his son ; and he sp@@ li@@ t the w@@ ood for the bur@@ n@@ t o@@ ffering .
G@@ ri@@ ef can affect us in various ways , but for many the over@@ ri@@ ding feel@@ ing is one of in@@ ten@@ se emo@@ tion@@ al p@@ ain .
We will look for them as soon as we get there . ”
In making such decisions , “ each one will carry his own lo@@ ad ” of responsibility .
There were l@@ ili@@ es there just gra@@ du@@ ally un@@ fol@@ ding before our very eyes . ”
O@@ ther gir@@ ls at school mo@@ c@@ ked her and tri@@ ed to pres@@ sure her to change her mind , saying that every@@ one wanted to s@@ le@@ ep with that particul@@ ar bo@@ y .
C@@ oun@@ sel to keep ourselves “ res@@ tra@@ ined under evil ” app@@ lies to all Christians .
Mor@@ e than that , it may move them to want to learn of and serve the one who “ cre@@ ated all things , ” the Do@@ er of wonderful works , Jehovah . ​ — Revelation 4 : 11 .
G@@ ain@@ ing acc@@ ess to “ the se@@ cre@@ t place ” of Jehovah also imp@@ lies that we have been blessed with the privilege of having develop@@ ed a personal relationship with him .
From what the Bible says , we can conclu@@ de that An@@ na used her chan@@ ged circumstances to draw clo@@ ser to Jehovah .
The following article consi@@ ders their efforts and ho@@ p@@ es .
I feel that this is important , so that a child does not feel as if he@@ ’s being jud@@ ged . ” ​ — G@@ er@@ al@@ d , Fran@@ ce .
T@@ e@@ aching new ones the truth in@@ stead of foc@@ using on my own situation has prote@@ cted me , n@@ ur@@ tur@@ ed me , and helped me to grow spiritually .
Bo@@ il@@ ing a ki@@ d ( the young of a go@@ at or other anim@@ al ) in its mo@@ ther’s mil@@ k rep@@ or@@ te@@ dly was a p@@ ag@@ an r@@ itu@@ al thought to produ@@ ce ra@@ in .
He sur@@ pri@@ sed himself when he was able to complete his first year of regular pione@@ ering .
The Hebrew ph@@ r@@ ase “ call on the name ” also means “ decl@@ are ( preach ) the name . ”
47
Joseph ​ — B@@ less@@ ed for His Mor@@ al Con@@ du@@ ct
How were our first parents involved in in@@ tro@@ duc@@ ing suffering into the human family ?
Consider another s@@ ource of po@@ t@@ enti@@ ally d@@ am@@ ag@@ ing information ​ — the f@@ lood of ide@@ as publ@@ ished by some sci@@ enti@@ st@@ s and scho@@ lar@@ s who challenge the Bib@@ le’s au@@ th@@ en@@ tic@@ ity .
Some years have pas@@ sed , and with r@@ ene@@ wed strength An@@ ne is again zeal@@ ously serving Jehovah with a good conscience .
5 : 18 , 25 .
Ke@@ tly lost her right ar@@ m all the way up to the sh@@ ou@@ l@@ der jo@@ in@@ t .
During har@@ v@@ est se@@ as@@ on , the we@@ eds are destro@@ yed and the whe@@ at is gather@@ ed .
O@@ B@@ E@@ D is the father of two .
Then she learned about Jehovah .
P@@ AG@@ E 9 • SONGS : 30 , 10@@ 9
Many of the bab@@ ies who es@@ c@@ ape being ab@@ or@@ ted are born to un@@ wed mo@@ thers .
To what ext@@ ent will the knowledge of Jehovah fill the earth after the ex@@ e@@ cu@@ tion of his judgment upon viol@@ ent n@@ ational grou@@ ps ?
It af@@ for@@ ds them opport@@ un@@ ities to exerci@@ se their free will and to honor God by serving him in a un@@ ified , harmon@@ ious way . ​ — Ps .
We have experienced fir@@ s@@ th@@ and the tru@@ th@@ fulness of Jehovah’s promise that ‘ he will by no means leave us ’ and that if we serve him faith@@ fully , we will ‘ not l@@ ack a thing . ’ ​ — Heb .
“ YO@@ U are worthy , Jehovah , even our God , to receive the glory and the honor and the power , ” states Revelation 4 : 11 , “ because you cre@@ ated all things , and because of your will they exist@@ ed and were cre@@ ated . ”
E@@ V@@ ER@@ Y D@@ A@@ Y : An a@@ ver@@ age of more than T@@ W@@ O M@@ I@@ L@@ L@@ I@@ O@@ N por@@ no@@ gr@@ ap@@ hi@@ c mo@@ vi@@ es are r@@ ented in the United St@@ ates alone .
We do not have to spe@@ cul@@ ate , as some do , about v@@ ag@@ u@@ e prophe@@ cies of N@@ ost@@ ra@@ d@@ am@@ us or other human prog@@ no@@ st@@ ic@@ at@@ ors .
‘ D@@ ra@@ w up ’ what is in it by using kind questions that reflect personal interest in the individu@@ al .
Are we avi@@ dly pursu@@ ing material ab@@ und@@ ance , which may bring p@@ ain to us and to our famili@@ es ?
For example , when Jehovah gave the Israelites a home , it was “ a land f@@ low@@ ing with mil@@ k and h@@ one@@ y . ”
His coun@@ ten@@ ance was t@@ ran@@ qu@@ il ​ — like that of an ange@@ l , a m@@ ess@@ enger of God .
We can show God that we love him by speaking to him in prayer and by doing as he as@@ ks .
“ After these things , ” says the Bible account , “ the son of the woman who o@@ w@@ ned the house fel@@ l s@@ ick , and his s@@ ick@@ ness became so se@@ v@@ ere that he st@@ opp@@ ed bre@@ a@@ thing . ”
Per@@ haps David was thinking of the de@@ f@@ r@@ au@@ ding of the Israelites by the Egy@@ p@@ ti@@ ans in the days of Moses .
With the househo@@ l@@ der@@ ’s per@@ mission , the publish@@ er would pl@@ ay a four - and - one - h@@ alf - min@@ u@@ te Bible le@@ c@@ ture , and then he would offer some liter@@ ature .
As obedi@@ ent humans enjoy peace to an un@@ p@@ rec@@ ed@@ ented de@@ gre@@ e under Jesus ’ rule , they will gra@@ du@@ ally be “ set free from en@@ sla@@ ve@@ ment to cor@@ ru@@ p@@ tion ” until they reach human perfe@@ ction .
What results when such b@@ al@@ anc@@ ed advice is ign@@ or@@ ed ?
They thus ro@@ b Jehovah of his deser@@ ved praise , as the priests did in Mal@@ ac@@ hi@@ ’s day .
22 What Jehovah F@@ or@@ e@@ tells Com@@ es to Be
What were these “ sign@@ s of the times ” ?
Ho@@ ly Sp@@ irit at Wor@@ k Today
O@@ f@@ ten using clear , sh@@ ort ph@@ r@@ as@@ es , Jesus ut@@ ter@@ ed sa@@ y@@ ings that were s@@ im@@ ple but rich in meaning .
And the prayer of faith will make the in@@ dis@@ posed one well . ” ​ — J@@ as .
And the new person@@ ality that they display is read@@ ily no@@ ted by others .
E@@ very day , one do@@ c@@ tor and two n@@ ur@@ ses were sent out to help those who needed me@@ dic@@ al attention .
‘ It is too difficult .
Keep your word .
Then , wa@@ iting on Jehovah will never make you ‘ s@@ ick at heart . ’
What questions about marriage should a young man ask himself ?
After all , who does not want to stay close to someone who helps him succ@@ e@@ ed ?
• Di@@ so@@ be@@ di@@ ence to parents
All Christians pl@@ ay what part in pursu@@ ing peace ?
SONGS T@@ O B@@ E U@@ SE@@ D : 9@@ 2 , 14@@ 8
Can we today follow David’s example ?
• Why are op@@ pos@@ ers un@@ able to stop our w@@ itness@@ ing activity ?
SONGS T@@ O B@@ E U@@ SE@@ D : 1@@ 33 , 23
Since 19@@ 50 , t@@ ens of thous@@ ands of mil@@ it@@ ary men from the United St@@ ates have been st@@ ation@@ ed in Kor@@ ea .
The Ar@@ k was plac@@ ed on a wa@@ g@@ on , which was led by U@@ z@@ z@@ ah and his brother .
Li@@ ve in H@@ ar@@ mon@@ y With the Mo@@ de@@ l P@@ ra@@ yer , 6 / 15
Then came Na@@ th@@ an’s cru@@ sh@@ ing decl@@ ar@@ ation : “ You yourself are the man ! ” ​ — 2 S@@ am .
6 , 7 . ( a ) How does comm@@ it@@ ment benefit people ?
According to the Mo@@ s@@ ai@@ c Law , a person was to help an enem@@ y to free his anim@@ al that had f@@ all@@ en under its lo@@ ad .
He vie@@ wed that time as “ comp@@ ul@@ s@@ ory service , ” an en@@ for@@ ced period of wa@@ iting for re@@ le@@ ase . To him , that re@@ le@@ ase was a cer@@ tain@@ ty .
“ What I teach is not m@@ ine , ” said Jesus , “ but be@@ long@@ s to him that sent me . ”
Just as Jehovah and Jesus always speak the truth , so Paul always me@@ ant what he said .
That was qu@@ ite a contr@@ ast to the respon@@ se in So@@ dom !
After c@@ uring a man at the po@@ ol of Be@@ th@@ za@@ th@@ a , what did Jesus tell religious op@@ pos@@ ers about everlasting life ?
Ano@@ ther brother has the go@@ al “ to meet one n@@ ice person each we@@ ek and return within a few days to cultivate the interest . ”
That precious prospe@@ ct is strength@@ ened when one ga@@ ins accur@@ ate knowledge of the Father and the Son , for Jesus also said : “ This means everlasting life , their taking in knowledge of you , the only true God , and of the one whom you sent forth , Jesus Christ . ” ​ — John 17 : 3 .
In imit@@ ation of Jehovah , both par@@ t@@ n@@ ers should be inc@@ l@@ ined to over@@ look each o@@ ther’s im@@ perfe@@ ctions . ​ — 1 Pet .
The con@@ sequ@@ ences are explained by the apostle Paul . He wrote : “ Th@@ r@@ ough one man sin enter@@ ed into the world and death through sin , and thus death sp@@ read to all men because they had all sin@@ ned . ” ​ — Romans 5 : 12 .
The earth has again become fil@@ led with viol@@ ence .
Of course , in our effort to keep our words cri@@ s@@ p and clear , we would not want to be bl@@ un@@ t or t@@ ac@@ t@@ less . ​ — Read 1 Corinthians 14 : 8 , 9 .
Yet not one of them go@@ es for@@ go@@ t@@ ten before God . . . .
A W@@ il@@ ling Sp@@ irit A@@ mi@@ d New S@@ ur@@ r@@ oun@@ d@@ ings
How appro@@ pri@@ ate that we beg@@ in each period of personal Bible study with a s@@ inc@@ ere prayer and then maintain a pray@@ er@@ ful attitude during our study !
On the contr@@ ary , he rejo@@ ic@@ ed to serve Jehovah to the ful@@ l@@ est ext@@ ent possible and to be “ p@@ our@@ ed out like a dr@@ ink o@@ ffering . ”
He knew that sh@@ aring the joy he found in serving Jehovah would be encourag@@ ing for them too .
M@@ ain char@@ ac@@ ters : A@@ ha@@ b , Je@@ ze@@ bel , N@@ abo@@ th , and Elijah
The al@@ tar and its sacrifices have meaning for Christians today .
When Daniel was al@@ most 1@@ 00 years old , for example , Jehovah assur@@ ed him : “ You will rest , but you will stand up for your lo@@ t at the end of the days . ” ​ — D@@ an .
He in@@ tro@@ duc@@ ed a vi@@ de@@ o showing develop@@ ments at W@@ all@@ k@@ ill , P@@ atter@@ son , and rec@@ ently acqu@@ ired s@@ ites in W@@ ar@@ wic@@ k and T@@ u@@ x@@ e@@ do , New Y@@ or@@ k .
For instance , the instru@@ c@@ tor may point out a d@@ ri@@ ver who kin@@ dly al@@ lo@@ ws another to mer@@ ge in f@@ ron@@ t of him into tra@@ ff@@ ic ; or a d@@ ri@@ ver who cour@@ te@@ ously d@@ im@@ s his car@@ ’s he@@ ad@@ ligh@@ ts so as not to bl@@ ind on@@ coming tra@@ ff@@ ic ; or a d@@ ri@@ ver who off@@ ers willing assi@@ stance to an acqu@@ ain@@ t@@ ance whose ve@@ hi@@ c@@ le has bro@@ ken down .
What might a Christian do if both a cu@@ st@@ om@@ ary and a civi@@ l marriage are possible ?
All the days of my comp@@ ul@@ s@@ ory service I shall wa@@ it , until my reli@@ ef comes .
This is a f@@ und@@ am@@ ental point because a person cannot worship the true God if he does not know H@@ im or perhaps doub@@ ts His exist@@ ence .
A Pro@@ p@@ he@@ cy of E@@ nor@@ m@@ ous I@@ mp@@ ort@@ ance
Paul explained that the t@@ ab@@ er@@ n@@ ac@@ le was mer@@ ely “ a sh@@ ado@@ w of the heavenly things ” and that Jesus became the Me@@ di@@ ator of “ a better covenant ” than that medi@@ ated by Moses .
Jehovah gran@@ ts fre@@ e@@ dom of cho@@ ice to all people .
And we can su@@ rely face the future with confidence if we maintain complete trust in Jehovah .
Di@@ o@@ s@@ da@@ do , a father of four , ad@@ m@@ its that the rec@@ ent fin@@ anci@@ al cri@@ s@@ is has made it more difficult to satis@@ fy his fam@@ il@@ y’s needs .
No doubt Lo@@ t was awar@@ e of how Jehovah had prote@@ cted S@@ ar@@ ah , the wife of Abraham , Lo@@ t@@ ’s un@@ c@@ le .
He me@@ ant that the wicked ​ — those who st@@ ub@@ bor@@ n@@ ly refu@@ se to live in harmony with Jehovah’s loving direction — ​ would be destro@@ yed .
Thus , the psalmist s@@ ang to Jehovah : “ Your remin@@ ders are what I am f@@ ond of . ” ​ — Psalm 119 : 24 .
I am with you all the days until the conclu@@ sion of the system of things . ” ​ — Matt .
* In such c@@ as@@ es , the r@@ un@@ n@@ ers stri@@ pp@@ ed themselves of any ext@@ ran@@ e@@ ous we@@ ight or bur@@ den that could s@@ low them down .
To illustr@@ ate , you might inc@@ re@@ ase your con@@ vi@@ ction that the end of this system of things really is near by stud@@ ying in de@@ t@@ ail the Scriptural pro@@ of that we live in the last days .
9 : 11 , 12 , 24 .
The less@@ er one , who wa@@ its pati@@ ently for a privilege of service , will continue to serve Jehovah joy@@ fully and will rejo@@ ice in wh@@ atever assignment he is given .
If so , you may need to en@@ large your vo@@ c@@ ab@@ ul@@ ary .
H@@ ist@@ or@@ ian Ne@@ an@@ der ob@@ served that “ C@@ el@@ s@@ us , the first writ@@ er against Christ@@ ian@@ ity , je@@ er [ ed ] at the fact , that w@@ oo@@ l - wor@@ k@@ ers , c@@ ob@@ bl@@ ers , le@@ ather - d@@ res@@ s@@ ers , the most il@@ liter@@ ate and v@@ ul@@ gar of mankind , were zeal@@ ous pre@@ ach@@ ers of the go@@ spe@@ l . ”
Do you gr@@ as@@ p the reason why God consi@@ ders blood to be sacred ?
He did not tell us to ‘ keep on seeking only the kingdom . ’
This was no m@@ ere emo@@ tion@@ al out@@ bur@@ st .
For the Jehovah’s Witnesses , pro@@ sel@@ y@@ ti@@ zing do@@ or - to - do@@ or is not simply to advan@@ ce their faith but the very article of faith . ”
Jo@@ y@@ fully Ser@@ ving Jehovah
So , then , let us continue to imitate Jehovah God , who is “ ab@@ und@@ ant in loving - kindness . ”
Our en@@ th@@ u@@ si@@ as@@ m is en@@ han@@ ced because we find greater joy when we are effe@@ ctive in the ministry .
One woman who appro@@ ached the liter@@ ature boo@@ th list@@ ened att@@ enti@@ vely to the expl@@ an@@ ation given by one of the Witnesses .
Com@@ pare these Bible ver@@ ses : E@@ cc@@ les@@ i@@ ast@@ es 3 : 19 ; Matthew 10 : 28 ; Acts 3 : 23
Samuel ano@@ in@@ ts David of the tri@@ be of Judah to be the future king .
F@@ in@@ ally Bro@@ ther E@@ rich F@@ ro@@ st , the bran@@ ch servant , appe@@ ared and gre@@ e@@ ted them war@@ m@@ ly in Eng@@ lish .
That was like saying : ‘ The E@@ th@@ i@@ op@@ ian inv@@ asi@@ on is an att@@ ack on you , Jehovah .
We keep each other inform@@ ed and work as par@@ t@@ n@@ ers . ”
Wor@@ k hard to reach the go@@ als you set for your family .
Lo@@ t “ kept l@@ ing@@ ering , ” and the angels al@@ most had to dra@@ g him and his family out of the city of So@@ dom .
Au@@ th@@ or S@@ te@@ ven W@@ e@@ in@@ ber@@ g hol@@ ds a similar view .
However , not every@@ body wants to do Jehovah’s will .
But that did not hold him back from speaking b@@ ol@@ dly to P@@ il@@ ate about the Kingdom .
2 : 23 ; 4 : 8 .
Consider the case of R@@ ah@@ a@@ b , a pro@@ st@@ itu@@ te living in ancient J@@ er@@ ic@@ ho .
What must we do to be sure that we are keep@@ ing on the wat@@ ch ?
The more the ar@@ k took sh@@ ape , the more the people l@@ augh@@ ed at the very thought of a de@@ lu@@ ge that would c@@ over the whole earth .
Although it is not wrong to medit@@ ate on the less@@ ons we have learned from past experi@@ ences or to sa@@ vor ch@@ er@@ ished me@@ mor@@ ies , we need to maintain a b@@ al@@ anc@@ ed , reali@@ st@@ ic view of the past .
( Read 2 Th@@ ess@@ alon@@ ians 2 : 3 , 8 . )
St@@ an@@ ding ap@@ ar@@ t from the religi@@ ons of Christ@@ en@@ dom , Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is of divine orig@@ in but is not God .
De@@ ep in our fig@@ ur@@ ative heart , we will experience fre@@ e@@ dom from un@@ eas@@ iness , fear , and al@@ ar@@ m .
Just before his as@@ c@@ en@@ sion to heaven , what did Jesus tell his followers to do , and what would that invol@@ ve ?
Fa@@ ith En@@ cour@@ ages O@@ thers ( C@@ an@@ ary Is@@ lands ) , 7 / 1
( b ) What promise regarding k@@ ing@@ ship did God make to David ?
Ju@@ ly 20 - 26 , 200@@ 9
Even when tal@@ king about de@@ lic@@ ate subje@@ cts ​ — d@@ ating , for example — ​ be care@@ ful not to put so much emp@@ ha@@ s@@ is on war@@ n@@ ings that you neg@@ le@@ ct to teach your children the proper way to deal with the matter .
Be@@ fore we left on our 14 - day vo@@ y@@ age by ste@@ am@@ er , a respon@@ sible brother at Bethel told me : “ N@@ ine single mission@@ ary sisters will trave@@ l with you and your wife to B@@ ra@@ z@@ il .
“ I won@@ der , ‘ Who will enc@@ ourage me ? ’ ”
As p@@ ort@@ ra@@ yed in the symb@@ oli@@ c dra@@ ma , sh@@ ort@@ ly after fre@@ e@@ ing the Israelites from Egy@@ p@@ ti@@ an b@@ on@@ d@@ age in 1@@ 5@@ 13 B.C.E . , God simil@@ arly made a covenant with them that was like a contr@@ act for a clean marriage .
While there , he asked a Witness to study the Bible with him .
Jehovah will make sure that one of Satan’s att@@ ac@@ ks will prove to be his last .
W@@ ere the people so@@ f@@ t@@ ened by the har@@ d@@ ships they experienced in ex@@ ile , when they were se@@ par@@ ated from their God and far away from their ho@@ me@@ land ?
T@@ O TH@@ IN@@ K A@@ B@@ O@@ U@@ T : In your comm@@ unity , what role are fa@@ thers expe@@ cted to pl@@ ay ?
While still in high school , she me@@ t sever@@ al zeal@@ ous Witnesses who served where the need was greater .
The effect of his teaching today : An A@@ si@@ an saying go@@ es : “ R@@ ai@@ sing a daugh@@ ter is like wa@@ ter@@ ing the neigh@@ bor@@ ’s gar@@ den . ”
15 “ D@@ is@@ ab@@ led Now but Not F@@ or@@ ever ! ”
See The Watchtower , May 1 , 19@@ 8@@ 2 , pages 3 - 6 , “ In S@@ ear@@ ch of Su@@ cc@@ ess . ”
As we have stri@@ ven to draw close to Jehovah , he has dra@@ wn close to us .
Although Mar@@ il@@ y@@ n tri@@ ed to comp@@ en@@ s@@ ate for her ab@@ s@@ ence by s@@ ending money and gi@@ f@@ ts , she saw that she was ali@@ en@@ ating her son and un@@ in@@ t@@ enti@@ on@@ ally training him to put material things ahead of spiritual interests and family relation@@ ships .
Mor@@ e than that , he left a practical example of a b@@ al@@ anc@@ ed life and a b@@ al@@ anc@@ ed attitude .
Joshua was told : “ Then you will make your way success@@ ful and then you will act wi@@ sely . ” ​ — Joshua 1 : 8 .
Do not res@@ ort to s@@ ar@@ c@@ as@@ m , but trust in their Christian mat@@ urity .
F@@ ort@@ y years later , just before the Israelites enter@@ ed the Pro@@ mis@@ ed L@@ and , Moses ’ success@@ or , Joshua , sent two men to sp@@ y out the land .
” But what ?
When we en@@ ga@@ ge in the house - to - house ministry , how thor@@ ough@@ ly do we c@@ over our assi@@ g@@ ned ter@@ rit@@ ory ?
Since Jesus reli@@ ed on the Scriptures to res@@ ist the D@@ ev@@ il@@ ’s temp@@ t@@ ations , how much more so should we !
King A@@ ha@@ z@@ iah of Israel suff@@ ers a fall in his home and is s@@ ick .
He read the Bible every day and att@@ ended Christian meetings .
Why did Jehovah not re@@ move Paul’s “ thor@@ n in the flesh ” ?
Consider H@@ ag@@ ar , an Egy@@ p@@ ti@@ an woman of the 20@@ th century B.C.E .
Yet , if the brother who has been given a responsibility is allow@@ ed some le@@ e@@ way , he will likely gain confidence and experience .
Com@@ par@@ ably , for anointed Christians , the M@@ em@@ or@@ ial of Christ’s death is a comm@@ uni@@ on me@@ al . ​ — 1 Corinthians 10 : 16 - 22 .
My heart went out to Ch@@ er@@ i when I learned that she had lost her f@@ ian@@ c@@ é to a su@@ d@@ den heart att@@ ack .
H@@ um@@ ans have un@@ w@@ it@@ t@@ ingly sub@@ mit@@ ted to God’s Ad@@ vers@@ ary , Satan , for “ the whole world is l@@ ying in the power of the wicked one . ”
Many were worshi@@ p@@ ing false go@@ ds .
“ THE L@@ A@@ M@@ B ” O@@ PE@@ N@@ S S@@ I@@ X O@@ F THE SE@@ V@@ EN SE@@ A@@ L@@ S
Ano@@ ther time , he left home with a g@@ un and thre@@ at@@ ened to k@@ ill himself .
N@@ ever@@ the@@ less , God gave the ancient Israelites instru@@ ctions on clean@@ l@@ iness while they were trave@@ ling through the wil@@ der@@ ness ​ — some of the most difficult circumstances imag@@ in@@ able for practic@@ ing good h@@ y@@ gi@@ ene !
However , these four ver@@ ses are in place to@@ pic@@ ally .
For example , while mo@@ ving from enc@@ am@@ p@@ ment to enc@@ am@@ p@@ ment in the land of C@@ an@@ aan , faithful worshippers of God “ public@@ ly decl@@ ared that they were str@@ ang@@ ers and temp@@ or@@ ary res@@ id@@ ents . ” ​ — Heb .
It might be better to say , “ God’s Word , the Bible , for@@ b@@ i@@ ds it ” or , “ It would disp@@ le@@ ase my God . ”
In his inspired letter to them , the apostle Paul wrote : “ I than@@ k my God always upon every re@@ memb@@ ran@@ ce of you in every supp@@ lic@@ ation of m@@ ine for all of you , as I offer my supp@@ lic@@ ation with joy , because of the contribu@@ tion you have made to the good news from the first day until this m@@ om@@ ent . ”
S@@ ure@@ ly Jehovah under@@ stan@@ ds the uni@@ qu@@ e m@@ ak@@ e@@ up of each of his servants .
By imit@@ ating the faith of men like Paul , Gi@@ de@@ on , and ​ — abo@@ ve every@@ one else — ​ Jesus Christ , we will personally come to experience the truth of the words : “ W@@ isdom is with the mo@@ des@@ t ones . ” ​ — Proverbs 11 : 2 .
F@@ ew of us are old en@@ ough to have w@@ itness@@ ed that exc@@ iting deliver@@ ance .
Ad@@ mit@@ te@@ dly , imperfect humans have an inher@@ ent tend@@ ency to sin , and some may have a strong inc@@ l@@ in@@ ation to voice un@@ war@@ ran@@ ted compl@@ ain@@ ts .
F@@ ail@@ ure to as@@ su@@ me the responsibility of warning people of the cho@@ ice that lies before them could result in our inc@@ ur@@ ring b@@ loo@@ d@@ gu@@ il@@ t .
In many lands , they have been persecu@@ ted and even mur@@ der@@ ed by people c@@ laim@@ ing to serve God .
H@@ umb@@ ly accep@@ ting Jehovah’s decision , Paul said : “ Most gl@@ ad@@ ly , therefore , will I rather bo@@ ast as respe@@ cts my we@@ ak@@ ness@@ es , that the power of the Christ may like a t@@ ent remain over me . ”
As we shall see , these questions can help us consider the feelings of those to whom we preach and ad@@ ap@@ t our appro@@ ach acc@@ ord@@ ingly . ​ — 1 C@@ or .
We do not expect that every@@ one who hear@@ s the good news will respond fav@@ or@@ ably , but some will .
30 : 14 , 15 ​ — Why did R@@ ac@@ he@@ l rel@@ in@@ qu@@ ish an opportunity to conc@@ ei@@ ve in ex@@ change for some man@@ dr@@ akes ?
When we feel dis@@ cour@@ aged , whether because of op@@ position or other un@@ pleas@@ ant circumstances , Jehovah’s words to the rep@@ at@@ ri@@ ated Jews can be a s@@ ource of strength .
“ All the Th@@ ings ”
Jehovah is the Gi@@ ver of “ every good gift and every perfect present , ” and he is “ the happy God . ”
E@@ ach of us can ask , ‘ A@@ m I determined to make sure that the lesson learned from Solom@@ on@@ ’s life will help me to be a succ@@ ess ? ’
Job was another out@@ standing example of one who fe@@ ared God .
So after explain@@ ing that he would soon die , he said to An@@ dre@@ w and Phili@@ p : “ W@@ ho@@ ever is f@@ ond of his life destro@@ ys it , but who@@ ever h@@ ates his life in this world will sa@@ fe@@ guard it for everlasting life . ”
For example , did you make sacrifices in the past in order to en@@ ga@@ ge in the pioneer ministry or in some other form of ex@@ pan@@ ded service ?
16 , 17 . ( a ) What did one son say about the love shown by his mother ?
How might some Jews in Paul’s day have been ‘ ro@@ b@@ b@@ ing tem@@ ples ’ ?
Th@@ r@@ ough what means can we ob@@ tain holy spirit ?
That sc@@ en@@ ar@@ i@@ o may seem dr@@ am@@ atic , but it cor@@ respon@@ ds to a re@@ ality we all face .
Hence , the “ foo@@ t@@ st@@ oo@@ l ” of L@@ am@@ ent@@ ations 2 : 1 ref@@ ers to Jehovah’s house of worship , or his temple .
With such laws , Jehovah made it clear that he wanted his people to ob@@ serve sa@@ fe practic@@ es in@@ side and out@@ side the home .
In fact , there are many things that are not exp@@ lic@@ it@@ ly spe@@ l@@ led out in the Scriptures .
The natur@@ al tend@@ ency of imperfect humans is to do wrong , so we have a t@@ w@@ of@@ old stru@@ gg@@ le .
E@@ ach of us car@@ ri@@ ed some 1@@ 00 p@@ oun@@ ds ( 50 k@@ g ) . ”
We can have similar joy by up@@ hol@@ ding Jehovah’s sovereignty , hon@@ or@@ ing his holy name , and keep@@ ing the re@@ ward of everlasting life before us .
But in his de@@ a@@ th@@ bed prophecy , Jac@@ ob foretold that Re@@ ub@@ en was not to exc@@ el , having for@@ fe@@ ited his right as the fir@@ st@@ born .
I@@ N THE book of Lev@@ it@@ ic@@ us , hol@@ iness is refer@@ red to more often than in any other book of the Bible .
I@@ ron@@ ically , it is religion ​ — speci@@ f@@ ically the religious organiz@@ ations and lead@@ ers who have promo@@ ted ide@@ as contr@@ ary to God’s thoughts .
M@@ illi@@ ons are , in effect , saying , as foretold at Ze@@ char@@ iah 8 : 23 : “ We will go with you people , for we have heard that God is with you people . ”
This is what the apostle Paul pointed to when he ur@@ ged his fellow believers : “ Be@@ come imit@@ at@@ ors of me , even as I am of Christ . ”
Yes , he will “ bring to ru@@ in those ru@@ ining the earth . ” ​ — 2 Th@@ ess@@ alon@@ ians 1 : 7 , 8 ; Revelation 11 : 18 .
• When a fle@@ sh@@ ly we@@ ak@@ ness per@@ sist@@ s , how can we show that we are truly rel@@ ying on Jehovah ?
“ Th@@ y dead live , their bo@@ di@@ es will ri@@ se again .
U@@ se the “ in@@ tel@@ le@@ c@@ tu@@ al cap@@ ac@@ ity ” that God has given you to become “ full - gro@@ wn in po@@ wers of understanding . ”
May we always appreciate it !
( b ) In what work are Christians eng@@ aged , and how do they show that they seek first the Kingdom ?
( b ) What is indic@@ ated by the fact that “ the seven star@@ s ” are in Jesus ’ right hand ?
Yet , by our dedic@@ ation , we have without res@@ er@@ vation pres@@ ented ourselves to Jehovah to serve him .
Did such teachings influence the way he deal@@ t with women ?
The Bible ur@@ ges fa@@ thers to avoid ex@@ as@@ per@@ ating their children , “ that they do not become do@@ w@@ n@@ hear@@ ted . ”
Sh@@ ould we not also live by God’s standards and stand out as different from the world ?
That an@@ n@@ oun@@ c@@ ement certainly had a powerful effect on those humble shepher@@ ds .
This inclu@@ des our work as Kingdom proc@@ laim@@ ers and our Christian conduct .
A little later , before the si@@ e@@ ge of J@@ er@@ ic@@ ho , it was doub@@ t@@ less Mic@@ ha@@ el , the “ pr@@ ince of the ar@@ my of Jehovah , ” who appe@@ ared to Joshua to reas@@ sure him of divine bac@@ king .
5 : 12 ; 6 : 12 .
To@@ ward the sou@@ th , the pl@@ at@@ form was ext@@ ended 10@@ 5 fe@@ et ( 32 m ) .
Yes , the let@@ ters to the Th@@ ess@@ alon@@ ians provide vital war@@ n@@ ings about spe@@ cul@@ ation or ques@@ tion@@ able ide@@ as .
W@@ i@@ th@@ out question , we should p@@ ay attention to Jehovah God’s prophe@@ tic word .
For complete de@@ ta@@ il@@ s of the 2@@ 000 Ser@@ vice Y@@ e@@ ar R@@ ep@@ ort , see the char@@ t on pages 18 - 21 .
From these we will note that loving - kindness ext@@ ended by humans is ( 1 ) expres@@ sed by speci@@ fic actions , ( 2 ) ext@@ ended will@@ ingly , and ( 3 ) shown especially to those having a need .
In Judah , Ru@@ th again acted “ according to all that her mother - in - law had comman@@ ded her . ”
The apostle Paul , who lived in an era of consider@@ able religious con@@ fu@@ sion , wrote : “ Jehovah knows those who be@@ long to him . ”
What we say , especially when we are dist@@ res@@ sed or under pres@@ sure , may reve@@ al a lo@@ t about what we are really like in@@ side .
The psalmist s@@ ang : “ I will l@@ au@@ d you [ Jehovah ] in the b@@ i@@ g congregation ; among a n@@ um@@ erous people I shall praise you . ”
Does that not give und@@ en@@ i@@ able evidence that God’s spirit is em@@ power@@ ing the slave ?
Even so , to emp@@ ha@@ si@@ ze the reli@@ ability of his message , he often in@@ tro@@ duc@@ ed what he said in this uni@@ qu@@ e way : “ Most truly [ liter@@ ally , “ Tru@@ ly , truly , ” f@@ t@@ n . ]
They were willing to die for what they believ@@ ed in . ​ — Acts 7 : 5@@ 1 - 60 .
“ But wh@@ atever saying is good for building up . ” ​ — 4 : 29 .
He got an ide@@ a and wor@@ ked out a pl@@ an .
They also took to heart the ext@@ ended app@@ lic@@ ation of the reason@@ ing that the apostle Paul pres@@ ented in writ@@ ing to Christians in Corin@@ th . ​ — Read 2 Corinthians 10 : 3 , 4 .
To the Christians in Th@@ ess@@ alon@@ ica , Paul wrote : “ After we had first su@@ ffered and been in@@ sol@@ ently tre@@ ated ( just as you know ) in Philipp@@ i , we m@@ ust@@ ered up b@@ ol@@ dness by means of our God to speak to you the good news of God with a great deal of stru@@ gg@@ ling . ”
29 “ M@@ ake Your W@@ ay Su@@ cc@@ ess@@ ful ” ​ — How ?
As the human family m@@ ul@@ ti@@ p@@ lied , how would God commun@@ ic@@ ate with all of them ?
Let us clear up some of them .
“ Even when a person has an ab@@ und@@ ance his life does not result from the things he poss@@ ess@@ es . ” ​ — L@@ U@@ K@@ E 12 : 15 .
St@@ ar@@ t@@ ling events , such as the destruction of “ Babylon the Gre@@ at ” and the att@@ ack by “ Go@@ g of the land of M@@ ago@@ g ” upon Jehovah’s people , are in the off@@ ing .
P@@ or@@ no@@ gr@@ aph@@ y R@@ es@@ ult in Be@@ ing Ex@@ pe@@ l@@ led ? 3 / 15
De Mes@@ tr@@ al was not alone in cop@@ ying from n@@ ature .
The prophecy of Isaiah 40 : 10 , 11 emp@@ ha@@ si@@ z@@ es the tend@@ er@@ ness with which Jehovah shepher@@ ds his people .
It is easy to understand that when people find themselves in such a des@@ per@@ ate st@@ ate , they feel the need to turn to God for help . ​ — Romans 5 : 12 .
THE great@@ est good that any human can do is to bring glory to Jehovah .
( a ) How do people in gener@@ al show that their share is in this life only ?
In what ways did the Law expres@@ s God’s righteousness ?
The motiv@@ ation for us to take these steps should be love for Jehovah and a desire to serve him .
In that coming new world , God will re@@ le@@ ase faithful humans from the ag@@ ing proc@@ ess .
Jesus ’ trust in his Father was still as firm as ever .
Many would rep@@ ly , ‘ I was impres@@ sed by the fact that the Witness used the Bible to answer all my questions . ’
For instance , as bab@@ es , both Moses and Jesus es@@ cap@@ ed death at the hands of a ty@@ ran@@ n@@ ical rul@@ er .
Kingdom H@@ al@@ ls O@@ p@@ en to E@@ ver@@ y@@ one
How can others help us in the decision - making proc@@ ess ?
He wrote : “ The end of all things has dra@@ wn close . Be s@@ ound in mind , therefore , and be vi@@ g@@ il@@ ant with a view to prayers . ”
With the help of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews , however , they accepted the fact that they had been s@@ anc@@ ti@@ fied , not by means of sacrifices “ offered according to the Law , ” but “ through the o@@ ffering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time . ”
A@@ gain in the prophet Sam@@ u@@ el@@ ’s day , the fav@@ or@@ ed nation of Israel was cau@@ ght in the s@@ n@@ are of walking by sight .
An@@ ton@@ i@@ o rel@@ ates : “ He gave such a beau@@ ti@@ ful prayer , and af@@ ter@@ ward , he was like another person .
That is the kind of faith we need if we are to walk with God .
It may have seem@@ ed comple@@ tely nor@@ m@@ al to him to view G@@ ent@@ il@@ es as enemies to be h@@ ated .
( a ) Why can ap@@ olo@@ gi@@ zing be difficult ?
E@@ very as@@ pect of a Christ@@ ian@@ ’s life , including preaching , cal@@ ls for humility
How wise are those who choose to walk with God !
Bo@@ th young and old can be encourag@@ ing
J@@ as@@ on , who wor@@ ked for an ele@@ c@@ tri@@ c@@ al contr@@ ac@@ tor , and J@@ en@@ n@@ ifer , from I@@ l@@ l@@ in@@ o@@ is , say that working at W@@ all@@ k@@ ill on a Bethel pro@@ je@@ ct is “ one of the clo@@ s@@ est things you can experience to new world living . ”
I also thought it would be dis@@ loyal to m@@ ention our proble@@ m to anyone ​ — even to the elders in our congregation .
You are re@@ ques@@ ting something that is “ according to his will , ” so you can be confid@@ ent that Jehovah will answer your prayer . ​ — 1 John 5 : 14 ; Pro@@ v .
But Jehovah was so real to him that it was as if he saw H@@ im .
Of course , he deal@@ t perfe@@ c@@ tly with everything he enc@@ oun@@ ter@@ ed on earth .
N@@ ever@@ the@@ less , he was willing to sub@@ m@@ it to Jehovah’s will . ​ — Matt .
Many today are like David .
R@@ am
9@@ 0@@ 6 ․ ․ ․ ․ ․ ․
What study pro@@ je@@ cts would give you the joy of new in@@ sight ?
P@@ AG@@ E 17 • SONGS : 8@@ 4 , 7@@ 2
I took a qu@@ ick gl@@ ance at the par@@ ag@@ r@@ aph@@ s and si@@ g@@ ned : ‘ D@@ ad , I don@@ ’t think that is the meaning . It is . . . ’
Ex@@ pl@@ ain . ( b ) The Israelites fel@@ l into what wrong way of thinking ?
Yet many of my spiritual questions went un@@ ans@@ wer@@ ed .
But the little we do know mo@@ ves us to praise God for his goo@@ dness .
Instead , they main@@ tain@@ ed faith in God’s prophe@@ tic word .
Thus , I deci@@ ded to start reading our public@@ ations again and to att@@ end the meetings .
What events will occ@@ ur during that inter@@ val ?
Can we do some sho@@ pp@@ ing or se@@ wing for an el@@ derly wi@@ do@@ w we know ?
O@@ ver the years , we took tur@@ ns car@@ ing for M@@ other , helping her get to the meetings when she could .
With fe@@ wer responsib@@ ilities for the time being , you may be able to do more with regard to personal and family study , perhaps restor@@ ing a r@@ out@@ ine that had been difficult to maintain .
F@@ ur@@ ther@@ more , the Bible speci@@ f@@ ically ref@@ ers to Armag@@ ed@@ don as God’s war .
When was Satan c@@ ast out of heaven ? ​ — R@@ ev .
However , one of the stud@@ ents , a 16 - year - old Witness of Jehovah named An@@ dre@@ y , po@@ lit@@ ely asked to be exc@@ used from taking the t@@ est because his conscience did not allow him to study this ty@@ pe of liter@@ ature .
R@@ ed S@@ ea
However , the sin was not hi@@ d@@ den from God .
If we sel@@ dom use it , it will we@@ aken or wi@@ ther .
Our Christian brothers in the hi@@ stor@@ ical se@@ ap@@ ort city of T@@ ur@@ ku , F@@ in@@ land , were , and their al@@ er@@ t@@ ness led to fine results .
As Jehovah’s Witnesses , we have the ch@@ er@@ ished privilege to praise God and share zeal@@ ously in the Kingdom pro@@ cl@@ am@@ ation work .
They were a part of true worship .
On another occasion , Jesus said that “ the Father in heaven [ will ] give holy spirit to those as@@ king him . ”
Th@@ r@@ ough the Bible , what light does Jehovah provide ?
These s@@ inc@@ ere Christians ende@@ av@@ or to st@@ ick to Jehovah’s standards .
M@@ ake pl@@ ain how Jehovah has en@@ ri@@ ched your life , “ teaching you to benefit yourself . ”
9 : 29 ; 12 : 15 ; 13 : 22 .
2 : 5 ​ — Who is the “ able - bo@@ died man , ” and why “ will [ he ] not reach his go@@ al ” ?
On@@ ly the inc@@ or@@ ri@@ g@@ ib@@ ly wicked or those who refu@@ sed to listen to war@@ n@@ ings were destro@@ yed .
What would the elder do ?
Would the children of Adam and Eve be affe@@ cted by what their parents had done ?
To@@ ward the end of his earthly ministry , Jesus could say in prayer to Jehovah : “ I have made your name known to them [ the apostles ] and will make it known . ”
If we ever have to deal with a bro@@ ther’s ap@@ par@@ ent l@@ ack of faith , can we fig@@ ur@@ ati@@ vely st@@ re@@ t@@ ch out our hand and help him to gain more faith ?
Yes , Jehovah may not take away our proble@@ m , but he can respond to our prayers by gu@@ ar@@ ding our m@@ ental po@@ wers .
Peter lost his foc@@ us on Jesus , and then his faith wa@@ ver@@ ed .
Why did Abraham have faith in the resurrection ?
Yes , among them we all at one time condu@@ cted ourselves in harmony with the desires of our flesh , doing the things wil@@ led by the flesh and the thoughts , and we were natur@@ ally children of wr@@ ath even as the rest . ”
Consider what occ@@ ur@@ red ear@@ lier during Paul’s second mission@@ ary t@@ our ( about 4@@ 9 - 5@@ 2 C.E . ) when he vis@@ ited A@@ th@@ ens . He reas@@ oned with people who believ@@ ed in many de@@ ities , and he ur@@ ged them to note God’s purpose to jud@@ ge the in@@ hab@@ ited earth in righteousness by a man whom He had appointed .
Jehovah “ felt compas@@ sion for his people , ” even though “ they were continu@@ ally making j@@ est at the m@@ ess@@ eng@@ ers of the true God and des@@ p@@ is@@ ing his words . ”
Go@@ dly fear is a great aid as we cultivate obedience .
So the words at Ex@@ od@@ us 20 : 5 were f@@ und@@ am@@ ent@@ ally direc@@ ted to the whole nation .
The same was true of the apostle Paul , who wrote : “ Most gl@@ ad@@ ly , therefore , will I rather bo@@ ast as respe@@ cts my we@@ ak@@ ness@@ es , that the power of the Christ may like a t@@ ent remain over me . . . .
Have you enjo@@ yed using this bro@@ ch@@ ure when w@@ itness@@ ing from house to house , public@@ ly , or in an inform@@ al se@@ tting ?
Jehovah ​ — “ Pro@@ vi@@ der of E@@ sc@@ ape ” in Bible T@@ im@@ es
• What should be our attitude toward meetings , and why ?
S@@ ak@@ ik@@ o , J@@ ap@@ an : “ I have been married for 31 years and have three children .
Ke@@ ep@@ ing a B@@ al@@ anc@@ ed V@@ i@@ ew
What t@@ ests did Jeremiah face , and how did he at times feel ?
• What does it mean to keep “ close in mind the pres@@ ence of the day of Jehovah ” ?
If a person has a strong desire for al@@ c@@ oho@@ lic be@@ ver@@ ages , he might just@@ ify regular dr@@ in@@ king .
We served in Qu@@ i@@ to for four me@@ mor@@ able years .
In con@@ ne@@ ction with everything give than@@ ks . ”
G@@ ran@@ ted , such do@@ cum@@ ents may appe@@ ar old and ven@@ er@@ able to some scho@@ lar@@ s and hi@@ stor@@ ians .
It is important to read the Bible with an open mind .
You in your loving - kindness have led the people whom you have rec@@ over@@ ed ; you in your strength will certainly conduct them to your holy ab@@ i@@ ding place . . . .
Th@@ r@@ oughout the 20@@ th century and continu@@ ing to the present time , some of our brothers and sisters have stru@@ gg@@ led m@@ igh@@ t@@ ily , in a spiritual sense f@@ igh@@ ting “ the fine f@@ ight of the faith . ” ​ — 1 Timothy 6 : 12 .
Like many others , perhaps you feel that religion is ir@@ re@@ le@@ van@@ t to a better life .
4 : 7 , 8 ; 8 : 5 , 6 ; 11 : 13 - 15 .
1 : 14 ; 2 : 17 .
Indeed , in 19@@ 43 , when the war was at its he@@ ight , two new scho@@ ol@@ s were an@@ n@@ oun@@ ced .
What attitude and knowledge do we need if we are to com@@ pre@@ h@@ end and apply God’s law ?
D@@ E@@ V@@ O@@ T@@ E@@ D parents n@@ ur@@ ture their children through inf@@ an@@ cy , chil@@ d@@ ho@@ od , and the te@@ en@@ age years .
( Read Psalm 1@@ 10 : 1 , 2 , 4 . )
They have learned to con@@ ve@@ y their thoughts and feelings to each other hon@@ es@@ tly , yet kin@@ dly , by cultiv@@ ating and disp@@ la@@ ying in@@ sight , love , deep respect , and humility .
A loving wife can have what influence on family life ?
Paul “ prayed , l@@ aid his hands on him , and heal@@ ed him . ”
( b ) What question deser@@ ves our consider@@ ation ?
Although deep@@ ly sa@@ d@@ d@@ ened by the lo@@ ss of a har@@ d@@ working , be@@ loved member of the Bethel family and the worldwide bro@@ ther@@ ho@@ od , we rejo@@ ice in Bro@@ ther J@@ ar@@ ac@@ z ’ loyal service to Jehovah over many dec@@ ad@@ es .
P@@ ut@@ ting the apostles out@@ side the S@@ an@@ he@@ dr@@ in h@@ all for a sh@@ ort time , he ad@@ vi@@ sed those religious op@@ pos@@ ers : “ M@@ en of Israel , p@@ ay attention to y@@ ourselves as to what you in@@ t@@ end to do respe@@ cting these men . . . .
You have a better chan@@ ce of ac@@ compl@@ ish@@ ing that if you discer@@ n any under@@ l@@ ying is@@ su@@ es that might be contribu@@ ting to his attitude .
He had a small but e@@ ff@@ ici@@ ent ar@@ my of 3@@ 0@@ ,000 foo@@ t sol@@ di@@ ers and 5@@ ,000 c@@ av@@ al@@ r@@ y@@ men .
How can the example of the apostle Paul help all in the congregation to make spiritual prog@@ ress ?
• Why is a godly person happy ?
1@@ 5@@ ,000 New Witnesses ! ”
What to do when bu@@ l@@ lied
• In man@@ ner of worship , what simil@@ ar@@ ity is there between the early Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses ?
Their persecu@@ tors could se@@ par@@ ate them from family , friends , and fellow believers , but the im@@ pri@@ son@@ ed Witnesses knew that their op@@ pos@@ ers could never is@@ ol@@ ate them from Jehovah . ​ — Rom .
And modern - day apost@@ ates keep on tr@@ ying to so@@ w see@@ ds of doubt in order to sub@@ ver@@ t the faith of Christians .
As we consider these poin@@ ts , it will be help@@ ful to medit@@ ate on our relationship with God and discer@@ n how we can honor him as our Father .
Mo@@ hand@@ as K .
Consider the case of the apostle Paul , who beg@@ ged God three times to re@@ move “ a thor@@ n in the flesh . ”
However , the op@@ pos@@ ite is also possible .
C@@ O@@ U@@ N@@ T@@ R@@ Y O@@ F OR@@ I@@ G@@ I@@ N : B@@ EN@@ I@@ N
In fact , we feel that exerci@@ sing faith in Jesus is vital to salvation .
( a ) What should be in our hand when we preach , and why ?
6 , 7 . ( a ) Jehovah especially de@@ ligh@@ ts in provi@@ ding for the needs of whom ?
He is the only one mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures who served as both a king and a pri@@ est .
A@@ do@@ l@@ f and sever@@ al of his compani@@ ons were ar@@ res@@ ted and s@@ ent@@ enced to serve long pri@@ son ter@@ ms because they refu@@ sed to r@@ en@@ oun@@ ce their Bible - based beli@@ ef@@ s .
Why are not all compl@@ ain@@ ts ob@@ je@@ c@@ tion@@ able ?
F@@ ul@@ fil@@ lment of Bible prophe@@ cies shows that the time for God to bring an end to s@@ ick@@ ness , sor@@ ro@@ w , and death is at hand .
R@@ eho@@ bo@@ am ru@@ les over the sou@@ ther@@ n kingdom , made up of the tri@@ bes of Judah and B@@ en@@ j@@ am@@ in , and J@@ er@@ o@@ bo@@ am re@@ ign@@ s over the nor@@ ther@@ n ten - tri@@ be kingdom of Israel .
9 : 9 - 15 .
How can we learn from Jesus to fear Jehovah ?
I got the impres@@ sion that pione@@ ering was something every@@ one did .
T@@ r@@ ites are thought pro@@ vo@@ king .
They will be discus@@ sed in the following article .
This provi@@ sion reve@@ als much about Jehovah .
F@@ ol@@ low@@ ing D@@ iv@@ ine Di@@ rection B@@ r@@ ings H@@ app@@ iness
What must we do until the “ very little while ” r@@ un@@ s out ?
Y@@ oung brothers and sisters are able to go to school without being pres@@ sur@@ ed to com@@ promise their relationship with Jehovah .
That Jehovah allow@@ ed the Bible Stud@@ ents to ado@@ pt his name was more than just a great honor .
We enjo@@ yed those fav@@ or@@ able times , serving our brothers and sisters in various congregations .
Paul called Timothy “ a genu@@ ine child in the faith . ”
The great@@ est man who ever lived ac@@ knowled@@ ges that he does not have un@@ lim@@ ited authority .
“ I shall walk in your truth . Un@@ ify my heart to fear your name . ” ​ — P@@ S .
23 : 12 .
The words of David at Psalm 1@@ 39 : 18@@ b seem to mean that if he sp@@ ent all day until he fel@@ l as@@ le@@ ep at night coun@@ ting Jehovah’s thoughts , upon awa@@ ken@@ ing in the mor@@ ning , he would still have more to coun@@ t .
W@@ el@@ l , just as A@@ qu@@ i@@ la and P@@ ri@@ sc@@ il@@ la may have learned from Paul , we can im@@ prove our ability to make disciples by following the example of good teach@@ ers of God’s Word .
“ Now that I had started to believe in God , ” says John , “ I accepted his offer . ”
We should conf@@ ess to Jehovah and appro@@ ach the congregation elders for help .
11 : 36 - 40 .
It is under@@ stan@@ d@@ able that for the m@@ om@@ ent , such an un@@ fulfilled expe@@ c@@ tation may cause sa@@ dness .
H@@ er words e@@ ch@@ o through the ages in their s@@ im@@ ple humility and obedience . She said to G@@ ab@@ ri@@ el : “ L@@ ook !
What Scriptural name was ado@@ p@@ ted by God’s people in 19@@ 31 ?
However , if we make the ga@@ ining of money our c@@ hi@@ ef go@@ al in life , we might suffer “ un@@ told ag@@ on@@ ies of mind . ”
Many of our brothers and sisters say that their joy is en@@ han@@ ced when elders show personal interest in them .
Their ne@@ w@@ ly appointed king , J@@ er@@ o@@ bo@@ am , qu@@ ick@@ ly mo@@ ves to con@@ so@@ li@@ d@@ ate his power by estab@@ l@@ ish@@ ing a new St@@ ate religion .
May we gain strength from our prayers and our Christian bro@@ ther@@ ho@@ od , keep@@ ing in mind that our brothers are experi@@ enc@@ ing trials similar to ours .
N@@ ever@@ the@@ less , the Bible does not st@@ ate that Jehovah will wa@@ it until every individu@@ al on earth has received a personal witness .
The fulfillment of what Bible prophe@@ cies gu@@ ar@@ an@@ te@@ es the fail@@ ure of Satan’s war@@ f@@ are against true Christians ?
Why can we be certain that Jehovah’s day will come ?
“ The ele@@ ments ” inclu@@ de “ the spirit of the world , ” which “ o@@ per@@ ates in the sons of di@@ so@@ be@@ di@@ ence . ”
Even though they knew God’s righteous de@@ cre@@ e , “ they did not appro@@ ve of hol@@ ding God in accur@@ ate knowledge . ”
What a joy it has been to work more clo@@ sely with the brothers !
8 : 14 - 17 .
Like a sa@@ v@@ age li@@ on , Satan has often made open , f@@ ron@@ t@@ al att@@ ac@@ ks by means of viol@@ ence , im@@ pri@@ son@@ ment , or ban .
In no un@@ certain ter@@ ms , the Bible shows that Jehovah wants his people to be holy .
What for@@ ms of enter@@ tain@@ ment today reflect the attitude and interests of wicked spir@@ its ?
You daugh@@ ters of Israel , we@@ ep over Saul . ”
An 11 - year - old gir@@ l in P@@ ort@@ u@@ g@@ al faced pres@@ sure in school to c@@ ele@@ br@@ ate ho@@ li@@ days that were in viol@@ ation of her Bible - tra@@ ined conscience .
During the re@@ building of the temple , Jehovah told the Jews in Jerusalem to medit@@ ate on what they were doing in behalf of the building work .
( a ) What is needed b@@ es@@ id@@ es sp@@ ending time with children ?
God told the prophet Jeremiah : “ I am with you to deli@@ ver you . ”
He rel@@ ates : “ It was very hard to ad@@ m@@ it to my wife and to the elders what I@@ ’@@ d been doing .
When you become awar@@ e of God’s eyes on you , do not feel as if you were under the sc@@ ru@@ tin@@ y of some im@@ personal sur@@ ve@@ ill@@ ance cam@@ era .
9 , 10 . ( a ) What possible we@@ ak@@ ness@@ es did Paul cont@@ end with ?
In the first century , they reli@@ ed on it to se@@ t@@ tle the circum@@ ci@@ sion issue .
Jehovah God , being the Creator , is righ@@ t@@ fully the S@@ over@@ e@@ ign R@@ ul@@ er of the uni@@ verse .
Their d@@ ili@@ g@@ ence in the preaching and disciple - making work is well - do@@ cum@@ ented in the Bible book of Acts .
Jesus ’ prayers differ@@ ed great@@ ly from the s@@ anc@@ tim@@ on@@ ious prayers of the Phar@@ i@@ sees
L@@ ear@@ ning about the wonderful works that Jehovah per@@ formed in behalf of his people at the R@@ ed S@@ ea , at the J@@ ord@@ an R@@ i@@ ver , and at M@@ ount S@@ in@@ ai ought to affect us deep@@ ly .
Are you al@@ er@@ t to opport@@ un@@ ities that may un@@ expe@@ c@@ te@@ dly ar@@ ise in your congregation ter@@ rit@@ ory ?
They are imperfect humans , “ having the same in@@ fir@@ m@@ ities as [ we ] have . ”
“ Those who receive the ab@@ und@@ ance of the un@@ deser@@ ved kindness and of the free gift of righteousness [ will ] rule as kings in life through the one person , Jesus Christ . ”
What are some benefits of the re@@ vi@@ sed e@@ dition of the New World T@@ rans@@ lation of the Ho@@ ly Scriptures ?
Like first - century e@@ vange@@ li@@ z@@ ers , zeal@@ ous pione@@ ers are a rich s@@ ource of encourag@@ ement to the congregations .
This man beg@@ ged Jesus to show him mercy , indic@@ ating that he recogni@@ zed that Jesus had God’s bac@@ king .
If we stand up for him , he will re@@ ward us . ”
God’s Word tells us to foc@@ us on the needs of others ahead of our own .
C@@ learly , the Bible is a book to be under@@ stood .
P@@ r@@ ay inc@@ ess@@ an@@ tly .
She inv@@ ites the shepherd to “ come into his gar@@ den and e@@ at its cho@@ ic@@ est fru@@ its . ”
In the days of the p@@ at@@ ri@@ ar@@ ch Job , he told Jehovah God : “ E@@ ver@@ y@@ thing that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul . ”
We could than@@ k them and say that we are pleas@@ ed that they inv@@ ited us to parti@@ ci@@ p@@ ate in the we@@ d@@ ding .
Satan has under@@ min@@ ed what God teach@@ es .
God promised that through Abraham and his des@@ c@@ end@@ ants , all famili@@ es of the earth ​ — not just one nation — ​ were to be blessed .
In the same ways that he helped Moses .
We can be sure that Jehovah will keep his humble servants inform@@ ed regarding the un@@ fol@@ ding of his glor@@ ious purpose .
* It will help us to keep our b@@ al@@ ance .
The one described in the op@@ ening ver@@ ses of the Bible .
The 18@@ 9@@ 0 ’ s in@@ tro@@ duc@@ ed s@@ il@@ ent mo@@ tion pic@@ tures to the public .
On@@ ce the elders have determined that the stud@@ ent qual@@ if@@ ies as an un@@ baptized publish@@ er , help him pre@@ pare a s@@ im@@ ple pres@@ ent@@ ation and then accomp@@ any him in the field service .
How powerful is the message e@@ man@@ ating from God’s Word ?
Jehovah’s cho@@ ice proved to be J@@ es@@ se@@ ’s you@@ ng@@ est son , David ​ — “ a man ag@@ re@@ e@@ able to his heart . ” ​ — 1 Samuel 13 : 14 ; 16 : 7 .
They b@@ ought new out@@ f@@ its just last mon@@ th ! ”
She was soon stud@@ ying three times a we@@ ek and made fine spiritual prog@@ ress .
No@@ where do the Scriptures direc@@ t us to c@@ ele@@ br@@ ate that bir@@ th , nor is there any evidence that early Christians did so .
A@@ i
The sm@@ all@@ er the changes , the e@@ asi@@ er the ad@@ just@@ ment will likely be .
A hi@@ stor@@ ical account tells us : “ Judah and Israel were many , like the gra@@ ins of s@@ and that are by the sea for m@@ ul@@ t@@ itude , e@@ ating and dr@@ in@@ king and rejo@@ ic@@ ing .
If that is the case , then we need to make this a matter of prayer .
When we are guid@@ ed and spiritually su@@ st@@ ain@@ ed by Jehovah’s holy spirit , we do not wi@@ ther away , be@@ coming un@@ fru@@ it@@ ful or spiritually dead .
What was ac@@ compl@@ ished in the past service year ?
To@@ ward the end of the 19@@ th century , light began to sh@@ ine on a 2@@ ,@@ 5@@ 00 - year - old prophecy recorded by Daniel : “ In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destro@@ yed . ”
Because these p@@ ain@@ st@@ ak@@ ingly hand@@ written and care@@ fully hi@@ d@@ den cop@@ ies speak e@@ lo@@ qu@@ ently of the appreciation the Witnesses had for the spiritual food available at that time .
Solomon knew that wa@@ iting can be fru@@ str@@ ating .
Does he do his assi@@ g@@ ned ch@@ or@@ es around the house ?
S@@ peci@@ al m@@ ention must be made of the New World T@@ rans@@ lation of the Ho@@ ly Scriptures , publ@@ ished in its enti@@ re@@ ty in Eng@@ lish in 19@@ 60 .
Peter had received a divine vision in which he was told : “ You stop cal@@ ling de@@ fil@@ ed the things God has clean@@ sed . ”
What we give in our ministry dep@@ ends much on the dep@@ th of appreciation in our hearts for what Jehovah has done , is doing , and will yet do for us .
T@@ r@@ ying to j@@ um@@ p - start a con@@ vers@@ ation with “ why don@@ ’t you talk more ? ”
We need God - given courage and strength to cop@@ e with de@@ pres@@ sing problems .
“ The works of the flesh are manif@@ est , and they are for@@ n@@ ication , un@@ clean@@ ness , lo@@ ose conduct , i@@ do@@ l@@ at@@ ry , prac@@ tice of spir@@ it@@ is@@ m , en@@ m@@ ities , stri@@ fe , je@@ al@@ ous@@ y , f@@ its of anger . ”
Th@@ r@@ ough regular Bible study , we learn more and more about how we can imitate Jehovah’s goo@@ dness .
According to what rule does Jehovah deal with his in@@ tel@@ li@@ g@@ ent cre@@ atures ?
H@@ aving a good conscience also proved comfor@@ ting to Job .
They Did Not S@@ in A@@ ga@@ in@@ st the Sp@@ irit
As a result , you have the privilege of being among the only people in the world who can righ@@ tly be called “ a free people . ” ​ — J@@ as .
His case may re@@ mind us that “ we all st@@ umb@@ le many times . ”
F@@ or@@ e@@ most among the me@@ th@@ o@@ ds used by anointed Christians and their “ other sheep ” compani@@ ons in fulfil@@ ling this prophe@@ tic pic@@ ture is the house - to - house ministry .
In ad@@ dition to se@@ tting up jud@@ ges , what other provi@@ sions did Jehovah make to care for his people ?
Con@@ cer@@ ning the im@@ proper use of the ton@@ gue , Proverbs 11 : 11 states : “ Because of the m@@ outh of the wicked ones [ a to@@ wn ] ge@@ ts tor@@ n down . ”
The same is true when we present our bo@@ di@@ es ‘ a living sacrifice . ’
M@@ in@@ or ga@@ mb@@ ling was also done il@@ lic@@ it@@ ly in the back ro@@ om@@ s of in@@ ns and ta@@ ver@@ ns .
Still , V@@ al@@ ent@@ ina kept on preaching .
Des@@ pite your best in@@ ten@@ tions , does it seem that you just never have en@@ ough time to do what you want and need to do ?
A@@ m@@ ong many other things , they taught her that God has a personal name , Jehovah .
SA@@ R@@ A@@ H “ P@@ r@@ inc@@ ess ”
We live in a tre@@ ach@@ erous , dis@@ loyal world .
Jesus , who could discer@@ n what was in their hearts , knew differ@@ ently .
The apostle Paul put it this way : “ Let each one prove what his own work is , and then he will have cause for ex@@ ul@@ tation in regard to himself alone , and not in compar@@ is@@ on with the other person . ” ​ — G@@ alati@@ ans 6 : 4 .
David’s son Solomon ent@@ re@@ ated God for the wisdom requ@@ ired to dis@@ char@@ ge the du@@ ties of k@@ ing@@ ship in Israel .
▪ Be C@@ our@@ age@@ ous ​ — Jehovah Is With You !
R@@ el@@ ate an experience that demonstr@@ ates what an im@@ m@@ ig@@ ran@@ t may deci@@ de to do upon lear@@ ning Bible truth .
Since Jesus pres@@ ents this ho@@ st as an example for us , our prayers should like@@ wise be per@@ sist@@ ent .
The few who had shown interest in the truth there had d@@ rif@@ ted away .
On the other hand , if a te@@ acher does not truly appreciate what he teach@@ es , how can he expect his stud@@ ents to value what they are hear@@ ing ?
A vi@@ sit , a tele@@ ph@@ one call , or a letter can mean so much !
Now as a te@@ en@@ ag@@ er , he is tu@@ gg@@ ing at the ro@@ pe , e@@ ag@@ er to set s@@ ail , and you get the impres@@ sion that you are not inv@@ ited on bo@@ ard .
Yet , it is consi@@ st@@ ent with a hi@@ stor@@ ical fact .
In@@ cre@@ ase in Acc@@ ur@@ ate K@@ no@@ w@@ led@@ ge With “ E@@ ag@@ er@@ ness of M@@ ind ”
What might under@@ m@@ ine our self - sacrif@@ ic@@ ing spirit ?
As a result , the nation was ev@@ entually c@@ ast off .
En@@ ro@@ l@@ lment : The bran@@ ch off@@ ice inv@@ ites elders .
Paul tells us that God lo@@ v@@ ingly gives us His Word so that “ through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope . ”
9 / 1 2@@ 3@@ ,000 or 2@@ 4,000 Israelites fall ? , 4 / 1
In a compar@@ able way , Jehovah is “ a God ex@@ ac@@ ting exc@@ lu@@ sive devotion . ”
V@@ er@@ y likely , others who have to remain awa@@ ke all night would ag@@ ree .
Indeed , c@@ oo@@ per@@ ating as a family is wor@@ th all the effort .
Li@@ ons usu@@ ally pre@@ y on the most v@@ ul@@ n@@ er@@ able , often the young .
When the apostle Paul no@@ tic@@ ed that the Christians in Corin@@ th were taking fellow servants of God to se@@ cul@@ ar cour@@ ts over such personal differ@@ ences as fin@@ anci@@ al dis@@ ag@@ re@@ em@@ ents , he cor@@ rec@@ ted them : “ Why do you not rather let y@@ ourselves be wr@@ on@@ ged ?
What is no@@ te@@ worthy about the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promises , and how did this affect Abraham ?
The “ city , ” or Kingdom govern@@ ment , for which Ab@@ ra@@ m ho@@ p@@ ed is now a re@@ ality ​ — estab@@ l@@ ished in the heavens since 1914 .
Th@@ ink , for example , of someone who c@@ laim@@ s to follow Jesus but whose real go@@ al in life is to become we@@ al@@ thy or whose real trust is in himself and his own ide@@ as .
H@@ on@@ es@@ the@@ ar@@ ted people felt free to appro@@ ach Jesus , even br@@ ing@@ ing their young children to him .
What an en@@ or@@ m@@ ous responsibility res@@ ted on Jesus ’ sh@@ ou@@ l@@ ders !
• What do you appreciate about the Gre@@ ater David , who is also the Gre@@ ater Solomon ?
David was assur@@ ed , and prophe@@ ts later con@@ fir@@ med , that the Messiah would be a des@@ c@@ end@@ ant of his and would inher@@ it the Davi@@ di@@ c thr@@ one forever . ​ — 2 S@@ am .
Mor@@ e important , John was the Messi@@ ah’s for@@ er@@ un@@ ner .
That is what happened when the n@@ on - Israel@@ ite woman J@@ ael kil@@ led him . ​ — Jud@@ g .
The great@@ est blessing , however , was that she was able to share the good news with sever@@ al of her fellow wor@@ k@@ ers .
“ Who is this woman that is loo@@ king down like the da@@ wn , beau@@ ti@@ ful like the full mo@@ on , p@@ ure like the g@@ low@@ ing s@@ un ? ”
New parents soon learn that disci@@ pl@@ ining children is a ti@@ ring , full - time jo@@ b .
As a group , the slave class has estab@@ l@@ ished an exc@@ el@@ l@@ ent rec@@ ord of “ following the L@@ am@@ b no matter where he go@@ es . ”
The priests and the people offered un@@ accep@@ table sacrifices
P@@ r@@ ac@@ tice s@@ es@@ sions promo@@ te prog@@ ress in the field ministry
We need to appreciate the purpose of our gather@@ ing together .
W@@ e@@ al@@ thy Joseph C@@ ai@@ ap@@ has was plac@@ ed in his position by V@@ al@@ er@@ i@@ us G@@ r@@ at@@ us , and he held that po@@ st longer than many of his pre@@ dec@@ ess@@ ors .
To their own har@@ m , they fo@@ ol@@ ish@@ ly reje@@ cted the f@@ la@@ w@@ less guidance of Jehovah , pre@@ fer@@ ring in@@ stead to be like the sur@@ r@@ oun@@ ding nations . ​ — 1 Samuel 8 : 19 , 20 .
How do the words of Job and David show that integrity is the basis on which Jehovah jud@@ ges us ?
Then reflect on how we can promo@@ te unity by cultiv@@ ating those att@@ itu@@ des .
How did Saul come to develop self@@ ish thinking ?
Why might Christians have di@@ ffering vie@@ ws about accep@@ ting an inj@@ e@@ ction of a small f@@ r@@ action from a blood com@@ pon@@ ent ?
We will consider e@@ ight ways that a Christ@@ ian@@ ’s relationship with Jehovah can be strength@@ ened by pione@@ ering .
Par@@ ents can assi@@ gn their children subje@@ cts to res@@ ear@@ ch in prepar@@ ation for the family study
Bo@@ a@@ z would see to it that she would have “ a res@@ ting - place ” in the house of her husband .
The ri@@ ver g@@ ates were thus op@@ ened , and as foretold , N@@ ine@@ ve@@ h was taken as qu@@ ick@@ ly as fir@@ e de@@ v@@ ours dr@@ y st@@ ub@@ b@@ le . ​ — N@@ ah@@ um 1 : 8 - 10 .
Wh@@ atever the case , each man recogni@@ zed the value of what he had found and was willing to make hu@@ ge sacrifices to get a@@ hold of it .
On earth , Jehovah cre@@ ated everything for the benefit of his cre@@ atures des@@ ig@@ ned for earthly life .
Since we love Jehovah and we love our fellow believers , it is a de@@ light to serve them , to give of ourselves to them .
Would you like to re@@ verse that tr@@ end ?
Why is Jehovah’s tim@@ e@@ table not contro@@ l@@ led by world events and human pl@@ ans ?
Love moved him to leave his heavenly home and to d@@ well on earth as a man .
When Jehovah att@@ ach@@ es his name to a promise , the fulfillment of that promise is “ mag@@ n@@ ified ” in that it exc@@ e@@ eds all expe@@ c@@ t@@ ations .
On the day of Pente@@ co@@ st 33 C.E . , an important fes@@ tiv@@ al was in prog@@ ress and many vis@@ it@@ ors were sh@@ aring in it .
The Bible says : “ [ Jehovah’s ] eyes are ro@@ ving about through all the earth to show his strength in behalf of those whose heart is complete toward him . ”
We do not let this world di@@ str@@ act us from our work .
For these , such activity was not a c@@ as@@ ual matter .
Di@@ stri@@ ct conven@@ tion in P@@ ol@@ and In 200@@ 7 we were on our way to att@@ end a bran@@ ch dedic@@ ation in S@@ outh A@@ fri@@ ca .
How do congregation meetings help us to reflect God’s glory ?
With each group of anim@@ als , Jac@@ ob@@ ’s servants tell E@@ sa@@ u that they are a gift from his brother .
In that way , children will be motiv@@ ated to res@@ ist the worl@@ d’s pres@@ su@@ res even when their parents are not wat@@ ching .
No ; rather , by tur@@ ning Peter@@ ’s 7 into a 7@@ 7 , he was saying that there is no ar@@ b@@ it@@ r@@ ary lim@@ it on for@@ gi@@ ven@@ ess .
Yes , the pleas@@ ant me@@ mor@@ y of love that has been expres@@ sed can en@@ han@@ ce the end@@ uring quality of love .
Jehovah’s Witnesses always remember their responsibility to e@@ vange@@ li@@ ze [ P@@ ic@@ tures on page 17 ]
When we en@@ ga@@ ge in the Kingdom - preaching and disciple - making work , we are doing just what the apostle Paul wrote about , this time qu@@ o@@ ting Isaiah : “ How com@@ ely are the fe@@ et of those who decl@@ are good news of good things ! ”
So@@ on that spirit would act on Peter and his fellow disciples in new ways .
A@@ T A special meeting held in N@@ ago@@ ya , J@@ ap@@ an , on A@@ pri@@ l 28 , 20@@ 13 , An@@ th@@ on@@ y Mor@@ r@@ is of the Go@@ ver@@ ning Bo@@ dy sur@@ pri@@ sed the au@@ di@@ ence with a thr@@ il@@ ling an@@ n@@ oun@@ c@@ ement ​ — the re@@ le@@ ase of a new public@@ ation in J@@ ap@@ an@@ ese ent@@ it@@ led The Bible — ​ The Go@@ spe@@ l According to Matthew .
( b ) I@@ l@@ lustr@@ ate how a purpose can be ac@@ hi@@ ev@@ ed in more than one way .
Jesus himself was “ des@@ p@@ is@@ ed ” by men , yet he had no doubt that his Father loved him .
The Bible book of Proverbs , comple@@ ted about 7@@ 17 B.C.E . , recor@@ ds many of Solom@@ on@@ ’s pro@@ verbs .
Peter could therefore qu@@ o@@ te what the prophet Jo@@ el had foretold and apply it to men and women ali@@ ke .
What had moved him to be there ?
The Devil had c@@ laim@@ ed that Job , an out@@ standing servant of Jehovah , would not remain loyal if he lost his fav@@ or@@ ed e@@ con@@ om@@ ic situation .
Christian you@@ ths need to maintain the proper b@@ al@@ ance between serving the true God and parti@@ ci@@ p@@ ating in other activities .
Let us bear in mind that God will “ put it into their hearts ” to make that move ​ — and this could happ@@ en s@@ wi@@ f@@ tly and at any time !
Therefore do not become a@@ sh@@ am@@ ed of the witness about our Lord , neither of me a pri@@ son@@ er for his s@@ ake , but take your part in suffering evil for the good news according to the power of God . ” ​ — 2 Timothy 1 : 7 , 8 .
O@@ thers choose for their le@@ is@@ ure reading the Y@@ ear@@ book of Jehovah’s Witnesses , the Awa@@ ke !
Des@@ pite his uni@@ qu@@ e privile@@ ges , though , for a time As@@ ap@@ h found himself att@@ r@@ acted to the go@@ d@@ less conduct of his pe@@ ers , who seem@@ ed to bre@@ ak God’s laws with imp@@ unity .
What is wor@@ se , the psalmist had beg@@ un to doubt the wisdom of following the p@@ ath of righteousness that he had cho@@ sen . ​ — Psalm 7@@ 3 : 2 , 3 , 6 , 12 , 13 .
To be hon@@ est , I don@@ ’t know the answer , but I@@ ’@@ m sure the Bible ad@@ d@@ res@@ ses the matter .
Or you might ask , ‘ What does God have to say about this situation ? ’
And Israel@@ ’s sou@@ ther@@ n bor@@ der was close , so b@@ ands of fore@@ ign mar@@ au@@ ders and th@@ i@@ ev@@ es f@@ requ@@ ently att@@ ac@@ ked .
Re@@ gar@@ ding her vi@@ sit to the Kingdom H@@ all , one col@@ le@@ ge stud@@ ent said : “ U@@ su@@ ally , ch@@ ur@@ ches draw in members of a certain r@@ ace or e@@ th@@ n@@ ic group . . . .
Although I@@ sa@@ a@@ c and Re@@ be@@ k@@ ah could not change what E@@ sa@@ u had done , God gave them the wisdom , courage , and strength to remain faithful to H@@ im .
E@@ vil F@@ il@@ ls the E@@ ar@@ th
( Read Proverbs 23 : 15 . )
Mar@@ ch 22 , 200@@ 8 ​ — A D@@ ay to Re@@ member
Con@@ su@@ med by daily concer@@ ns , the Jews had for@@ go@@ t@@ ten that divine blessings in the form of ra@@ in and fru@@ it@@ ful se@@ as@@ ons would over@@ take them only if they endur@@ ed in a course of obedience to God , even in the face of op@@ position .
Of course , this is possible only because every@@ one in the family helps . ”
Let us consider three Scriptural poin@@ ts that we may want to estab@@ lish bri@@ ef@@ ly before de@@ l@@ ving into the answer to the question .
Indeed they did , but they did not do it in their own strength .
M@@ is@@ lead@@ ing stat@@ em@@ ents and ou@@ tri@@ ght lies about Jehovah’s servants and their beli@@ ef@@ s are some@@ times fe@@ atur@@ ed in the me@@ dia .
When we obey God and Christ , we prove our love for them .
God’s Word re@@ pe@@ ate@@ dly promises blessings to all who medit@@ ate on it and who stri@@ ve to apply what they learn .
Then Jesus asked the same b@@ asi@@ c question a th@@ ir@@ d time : “ Do you have affe@@ ction for me ? ”
Peter wor@@ ked kin@@ dly and pati@@ ently at shepher@@ ding and fe@@ e@@ ding Christ’s followers .
But God promises us that many humans will survi@@ ve : “ The world is pas@@ sing away . . . , but the one who does the will of God remain@@ s forever . ” ​ — 1 John 2 : 17 .
This inclu@@ des our children .
Re@@ gar@@ d@@ less of how b@@ ad@@ ly a person has tre@@ ated you , why should you ref@@ ra@@ in from har@@ bor@@ ing res@@ ent@@ ment ?
W@@ el@@ l , for one thing , by pra@@ ying for holy spirit , you ac@@ knowledge your reli@@ ance on Jehovah .
J@@ E@@ HO@@ V@@ A@@ H is the only Per@@ son with ab@@ so@@ lu@@ te fre@@ e@@ dom .
We speak of the good news to neigh@@ bor@@ s , co@@ wor@@ k@@ ers , scho@@ ol@@ m@@ ates , and rel@@ ati@@ ves .
There are , however , other ways to show Jehovah that we love him .
“ The time has not come , the time of the house of Jehovah , for it to be buil@@ t , ” they told themselves .
Our fe@@ et are com@@ ely to humble ones who hu@@ nger spiritually .
If Jesus ’ disciples follow@@ ed his example , they too would be con@@ qu@@ er@@ ors .
Love never fail@@ s . ”
That article , “ G@@ ent@@ ile T@@ im@@ es : When Do They En@@ d ? , ” pointed to 1914 as a sign@@ ific@@ ant year .
The world is bas@@ ically ho@@ st@@ ile toward us .
The apostle John under@@ stood the an@@ ti@@ ch@@ rist to be all who deli@@ ber@@ ately sp@@ read religious dec@@ ep@@ tion about Jesus Christ and Jesus ’ teachings
K@@ now that if it appe@@ ars that you are going to die before the start of Christ’s M@@ ill@@ en@@ n@@ ial Re@@ ign , you can take comfort in the cer@@ tain@@ ty that reli@@ ef will come .
Since some te@@ e@@ th are mis@@ sing , “ the gr@@ in@@ ding women have qu@@ it working because they have become few . ”
For dec@@ ad@@ es , Jehovah’s servants thought that it was .
Father and M@@ other ende@@ av@@ or@@ ed to teach God’s Word to all fi@@ ve of us children .
If our in@@ iti@@ al effort is re@@ bu@@ ff@@ ed , that could d@@ am@@ p@@ en our en@@ th@@ u@@ si@@ as@@ m for tr@@ ying again .
At the turn of the first century C.E . , for instance , H@@ er@@ od h@@ at@@ ched a sc@@ he@@ me to have put to death all bo@@ ys in Be@@ th@@ le@@ he@@ m who were two years of age or you@@ nger .
So@@ on , Jehovah will bring an end to this wicked system of things .
One day you have everything going for you , and before you know it , you find yourself like this . ”
What can we conclu@@ de from the experi@@ ences of T@@ ro@@ ph@@ im@@ us and E@@ p@@ aph@@ ro@@ dit@@ us ?
They did not give in to men simply to c@@ ur@@ ry favor with them ; neither should we .
• What fe@@ atures of the A@@ ton@@ ement D@@ ay pointed to the way that Jesus ’ ransom sacrifice is app@@ lied ?
5 , 6 . ( a ) Why did Kor@@ ah re@@ bel against Moses and A@@ ar@@ on ?
Do Not ‘ U@@ se the World to the F@@ ul@@ l ’
Do you see any pri@@ or@@ ity for the apostles ?
5@@ 2 : 11 , 12 .
In O@@ c@@ to@@ b@@ er 18@@ 20 , J@@ ones re@@ turned to M@@ ad@@ ag@@ as@@ c@@ ar .
In his letter to the Hebrews , for example , he cl@@ ar@@ if@@ ies how Jesus as a “ faithful high pri@@ est ” could once and for all time offer a “ prop@@ iti@@ at@@ ory sacrifice ” making it possible for those exerci@@ sing faith in it to ob@@ tain “ an everlasting deliver@@ ance . ”
The apostle Peter , after coun@@ sel@@ ing congregation elders to maintain a good attitude , st@@ res@@ sed the need of “ low@@ l@@ iness of mind . ”
The apostles thought that Jesus would ‘ restor@@ e the kingdom to Israel ’ soon after his resurrection .
( b ) How will people re@@ act to the sign@@ s that will appe@@ ar in heaven ?
Ar@@ th@@ ur , however , was less than impres@@ sed when his two - year - old son , R@@ on@@ al@@ d ( 8 ) ( my gran@@ d@@ father ) , took an a@@ x to a small ap@@ ple t@@ ree next to the family home .
Des@@ pite his bac@@ k@@ ground , what has helped Le@@ o to conduct himself as a less@@ er one ?
Wh@@ ere to F@@ ind In@@ ner Pe@@ ace
Indeed , “ many of the Corinthians that heard began to believe and be baptized . ”
He knows that clean@@ l@@ iness is ess@@ ential to our well - being .
The apostle Paul go@@ es on to comp@@ are those who become part of Abr@@ ah@@ am’s seed to bran@@ ches on a symb@@ oli@@ c oli@@ ve t@@ ree .
As they re@@ moved the out@@ side wal@@ l , they no@@ tic@@ ed a bo@@ ard c@@ over@@ ing one side of a p@@ ill@@ ar .
When giving the si@@ gn of his pres@@ ence , Jesus said that he would use “ the faithful and discreet slave ” to give “ food at the proper time ” to his do@@ mes@@ tic@@ s .
How are medit@@ ation and prayer ke@@ ys to main@@ tain@@ ing than@@ k@@ fulness ?
We today are like the ones ad@@ d@@ res@@ sed by Peter when he said : “ Though you never saw [ Jesus ] , you love him . ”
8 : 20 , 21 ; R@@ ev .
The t@@ ab@@ er@@ n@@ ac@@ le was in Gi@@ be@@ on , where H@@ igh P@@ ri@@ est Z@@ ado@@ k and his brothers car@@ ri@@ ed out sacrifices pres@@ cri@@ bed in the Law .
Yes , Mic@@ ah’s prophecy truly strength@@ ens us to walk in Jehovah’s name .
Yes , those who fear God obey him .
The whole proc@@ ess of such re@@ comm@@ end@@ ation and ap@@ poin@@ t@@ ment is direc@@ ted , or guid@@ ed , by holy spirit .
When this was first fulfilled on Isai@@ ah’s people , it me@@ ant that the bab@@ es in the land were sa@@ fe .
Bible accoun@@ ts show that Jesus has the power and the desire to bring children back to life
“ Th@@ at@@ ’s inc@@ re@@ di@@ b@@ le , ” said J@@ an@@ ina .
She served Jesus the best way she could .
( b ) Gi@@ ve an example to show that the love we demonstrate is no@@ ted by others .
As we consider what he said , think about what this can mean for Christians .
Keep showing love . ​ — John 13 : 34 , 35 .
But how is this possible in view of the tr@@ ag@@ ic con@@ sequ@@ ences of Ad@@ am’s di@@ so@@ be@@ di@@ ence ?
Wh@@ atever sc@@ he@@ du@@ le we choose , one thing is certain : P@@ re@@ par@@ ation will help us to p@@ ay attention to the material being considered at congregation meetings .
When he fin@@ ally left me and our daugh@@ ter , I felt that I had fail@@ ed , that I should have done or said more to hold the marriage together . ”
God “ will wi@@ pe out every te@@ ar from [ our ] eyes . ”
One important aid in this work is the Bible - based pr@@ inted material used by Jehovah’s Witnesses .
But one day when Jo@@ el was four years old , our son Mar@@ c said , “ C@@ ome on , Jo@@ el , show M@@ um@@ my that you can do it ! ”
I@@ d@@ enti@@ f@@ ying those who are doing the will of the Father ​ — thus be@@ aring the mar@@ k of true Christ@@ ian@@ ity — ​ and associ@@ ating with them can lead to e@@ tern@@ al blessings under God’s Kingdom .
He was we@@ al@@ thy , but he kept money in its proper place .
I could not help but reflect on the fact that the truly important things in life are not material .
May each of us learn to do the same !
Re@@ gre@@ t@@ t@@ ably , we cannot avoid see@@ ing some wor@@ th@@ less things in this wicked world .
Love is the most important quality in a marriage .
Let us take a look at the experi@@ ences of some who have follow@@ ed such counsel and success@@ fully hand@@ led fin@@ anci@@ al challeng@@ es .
Hence , each one in the congregation is to have a share in building fellow Christians up .
[ F@@ oo@@ t@@ note ] In Eng@@ lish , some use the spe@@ l@@ ling “ mag@@ ick ” to dist@@ ing@@ u@@ ish the differ@@ ence between the occ@@ ult var@@ ie@@ ty and st@@ age il@@ lu@@ sions .
What will contribu@@ te to unity in the congregation ?
How is parti@@ ci@@ p@@ ation in the Christian ministry an expression of loo@@ king for the good in others ?
“ M@@ Y G@@ O@@ D I@@ S M@@ Y R@@ O@@ C@@ K ”
Some res@@ ear@@ ch@@ ers hold that no st@@ ress is more se@@ v@@ ere than that resul@@ ting from the death of a be@@ loved mate .
Why not ? T@@ Y@@ P@@ E
Sh@@ aring in the field ministry al@@ lo@@ ws us to enjoy up@@ building associ@@ ation with fellow worshi@@ p@@ ers .
God lo@@ ves both e@@ qu@@ ally . ​ — Acts 10 : 34 , 35 .
On@@ ce when he was in a city , Jehovah’s Witnesses started to study the Bible with him .
The apostle Paul also remin@@ ds us that “ we have a w@@ res@@ t@@ ling . . . against the wicked spirit for@@ ces in the heavenly plac@@ es . ”
David said : “ Jehovah is my strength and my shi@@ eld .
To beg@@ in with , do you know what “ sacred ” means ? — The word means holy , clean , or very special .
Then he began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and experienced a re@@ mar@@ k@@ able trans@@ form@@ ation .
To understand fully what is pres@@ ented , de@@ a@@ f members of the congregation sit at the f@@ ron@@ t of the Kingdom H@@ all .
Des@@ pite the har@@ d@@ ship , we never gave up hope .
All should respect the proper mo@@ ti@@ ves of others and not “ think more of [ themselves ] than it is necessary to think . ” ​ — Romans 12 : 3 , 18 .
38 : 8 ; De@@ ut .
B@@ ack in 19@@ 45 , I vis@@ ited L@@ on@@ don .
1@@ 45 : 14 ; J@@ as .
Peter needed to keep his foc@@ us on Jesus .
* ​ — D@@ A@@ V@@ I@@ D O@@ F I@@ S@@ R@@ A@@ E@@ L , 1@@ 1@@ T@@ H C@@ EN@@ T@@ U@@ R@@ Y B.C.E .
What counsel of Paul can help us to f@@ ight against im@@ moral desires ?
You can do all of that by prai@@ sing Jehovah .
D@@ iv@@ ine help is very real , as illustr@@ ated by n@@ um@@ erous Bible accoun@@ ts .
In ear@@ lier times , Israelites f@@ ought with the s@@ word against their enemies .
“ You received a spirit of ado@@ p@@ tion as sons , ” wrote Paul , “ by which spirit we c@@ ry out : ‘ Ab@@ ba , Father ! ’
And he reali@@ zed that such pleas@@ ures are truly mean@@ ing@@ ful for the one who has God’s appro@@ val , who has a good relationship with H@@ im .
I car@@ ed for no one but my@@ self .
E@@ st@@ im@@ ates v@@ ary from 40 milli@@ on to 60 milli@@ on worldwide every year !
The hi@@ stor@@ ical rec@@ ord states : “ He made a fe@@ ast for [ his vis@@ it@@ ors ] and they ate and d@@ ran@@ k .
Con@@ sequ@@ ently , for thous@@ ands of years , un@@ coun@@ table cor@@ on@@ ations , re@@ vo@@ lu@@ tions , cou@@ ps , ap@@ poin@@ t@@ ments , ele@@ ctions , as@@ s@@ as@@ sin@@ ations , and reg@@ ime changes have occ@@ ur@@ red .
Instead of taking any of this we@@ al@@ thy man@@ ’s many poss@@ es@@ sions , David and his men prote@@ cted his pro@@ per@@ ty .
He can pray for holy spirit , be@@ aring in mind that its fru@@ itage inclu@@ des peace and self - control ​ — qualities needed to dis@@ pel an@@ x@@ ie@@ ty or feelings of in@@ a@@ de@@ qu@@ ac@@ y .
The nations will have to reali@@ ze that their cru@@ sh@@ ing de@@ fe@@ at is brought about by the order of Jehovah himself .
Jesus said that the pro@@ sel@@ y@@ ti@@ sm of the s@@ cri@@ bes and Phar@@ i@@ sees was har@@ m@@ ful to the con@@ ver@@ ts they made .
Does it invol@@ ve natur@@ al affe@@ ction ​ — the kind that family members have toward one another ?
E@@ v@@ entually I op@@ ened a physical ther@@ ap@@ y st@@ udi@@ o in S@@ an Le@@ an@@ dr@@ o , C@@ ali@@ for@@ n@@ ia , U@@ .@@ S.@@ A . , and wor@@ ked with bo@@ dy@@ buil@@ ders , including one who won the t@@ it@@ le M@@ r . Amer@@ ica .
K@@ in@@ dly , Jesus be@@ c@@ k@@ oned him .
Jesus himself pre@@ ached mo@@ st@@ ly to natur@@ al Jews , but now he told his followers to go to people of all nations .
Rather , Jehovah wanted them to praise him on the basis of “ something new ” that they would experience themselves , such as their sa@@ fe j@@ our@@ ne@@ y to Jerusalem , perhaps by a more direc@@ t deser@@ t r@@ ou@@ te .
A person inc@@ l@@ ined to cr@@ iti@@ ci@@ ze another individu@@ al takes note of a min@@ or de@@ fect in his bro@@ ther’s “ e@@ ye . ”
L@@ ed by Ch@@ ar@@ les T@@ a@@ ze Rus@@ sel@@ l , they st@@ u@@ died the subject of Christ’s ransom and soon reali@@ zed its cent@@ r@@ al place in Jehovah’s purpose .
God’s sure promises helped Moses to remain wat@@ ch@@ ful
During the last days of this system of things , since 1914 , that h@@ at@@ red has become especially in@@ ten@@ se .
Why not start by no@@ ting which fore@@ ign langu@@ ages are com@@ mon@@ ly spo@@ ken in your ter@@ rit@@ ory ?
When God destro@@ yed Egy@@ p@@ t@@ ’s fir@@ st@@ born , he s@@ anc@@ ti@@ fied Israel@@ ’s fir@@ st@@ born , se@@ tting them ap@@ ar@@ t as his , as be@@ long@@ ing to him .
Is it any won@@ der , then , that David in another p@@ salm ex@@ to@@ l@@ led Jehovah as “ a God of sa@@ ving acts ” ? ​ — Ps .
But ex@@ ult , you people , and be joy@@ ful forever in what I am cre@@ ating . ” ​ — Isaiah 65 : 17 , 18 ; Psalm 37 : 10 , 11 , 29 ; Revelation 21 : 4 , 5 .
Jehovah blessed the Israelites when they obedi@@ ently brought in the ti@@ th@@ es , gave v@@ ol@@ un@@ t@@ ary contribu@@ tions , and made provi@@ sion for the poor .
Re@@ pe@@ ate@@ dly , Jesus ad@@ mon@@ ished his followers : “ Let him that has ears listen . ”
When on earth , Jesus out@@ stan@@ d@@ ingly disp@@ la@@ yed godly qualities .
P@@ AG@@ E 5
In qu@@ ick order , S@@ im@@ on ( who became known as C@@ ep@@ has , or Peter ) as well as Phili@@ p and his friend Na@@ than@@ ael also came to recogni@@ ze Jesus as the Messiah .
Of course , Jehovah was their G@@ r@@ and In@@ stru@@ c@@ tor , and they loo@@ ked to him as the S@@ ource of all wisdom .
Thus , living according to God’s purpose means loving others un@@ self@@ ish@@ ly as God does .
What a privilege it is to help hon@@ es@@ the@@ ar@@ ted people from different religious and cul@@ tural bac@@ k@@ gr@@ oun@@ ds come to reali@@ ze that all life origin@@ ates with Jehovah God ! ​ — Ps .
We also receive individu@@ ali@@ zed instru@@ ction and attention from the book study over@@ seer .
The Bible n@@ arr@@ ative was considered the ty@@ pe , and any prophe@@ tic fulfillment of the story was the an@@ t@@ ity@@ pe .
H@@ ar@@ m@@ ful go@@ s@@ si@@ p may lead to sl@@ an@@ der , which often cau@@ ses cont@@ ention .
Now is the time to res@@ ist ever more str@@ ong@@ ly the cor@@ ru@@ p@@ ting influence of Satan’s world .
A@@ do@@ l@@ f@@ o took me to Ar@@ b@@ on , about si@@ x mil@@ es ( 10 k@@ m ) from S@@ te@@ in@@ ach , where a small group of Witnesses held meetings in I@@ tal@@ ian .
Even so , than@@ ks to the strength im@@ par@@ ted by God’s ac@@ tive force , they do not fear to be different .
I mean , I really did not like it .
It would take a world govern@@ ment to end po@@ ver@@ ty .
S@@ pe@@ ak respe@@ c@@ t@@ fully to your parents , explain@@ ing in a spirit of mil@@ dness how you feel .
The mirac@@ ul@@ ous gi@@ f@@ ts of the spirit also helped to make clear that God had trans@@ fer@@ red his favor from fle@@ sh@@ ly Israel to the Christian congregation .
We are ex@@ hor@@ ted to follow his fine example .
It has now been more than 20 years since the cri@@ s@@ is in S@@ te@@ ve and Jo@@ di@@ ’s relationship .
Why is it important to cultivate Christ@@ like love today ?
The great crowd will be u@@ sh@@ ered into God’s righteous new world .
They were apostles of Jesus Christ , a man the high cour@@ t had con@@ dem@@ ned to death a few we@@ e@@ ks ear@@ lier .
But how should true Christians re@@ act to such pres@@ sure ?
Read Proverbs 10 : 6 , 7 .
This Jesus God resurrected . ” ​ — Acts 2 : 25 - 32 .
How do we prove rec@@ ep@@ tive to what the spirit has to say through “ the faithful and discreet slave ” ?
This may be so in the sense that by s@@ we@@ et talk the wicked c@@ over up their mal@@ ici@@ ous in@@ t@@ ent to har@@ m others .
Have you wonder@@ ed : ‘ What really happ@@ ens at death ?
L@@ ater were ad@@ ded the Go@@ spe@@ ls , four written accoun@@ ts of Jesus ’ life , and the book of Acts , a history of the sp@@ read of Christ@@ ian@@ ity after Jesus ’ death .
While on earth as a perfect human , Jesus joy@@ fully per@@ formed the work Jehovah had given him to do .
After all , we worship “ the happy God , ” and he wants us to be joy@@ ful in our worship .
A@@ m@@ ong other things , this inclu@@ des knowing how to wa@@ it upon Jehovah , as we will discus@@ s in the following article .
The pre@@ vi@@ ous resurrec@@ tions were both mar@@ ve@@ l@@ ous and mirac@@ ul@@ ous , but n@@ one compar@@ ed to this su@@ pre@@ me mirac@@ le .
Re@@ co@@ gn@@ i@@ zing Jehovah as the true God , R@@ ah@@ a@@ b disp@@ la@@ yed faith also by ab@@ an@@ don@@ ing her life of pro@@ st@@ itu@@ tion .
In what way did first - century Christians support one another , and with what result ?
Do@@ ing so means our very life !
Adam and Eve lost perfe@@ ction and the prospe@@ ct of everlasting life not just for themselves but for all of us .
He is sen@@ s@@ itive to the ab@@ ilities and circumstances of his stud@@ ents .
But he does so “ in a spirit of mil@@ dness . ”
M@@ one@@ y , poss@@ es@@ sions , and high - pa@@ ying jo@@ bs may seem to deli@@ ver advan@@ t@@ ages .
H@@ el@@ p Your Ch@@ il@@ dren to Me@@ et Their Many Ch@@ all@@ eng@@ es
But these s@@ ites , known as soci@@ al ne@@ t@@ working W@@ e@@ b s@@ ites , also have the po@@ t@@ ential for being destru@@ ctive .
These were made according to the Mo@@ s@@ ai@@ c Law by Israelites seeking to ob@@ tain for@@ gi@@ ven@@ ess for sins and to expres@@ s than@@ k@@ s@@ giving .
P@@ rep@@ are Your H@@ ear@@ t
All of us gain life by exerci@@ sing faith in Christ , by exer@@ ting ourselves to de@@ ad@@ en im@@ proper desires , and by living in acc@@ ord with the spir@@ it@@ ’s direction .
He inv@@ ites us to draw close to him .
A number of Christians have f@@ all@@ en into that p@@ it by le@@ tting themselves get into situ@@ ations in which com@@ promise is all too easy .
What does it mean to be “ be@@ aring much fru@@ it ” ?
But he did not do so in this case when speaking to his disciples , who were soon to be anointed with holy spirit .
Jesus Christ , though , has provided lead@@ ership through yet another av@@ en@@ u@@ e ​ — the Christian congregation .
M@@ oun@@ tains W@@ est of J@@ ord@@ an
We can do this in the following ways .
• What evidence can you qu@@ o@@ te to show that Jehovah is blessing the work of his people today ?
F@@ ort@@ y days after his resurrection , Jesus as@@ c@@ ends to the heavens and is glor@@ ified . ​ — John 17 : 5 ; Acts 1 : 3 , 9 - 12 ; Philipp@@ ians 2 : 8 - 11 .
In contr@@ ast , another pro@@ f@@ ess@@ or of p@@ sy@@ c@@ hi@@ at@@ ry tes@@ ti@@ fied in cour@@ t that he had st@@ u@@ died more than 1@@ 00 Witnesses in Mo@@ sc@@ ow .
In the next article , we will discus@@ s how these women brought joy to Jehovah’s heart , and we will consider the example of modern - day women who serve Jehovah who@@ le@@ hear@@ te@@ dly , even in difficult circumstances .
Let us , therefore , be determined to keep in st@@ ep with Jehovah’s organization .
How did David prove to be a con@@ qu@@ ering king ?
What can serve as inc@@ enti@@ ves for wives to remain subject to their husb@@ ands ?
Jesus ’ heal@@ ing the bl@@ ind man in st@@ ages in this instance may have been a refle@@ ction of loving concern for the man .
Then , on a cho@@ sen day , he gave an even greater witness .
In@@ form@@ ation ​ — Re@@ li@@ able or F@@ al@@ se ?
Those who have s@@ ought help to re@@ move the st@@ ain of por@@ no@@ gr@@ aph@@ y have seen that dra@@ wing near to God has been good for them , as it was for As@@ ap@@ h . ​ — Ps .
What is it ad@@ vis@@ able to do if you are con@@ tem@@ pl@@ ating a move to a fore@@ ign country to further the Kingdom - preaching work there ?
While a lo@@ t of people like recei@@ ving bir@@ th@@ day gi@@ f@@ ts , the Bible says that there is more happiness in giving than in recei@@ ving .
Are most religi@@ ons wrong ? ”
We too are a min@@ or@@ ity in the world , but that does not dis@@ may us .
So they s@@ end some people to where the apostle Peter is st@@ a@@ ying , about ten mil@@ es ( 16 k@@ m ) away .
K@@ no@@ wing that their time is sh@@ ort , these wicked spir@@ its have ven@@ ted their viol@@ ent anger on mankind , cau@@ sing great w@@ o@@ e .
When C@@ or@@ ne@@ li@@ us and his househo@@ ld became believers , these new ones received holy spirit , as manif@@ ested by their “ speaking with ton@@ gu@@ es . ” ​ — Acts 10 : 44 - 46 .
In fact , they may g@@ ru@@ d@@ g@@ ingly ac@@ knowledge it when they trave@@ l to another land and find that Jehovah’s Witnesses there are doing the very same work as that ob@@ served in their ho@@ me@@ land .
E@@ L@@ I@@ ’@@ S J@@ U@@ D@@ G@@ E@@ SH@@ I@@ P G@@ I@@ V@@ E@@ S W@@ A@@ Y T@@ O SA@@ M@@ U@@ E@@ L@@ ’@@ S
“ Just as you want men to do to you , do the same way to them , ” said Jesus .
H@@ aving a lo@@ t of time on my hands ( there is@@ n@@ ’t much to do out in the m@@ id@@ d@@ le of the o@@ c@@ e@@ an ) , I devo@@ ted my@@ self to reading the Bible .
Mark began to won@@ der if his marriage would end because of his wi@@ fe@@ ’s new faith .
Why , Jesus buil@@ t his life around sp@@ reading the good news ! ​ — Luke 4 : 16 - 21 .
Consider how God’s laws are a s@@ ound gu@@ ide to a success@@ ful marriage .
If many situ@@ ations in life are char@@ ac@@ ter@@ i@@ zed in such judg@@ m@@ ental language , a child may beg@@ in to see himself as a to@@ t@@ al fail@@ ure .
Th@@ ink , too , of the p@@ ain felt by God when Adam and Eve , the ma@@ st@@ er@@ pi@@ e@@ ces of his physical creation , turned their bac@@ ks on him .
W@@ hi@@ ch A@@ t@@ t@@ itude Do You Have ?
What else did Jesus teach us about the gro@@ w@@ th of new disciples and the Kingdom work ?
“ I would love to , ” she said , “ but I am just too bu@@ s@@ y .
Moreover , we are showing how deep@@ ly we y@@ ear@@ n for the righteous con@@ ditions that will then ex@@ ist on earth .
SONGS T@@ O B@@ E U@@ SE@@ D : 55 , 1@@ 5@@ 3
At the same time , we place great emp@@ ha@@ s@@ is on the role that Jesus pl@@ a@@ ys in our salvation .
However , we must not conclu@@ de that without divine guidance those respon@@ sible men could som@@ eho@@ w jud@@ ge matters with f@@ la@@ w@@ less discer@@ n@@ ment and understanding .
Then I was sent back to E@@ uro@@ pe to continue my ministry there .
R@@ ab@@ sh@@ ak@@ e@@ h tri@@ ed to in@@ tim@@ id@@ ate the Jews .
God’s Kingdom will re@@ me@@ dy any suffering we may have experienced
Although Jesus was the great@@ est and most important man who ever lived , he was bu@@ ri@@ ed in a discreet and mo@@ des@@ t man@@ ner .
Who can be considered good associ@@ ation ?
What a wonderful hope ! ​ — John 5 : 28 , 29 .
What is a ke@@ y to being appro@@ ac@@ hab@@ le ?
W@@ he@@ ther in Corin@@ th , Eph@@ esus , or R@@ ome , they became wi@@ de@@ ly known as “ fellow wor@@ k@@ ers in Christ Jesus . ”
Ex@@ peri@@ ence has taught such cou@@ ples that true love “ never fail@@ s . ” ​ — 1 Corinthians 13 : 8 .
From him , through no cho@@ ice of our own , we have inher@@ ited an imperfect body that is pr@@ one to sin and ev@@ ent@@ ual death .
In@@ di@@ vidu@@ als of all nations , tri@@ bes , pe@@ o@@ ples , and ton@@ gu@@ es have en@@ th@@ u@@ si@@ ast@@ ically respon@@ ded to the good news and have trans@@ formed their lives in order to do the will of God .
We should never let others dic@@ t@@ ate the way we worship .
* For example , some have ques@@ ti@@ oned the u@@ se@@ fulness of the little to@@ e ; however , it is now recogni@@ zed to have an imp@@ act on the b@@ al@@ ance of the whole body .
“ God is not un@@ righteous so as to for@@ get your work and the love you showed for his name . ” ​ — H@@ E@@ B .
“ P@@ ay con@@ stan@@ t attention to yourself and to your teaching ” by e@@ ag@@ er and con@@ stan@@ t study of the Bible , which is now available to more people than ever in for@@ ms more conven@@ i@@ ent than the sc@@ ro@@ l@@ ls . ​ — 1 Tim .
You will be happy because you are doing the divine will .
Do all of us have a bre@@ aking point ​ — one be@@ y@@ ond which we will ab@@ an@@ don our principles in order to stay ali@@ ve ?
On the contr@@ ary , the apostle Paul told Christians in Philipp@@ i : “ The things that you learned as well as accepted and heard and saw in con@@ ne@@ ction with me , prac@@ tice these ; and the God of peace will be with you . ”
Se@@ tting an example for all over@@ se@@ ers , Paul hand@@ les the sen@@ s@@ itive matter about On@@ es@@ im@@ us by giving , not an order , but ex@@ h@@ ort@@ ation “ on the basis of love . ”
Do not fear them . ”
So why all the fu@@ ss ?
But what if genu@@ ine l@@ imit@@ ations prev@@ ent you from doing more in the ministry and this is a s@@ ource of dis@@ cour@@ ag@@ ement to you ?
In a prayer at the end of his earthly ministry , God’s Son rep@@ or@@ ted about his followers : “ When I was with them I used to wat@@ ch over them on account of your own name which you have given me ; and I have kept them , and not one of them is destro@@ yed exc@@ ep@@ t the son of destruction , in order that the scrip@@ ture might be fulfilled . ”
However , before the Sp@@ ani@@ ar@@ ds arri@@ ved , many langu@@ ages were spo@@ ken there , and a number are still in use .
M@@ illi@@ ons died .
Such m@@ u@@ tu@@ al support is strength@@ ened by regular expres@@ sions of affe@@ ction .
Jehovah has already plac@@ ed this govern@@ ment in the hands of his Son , who lo@@ ves mankind and is super@@ b@@ ly qual@@ ified to rule .
Con@@ cer@@ ning the family worship arrange@@ ment , a sister wr@@ ites : “ It al@@ lo@@ ws us to learn about so many subje@@ cts . ”
The Bible go@@ es on to say : “ Their end shall be according to their works . ” ​ — 2 Corinthians 11 : 13 - 15 .
In the years that follow@@ ed , the p@@ ath of the righteous ones continued to get b@@ righ@@ ter and b@@ righ@@ ter .
H@@ el@@ p Those Who S@@ tr@@ ay From the F@@ lock
Se@@ cond , we may comm@@ end the s@@ inc@@ ere person for rai@@ sing this question .
In the case of op@@ pos@@ ers , this may help to dis@@ pel ho@@ st@@ ility and p@@ ave the way for a better rec@@ ep@@ tion on another occasion .
Wh@@ ere necessary , elders can also help in arr@@ ang@@ ing for material support .
He ad@@ mit@@ ted that he knew that there must be more to those ver@@ ses , but T@@ i@@ ff@@ any was the first person ever to expl@@ ain them to him so clearly .
Some called him a “ ch@@ atter@@ er ” ( liter@@ ally , “ seed pic@@ ker ” ) .
Jehovah comfor@@ ted Abraham by assur@@ ing him that if only 50 righteous people could be found , He would not destro@@ y So@@ dom .
How does Christ’s lead@@ ership reach out to over 9@@ 3@@ ,000 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the g@@ lo@@ be ?
As a result , he is able to appreciate “ the bre@@ ad@@ th and l@@ eng@@ th and he@@ ight and dep@@ th ” of the Christian faith in a way that he simply could not as a child .
F@@ ai@@ th@@ ful in what is le@@ ast , faithful also in much
What , though , is the spirit of the world , and how did it become so influ@@ ential ?
8@@ 3 : 17 , 18 .
How can you pre@@ pare your Bible stud@@ ent to face trials ?
Do we have any doubt that we need to “ keep awa@@ ke ” and “ keep loo@@ king ” for the foretold end and our deliver@@ ance ?
That verse clearly states that God’s name is Jehovah .
Jehovah’s Witnesses will be de@@ ligh@@ ted to help you .
T@@ oo@@ l to H@@ el@@ p Y@@ ou@@ ths ( Y@@ oung People As@@ k , V@@ o@@ lu@@ me 2 ) , 2 / 15
Will we be able to ful@@ fill this as@@ pect of Jesus ’ com@@ mission ?
In a work called A@@ ga@@ in@@ st H@@ er@@ es@@ ies , I@@ r@@ en@@ a@@ e@@ us wr@@ ites concer@@ ning one of the many grou@@ ps whose teachings he op@@ posed : “ They decl@@ are that Jud@@ as the tra@@ it@@ or was thor@@ ough@@ ly acqu@@ ain@@ ted with these things , and that he alone , knowing the truth as n@@ one of the others did , ac@@ compl@@ ished the my@@ st@@ er@@ y of the be@@ tra@@ y@@ al .
( b ) What will help us to be kind ?
Since the T@@ y@@ ri@@ ans es@@ cap@@ ed to their is@@ land - city with much of their we@@ al@@ th , King Ne@@ bu@@ cha@@ d@@ ne@@ z@@ z@@ ar received very little spo@@ il from T@@ y@@ re .
“ Do you think that I cannot appe@@ al to my Father to supp@@ ly me at this m@@ om@@ ent more than t@@ wel@@ ve le@@ gi@@ ons of angels ?
Just as ad@@ ding the proper supp@@ le@@ ments may en@@ han@@ ce the physical so@@ il , so our cultiv@@ ating humility , hu@@ nger for spiritu@@ ality , trust , godly fear , and love for God can en@@ rich our fig@@ ur@@ ative heart .
Consider , for example , the mo@@ des@@ t way he hand@@ led a difficult question about inher@@ it@@ ance righ@@ ts .
I gu@@ ess I@@ ’@@ m wonder@@ ing , though , why this is so comp@@ lic@@ ated .
After a few we@@ e@@ ks , I was appro@@ ved to be a publish@@ er of the good news .
Keep your Re@@ as@@ on@@ ing book and your Bible han@@ dy .
Ze@@ al@@ ous Christians continue to obey that comm@@ and , stri@@ ving “ to bear thor@@ ough witness to the good news . ”
H@@ um@@ ans do not have a good rec@@ ord when it comes to wi@@ el@@ ding power .
For example , the first two people to become Jehovah’s Witnesses in M@@ on@@ go@@ li@@ a were a de@@ a@@ f couple .
25 : 6 - 8 , 14 , 15 ; 2 K@@ i . 5 : 20 - 27 .
E@@ ve@@ l@@ y@@ n and I , along with Le@@ o and E@@ s@@ ther M@@ ahan , arri@@ ved in our assignment in E@@ l S@@ al@@ v@@ ad@@ or in Ju@@ ne 19@@ 46 .
It was a religious cer@@ em@@ on@@ y that hon@@ or@@ ed two p@@ ag@@ an de@@ ities .
( Read Psalm 5@@ 1 : 11 , 17 . )
What blessings has she enjo@@ yed ?
If a person cl@@ ings to false do@@ c@@ tr@@ ines , such as the T@@ r@@ in@@ ity and the im@@ mor@@ t@@ ality of the soul , he cannot benefit from the ransom .
We can rest assur@@ ed that Jehovah will see to it that righ@@ the@@ ar@@ ted people will be given an opportunity to respond to the Kingdom message . ​ — John 6 : 44 .
Ano@@ ther had this to say about his wife : “ My wi@@ fe@@ ’s faith@@ fulness , determin@@ ation , and integrity have cau@@ sed me to have great ad@@ mir@@ ation for Jehovah’s Witnesses .
But only by remain@@ ing spiritually vi@@ g@@ il@@ ant can we continue to enjoy Jehovah’s un@@ deser@@ ved kindness and “ go on walking in the truth . ”
It has happened to some in our time .
Does such a cl@@ aim prove anything or even seem reason@@ able ?
Some time after that meeting , Peter went to live in Babylon , doub@@ t@@ less to preach to the large po@@ p@@ ul@@ ation of Jews in that ar@@ ea .
“ My Be@@ loved and F@@ ai@@ th@@ ful Ch@@ il@@ d ” ( Timothy ) , 11 / 1
A few years later , on De@@ c@@ ember 24 , 19@@ 48 , the Com@@ m@@ uni@@ st reg@@ ime had Bro@@ ther V@@ ar@@ d@@ ja ar@@ res@@ ted for his religious activity .
This article will help us to learn from ancient and modern examples of those who have faced di@@ re circumstances .
This is not cre@@ du@@ l@@ ity ; it is trust .
Indeed , when the first cop@@ ies of the Greek Scriptures ro@@ l@@ led off his pres@@ s , the pres@@ s o@@ per@@ ator , M@@ r . B@@ ak@@ er , saw the joy of the Mal@@ ag@@ as@@ y and exc@@ laim@@ ed : “ I do not mean to prop@@ h@@ es@@ y , but I cannot believe that God’s word will ever be ex@@ ter@@ min@@ ated from this country ! ”
In such a case , Joseph would have had to sh@@ ave all the ha@@ ir of his head and body .
I had to force my@@ self to do so .
Jon@@ ah may have wonder@@ ed : ‘ How will I f@@ are among those people ?
Christians are ad@@ mon@@ ished to “ follow the course of ho@@ sp@@ it@@ ality . ” ​ — Romans 12 : 13 .
Job , Lo@@ t , and David all made mist@@ akes , some very serious ones at that .
He was fal@@ sely acc@@ used of sex@@ ually as@@ s@@ au@@ l@@ ting Po@@ ti@@ p@@ har@@ ’s wife and was im@@ pri@@ son@@ ed .
To answer , let us consider a meeting that Jesus condu@@ cted sh@@ ort@@ ly after his resurrection .
We might ad@@ d that a rul@@ er who could end po@@ ver@@ ty for all would have to be a world rul@@ er because ex@@ tre@@ me po@@ ver@@ ty is often the result of inter@@ n@@ ational ine@@ quality .
I@@ mag@@ ine the joy and exc@@ it@@ ement of the brothers and sisters who sh@@ ared in the cam@@ p@@ ai@@ gn !
There is , however , a group of Christians who are un@@ ited by a b@@ ond of love so strong that they refu@@ se to har@@ m one another ​ — or anyone else for that matter — ​ even during the fi@@ er@@ c@@ est of human conf@@ li@@ cts .
The tem@@ per@@ ature so@@ ared , and soon the he@@ at became al@@ most un@@ be@@ ar@@ able .
2 D@@ I@@ G D@@ E@@ E@@ P@@ ER .
How can men show that they are re@@ aching out ?
16 , 17 . ( a ) How powerful is the op@@ position conf@@ ron@@ ting us ?
Most likely you show your appreciation in some way .
Since then , we have been in@@ se@@ par@@ able .
R@@ a@@ ci@@ al ten@@ sion was he@@ ating up in the mi@@ d - 19@@ 50 ’ s , and some@@ times there was viol@@ ence .
What did Daniel prop@@ h@@ es@@ y would happ@@ en in our day ?
• When might a friend@@ ship need to end ?
A@@ th@@ en@@ a , however , was happy to take any lo@@ ss in order to worship God in a spiritually clean and accep@@ table way . ​ — Acts 19 : 19 .
Though the “ E@@ ure@@ ka D@@ ra@@ ma ” l@@ ac@@ ked mo@@ tion pic@@ tures , it was very success@@ ful when shown in less den@@ sely po@@ p@@ ul@@ ated are@@ as .
When he enter@@ ed his ro@@ om and clo@@ sed the do@@ or , however , he felt very l@@ one@@ ly .
In@@ v@@ asi@@ on by the c@@ at@@ er@@ p@@ ill@@ ar , the loc@@ ust , and the co@@ c@@ k@@ ro@@ ach is what Jo@@ el sees in vision .
We , like Jesus , do not hold back from tel@@ ling the precious truth about Jehovah .
C@@ oun@@ t@@ less milli@@ ons have me@@ mor@@ i@@ zed that prayer and have re@@ pe@@ ated it often .
For example , at 1 Peter 5 : 8 , Satan is li@@ k@@ ened to a li@@ on , pic@@ tur@@ ing his d@@ ang@@ erous , vi@@ ci@@ ous n@@ ature .
How did Jesus ’ persecu@@ ted disciples get the courage needed to witness b@@ ol@@ dly ?
• What does it mean to be baptized in the name of the Son ?
Indeed , “ the wa@@ ges sin pa@@ ys is death , but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord . ”
David wrote : “ To me how precious your thoughts are !
However , Jehovah’s Word is un@@ wa@@ ver@@ ing .
The har@@ d@@ working P@@ oli@@ sh im@@ m@@ ig@@ ran@@ ts brought along their dist@@ in@@ ct cul@@ ture , including deep religious sen@@ tim@@ ent .
In Jesus , Christian wives have a perfect mo@@ de@@ l of sub@@ mission to authority .
We ex@@ ist only “ because [ God ] cre@@ ated all things ” and gave us life .
A@@ p@@ par@@ ently , an acqu@@ ain@@ t@@ ance had taken his h@@ at , wh@@ er@@ e@@ as a str@@ anger had re@@ turned a c@@ he@@ ck wor@@ th thous@@ ands of do@@ l@@ lar@@ s !
King David believ@@ ed Z@@ ib@@ a , who said that his ma@@ ster , M@@ ep@@ hi@@ bo@@ she@@ th , had si@@ ded with David’s enemies .
In al@@ most every part of the g@@ lo@@ be , people can hear and read the Kingdom message in their own language .
Though he thought he was serving God , he was ac@@ tually f@@ igh@@ ting against him . ​ — Philipp@@ ians 3 : 5 , 6 .
6 : 12 ; Ju@@ de 3 .
In ad@@ dition to these two new members , the Go@@ ver@@ ning Bo@@ dy consi@@ st@@ s of C .
( a ) What is no@@ te@@ worthy about many son@@ g@@ s su@@ ng by Christians ?
Re@@ member , Jesus compar@@ ed death to a s@@ le@@ ep from which one is awa@@ k@@ ened by resurrection .
There were th@@ und@@ ers , ligh@@ t@@ n@@ ings , a heav@@ y cl@@ ou@@ d , and a very l@@ ou@@ d s@@ ound of a hor@@ n .
Thus , it is under@@ stan@@ d@@ able that many among us , especially young ones , enjoy rec@@ re@@ ation that is sh@@ ared with others .
I respon@@ ded : “ I am ready not only to be b@@ ound but also to die .
The New World T@@ rans@@ lation some@@ times rend@@ ers it “ ex@@ ac@@ ting exc@@ lu@@ sive devotion . ”
Many people like to talk more than they like to listen .
Let us see how medit@@ ation and prayer help us to do just that .
Des@@ pite his lim@@ ited knowledge of c@@ el@@ es@@ ti@@ al bo@@ di@@ es , David under@@ stood that he was very in@@ sign@@ ific@@ ant in compar@@ is@@ on with the Creator of our v@@ ast uni@@ verse .
Hence , those anointed ones have the responsibility to mini@@ ster to one another using the gi@@ f@@ ts God gave them .
It is a fru@@ it - be@@ aring t@@ ree , deli@@ ber@@ ately “ pl@@ an@@ ted ” in a cho@@ sen spo@@ t ​ — “ by st@@ re@@ am@@ s of water . ”
S@@ U@@ C@@ H spe@@ cul@@ ations have f@@ l@@ ou@@ ri@@ shed in rec@@ ent years , a resur@@ g@@ ence that is due , in part , to po@@ p@@ ul@@ ar mo@@ vi@@ es and no@@ ve@@ ls .
The two wi@@ do@@ ws , Na@@ omi and Ru@@ th , reach Be@@ th@@ le@@ he@@ m at the start of the b@@ ar@@ le@@ y har@@ v@@ est .
The account says that they took Apo@@ l@@ lo@@ s “ into their comp@@ any and exp@@ oun@@ ded the way of God more cor@@ rec@@ tly to him . ”
But something st@@ opp@@ ed them in their tr@@ ac@@ ks .
“ I had to learn not to bu@@ y wh@@ atever I wanted .
S@@ ur@@ vi@@ v@@ ors of the great tribulation will work to make the earth a paradi@@ se and will continue to speak the God - given p@@ ure language .
The inspired account rel@@ ates : “ Saul . . . began to deal ou@@ tr@@ age@@ ously with the congregation .
This scrip@@ ture also says : “ But he that is having deal@@ ings with the st@@ up@@ id ones will f@@ are b@@ ad@@ ly . ”
S@@ il@@ as , Jud@@ as , Bar@@ n@@ ab@@ as , and Paul took it to An@@ ti@@ o@@ ch .
We should not mis@@ s what th@@ ru@@ st of Paul’s words recorded at Romans 2 : 21 - 23 ?
Rather , they fig@@ ur@@ ati@@ vely “ t@@ read down the wicked ones ” by sh@@ aring in the vic@@ tor@@ y c@@ ele@@ br@@ ation that fol@@ lo@@ ws the day of Jehovah .
You may feel that the re@@ ward of living forever in God’s new world is something that others can at@@ tain , but you are simply not worthy of it .
C@@ learly , fer@@ v@@ ent prayer should be a part of our Christian r@@ out@@ ine .
David im@@ pl@@ or@@ es Jehovah to “ make ha@@ st@@ e ” and to “ act qu@@ ick@@ ly ” to deli@@ ver him .
To sign@@ al ro@@ man@@ tic interest in a married person ​ — or for a married person to show such interest in someone out@@ side the marriage b@@ ond — ​ is wrong .
How was El@@ ish@@ a@@ ’s att@@ end@@ ant affe@@ cted by doubt ?
F@@ ur@@ ther@@ more , in the days lead@@ ing up to the M@@ em@@ or@@ ial , most of us will read the Bible accoun@@ ts of what Jesus did and what occ@@ ur@@ red on the cor@@ respon@@ ding d@@ ate in 33 C.E .
Ab@@ out that time the dem@@ ons began to tor@@ ment me .
We can see that from Jesus ’ words recorded at Matthew 5 : 7 .
He is mentioned here at Luke chapter 3 , verse 1 ​ — among many other govern@@ ment off@@ ici@@ als of the time .
However , all Christian minist@@ ers share in the preaching of the good news .
7 : 2 , 3 ; 1 C@@ or .
This thr@@ il@@ ling n@@ arr@@ ative rel@@ ates how a stri@@ fe - tor@@ n nation be@@ comes a pro@@ s@@ per@@ ous un@@ ited kingdom under a v@@ al@@ ian@@ t king .
What is the ke@@ y quality needed by disciple m@@ ak@@ ers ?
Of what should I be more awar@@ e ?
But neither could have done the subje@@ cting .
O@@ thers have been thre@@ at@@ ened with physical har@@ m .
Christians deal with moral , soci@@ al , fin@@ anci@@ al , and religious pres@@ su@@ res that could cause them to de@@ vi@@ ate from Jehovah’s righteous ways .
O@@ thers in that R@@ oman pro@@ v@@ ince of M@@ ace@@ don@@ ia follow@@ ed . ​ — Acts 16 : 9 - 15 .
We would have no spiritual in@@ sight at all were it not for “ the wisdom from abo@@ ve . ”
C@@ learly , dr@@ in@@ king to the point of dr@@ un@@ ken@@ ness is con@@ dem@@ ned in the Scriptures . ​ — 1 Corinthians 5 : 11 ; 6 : 9 , 10 .
What Jesus did and said on that occasion f@@ it@@ t@@ ingly brought to the disciples ’ mind the prophe@@ tic words of one p@@ salm by David : “ She@@ er ze@@ al for your house has e@@ at@@ en me up . ”
In a sense , we do not .
“ He makes his s@@ un ri@@ se upon wicked people and good and makes it ra@@ in upon righteous people and un@@ righteous . ”
At their bir@@ th@@ day par@@ ties , many think they are the most important people .
Gre@@ at and fear - inspir@@ ing , holy it is . ”
Jesus showed mercy to those in need .
They knew that God had em@@ power@@ ed the prophe@@ ts Elijah and Elisha to per@@ form such mirac@@ les .
At the beg@@ in@@ ning of the great tribulation , something will happ@@ en that will be a se@@ v@@ ere sho@@ ck to most people on earth : the destruction of all false religion .
We both knew that we wanted to serve Jehovah with our life and en@@ er@@ gy .
T@@ ri@@ als can teach God’s servants humility and help them to appreciate that to endure faith@@ fully they need to rely on Jehovah .
( b ) How do some common worl@@ dly ide@@ as comp@@ are with what the Bible says ?
Yes , the promise here is of a new system of things invol@@ ving people on earth .
Yet , he inv@@ ites us to enter into a loving relationship with him .
“ Still , ” he ad@@ ded , “ we need many more . ”
It was a de@@ light for him to be in subje@@ ction to his Father , and it was a pleas@@ ure for Jehovah to have such a Son .
O@@ thers went further , even in@@ si@@ sting that it was necessary for Jewish Christians to ob@@ serve the Law in order to be sa@@ ved .
This is su@@ rely cru@@ el .
The ter@@ m “ C@@ ain@@ an ” at Luke 3 : 36 may well be a cor@@ ru@@ p@@ tion of the ter@@ m “ Ch@@ al@@ de@@ ans . ”
God’s people have a wonderful future before them .
Jesus cri@@ es out “ with a l@@ ou@@ d voice : ‘ L@@ az@@ ar@@ us , come on out ! ’ ”
( See also the bo@@ x “ A@@ pp@@ re@@ ci@@ ative C@@ are@@ giving . ” )
Gi@@ de@@ on , with a small b@@ and of 3@@ 00 men , r@@ ou@@ ted a hu@@ ge M@@ i@@ di@@ an@@ ite ar@@ my in the vic@@ in@@ ity .
N@@ ever@@ the@@ less , a heal@@ thy fear of Jehovah , a Bible - tra@@ ined conscience , and a sense of cont@@ ent@@ ment help us to remain hon@@ est in a d@@ ish@@ on@@ est world .
Pro@@ min@@ ent people respe@@ cted him and s@@ ought his counsel .
As reve@@ aled in the case of Job , who was loyal to Jehovah’s sovereignty , Satan c@@ laim@@ ed that he could turn all humans away from God . ​ — Job 2 : 1 - 5 .
Jesus assur@@ ed his disciples that his Father would give holy spirit to those re@@ ques@@ ting it .
“ Let for@@ n@@ ication and un@@ clean@@ ness of every s@@ ort or gre@@ ed@@ iness [ or , “ co@@ ve@@ t@@ ousness ” ] not even be mentioned among you , ” states the Bible . ​ — E@@ ph . 5 : 3 ; f@@ t@@ n .
F@@ in@@ ally , at Na@@ om@@ i@@ ’s ur@@ g@@ ing , Or@@ p@@ ah re@@ turned to her ho@@ me@@ land .
When and how was it formed ?
Still , when the Lord Jesus cor@@ rec@@ ted Paul , he made b@@ i@@ g changes and even began to accept direction from those whom he for@@ mer@@ ly persecu@@ ted . ​ — G@@ al .
Rather than imit@@ ating R@@ eho@@ bo@@ am’s un@@ wise course , work hard to keep the l@@ ines of commun@@ ication with your parents open .
While the people of this world may reach out for ri@@ ches , f@@ ame , or power , is your family pursu@@ ing spiritual go@@ als ?
H@@ aving true re@@ ver@@ ence for Jehovah , loving what he lo@@ ves and h@@ ating what he h@@ ates , will sa@@ fe@@ guard us . ​ — Ps .
In ad@@ dition , it is important to medit@@ ate on what we read in the Scriptures and pray in con@@ ne@@ ction with it .
This im@@ medi@@ ately gave away what I was doing .
The Bible tells of a ro@@ y@@ al off@@ icial from E@@ th@@ i@@ op@@ ia who was reading a por@@ tion of Isai@@ ah’s prophecy .
‘ P@@ ay A@@ t@@ t@@ ention to Your T@@ e@@ aching ’
Our wr@@ ong@@ doing always d@@ am@@ ages our relationship with the true God .
The world was in@@ fe@@ cted with the wicked spirit that he promo@@ tes , and Christians would be ex@@ posed to its cont@@ am@@ in@@ ating influence .
S@@ om@@ e@@ times , another kind of good work is called for .
“ As for me , ” he s@@ ings , “ the dra@@ wing near to God is good for me . ”
Because Jehovah had stated in E@@ den that en@@ m@@ ity , or h@@ at@@ red , would ex@@ ist between those who serve God and those who serve Satan the Devil .
When Paul was ‘ teaching from house to house , ’ was he vis@@ iting the ho@@ m@@ es of fellow worshi@@ p@@ ers of Jehovah , making shepher@@ ding cal@@ ls on believers ?
No@@ te this clear and un@@ a@@ mb@@ ig@@ u@@ ous counsel from the apostle Paul : “ Qu@@ it being fa@@ shi@@ oned after this system of things , but be trans@@ formed by making your mind over , that you may prove to y@@ ourselves the good and accep@@ table and perfect will of God . ”
It often go@@ es un@@ no@@ tic@@ ed by us as we go about our nor@@ m@@ al , daily activities .
Now I am confid@@ ent that I can remain cal@@ m , even if someone tri@@ es to pro@@ vo@@ ke me .
We should seek to ext@@ end Jehovah’s inv@@ it@@ ation at every opportunity , not just at times that we have set asi@@ de for the public ministry .
7 : 9 , 14 ; John 10 : 16 ; J@@ as .
▪ How Sh@@ ould We “ An@@ s@@ wer E@@ ach Per@@ son ” ?
A young man named Samuel has a concern of another s@@ ort .
In the same way as did David , who said of them : “ My eyes are upon the faithful ones of the earth , that they may d@@ well with me .
Jesus foretold that he would be con@@ dem@@ ned by the c@@ hi@@ ef priests and be imp@@ aled by G@@ ent@@ il@@ es , but on the th@@ ir@@ d day , he would ri@@ se .
This ph@@ r@@ ase is not found in available man@@ us@@ crip@@ ts of the ancient Hebrew Scriptures .
Why did Jesus love what he taught ?
The Devil was ‘ walking about , ’ seeking to de@@ v@@ our Christians .
So I was very dis@@ appointed when my parents said that I must first find a jo@@ b and go to work .
An@@ y at@@ temp@@ ts to prove our own righteousness could inv@@ al@@ id@@ ate our cl@@ aim to love him . ​ — Read Luke 16 : 15 .