Tag Archives: Publications

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Saturday, September 21

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Saturday, September 21

Make disciples of people . . . , teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.​—Matt. 28:19, 20.
How can you plan to be a full-time Christian minister? More than anything, spiritual qualities will help you to be successful in serving Jehovah fully. So be diligent in your study of God’s Word, meditate deeply on its meaning, and look for ways to express your faith at congregation meetings. During your school years, you can acquire experience and skill as a preacher of the good news. Learn to be interested in people by tactfully asking their opinion and listening to their response. Also, you can offer to do things in the congregation, such as helping to clean and maintain the Kingdom Hall. Jehovah is pleased to use those who have a humble, willing spirit. (Ps. 110:3;Acts 6:1-3) The apostle Paul invited Timothy into missionary service because “he was well-reported-on by the brothers.”​—Acts 16:1-5. w17.07 23 ¶7; 26 ¶14

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Friday, September 20

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Friday, September 20

Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial.​—2 Pet. 2:9.
As we search the Scriptures, time and again we find examples of Jehovah doing the unexpected. King Hezekiah lived at a time when King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and captured all the fortified cities, with the exception of Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 18:1-3, 13) Then, Sennacherib turned his attention to Jerusalem. What did King Hezekiah do when faced with this imminent threat? He approached Jehovah in prayer and turned to Jehovah’s prophet Isaiah for advice. (2 Ki. 19:5, 15-20) Hezekiah also tried to show his reasonableness by paying the fine that Sennacherib imposed on him. (2 Ki. 18:14, 15) In time, Hezekiah made preparations for a long siege. (2 Chron. 32:2-4) But how was the situation resolved? Jehovah sent an angel to destroy 185,000 of Sennacherib’s soldiers in one night. Truly, not even Hezekiah expected that to happen!​—2 Ki. 19:35. w17.08 10 ¶7; 11 ¶12

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Thursday, September 19

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Thursday, September 19

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.​—Luke 23:34.
Jesus prayed that his Father forgive his executioners. What an outstanding example of mildness and patience under painful and stressful circumstances! (1 Pet. 2:21-23) How can we show mildness and patience? Paul mentioned one way when he wrote to fellow believers: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely even if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Just as Jehovah freely forgave you, you must also do the same.” (Col. 3:13) Indeed, it takes mildness and patience on our part to obey this command. But by being forgiving, we promote and preserve the unity in the congregation. Being clothed with mildness and patience is not optional for a Christian. It is an essential requirement for our salvation. (Matt. 5:5; Jas. 1:21) More important, by means of these qualities, we honor Jehovah and help others to heed the Bible’s counsel.​—Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:24, 25. w17.08 25-26 ¶15-17

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Wednesday, September 18

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Wednesday, September 18

Because of Jehovah’s compassion for him, . . . they brought him out and stationed him outside the city.​—Gen. 19:16.
Does not that incident in Lot’s life demonstrate that Jehovah is fully aware of the difficult situations in which his faithful people sometimes find themselves? (Isa. 63:7-9; Jas. 5:11, ftn.; 2 Pet. 2:9) He has also taught his people the need to display compassion. Consider the law given to Israel regarding the seizing of a man’s garment as security for a loan. (Ex. 22:26, 27) A hard-hearted lender might have been tempted to seize the debtor’s garment, leaving him without a covering in which to sleep. Yet, Jehovah taught his people to avoid such an unfeeling attitude and course. His people were to be compassionate. Does not the principle reflected in that particular law move us to action? Would we want to leave our brothers out in the cold, so to speak, if there is something that we can do to relieve their suffering?​—Col. 3:12;Jas. 2:15, 16; 1 John 3:17. w17.09 9 ¶4-5

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Tuesday, September 17

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Tuesday, September 17

The word of God is alive and exerts power.​—Heb. 4:12.
As Jehovah’s people, we have no doubt that God’s word, his message to humans, “is alive and exerts power.” Many of us are living proof of the Bible’s power to change lives. Some of our brothers and sisters were formerly thieves, drug addicts, or sexually immoral. Others enjoyed a measure of success in this system of things but felt that something was missing in their life. (Eccl. 2:3-11) Time and again, individuals who seemed hopelessly lost found their way to the path of life by means of the Bible’s transforming power. You have likely read and greatly enjoyed a number of these experiences as published in The Watchtower in the series “The Bible Changes Lives.” And you have seen that even after accepting the truth, Christians continue to make spiritual progress with the help of the Scriptures. w17.09 23 ¶1

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Monday, September 16

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Monday, September 16

Do not be afraid or be terrified, for Jehovah . . . is with you.​—1 Chron. 28:20.
Solomon likely learned much about courage from his own father. David displayed tremendous courage when he confronted a battle-hardened giant. Yes, with God’s help and a smooth stone, David defeated Goliath. (1 Sam. 17:45, 49, 50) How appropriate it was later for David to urge Solomon to be courageous and construct the temple! Jehovah would be with him until the work of building the temple was finished. With his father’s words impressed on his mind and heart, Solomon did not allow his youth and inexperience to become an obstacle. He showed great courage, went to work, and with Jehovah’s help completed the magnificent temple in seven and a half years. As Jehovah helped Solomon, he can help us to be courageous and to accomplish our work, both in our family and in the congregation. (Isa. 41:10, 13) When we show courage in our worship of Jehovah, we can be confident of his blessing now and in the future. w17.09 28 ¶3; 29 ¶4; 32 ¶20-21

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Sunday, September 15

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Sunday, September 15

Everyone whose spirit the true God had stirred​—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of Jehovah, which was in Jerusalem.​—Ezra 1:5.
As the Jews traveled along, they no doubt spent many hours thinking about their new home. They had heard how beautiful the city of Jerusalem once was. The oldest ones among them had seen the former glory of the temple. (Ezra 3:12) If you had traveled with them, how would you have felt when you first caught sight of Jerusalem, your new home? Would you have been saddened when you saw the ruined buildings overgrown with weeds? Would you have compared the massive double walls of Babylon with Jerusalem’s broken-down walls, with large gaps where gates and watchtowers once stood? Yet, the people took heart. They had already seen Jehovah’s saving hand in their behalf throughout their long trip homeward. The first thing they did upon arriving was set up an altar on the site of the former temple, and they began to offer daily sacrifices to Jehovah.​—Ezra 3:1, 2. w17.10 26-27 ¶2-3

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Saturday, September 14

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Saturday, September 14

Sing praises to [Jehovah].​—Ps. 33:2.
Perhaps we are apprehensive about singing because we are unsure of how to sing. Yet, we can improve our singing by applying some basic suggestions. You can learn to sing with power and volume by breathing properly. Much as electricity powers a light bulb, breathing energizes your voice when you speak or sing. You should sing as loud as you speak or even louder than that. In fact, within the context of singing praises, the Scriptures sometimes direct Jehovah’s worshippers to “shout joyfully.” (Ps. 33:1-3) Try the following: Choose one of your favorite songs from our songbook. Read the lyrics out loud in a strong, confident voice. Next, using the same volume, say all the words from a single phrase of the song in one breath. Then sing the phrase, using the same vibrant voice. (Isa. 24:14) Your singing voice will become fuller, and that is a good thing. Do not let it scare you or embarrass you! w17.11 5-6 ¶11-13

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Friday, September 13

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Friday, September 13

Whoever becomes ashamed of me . . . , the Son of man will also be ashamed of him.​—Mark 8:38.
At first, we may not have told our family about our association with Jehovah’s Witnesses. As our faith grew, though, we saw the need to be open about our beliefs. If your courageous stand has resulted in a problem between you and your non-Witness relatives, endeavor to have empathy for them. While we may be overjoyed about the Bible truths we have learned, our relatives may mistakenly believe that we have been tricked or have become part of a cult. They may think that we no longer love them because we do not celebrate holidays with them. They may even fear for our eternal welfare. We should show empathy by trying to see things from their viewpoint and by listening carefully to discern their real concerns. (Prov. 20:5) The apostle Paul endeavored to understand “people of all sorts” in order to share the good news with them, and a similar approach can help us as well.​—1 Cor. 9:19-23. w17.10 15 ¶11-12

Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019 Thursday, September 12

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September
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2019

Thursday, September 12

No bloodguilt will come upon you.​—Deut. 19:10.
A key purpose of the cities of refuge was to protect the Israelites from bloodguilt. Jehovah loves life, and he hates murderous “hands that shed innocent blood.” (Prov. 6:16, 17) A just and holy God, he could not ignore even accidental bloodshed. Unlike Jehovah, the scribes and Pharisees showed a careless disregard for life. How so? “You took away the key of knowledge,” Jesus told them. “You yourselves did not go in, and you hinder those going in!” (Luke 11:52) They were supposed to unlock the meaning of God’s Word and help others to walk on the road to eternal life. Instead, they directed people away from “the Chief Agent of life,” Jesus, leading them toward a course that could end in eternal destruction. (Acts 3:15) Proud and selfish, the scribes and Pharisees cared little for the life and welfare of their fellow humans. How cruel and unmerciful! w17.11 15 ¶9-10