Tag Archives: Watchtower (Study Article)

Be Convinced That You Have the Truth

Leave a reply

See Also Related Articles:

 STUDY ARTICLE 28

Be Convinced That You Have the Truth

“Continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to believe.”​—2 TIM. 3:14.

SONG 56 Make the Truth Your Own

PREVIEW*

1. What do we mean by the term “the truth”?

We refer to our beliefs and worship of God and that our way of living is based on what the Bible teaches.

Thus it implies much more than being part of a religion that perhaps is how other people in the world see it if not that it implies a way of life to correct our way of thinking and as the Gospel of John 8:32 says it is a truth that we libera frees us from false teachings and allows us to live in the best possible way.

And as the truth is part of our life part of our vocabulary, because when we meet another person it is normal for us to ask how you knew the truth. How long have you been born in the truth?​ —John 8:32.

2. According to John 13:34, 35, what might initially attract a person to the truth?

2 We have seen many experiences both biographies and broadcasting or interviews where brothers when they visited a kingdom hall for the first time because perhaps they do not remember what exactly was talked about but they do remember the love that the Brothers showed them the love that John 13:34 speaks of. and 35.

Also in other cases the good conduct as we see here in first Peter 2:12 when other people see our honesty our integrity the morality that we have that has also impressed them to join Jehovah\’s people.

Of course, and it is something that draws a lot of attention to people to see biblical principles in action, something that is not seen in this world, hence it causes such a shocking first impression (1 Pet. 2:1; Read John 13:34, 35.) 

3. What may happen if our faith in God is based only on the Christlike love shown by our brothers and sisters?

3 Well, as the paragraph says, it is as if we build our faith with soft materials, what feelings or emotions are like and like a house that is built with a bad foundation can fall because our faith if it is not based on a good friendship with Jehovah Or how does Romans 12: 2 say if we do not prove that truth for ourselves with facts or logical reasoning, because this faith can also be shaken.

If our relationship with Jehovah were built with these soft materials, things such as a person, an elder, a pioneer, respected brothers, commit a serious sin, hurt us or become apostate by being based simply on emotions or feelings or by just following people our relationship with Jehovah it would be put in check very soon. ​—Rom. 12:2

4. According to Matthew 13:3-6, 20, 21, how are some affected by tests of their faith?

4 And it would be delusional to think that we will never have problems, it is something that sooner or later we will all experience and as Psalm 6: 6 mentions, sometimes we can get exhausted from sighing and spending the night crying and it is something that drains our joy and Our illusions however if we have a well rooted faith will not fade.

Verses 20 and 21 show The problem is that these new disciples are not afraid of the tribulation of problems but that their heart is hard as a rock and as has been commented, they have not penetrated, they have not been convinced that this is the The truth has not fully penetrated your heart and that is why trouble comes and your faith fades. (Read Matthew 13:3-6, 20, 21; Matt. 16:24; Ps. 6:6; Eccl. 9:11.

5. How are the majority of our brothers and sisters proving that they are convinced that they have the truth?

5 Psalm 119: 165 says that if a person loves Jehovah\’s law nothing will be an obstacle for him, the vast majority of our brothers and sisters love Jehovah\’s word for them is the truth, therefore their Faith is strengthened with each trial .

And James chapter 1 verse 3 emphasizes this idea well when he says that his faith of proven quality has already been tested faith and what it produces is endurance, when we are faced with tests such as gold is refined and impurities are removed. it can remove the impurities that we may have and our quality our faith is approved and it will produce more endurance.

If I also love the first part of Psalm 119 because it says that it does not lose its peace, its peace is abundant so although we do not stumble also if we lose peace that can also measure how our faith is, we have to maybe strengthen our faith if it is happening something that is robbing us of our peace. (Ps. 119:165; Jas. 1:2-4) 


GAIN “THE ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD”

6. On what did the first-century disciples build their faith?

6 How we read in Galatians 2: 5 in the truth of the good news and that includes the knowledge of the scriptures and the teachings of Jesus Christ for example his sacrifice and resurrection.

And the Christians of Berea set a good example in this regard because we read of them in Acts Chapter 17 that when they received the word they accepted it with great interest because, because every day they carefully examined the scriptures to see if these things were as they were. they said, their feelings they had for the truth reinforced with knowledge.

And this deep knowledge that their faith was not based simply on feelings but quite the opposite as mentioning Hebrews 5 14 is a faith that through practice and training, because it facilitated that they had the ability to think to discern what it is that is good and what is not good. (Gal. 2:5; Acts 17:2, 3; Acts 17:11, 12; Heb. 5:14; Col. 1:9, 10).

7. What will our faith in Bible truths do for us?

7 Also in the psalm it is said that the essence of the word of Jehovah is the truth, the meaning of essence is that which is invariable, so the biblical truths are the ones that will sustain us in difficult moments because it will never change.

The Illustration of the paragraph is very beautiful, such as an anchor keeps a ship afloat during a storm of ours. It is based on biblical truths, I will not endure difficult moments and we have possibly seen images of small ships in big storms how they can stay afloat and thanks to that point We are going to experience or already experience extremely difficult situations and it is that knowledge that we have those truths that we know are eternal and do not vary is what keeps us always stable (Ps. 119:160) 

BE “PERSUADED TO BELIEVE”

8. As shown at 2 Timothy 3:14, 15, how did Timothy become convinced that he had the truth?

8 Well, of course, it is the influence of her mother and grandmother that helped her since they helped her since she was little because they taught her the holy writings and also the love that the disciples of Jesus showed for each other impressed her, but this was not the only thing that It helped convince him because he also had other influences, so it was spending time and energy to study and reach conclusions that convinced him what it was that cemented his friendship with Jehovah.

And that is what 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14 shows, he learned them from his mother as well, but nevertheless, as shown, it says that he was persuaded and a reference work is interesting what it says that this word in its original language is to be convinced and sure that something is true or true, so Timoteo convinced himself that what he had learned from his mother was the truth. (Read 2 Timothy 3:14, 15; Phil. 2:19, 20) 

9. What three basic truths do you need to prove to yourself?

9 First we have to be convinced that Jehovah is the creator of all things It also includes understanding the meaning of his name I will be what I decide to be and according to Revelation 4:11 we have to accept that Jehovah deserves to receive the glory because he created all things.

The second thing we have to be convinced of is that the Bible contains God\’s message for us and that as we read in Second Timothy 3:16 and 17 this message from the Bible enables and complements us for all that Jehovah wants. what we do.

What Jehovah has a group of people here on earth who worship him in an organized way under the guidance of Christ and as says Acts 15:14 Jehovah would draw from among the nations a people for his name and it is a name as we see in Isaiah 43 are Jehovah\’s Witnesses.

And an idea that helps us not to overwhelm ourselves is that we do not have to be as a walking encyclopedia says here, that is to say, the objective is not to hoard biblical knowledge just because, but to use our ability to reason to convince ourselves that we have the truth. (Ex. 3:14, 15; Heb. 3:4; Rev. 4:11; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Isa. 43:10-12; John 14:6; Acts 15:14; Rom. 12:1)

BE PREPARED TO CONVINCE OTHERS

10. In addition to knowing the truth, what do we need to be able to do?

10 Well, we have the responsibility of that truth to teach it to other people and when we do that we defend our faith with which it becomes stronger.

We also have a great help is the series of conversations with a Jehovah\’s Witness that appeared in the Watchtower from 2010 to 2015 and there you see several conversations between the householder and the Jehovah\’s Witness and the reasoning that there are examples questions all This can help us so that when we are also preaching we can also transmit the truth and that the person can be convinced that this is the truth.* (1 Tim. 4:16) 

11. What example did the apostle Paul set as a teacher?

11 If you quote what acts 28:23 Paul says that he convinced them that they accepted Jesus using the law and the prophets, that is, he used the Bible but he used it reasoning about it to convince and that is what we want to do when We teach others to reason about what the Bible says so that they become convinced.

Often there is a strong bond between a Bible student and a publisher, a lasting friendship often remains after baptism, but our main goal is to teach Bible students to love Jehovah Bible students cannot base their faith in friendship with us should not accept the truth because we admire the people in the congregation.

And one point that caught my attention from verse 23 is that Paul says that he reasoned with people from morning to sunset this teaches us that when we help others to accept the truth this takes time requires us to be patient because love for Truths do not emerge overnight, so this teaches us the importance of being patient when teaching others. (Acts 28:23) 

Parents, help your children develop faith by teaching them “the deep things of God” (See paragraphs 12-13)*

12-13. How can parents help their children to remain in the truth?

12 –13 Not only with the idea that since they have good friends in the congregation everything is already settled, it is interesting that parents worry that the greatest friendship they have is with Jehovah, to understand why Jehovah does things to understand that everything that He has done it has been for the welfare of his servants that is important so that this truth also calms their hearts.

Also another idea that is mentioned by copying the example that we heard in the Regional Assembly that not only do we have to give them fish but also teach them to fish, explain how to use study tools to be able to obtain those deep teachings for themselves in the future and that they be good students too. (Matt. 24:45-47; 1 Cor. 2:10)


ILLUSTRATION

Well, we see a family studying biblical prophecies and we see that the example of the father because he has the book well prepared and perhaps this will help him to the questions that the daughter asked him, because he has a notepad where perhaps he has prepared several questions so the father is reasoning with her and explains why maybe she has to go through these tests or some kind of detail from the prophecies.

And we see that in this family there are two children of different ages, but the parents do not come to the conclusion that the children are too young to study deep things, looking at the cover of the book they are studying the book pure worship a deep book, seeing Also the body language of the father and that of the daughter shows that the daughter is thinking, that is, he is not only explaining the information, he is helping her to reason, perhaps he is using questions and that makes the girl think and convinces herself .

STUDY BIBLE PROPHECY

14. Why should we study Bible prophecy? (See also the box “Can You Explain These Prophecies?”)

14 There are many prophecies in the word of God is an important part of the Bible and when we study not only those that are being fulfilled today but also those that have been fulfilled in the past that will strengthen our faith a lot.

And for example Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 11 greatly strengthens our faith because we know or understand that another power is not going to come as seen in Daniel chapter 2 but that the Anglo-American power is already the last, but also by another side of chapter 11 of Daniel, maybe we thought well, we still need to reveal who the king of the North is, well we already know it too, so we see that we are at the gates of the great tribulation and the new world and that strengthens us a lot faith. (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Matt. 24:3, 7; Daniel chapter 2 or in Daniel chapter 11* 

BOX

A first idea that occurs to me is the fact that all these prophecies have really adjusted the understanding in recent years about how they apply to Jehovah\’s people and that is why it is very important that we continue to study to familiarize ourselves quickly and when there is an adjustment of understanding in order to be up to date and at the pace of the organization and that our faith is strong.

And perhaps we could also use this box this summary of prophecies to review it with our students that we help them to reason and that in this way we also help their faith to be strengthened.

Yes, also thinking about prophecies of which well here we hope for future fulfillment because also knowing them well and knowing what they mean prepares us to face the tests that we have in the future.


Our study of the Bible, including its prophecies, can give us confidence during times of trial (See paragraphs 15-17)*

15-17. How did studying the Bible strengthen our brothers who were persecuted by the Nazis?          

15-17 The brothers in Nazi Germany already knew that the kingdom of God had begun to rule in 1914, they studied biblical prophecies of course before being put in concentration camps, from their previous biblical study they knew how to calculate the year 1914, they believed that the kingdom God was already ruling and they also knew from the Bible that no human government can destroy the kingdom of God, so they had a solid reason to persevere.

I really like that example because not only did they know those truths but they were convinced what that meant for themselves and that is why they knew that somehow that Hitler government would come to an end.

Yes, walking around remembering a little what we have talked about in the first paragraphs, what helped the brothers in the concentration camps was not only the love they showed each other, some in fact were even alone, but it was their knowledge and understanding of the Bible. and the prophecies and her trust in Jehovah that made her have unwavering faith. ​—2 Pet. 1:19-21

ILLUSTRATION

Well, we see this family that has studied the prophecies and thanks to that conviction and that confidence in the prophecies they have the necessary confidence the unshakeable faith to endure those tests that come.

The faces are also calm and the children see that they know exactly what to do, they are probably hiding the books and Bibles.

18. As indicated at John 6:67, 68, why do we need the “accurate knowledge and full discernment” that Paul wrote of?

18 Well, because that was what helped him in a time of trial to know how to identify where the truth was and be convinced, he knew that Jesus had the truth where he was going to go because that will help us whatever the time there is. It proves that there is the influence that we have to be convinced of what the truth is.

It says there at the end of the paragraph that our faith will remain solid in the face of trials and we will also be a source for other people because we will share the truth. (Phil. 1:9; Eph. 4:14; Read John 6:67, 68; 2 John 1, 2).

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

Why should our faith be based on more than mere feelings and emotions for fellow humans?

Why should our faith be based on more than just feelings and love for other brothers and sisters?

Feelings and emotions can easily change but the truth will be the truth forever, therefore our faith must be based on concrete facts and solid logic.

How can you strengthen your conviction that you have the truth?

Well, convincing ourselves through deep study and meditation of the Bible of its fundamental truths, but also of the prophecies that convince us that we have the truth.

And we review three fundamental truths that have been highlighted, that Jehovah is the creator of all that the Bible is the truth and contains God\’s message and that Jehovah has an organized group serving him here.

How can Bible teachers help their students understand the truth?

Well, in the study we have seen the example of Paul who tried hard to help his students convince others using compelling reasoning based on the laws in the scriptures, and we have talked a lot about for example the prophecies we do not want to limit ourselves simply to reading what are in the publications or to repeat what we already know but want to help our students to reason.

We have also seen that in order for them to become convinced we must teach them to use the study tools we have so that they reach their own conclusions and thus their faith will become stronger.

SONG 72 Making Known the Kingdom Truth

This article will help us to appreciate the truthful teachings of God’s Word. It will also discuss ways in which we can strengthen our conviction that what we believe in is the truth.

To help you reason with others on basic Bible teachings, see the series “A Conversation With a Neighbor,” which appeared in The Watchtower from 2010 to 2015. Topics include “Is Jesus God?,” “When Did God’s Kingdom Begin Ruling?,” and “Does God Punish People in Hellfire?”

For a discussion of these prophecies, see the June 15, 2012, and the May 2020 issues of The Watchtower.

PICTURE DESCRIPTION: During family worship, parents study with their children Bible prophecies about the great tribulation.

PICTURE DESCRIPTION: During the great tribulation, the same family will not be surprised at what takes place.


1. What do we mean when we speak of \”the truth\”?

2. According to John 13:34, 35, what is the first thing that draws many people to the truth?

3. What could happen if our faith in God is only based on the love shown by the brothers?

4. According to Matthew 13: 3-6, 20, 21, what happens to some when their faith is tested?

5. How do most of Jehovah\’s servants show that they are convinced that they have the truth?

GET \”THE EXACT KNOWLEDGE OF GOD\”

6. On what was the faith of the first century disciples based?

7. How will our faith in biblical truth benefit us?

CONVINCE OURSELVES OF WHAT WE BELIEVE

8. According to 2 Timothy 3:14, 15, how did Timothy become convinced that he had the truth?

9. Of what three fundamental truths must we convince ourselves?

LET\’S PREPARE TO CONVINCE OTHERS

10. Besides knowing the truth, what should we be able to do?

11. What example did Paul set for us by teaching others?

12, 13. What can parents do to help their children stay in the truth?

LET\’S STUDY THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE

14. Why should we study the prophecies of the Bible? (See also the box “Can We Explain These Prophecies?”).

15-17. How did studying the Bible strengthen the brothers who suffered Nazi persecution?

18. In harmony with John 6:67, 68, why do we need “accurate knowledge and full discernment,” as Paul said?



WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

How can we be even more sure that we have the truth?

How can we help our Bible students understand the truth?




Do Not Think More of Yourself Than Is Necessary

Leave a reply

See Also Related Articles:

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines


STUDY ARTICLE 27

Do Not Think More of Yourself Than Is Necessary

“I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think, but to think so as to have a sound mind.”​—ROM. 12:3.

SONG 130 Be Forgiving

PREVIEW*

1. According to Philippians 2:3, how does our having humility promote good relationships with others?

Well, here he gives us advice to humbly think that others are superior to us and as the text mentions it emphasizes the idea that doing this is a continuous process.

And of course when we talk about humility, no one would think of buying from Jehovah, we have it very clear that Jehovah is far superior to us, now where does humility come in? With reference to the paragraph when we put Jehovah\’s will as something superior in our life, our desires in life remain as something inferior and everything that has to do with magnifying Jehovah\’s name and serving him takes a Superior place.

And the benefit of putting this into practice is that we will have a good relationship with Jehovah and with our brothers.—Read Philippians 2:3.

2. What did the apostle Paul acknowledge, and what will we consider in this article?

to). He recognized that a certain degree of self-esteem is necessary and the problem is that if we are not careful how we are selfish and proud of this world it can hit us, that is why he said that each one thinks in a way that shows good judgment.

But it is interesting that we talk about this degree of self-esteem, because one could go to the other extreme, that is to say, not thinking anything about oneself or thinking that it is worthless that what it does is useless and then that would not be what it does. Jehovah expects us, so what Jehovah really wants is that we have a balanced opinion that we try to strive to be balanced in this aspect of not being proud but also not going to the other extreme and not having any self-esteem.

FOOTNOTE

How the note applies one of the important ideas that we will analyze throughout the article is that pride goes very hand in hand with being selfish in fact the proud person thinks a lot about himself and little about the other person, therefore if we want to leave that Selfish attitude now humility is the medicine that will allow us to counteract this tendency.

(b). Well, we will see how humility will help us not to give ourselves too much importance in three fields, marriage, responsibilities within the congregation and social networks.

SHOW HUMILITY IN YOUR MARRIAGE

3. Why are conflicts likely to arise in marriage, and how do some react to those conflicts?

Well, in the letter to the Corinthians in chapter 7 and verse 28 he said that those who marry would have difficulties in life, and it must be recognized that imperfection often causes us to hurt in the way we communicate, maybe we say hurtful things or even though this motivation was not that, it is impossible that inadvertently problems arise within the marriage.

b). Well, thinking only of yourself or being influenced by the entertainment of this world that you only live once, because in marriage you may think that why am I going to be with that person fighting when they can have the rest of their lives with another person, so many have decided to divorce for that reason.

4. What must we avoid?

That our marriage has failed.

Sometimes when a marriage is faced with these series of challenges, perhaps pride, selfishness could lead one to ask the questions like the ones in the paragraph, if this marriage meets my needs, gives me the love that I deserve, it would be I am happier with another person, but of course it is a wrong way of thinking totally opposed to biblical principles, in the paragraph comes Philippians 2: 4 that says that we should not only seek our own interests but also those of others, then the idea it is to seek a team vision rather than an individual vision.

What Jehovah does want us to think is that this is his project, and as Matthew 19: 6 makes clear it is he who has created this union, so we are not the one to decide whether or not it can be broken, And this is done so to make it clear that not only is not the solution to the problems but that separation is not an option either.

5. According to Ephesians 5:33, how should a husband and a wife treat each other?

 They must be treated with love and respect, therefore, as the questions in the previous paragraph came out, we could formulate it a little and ask ourselves, do I give the love and respect it deserves?

And as the first sample of Corinthians 10:24, we will seek the benefit of our partner, so we will stop thinking about our interests and this will help us to treat each other with love.

And to give love and respect it is necessary to have the quality of humility and thus have happiness in marriage.

The verse of facts 20:35 of when it comes to giving is applied, not giving physical or material things but rather that love and that respect, therefore if we do it also the fact is that we are going to collect happiness in marriage.—1 Cor. 10:24.

Instead of being rivals, a humble couple will work together as a team (See paragraph 6)

6. What do you learn from the comments made by Steven and Stephanie?

For example Esteven says that they do see each other as a team because they are going to help each other, in fact when problems arise because instead of thinking that it is the best for me, again that selfish attitude must be replaced by what is it. better for us, it will help the marriage to identify those problems and work on them.

It is also very nice what Estefany says as seen in the photograph, that marriage is not a rivalry but that when there is a problem the two fight with that problem and do not fight to be right, that is achieved when the two in the married people are humble people.

ILLUSTRATION

Yes, speaking a little more in the image, the truth is that it is interesting because if we see the left side it can even cause us laughter but it could be the reality of many marriages, we see there how the two are dressed there with Kings clothes they are with a haughty attitude none of the two, due to the gesture or the bearing, he intends to start cleaning the dishes that they have accumulated there, and yet if we see on the right how different the atmosphere is, not only because they are happy they are working together, it really shows that it is a team environment that the two of them, in the end they are humble and they say we do not leave things for others to do but they do it together as a couple, so there is no doubt that in the end well that is what marriage is not a pair of rivals from an opposing team but on the contrary a joint team.

SERVE JEHOVAH WITH “ALL HUMILITY”

7. What attitude should a brother have when he receives a privilege of service?

Serving and serving with humility should not be allowed to go to your head.

And very recently we heard in JW a Gilead speech where the word privileges was said in Japanese and it was very interesting because it said that the dictionary translates it as special rights, which gives the idea of ​​something you deserve and that is what was used before In the publications, but instead for a few years they have translated it as an opportunity to serve and that is what it is, if we receive a responsibility a privilege it is not because we deserve it but because Jehovah wants to give us an opportunity to serve more and that we want to take advantage of it.

For addressed to the Christians of Corinth he was willing to use all his forces for good and as he said he was completely spent towards them or as it is also said exhausted and simply consumed by them and he did it with a humble attitude.—2 Cor. 12:15.

8. What do we learn from the examples of Diotrephes, Uzziah, and Absalom?

Diotrefes liked to have the first place in the congregation so much that it led him to not receive regarding the messages of John or other Christians who had responsibilities, he also spread malicious comments about them, he even wanted to expel from the congregation those who received hospitably to these brothers, so pride can lead us to do the same as Diotrephes wanting to have privileges, not with the right attitude but as personal medals and that can lead us not to accept the leadership of brothers who are leading.

And then we have the example of Uzias, as we see in the second Chronicle\’s account, we see that Uzias did not correspond to him by burning incense since he was not a priest and when he was called to attention for it, he was furious, so he was a proud person and he lacked humility when they gave him advice.

And also Absalon tried as second Samuel says to steal the hearts of the men of Israel trying to win the sympathy of the people because he wanted to be king.

And in the three cases we see that they did very badly Diotrefes had to publicly receive the denunciation of the apostle John in this third letter he wrote, Uzziah was plagued with leprosy until the day of his death, Absalon died on the battlefield. which confirms what the proverb 25:27 says that it is not good among other things to seek glory for oneself, so this confirms the point of view that Jehovah has about this way of acting.​—Prov. 16:18.

9. What example did Jesus set?

Although Jesus had and has the greatest responsibility that can be obtained in Jehovah\’s organization, he saw this as an opportunity to serve, lived with humility by his example and continues to do so and it was what he promoted as a main part of his teaching saying how Lucas mentions that the one who behaved with this humble attitude or as one of the youngest is the one who would be the oldest.

And with these words, Lucas also stressed that here he was not saying that the one with the most responsibilities was the oldest, but that the one who behaved like one of the youngest is the one who dedicated himself to serving others and that is what he did. Jesus and the good example he left us.

Sometimes we could read Lucas\’s text and say well, how can it be that I behaved like one of the youngest but that I became the oldest, why is the concept that the world has of someone older or someone important or someone famous? A Watchtower explained that this is being the greatest, it is because he becomes a more valuable servant of Jehovah so that Jehovah can use him more fully in his service, that is the attitude that we can become more valuable for Jehovah to use us more to serve others.—John 13:35.

10. What should you do if you feel that problems in the congregation are not being handled properly?

When we see something that seems unfair or bothers us, the normal and human thing is to focus on that in the problem in what in our opinion is being done wrong and it could even be that we would lose the happiness of our services to Jehovah, but Maybe we should think better about how we can change ourselves so that what we are seeing does not bother us, also if Jehovah is allowing us to go through a situation that in our opinion is unfair, let\’s see it as an opportunity to cultivate qualities or to learn a lesson that we did not know still.

Hebrews 13:17 teaches us what our work is in all this and what is the work of those who take the lead, we have to be obedient and submissive although sometimes we may not understand certain decisions but we have to obey and they are the ones who take care of us and they will be held accountable for them so be humble and understand what our role is.

The questions in the paragraph are very interesting when we see a problem we could ask ourselves, should these problems are so serious or is it time to do it or I am the right person to solve them, depending on the answer, it is you who will say if we seek the unity of the congregation or seek our glory personal.

Those who are entrusted with responsibility should be known not only for their ability but also for their humility (See paragraph 11)*

11. According to Ephesians 4:2, 3, what are the results when we serve Jehovah with humility?

Well, we will be promoting unity within the congregation, there it clearly says, among other things, if we are humble we will be doing everything possible to maintain the unity of the spirit through the unifying bond of Peace.

We can also say that Jehovah is not impressed by our abilities, although he likes us to do our best in serving him, but he is impressed by our humility because at the same time it promotes unity.

Thinking about this, remembering that Satan, he was in heaven, had great authority, without a doubt he will have many capacities, he will be effective, but he was neither humble nor did he seek unity and it did not serve him at all, he is completely far from Jehovah, that is why we do not seek that. how I do the main thing but we want to be humble because we know that Jehovah is what he likes the most.

ILLUSTRATION

If it is as seen in the image, you can see a brother who has had various responsibilities in construction, also speaking at an assembly, also in the congregation, but also cleaning a bathroom, thus demonstrating his humility and therefore increasing the unity of the congregation, and it is good that he has these capabilities that Jehovah undoubtedly gives him but that he does not know him for this but that he is known for the humility he has.

Well, cleaning a bathroom at all times is not what makes you happy the most, but you are doing it because you value it, you know that it also brings the brothers very close when the rest of the congregation sees brothers so they make an effort in all senses you approach them and you have the ability to speak with them freely and that the brothers notice so it is a precious quality.

SHOW HUMILITY WHEN USING SOCIAL MEDIA

12. Does the Bible encourage us to have friends? Explain.

Psalm 133: 1 there gives us to understand that it is very good that the brothers spend time together and we are united, so Jehovah wants us to have good times with our friends and family.

In fact, friendship is so beneficial that Jehovah in proverbs tells us that friends can be sometimes even more attached than our own family, so Jehovah knows how happy we are when we have friends like that.

And the Bible also warns us not to go to the other extreme, the proverb says that he who isolates himself pursues his selfish desire, so humans are social by nature, we need to tell our sorrows and joys to anyone close to us obviously and Jehovah has made us with those feelings so we have to find good friends.

13. Why are some who use social media prone to loneliness and depression?

Because they are compared when looking at the photographs and the places that others have visited, and unfortunately then it feels that they do not enjoy the same thing that others are experiencing.

In addition, most people upload their best photos to social networks when they are the best moments with their friends and the best most interesting places, then of course to people who see it because it produces that feeling.

19-year-old sister says that she began to feel frustrated when she saw that others had so much fun on weekends while she was poor, she stayed at home as she says dead of boredom, but what is really happening is that she was comparing herself to what she seemed that others did, so you have to be very careful because what we do on social networks can have a lot of impact on others.

14. How can the Bible’s counsel at 1 Peter 3:8 help us with regard to the use of social media?

Well, they will help us to think about the reasons why we upload photos to social networks, to impress others, to pretend that everything is beautiful that everything is happiness when really simply a moment then we do not want to wake up in other bad desires or sadness but rather make them feel well.

The paragraph mentions a very balanced approach to social networks, the same paragraph says that they are very useful to maintain contact with family with friends, obviously we do not want to condemn this use, but the problem is when it is used against biblical principles, As the first of Peter 3: 8 says that if with our comments or with the photos that we upload the content that we post on the social network we are not united in our way of thinking, we do not show empathy, we do not show brotherly affection and tender compassion and humility, obviously not we should be using that way.—Read 1 Peter 3:8.

If you post material online, does it give the impression that you are bragging or that you are humble? (See paragraph 15)

15. How can the Bible help us to avoid promoting ourselves?

Well, it will help us to analyze ourselves when we upload something on social networks and it will make us wonder what impression I want to make, it shows that I want to show off or maybe I\’m arousing some envy, so this will help us analyze everything.

If, as the paragraph in Galatians 5:26 says, it tells us not to become egoncentric and as it says at the beginning of the study, being selfish or egoncentric goes against the spirit of humility, then we could ask ourselves with what motivation I am uploading those images or what effects It could cause other siblings who, for example, are having a hard time now that they may have lost their job, they don\’t have everything to eat or to travel or buy expensive things so let\’s think about how they might feel if we do.

And another principle that will help us will be that of the first of John 2:16 because there are among other things it speaks of the ostentation of the things that one has and this ostentation, as the paragraph refers well, could also be translated as trying to become more important than what that one is, so on the one hand we are warned that Christians have no need for others to admire us because we do not do things with that attitude, but also as the verse itself says it says that all these things do not They come from the father but come from the world, so we do not want this vain spirit of the world to infect us.

ILLUSTRATION

Nor do we want to go to the other extreme, sharing a good meal with friends with family has nothing wrong, the problem as is being discussed is that it is always with the same motivation to show off all the places where we are going to visit or travel the meals that We take the best in high-cost restaurants or for the highest social classes, if we are always teaching and showing off at the end we are awakening negative feelings in other people and above all that we are not placing ourselves in the best position before Jehovah.

“THINK SO AS TO HAVE A SOUND MIND”

16. Why should we avoid pride?

As Romans 12: 3 tells us we want not to think more than we should and have a judgment.

And as the paragraph mentions also to avoid hurting ourselves and others, if we think about the example of Jesus and the humility that he showed he was a person that most of the stories and images that are shown to us were always surrounded by people and everyone felt comfortable with him, for if we strive to be humble we will achieve that.

And if we are proud it will be Satan who supports us, however if we are humble it will be Jehovah who supports us as first Peter 5: 5 says that the humble show undeserved kindness. (1 Pet. 5:5) Those with a sound mind do not want to have Jehovah as an opponent.

17. What must we do to remain humble?

Well, we must remove our personality travel, that is to say everything that perhaps due to imperfection or because of how the world has shaped us or we are and instead to dress ourselves with a new personality, of course that means a lot of effort, because now it means leaving all that behind and now try to follow the example of Jesus to the fullest.

And something that will help us is to think about the good results that it entails because if we are humble and we try to be humble this continuous effort, our family will be happy, our congregation will be united and we also have this extra that we will know how to use social networks.

HOW CAN YOU SHOW HUMILITY . . .

  • in your marriage?

  • Not giving up even if problems arise because there will be, but if we apply the recipe of love and respect, obviously we will always think of the other person\’s need and not our own.

  • in carrying out your privileges of service?

  • Well, if one receives a responsibility that does not go to his head but always shows humility and modesty, thus also collaborating with the unity of the congregation.

    And understand that these responsibilities are always due to Jehovah\’s undeserved kindness and not because of our abilities and that thanks to this we can benefit from that assignment and we can also benefit others.

  • in your use of social media?

  • Well, we read the principle of 1 Peter 3: 8 about the importance of showing humility and empathy when being careful with the images that we post, to keep in mind not to hurt anyone unintentionally by the photos or images or what we imply that what we are hanging.


SONG 117 The Quality of Goodness

Today, we live in a world filled with proud, selfish people. We need to be careful that their attitude does not rub off on us. This article will consider three areas in which we should not think more of ourselves than is necessary.

EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED: A proud person tends to think too much of himself and not enough of others. Thus, a proud person is selfish. On the other hand, humility helps an individual to be unselfish. Humility is defined as freedom from pride or arrogance, being lowly in mind.

PICTURE DESCRIPTION: An elder who has the ability to speak at a convention and to oversee other brothers also appreciates the privilege of taking the lead in the ministry and cleaning the Kingdom Hall.

“Return to Me”

Leave a reply


See Also Related Articles:

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines


STUDY ARTICLE 26

“Return to Me”

“Return to me, and I will return to you.”​—MAL. 3:7.

SONG 102 “Assist Those Who Are Weak”

PREVIEW*

1. How does Jehovah feel when one of his sheep is rescued?

On one occasion, he told the Israelites who had separated from him: \”Come back to me, and I will come back to you.\” And we know that today he still feels the same, because he says: \”I do not change.\” Furthermore, Jesus said that Jehovah and the angels are very happy when a lost sheep returns.​—Luke 15:10, 32.

2. What will we consider in this article?

2In this article, we will discuss three parables of Jesus that focus on helping those who have turned away from Jehovah. We will see what qualities we need to help them return to it and why it is worth the effort to support the weak.

SEARCH FOR THE LOST COIN

3-4. Why did the woman mentioned at Luke 15:8-10 search so carefully for her lost drachma?

The central point of this story is how hard he tries to find it, because in the time of Jesus, on the day that Jewish women were getting married, some mothers gave them a set of 10 drachma coins. The woman in the parable may have lost one of these silver coins.​—Read Luke 15:8-10.

5. Why might it be difficult to locate those who have left the congregation?

Jesus teaches us that finding something that has been lost takes effort. The same happens when looking for the inactive. They may not have been in contact with the congregation for years. Perhaps now they live in another area, where the brothers do not know them. But surely at this very moment some of them want to return to Jehovah, but they need our help.

6. How can all in the congregation be involved in the search for inactive ones?

The entire congregation, both their relatives and elders, pioneers and publishers, Let us explain that, if they wish to be visited, we will gladly pass on their contact information to the elders of the congregation, always in accordance with the corresponding regulations of our country.

7. What do you learn from the comments of an elder named Thomas?

What I learn is that just as Brother Thomas was interested in his sheep, I must also cultivate a genuine interest in those who have distanced themselves from Jehovah\’s organization, since it is not an easy mission, as it requires a lot of patience and commitment , since you do not need to be an old man to do it, as we can collaborate with them.

BRING BACK JEHOVAH’S LOST SONS AND DAUGHTERS

8. In the illustration of the lost son, found at Luke 15:17-24, how did the father treat his repentant son?

Jesus tells that the son ends up regaining his senses and decides to go home. The father runs to meet him and embraces him lovingly to assure him that he still loves him. The young man has many regrets and thinks that he no longer deserves to be called his son. The father is moved to see that his son opens his heart to him and is sorry. So he organizes a banquet and sends for the best quality clothes. In this way, he shows him that he does not receive him as one of his workers, but as a beloved member of the family.

9. What attitude must we have in order to help inactive ones to return to Jehovah? (See the box “How to Help Those Who Want to Return.”)

we can help them return. For this we must have patience, empathy and love. Why do we need these particular qualities.

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. An elderly man sends a text message to an inactive brother. The inactive brother reads the elder\’s message during a break from work. 2. Another elder brings a box of fruit to the inactive brother, who is repairing his car. 3. Another old man listens to the inactive brother while they have a coffee sitting in a park.

In most cases, the inactive need the support of good friends. This support can be provided in the following ways:

Keeping in touch and even visiting them over and over again.

Showing them sincere love and confirming that Jehovah loves them and the brothers too.

Listening to them with empathy and trying to understand their problems and feelings without rushing to criticize them.

10. What part does patience play in helping someone to recover spiritually?

We need patience because it will take time for a person to regain her friendship with Jehovah. Many Christians who were inactive acknowledge that the elders and other brothers of the congregation had to visit them many times before they returned to Jehovah.

11. Why do we need empathy to soothe hurt feelings?

Empathy is like an ointment that helps us heal hurt feelings. Some inactive people walked away because they were offended by someone in the congregation, and they have resented years. That is why they do not want to return to Jehovah. Others may think they suffered injustice. They may need someone to listen to them and understand how they feel.

12. Illustrate how Jehovah’s love draws inactive ones back to his people.

That is what God wants to do today with those who are inactive and drowning in a sea of ​​problems and worries. You want them to know that you love them and want to help them get back. And he can use us to express that love to them.

13. Relate an experience that illustrates the power of brotherly love.

An older sister greeted me and spoke to me with great affection and love. I started crying like a child. I told her that it seemed that Jehovah had sent her to talk to me. It was then that I decided to return to Jehovah.

LOVINGLY SUPPORT THE WEAK

14. According to the illustration found at Luke 15:4, 5, what did the shepherd do once he found the lost sheep?

They will surely be spiritually weak. So we need to help them renew their faith in Jehovah. In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus says that the shepherd carries her on his shoulders and leads her back to the flock. The pastor has already spent time and energy looking for it. But he knows that he will have to help her return because she will not have the strength to do it alone.—Read Luke 15:4, 5.

15. How can we support weak ones who want to return to Jehovah? (See the box “An Invaluable Tool.”)

We may need to spend time and energy helping some of the inactive to get spiritually strong again. So if the elders ask us to help an inactive, we gladly accept.  An invaluable tool

The brochure Jehovah Wants Me Back can make inactive people want to return to the congregation.

Maria, mentioned in the article, says: \”This brochure helped me to realize that Jehovah loves me, and that he wants to always be by my side.\”

Flora from Cameroon recalls: “Part 4 of the Jehovah Wants Me Back booklet helped me tremendously. It gave me the strength and courage to open my heart to Jehovah, and then explain my situation to the elders, who had helped me so much.

Tatyana from Bulgaria says: “The brochure was like a personal invitation from Jehovah. It made me see that he cares about his lost sheep, regardless of the reasons why they were lost. \”


JOY IN HEAVEN AND JOY ON EARTH

16. How do we know that we can count on heavenly support?

There are many experiences that indicate that angels help us to find the inactive who are willing to return to Jehovah. For example, Silvio, who is from Ecuador, pleaded with Jehovah to help him return to the congregation. While he was still praying, his doorbell rang. They were two old men. On that same visit, they gladly began to give him the help he needed.

17. What reward do we receive for helping the spiritually weak?

Helping those who are spiritually weak to return to Jehovah will make us very happy.—Acts 20:35.

18. If you are inactive, of what can you be sure?

But remember the father of Jesus\’ parable. Jehovah is waiting for you to return to his family, and he will welcome you with open arms. You can be sure that God still loves you and wants you to return.

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

  • How can we search for those who have become inactive?

  • We can all cooperate to search for them, perhaps we have an inactive friend or relative or we know of someone who lives in our territory or we have found him in public preaching, the important thing is to explain that if he wishes to be visited with pleasure we will pass on his information about I contacted the elders of the congregation, who if they want to return to Jehovah a warm welcome awaits them.

  • What three qualities can help us to be successful?

  • The qualities that we must have are patience, empathy and love, we must bear in mind that often in spiritual recovery it is slow, it goes step by step, we want to speak to them in a positive way and with understanding tell them that they are of great value in the eyes of Jehovah and not desist in our efforts to help them.

  • Why do inactive ones need consistent loving support?

  • Because they may feel intense emotional pain that is why we have to help them renew their faith in Jehovah, we know that they will not have the strength to do it alone, so once they return they need us to continue helping and encouraging them with love.

Jehovah wants those who no longer associate with the congregation to return to him. We can do a lot to encourage those who want to accept Jehovah’s invitation: “Return to me.” In this article, we will consider how we can help them to do so.

Some names have been changed.

Some inactive ones may be helped by studying portions of the book How to Remain in God’s Love, whereas others have benefited from reviewing chapters of the book Draw Close to Jehovah. The Congregation Service Committee will determine who is best qualified to conduct such a study.

PICTURE DESCRIPTION: Three different brothers provide help for a brother who wants to return. They do so by keeping in contact, assuring him that he is loved, and listening to him with understanding.

“I Myself Will Search for My Sheep”

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines


STUDY ARTICLE 25

“I Myself Will Search for My Sheep”

“I myself will search for my sheep, and I will care for them.”​—EZEK. 34:11.
SONG 105 “God Is Love”
PREVIEW*
1. How is Jehovah like a nursing mother?
“CAN a woman forget her nursing child?” That was a question Jehovah asked in the days of the prophet Isaiah. “Even if these women forget, I would never forget you,” God told his people. (Isa. 49:15) He does not often compare himself to a mother. However, he did so on that occasion. Jehovah used the bond between a mother and her child to reveal how deeply he is attached to his servants. Most mothers can relate to what a sister named Jasmin says, “When you nurse your child, you form a very special bond that lasts a lifetime.”
2. How does Jehovah feel when one of his children drifts away from him?
2 Jehovah takes note when even one of his children stops associating with the Christian congregation and engaging in the preaching work. Think, then, of how pained he must be to see thousands of his servants become inactive* each year.
3. What does Jehovah want?
3 Many of these dear brothers and sisters who have become inactive do come back to the congregation, where they are most welcome! Jehovah wants them to come back, and so do we. (1 Pet. 2:25) How can we help? Before we answer that question, it would be good to know why some stop attending meetings and sharing in the ministry.

WHY DO SOME STOP SERVING JEHOVAH?

4. How can secular work affect some?
4 Some have become absorbed in secular work. “I let myself get overly involved in my secular work,” admits Hung,* a brother who lives in Southeast Asia. “I foolishly told myself that if I were better off materially, I would be better able to serve Jehovah. So I worked more hours. I began to miss more and more meetings until I finally stopped associating with the congregation. It seems that the world is designed to draw people away from God little by little.”
5. How did a series of problems affect one sister?
5 Some brothers and sisters are overwhelmed by problems. Anne from Britain is a mother of five children. “One of my children was born with severe disabilities,” Anne explains. “In time, one of my daughters was disfellowshipped and a son developed a mental illness. I got so depressed that I stopped attending meetings and preaching. Eventually, I became inactive.” Our hearts go out to Anne and her family as well as others who face such challenges!
6. How could not applying Colossians 3:13 cause someone to drift away from Jehovah’s people?
6 Read Colossians 3:13. Some of Jehovah’s servants have felt hurt by a fellow believer. The apostle Paul recognized that at times we might have a valid “cause for complaint against” a brother or a sister. We may even have been treated unjustly. If we are not careful, we could become resentful. Bitterness may eventually cause a person to drift away from Jehovah’s people. Consider the experience of Pablo, a brother in South America. He was falsely accused of wrongdoing and, as a result, lost a privilege of service in the congregation. How did he react? “I got angry,” says Pablo, “and I gradually drifted away from the congregation.”
7. What effect can a guilty conscience have on a person?
7 Or a guilty conscience may torment a person who has broken God’s law in the past, making him feel unworthy of God’s love. Even if he was repentant and was shown mercy, he might feel that he is no longer good enough to be one of God’s people. A brother named Francisco felt that way. “I was reproved for committing sexual immorality,” he says. “Although at first I continued to attend meetings, I became depressed and felt unworthy to be among Jehovah’s people. My conscience bothered me, and I was convinced that Jehovah had not forgiven me. In time, I stopped associating with the congregation.” How do you feel about brothers and sisters who face situations like those just discussed? Do you have empathy for them? More important, how does Jehovah feel about them?

JEHOVAH LOVES HIS SHEEP

An Israelite shepherd cared deeply about a lost sheep (See paragraphs 8-9)*
8. Does Jehovah forget those who once served him? Explain.
8 Jehovah does not forget those who once served him but who have temporarily stopped associating with his people; nor does he forget the work they did in his service. (Heb. 6:10) The prophet Isaiah recorded a beautiful illustration to show how Jehovah cares for his people. “Like a shepherd he will care for his flock,” Isaiah wrote. “With his arm he will gather together the lambs, and in his bosom he will carry them.” (Isa. 40:11) How does the Great Shepherd feel when one of his sheep strays from the flock? Jesus revealed Jehovah’s feelings when he asked his disciples: “What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the 99 on the mountains and set out on a search for the one that is straying? And if he finds it, I certainly tell you, he rejoices more over it than over the 99 that have not strayed.”​—Matt. 18:12, 13.

9. How did good shepherds in Bible times treat their sheep? (See cover picture.)
9 Why is it appropriate to liken Jehovah to a shepherd? Because a good shepherd in Bible times cared deeply about his sheep. David, for example, fought a lion and a bear to protect his flock. (1 Sam. 17:34, 35) A good shepherd would certainly notice if even one sheep went missing. (John 10:3, 14) That kind of shepherd would leave his 99 sheep in the safety of a pen or in the care of fellow shepherds and go searching for the missing one. Jesus used that illustration to teach us an important truth: “It is not a desirable thing to my Father who is in heaven for even one of these little ones to perish.”​—Matt. 18:14.

A shepherd in ancient Israel cares for a sheep that was lost (See paragraph 9)

JEHOVAH SEARCHES FOR HIS SHEEP

10. According to Ezekiel 34:11-16, what did Jehovah promise to do for his lost sheep?
10 Jehovah loves each one of us, including the “little ones” who have strayed from his flock. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised that he would search for his lost sheep and help them to regain their spiritual health. And he outlined specific steps that he would take to rescue them, steps that a typical Israelite shepherd would take if a sheep went missing. (Read Ezekiel 34:11-16.) First, the shepherd would search for the sheep, which could require much time and effort. Then, once he located the stray, the shepherd would bring it back to the flock. Further, if the sheep was injured or starving, the shepherd would lovingly support the weak animal, binding its wounds, carrying it, and feeding it. Elders, the shepherds of “the flock of God,” need to take these same steps to help any who have strayed from the congregation. (1 Pet. 5:2, 3) The elders search for them, help them to return to the flock, and show them love by providing the necessary spiritual support.*
11. What did a good shepherd understand?
11 A good shepherd understood that sheep may get lost. And if a sheep did wander away from the flock, the shepherd did not treat it harshly. Consider the example that God set when helping some of his servants who, for a while, strayed from Jehovah.
12. How did Jehovah deal with Jonah?
12 The prophet Jonah ran away from his assignment. Even so, Jehovah did not quickly give up on Jonah. Like a good shepherd, Jehovah rescued him and helped him gain the strength he needed to fulfill his assignment. (Jonah 2:7; 3:1, 2) Later, God used a bottle-gourd plant to help Jonah understand the value of each human life. (Jonah 4:10, 11) The lesson? Elders must not quickly give up on those who become inactive. Instead, the elders try to understand what caused a sheep to stray from the flock. And when that sheep comes back to Jehovah, the elders continue to show loving interest in him.
13. What can we learn from Jehovah’s reaction to the writer of Psalm 73?
13 The writer of Psalm 73 became discouraged when he observed how the wicked seemed to flourish. He questioned whether doing God’s will was worthwhile. (Ps. 73:12, 13, 16) How did Jehovah react? He did not condemn the man. In fact, God had his words recorded in the Bible. Eventually, the psalmist came to realize that a good relationship with Jehovah is worth more than anything else, making life worthwhile. (Ps. 73:23, 24, 26, 28) The lesson? Elders should not be quick to judge those who begin to question the benefits of serving Jehovah. Rather than condemn them, elders must try to understand why they speak and act the way they do. Only then can the elders draw attention to the specific Scriptural encouragement that is needed.
14. Why did Elijah need help, and how did Jehovah supply it?
14 The prophet Elijah fled from Queen Jezebel. (1 Ki. 19:1-3) He thought that nobody else was serving as a prophet for Jehovah, and he felt that his work had served no purpose. Elijah became so depressed that he wanted to die. (1 Ki. 19:4, 10) Rather than condemn Elijah, Jehovah assured him that he was not alone, that he could trust in God’s power, and that there was still much work for him to do. Jehovah kindly listened to Elijah’s concerns and gave him new assignments. (1 Ki. 19:11-16, 18) The lesson? All of us, especially the elders, should treat Jehovah’s sheep kindly. Whether a person expresses bitterness or feels unworthy of Jehovah’s mercy, elders will listen to him as he pours out his heart. Then they will try to assure the lost sheep that Jehovah values him.

HOW SHOULD WE FEEL ABOUT GOD’S LOST SHEEP?

15. According to John 6:39, how did Jesus view his Father’s sheep?
15 How does Jehovah want us to feel about his lost sheep? Jesus provides the pattern for us. He knew that all of Jehovah’s sheep are precious in God’s eyes, so Jesus did all he could to help “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” return to Jehovah. (Matt. 15:24;Luke 19:9, 10) As the fine shepherd, Jesus also did his utmost to avoid losing any of Jehovah’s sheep.​—Read John 6:39.
16-17. How should elders feel about helping those who have gone astray? (See the box “How a Lost Sheep May Feel.”)
16 The apostle Paul urged the elders of the congregation in Ephesus to imitate Jesus’ example. “You must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’” (Acts 20:17, 35) Clearly, elders today have a special responsibility in this regard. “When I think of how much Jehovah cares for his lost sheep, I feel motivated to do all I can to help them,” explains Salvador, an elder in Spain. “As a spiritual shepherd, I am convinced that Jehovah wants me to care for them.”
17 All those mentioned in this article who had drifted away were helped to come back to Jehovah. At this very moment, many more who have strayed want to do the same. The next article will discuss in more detail what we can do to help them return to Jehovah.

SONG 139 See Yourself When All Is New
Why do some who have served Jehovah faithfully for years drift away from the congregation? How does God feel about them? This article considers answers to those questions. It also discusses what we can learn from the way Jehovah helped some in Bible times who temporarily drifted away from him.
EXPRESSION EXPLAINED: An inactive publisher is someone who has not reported any activity in the preaching and disciple-making work for six months or more. Even so, inactive ones are still our brothers and sisters, and we love them.
Some names have been changed.
The next article will discuss specific ways that elders can follow these steps.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: Concerned about a lost sheep, an Israelite shepherd would search for it and help it back to the flock. Spiritual shepherds today do the same.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: As an inactive sister waits for her bus to depart, she observes two Witnesses who happily share in public witnessing.

“Unify My Heart to Fear Your Name”

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines


STUDY ARTICLE 24

“Unify My Heart to Fear Your Name”

“Unify my heart to fear your name. I praise you, O Jehovah my God, with all my heart.”​—PS. 86:11, 12.
SONG 7 Jehovah, Our Strength
PREVIEW*

1. What is the fear of God, and why is it important for those who love Jehovah to demonstrate it?

We are not talking about paralyzing fear. The kind of fear we are talking about is a deep and sincere respect for God. Those who feel it do not want to displease their heavenly Father because they value their friendship with him.

2. What two things related to Psalm 86:11 will we study in this article?

First, we will review various reasons for having deep respect for God\’s name. And then we\’ll talk about how to show that respect in our daily lives.

WHY SHOULD WE HAVE DEEP RESPECT FOR THE NAME OF JEHOVAH?

3. What experience perhaps helped Moses to always respect God\’s name?

Moses when he was curled up in the crevice of a rock on Mount Horeb and beheld in a vision the glory of Jehovah, which had passed before him. Insight into Scripture explains that this was \”perhaps the most awesome experience any man ever had before the coming of Jesus Christ.\” Moses heard the following words, surely from the mouth of an angel: \”Jehovah, Jehovah, a merciful and compassionate God, patient and full of loyal love and truth, showing loyal love to thousands, forgiving mistakes, offenses and sins.\”

4. On what qualities of Jehovah should we meditate in order to respect him even more?

We must remember his qualities, including power, wisdom, justice, and love. Reflecting on these and other qualities will make us respect him even more.

5, 6. a) What does the name of God mean? b) According to Exodus 3:13, 14 and Isaiah 64: 8, in what ways does Jehovah make things happen?

a) \”he makes it become\”. This meaning reminds us that nothing can prevent Jehovah from doing his will and that he can make things happen.

b). One way is by becoming whatever it takes to fulfill your purpose. In our publications, we are often encouraged to think about this most impressive aspect of God\’s personality. In addition, Jehovah can make his imperfect human servants whatever is necessary to serve him and fulfill his purpose

7. What will help us to have greater admiration and respect for our heavenly Father?

Meditate on what he has done and what he has helped us to do. For example, we marvel at meditating on all that he has created. And as we reflect on what he has made us become to fulfill his will, we have deep respect for him.

\”I WILL PROCLAMATE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH\”

8. According to Deuteronomy 32: 2, 3, what does Jehovah want us to do with his name?

By meditating on part of the lyrics, we see clearly that Jehovah does not want us to hide his name or treat it as too sacred to pronounce. You want the whole world to know you.

ILLUSTRATION

Moses teaching the Israelites the words of a song of praise to Jehovah.

The teachings of Moses had a refreshing effect because they focused on Jehovah\’s name and person.

9. How do we help to sanctify Jehovah\’s name?

When people hear these things, they may realize for the first time how much Jehovah loves us. Whenever we teach the truth about our loving Father, we help to sanctify his name and disprove some of the slander that has been taught about him. Nothing has such a refreshing effect on people as the biblical message we bring them.

10. When we teach the Bible, why should we not limit ourselves to teaching God\’s rules and laws?

Because we want to help students to know and use Jehovah\’s name. But we also want you to know well what kind of God He is. So we must not limit ourselves to teaching God\’s righteous standards and laws.

11. In addition to teaching students divine rules and laws, how can we help them love God?

So we could ask him, “Why do you think God asks us to do or not do this? What does that teach you about him? By helping him to think of Jehovah and to truly love his glorious name, we are more likely to touch his heart. That way you will not only love his laws, but you will also love him. Your faith will grow stronger and you will be able to withstand very difficult trials.

 \”WE WILL WALK IN THE NAME OF JEHOVAH\”

12. a) What led David to have a divided heart at one point? b) What was the result?

to). he stared at her. Her heart became divided. On the one hand, he wanted this woman. And, on the other, she wanted to please Jehovah. Although he had long loved and feared Jehovah, he was carried away by his selfish desire.

b). As a result, he did some very bad things. He stained Jehovah\’s name and did terrible harm to innocent people, including his own family

ILLUSTRATION

King David watches Bat-Sheba from the roof of his house as he bathes.

At one point, David allowed his heart to become divided.

13. How do we know that David had a united heart again?

He never forgot the trouble and suffering he caused by allowing his heart to split. His words from Psalm 86:11 can also be translated like this: \”Give me a heart that is not divided.\” Did Jehovah answer him? Yes, for God\’s Word later says that David \”served Jehovah his God with a complete heart.\”

14. What should we ask ourselves, and why?

David\’s example is very encouraging, but it also serves as a warning. We must ask ourselves, \”Am I fighting Satan\’s attempts to divide my heart?\”

15. How can the fear of God protect us if we see provocative images?

This can be compared to the wedge someone uses to split a piece of wood. Perhaps you start by driving the thin edge of the wedge into the wood. And, as he sinks it, the wood is splitting. Provocative images can be like the thin edge of a wedge. At first they may seem small and harmless, but they can quickly divide our hearts and lead us to commit sins that break our integrity. For this reason, let us not allow anything inappropriate to enter our hearts. Let us make sure it is always united and fears the name of Jehovah.

16. What questions should we ask ourselves when faced with temptation?

It is best to ask ourselves questions like the following: “Is Satan using this temptation to divide my heart? If I indulge in bad desires, will I stain Jehovah\’s name? Will this bring me closer to my God, or will it move me away from him?

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. Eva contemplates the forbidden fruit in her hand before the serpent\’s gaze. 2. A man avoiding looking at what appears on the screen of the phone in his hand.

Satan will do everything he can to divide our hearts. Don\’t get away with it!

17. Explain with an example why having a divided heart does us no good.

Let\’s imagine that the members of a sports team get on badly with each other. Some want all the glory for themselves, others do not want to follow the rules and others do not respect the coach. Such a team is unlikely to win a match. A team that was united would do much better. Our hearts will be like this second team if our thoughts, desires and emotions are “united” in serving Jehovah. Let\’s remember that Satan would love to divide our hearts. She wants us to have an internal struggle between what we know Jehovah wants us to do and our bad desires.

18. In harmony with Micah 4: 5, what are you determined to do?

Let us strive to put this prayer into practice. May the decisions we make each day, from the smallest to the largest, show that we have deep respect for the holy name of God. If we do so, we will be worthy of the name we bear as Jehovah\’s Witnesses.

 WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 What are some reasons for having deep respect for Jehovah\’s name?

Meditate on what he has done and what he has helped us to do, meditate on all that he has created and on what he has made us become to fulfill his will.

Also think about Jehovah\’s name and the kind of person He is, his qualities, including power, wisdom, justice and love.

How can we help students to love God\’s name?

Helping them to understand that Jehovah has given us laws and regulations why he loves us. We could ask, “Why do you think God asks us to do or not do this? What does that teach you about him? If we help them to think about Jehovah, they will not only love his laws, but they will also love him and in this way their faith will become stronger and they will be able to withstand more difficult trials

What does it mean to have a united heart?

It means to serve with a “complete heart”, it means to serve with a heart whose motives have only one direction, it is to serve with a heart that is not irresolute, nor double. And that our thoughts, desires and emotions are focused in one direction, serving Jehovah.

“Let Your Name Be Sanctified”

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines



STUDY ARTICLE 23

“Let Your Name Be Sanctified”

“O Jehovah, your name endures forever.”​—PS. 135:13.
SONG 10 Praise Jehovah Our God!
PREVIEW*

1-2. What subjects fascinate Jehovah’s Witnesses?
The issues can be various, but among the most important are the sovereignty of God and the sanctification of his Name, because these two issues deserve our respect and attention.
Talking about these issues should be paramount for every Christian because of the importance for us to cleanse Jehovah\’s name of all the shame that Satan has cast against him and to demonstrate by our conduct that Jehovah\’s way of ruling is the best.
3. What does the name Jehovah include?
3  Jehovah\’s name encompasses everything that has to do with our God, including also the way in which he rules and exercises his authority as sovereign in the universe.

ANSWERS BASED ON THE BOX
The box talks about how the question of the sanctification of Jehovah\’s name can be separated into two questions; Is Jehovah really the best Sovereign or Ruler we can have? And will there be intelligent beings who are upright, that is, who loyally defend the holy name of God and serve him out of love? Answering these questions will strengthen our conviction to help restore and defend the sanctification of Jehovah\’s name.
We all have a vitally important issue before us: the sanctification of Jehovah\’s name (Ezek. 36:23; Matt. 6: 9). Is he who bears the name Jehovah really holy, good, just, and loving in all he does? This issue is multi-faceted. Since Satan led a rebellion against God\’s authority, this question must be answered: Is Jehovah really the best Sovereign or Ruler we can have? And since Adam, Eve, many of their descendants and even some angels joined the rebellion, this other question must be answered: Will there be intelligent beings who are of integrity, that is, who faithfully defend the holy name of God and serve him out of love? This last facet took on special relevance in the time of Job (Job 2: 3, 4; 27: 5).—See the box “Facets of a Great Issue.

4. How does Psalm 135:13 describe God’s name, and what questions will we answer in this article?
4   According to the text, reading the name of God lasts forever, that is, it is unique and special.  Human beings are of interest and importance to our name and the reputation it has in others. If this is so between simple human beings, it is certainly more true in relation to the Creator of the universe. Just as Jehovah at the time decided to make his name known to human beings, now he wants us to know it deeply and to know how we can contribute to its sanctification.


4. b) What questions will we answer in this article?

In this article we will analyze, what makes it so important? What was the first attack that was launched against this name? What does God do to sanctify it? And how can we help defend it?

THE IMPORTANCE OF A NAME

5. What might we wonder about when considering the sanctifying of God’s name?
5   Because the word sanctify means to make something holy, clean or pure, we can ask ourselves the question: Is Jehovah\’s name not holy, clean and pure? and Why is it necessary to sanctify it?
Something that will help us understand why the name of Jehovah if it is holy needs to be sanctified is the following example. Let\’s think of an edible product, this is a good product, a quality product. However, the competition begins to get false news arguing that this product is harmful to health. Although the product is not harmful to health, what you need to do is go out and defend the quality of this product in front of all the people who heard and believed the lies. In the same way the name of God although it is holy, needs to be sanctified and defended in front of all the people who have heard or believed the lies that Satan the devil has spread. This will be explained in more detail later in the article.

6. What makes a name valuable?
6  A name is more than just a bunch of letters or a mixture of sounds. Include what others think about the person with that name, that is, their reputation.
A good name, or a good reputation, is so valuable that in some countries it is legally protected against slander. This reminds us of an old saying: “A name is to be chosen rather than abundant riches; favor is better than silver and gold ”.
There is no doubt that Jehovah God put in man the desire to name things. In the creation story, one of the first things Adam is reported to have done was to name the animals.
In the times of the Israelites, names were not just labels, names had meaning. For example, Isaac\’s name meant “Laughter,” which was reminiscent of the laughter that occurred between his elderly parents when they originally heard that they were to have a child. Esau\’s name meant \”Hairy,\” and it described a physical characteristic.
Even today we follow the custom of giving names to people and it would be difficult to imagine how we could live without names.
We can conclude that names are important to God, and he put in man the desire to identify people and things by names. But above any other name, the one that should matter most to us is that of our Great God Jehovah

7. How have people attacked God’s name?
7   Since the beginning of creation in the Garden of Eden, humans and spirit beings have attempted to taint Jehovah\’s name by attacking his reputation. People attack God\’s name by telling lies about him, thus attacking his reputation and therefore also staining his Name

HOW THE NAME WAS FIRST SLANDERED

8. What did Adam and Eve know, and what questions arise?
8    By looking around and seeing the beautiful garden in which they lived and the perfect match that Jehovah had given them, Adam and Eve could come to know for themselves the beautiful qualities of Jehovah, that is, they could come to know everything that was encompassed the name of Jehovah.
Adam and Eve knew the name of Jehovah and also other truths that are very important about him, such as that he was the creator and that he gave them life, as well as a beautiful paradise in which to live and a perfect match.
Without a doubt Adam and Eve were able to know the personality of Jehovah God first hand. From what they saw in their own remarkably adaptable bodies, for each new animal, each different plant, flower, and tree, and each field and forest that man saw, they had every reason to admire Jehovah\’s wisdom and come to know everything. what his name implied. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18)

8. b) What questions arise?
Two questions arise: first, would they continue to meditate on all that Jehovah had done for them, second, would they continue to strengthen the love and gratitude they felt for him?

9. According to Genesis 2:16, 17 and 3:1-5, what did Jehovah tell the first couple, and how did Satan twist the truth?
According to the texts read, Jehovah told Adam and Eve that they could eat from all the trees in the garden except for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, because the day they ate it they were going to die, however satan distorted the truth by ask him a question that questioned Jehovah\’s generosity.
When Satan approached Eve through the serpent\’s words, he was challenging Jehovah, implying that Jehovah was withholding something from the woman without any rights. With this he made Eve believe that she would be free and independent of God. Thus this evil celestial creature rose above God in the eyes of Eve and became her god. With his actions he placed man and woman under his leadership and control.
With this command that God gave Adam, he was not taking away their freedom to do whatever they wanted, that is, he was not taking away their free will. Having the right to decide what one wants to do is not the same as having the right to decide what is right and what is wrong. Adam and Eve were free to decide whether or not to obey God. However, only Jehovah has the right to decide what is right and what is wrong. This is what \”the tree of the knowledge of good and bad\” that was in the garden of Eden symbolized.
Satan threw a poisoned question full of lies to Eve: \”Did God really tell you that you can\’t eat from all the trees in the garden?\” With this he implied that God was not generous. And so he managed to sow doubts in Eve because she wondered if God was denying her something good. (Gen. 2:9) 

10. How did Satan directly slander God’s name, and with what effect?
10  Satan directly launched a slander against the name of God, because with what he said he implied that Jehovah was a liar as a result satan became the devil and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit that he had forbidden, and then also giving it to Adam.
From before this event in the garden of Eden, Satan\’s heart was completely estranged from its Creator, since his words constituted a clear contradiction of what God had said and a slander against Him. He did not accuse God of having been unconsciously wrong, but to deliberately misrepresent things at your convenience. With the words: \”By no means will they die\”, he managed to make Eve forget the clear rules of God which she knew very well and instead believe in the lies of the devil. (1 Tim. 2:14) 
Satan\’s lies led Eve to disobey God and eat the fruit that He had forbidden her. Then she gave Adam the fruit, so Satan made the first human beings disobedient to their creator.
satan got Eve to focus her attention on the tree and the fruit, and not on her relationship with her heavenly Father, who had given her everything she had. Sadly, Eve ate the fruit, thus demonstrating that Jehovah was not the most important being in her life.—Gen. 3:6.

11. What could our first parents have done, but what did they fail to do?
11   Adam and Eve could have shown love, loyalty and obedience in defending Jehovah\’s name, no doubt Jehovah would have rejoiced.
They must have defended Jehovah\’s name. They could have said something like the following: “How dare you speak ill of him? Leave me alone!\”. With these words, Adam and Eve would have shown loyal love for their creator, and Jehovah would have been delighted to hear them defend her against Satan.
He must have reacted with complete disgust and righteous indignation at questioning God\’s law. Eve should never have looked at the tree as something desirable, instead she should have seen the opportunity she had in front of her to show that even though we are human beings we can rejoice our Creator, because because of the love we have for him we can resist his trials and temptations.
Taking an example, how would we feel if a loved one we trust, a stranger accused of having lied to us? It would certainly annoy us so much that we would respond in an authoritative way. Eva\’s reaction should have been similar but it wasn\’t. After all, who was the serpent to question the justice of God and the word of her husband? She was nobody, Jehovah had given them everything, instead this snake was a simple stranger and her word had no value. As a lesson we are left with that we must always pay attention to who or what we are listening to and whether this is positive or negative for our relationship with Jehovah.
As if that were not enough, Eva, apart from paying attention to a complete stranger who spoke negative things about her Creator, also ignored the principle of headship. Eve should have consulted with Adam before making any decisions. (Prov. 27:11).

12. How did Satan sow doubts in the mind of Eve, and what did Adam and Eve fail to do?
12   By attacking Jehovah\’s reputation, satan wanted to make Eve doubt that Jehovah was a good Father. A good father always wants the best for his children so when satan told Eve that her Father was lying to her at his convenience, Eve began to trust more in the words of a serpent and allowed sin to be born in her heart and in your mind.
Adam and Eve did not defend Jehovah\’s name, rather Eve made herself the first human idolater by lusting after the forbidden fruit, and this wrong desire led her to disobey God\’s command. Adam also became guilty of idolatry by allowing a selfish desire to rival his love for Jehovah and subsequently disobeying the Creator.
We must all be very alert to the tactics that satan uses to make us doubt, among these are discouragement, the occult, adultery, fornication, selfishness and many more. Unlike Eva, we must remain alert and vigilant of the possible places where we can be more vulnerable, be it work, school or non-believing family members.
As a conclusion to this subtopic we can highlight an important lesson. Any pretense of independence from Jehovah God is sheer folly; But those who have true wisdom put their faith in Jehovah and his Word, and do not trust their own knowledge. We must continue to strive to defend from others, and from our own inclination to sin, the great name of our God Jehovah.

JEHOVAH SANCTIFIES HIS NAME

13. How does Ezekiel 36:23 highlight the core message of the Bible?
13  It highlights the main message by mentioning that Jehovah\’s intention is to sanctify his name because of being desecrated, in fact, the main message of the Bible can be summarized this way, through the Kingdom in the hands of his son Jehovah sanctifies his name and restore peace and justice to the land. (Gen. 3:15)
The central theme of the Bible revolves around the Kingdom of God and how this government will cleanse the name of the Almighty. In fact, the book of Ezekiel underlines this idea by mentioning 4 times the expression: \”The nations will have to know that I am Jehovah.\” Mankind will be left with no alternative: they will simply “have to know” that he is Jehovah. In other words, the actions that God is going to take will force all nations to recognize that he is who he claims to be: Jehovah, the Sovereign Lord whose name represents all that is holy, pure, and clean.​—Read Ezekiel 36:23.
14. How has Jehovah’s response to the rebellion in Eden sanctified his name?
14  Jehovah could have ended the rebellion of the garden at that moment, because as we know he is an almighty God, however he did not do it and that is how he has sanctified his name by handling the situation with wisdom, patience and justice and above all by giving clear evidence of his immense love.
Jehovah knew and knows that he has to respond to Satan\’s rebellion, but he has not been carried away by emotions. You have reacted in a calculated and very appropriate way. He has been \”slow to anger\” and has handled Satan\’s rebellion fairly. Why? Because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but \”everyone to achieve repentance.\” A sign of the great love that Jehovah has for humanity as he continues to give time to all those who have fallen victim to the lies of Satan (Ps. 78:40).
Jehovah\’s example teaches us that we should not make decisions in a hurry, but rather measure words and think carefully before doing or saying something. When we have to decide on an important matter, let us take the time to think and ask Jehovah for wisdom to do or say the right thing. If we act while upset, emotions are likely to control us. That is why many of us regret having said or done something without thinking. (1 John 4:8) 


Satan lied to Eve about Jehovah, and over the centuries the Devil has continued to slander God (See paragraphs 9-10, 15)*
15. How is Satan slandering God’s name today, and with what effect?
15   Satan continues to slander the name of Jehovah by trying to make people doubt the power of justice, wisdom and love of God and as a result we have, that there are people who do not believe in Jehovah and if they do believe that his standards are unfair and restrictive, even the idea is promoted that Jehovah is a cruel God who burns people in hell.
Satan, the master of deception, \”has blinded the minds of unbelievers.\” For thousands of years he has succeeded in shaping the minds of most people to adopt the attitudes and opinions that he promotes. To the point where \”the whole world is under his power\” because those who believe his calumnies reject Jehovah\’s just authority.
Even satan not only tries to confuse people who do not yet know Jehovah, he also tries to confuse us who already have knowledge of him. Satan tries to sow in us ideas such as that God is so demanding that nothing that his servants do can satisfy him or that God does not care if we are good people. Let\’s completely reject those ideas and stay away from those who promote them.
We could practically say that the devil has been very successful in slandering the name of Jehovah since, as 1 John 5:19 says, \”The whole world is under the power of the evil one.\” And it is that in reality there are only two sides, to be with Jehovah or to be against him and only about 9 million people have sided with Jehovah and are striving to worship Jehovah and defend his name from the slanders of your enemy.

ILLUSTRATION
A snake curled up in a tree. Series of images. Eve offers Adam the forbidden fruit. A religious leader gives a sermon with a cross in one hand and a Bible in the other. Behind him are silhouettes of people burning in the middle of a fire. A teacher points to a diagram on human evolution with a skull in his hand. Satan lied to Eve about Jehovah, and throughout history he has continued to slander God.

YOUR ROLE IN THE GREAT ISSUE

16. What can you do that Adam and Eve failed to do?
16  Unlike Adam and Eve, we can defend the holiness of Jehovah, his justice and his love, in addition we also show that we want him to be our ruler and we make known to other people that his government is the only really just one and that it will bring peace and happiness to all his creation.
Today our God, Jehovah, is blasphemed in various ways. It is claimed that he does not exist, that he is part of a Trinity, that he haunts people forever in hell, that his attempts to convert the world are weak, that he does not care about mankind, etc. We demonstrate our loyalty to Jehovah when we come to his defense and prove that he does exist; that he is a wise, just, omnipotent and loving God; who has set a time for all matters, and who will eventually put an end to all evil and transform the earth into a paradise. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1) A practical way in which we can make this defense of Jehovah\’s name is through our example, if our conduct is good we will be demonstrating the positive effects that knowing Jehovah\’s name has.—Ps. 37:9, 37; 146:5, 6, 10.

17. How did Jesus make his Father’s name known?
17  Jesus could limit himself to making his father\’s name known only by using it, however he also did it by teaching how Jehovah really is, he helped people to know that Jehovah is reasonable, loving and compassionate patient, in addition he perfectly limited the qualities of his father in his daily life.
In John 17:26 when Jesus Christ expresses “I have made your name known to them” he did not refer only to the pronunciation of the divine name. A famous biblical commentator said the following: “The word name [in John 17] includes the attributes, or character of God. Jesus had made known his character, his law, his will, his plan of mercy. Or in other words, God had revealed to them. \” Thanks to this that Jesus Christ did here on earth, he was able to confidently say \”He who has seen me has seen the Father also\” (John 14: 9).—John 14:9.

18. How can we overturn lies and slander about Jehovah?
18   We do it by imitating Jesus as Jesus did, we must share what we know about Jehovah, thus releasing erroneous ideas that are had about him, and showing how loving and kind he is, it is also necessary to imitate Jehovah, we are imperfect But above all, we can strive to maintain integrity.
One way we can defend the sovereignty and name of our God Jehovah is through preaching. Through this we can eliminate false beliefs that satan has spread from Jehovah and spread the truths of our God Jehovah. When we strive to be good preachers of his message, we rejoice his heart and thwart the Devil\’s plans. (Eph. 5:1, 2)
Just as creation says a lot about Jehovah\’s name without uttering a word, our conduct can also help us defend Jehovah\’s sovereignty and name. If our daily conduct glorifies the God we worship, then we will help to overthrow the lies that satan has spread on Him and we will be like a lamp that from on high directs people to the safe haven offered by Jehovah.
The note refers to a clarification of beliefs. In the years 1965 and 1995 the Awake and Watchtower magazines had made it clear that it was wrong to ask in prayer for the vindication of Jehovah\’s name. However, a deeper study made the faithful and prudent slave see that this belief must change.—Job 27:5.





            We want to help our Bible students come to understand Jehovah’s kind, loving personality
            (See paragraphs 18-19)*

19. How does Isaiah 63:7 help us to see what the main purpose of our teaching should be?
19 According to this text the main objective is to sanctify the name of Jehovah, by talking about the attractive qualities of him and all the personality behind his name, this will lead people to love and be loyal to our father Jehovah.
As Isaiah 63: 7 says, we want to help good-hearted people to love and be loyal to our Father, and we will only achieve this by teaching them the attractive qualities and personality of our God Jehovah.
Many times when a politician is in the campaign, he not only talks about what he is going to do or the way he will govern or the laws that he will apply, but also talks about the person he is, his qualities and his actions past, because this shows a more complete picture of him, although many things they say are pure lies. However, we must do something similar in our Bible courses, we must talk to people not only about God\’s laws but also about his attractive qualities, in this way it will be more likely that people will come to love Jehovah and want to be loyal to him.

ILLUSTRATION
In the image we can see how a brother is spending time during his Bible study to teach the student the personality of Jehovah. We can see in the brother\’s face the joy that gives him the power to tell his student of such beautiful qualities. This is important as it will help the student to get a more vivid picture of Jehovah and see him as a real Being to love. (Read Isaiah 63:7.)
20. What will we consider in the following article?
20  In the next Article we will answer, How can we ensure that our conduct and our teaching honor God\’s name and help people to draw closer to him.

  • How do we know that the sanctification of Jehovah’s name is vitally important?
  • Because Jehovah\’s name encompasses many things, including his reputation and his way of ruling. And from the beginning of humanity to the present day the name of Jehovah or his reputation has been attacked, that is why talking about issues related to the sanctification of his name is as important to us as his servants.
    Because the name of Jehovah encompasses everything that has to do with our God including his way of ruling, therefore, if we say that the most important thing is to clear the name of God, we are also saying that we must show that the way of ruling of Jehovah is the best.
    We all know that Jehovah\’s name is unique and special, but Satan has stained God\’s personal name and reputation, he has launched lies and slanders against Jehovah and many people have believed them and rejected Jehovah\’s just authority, that is why it is important to sanctification of his name.

  • Why does something as holy as God’s name need to be sanctified?
  • Because of the lies that satan and his followers have spread about Jehovah\’s name. Due to these lies, many people have come to have a distorted idea about Jehovah, therefore it is necessary to sanctify Jehovah\’s name, so that as many people come to know the beautiful qualities of our God.

    Because satan began his attack on Jehovah\’s name, trying to get Eve to doubt that he was a good father, then he accused Jehovah of being a liar, which caused her and Adam to rebel against their father, and throughout human history He has continued to taint Jehovah\’s name by promoting his lies and ideas, but Jehovah our Holy God will not indefinitely tolerate this reproach and at Armageddon he will completely cleanse his Name before all creation.

  • What role can you play in sanctifying Jehovah’s name?
Jehovah has allowed us humans to help sanctify his name, that is why each of us has the opportunity to defend the truth, defend that Jehovah is holy, just, good and loving, and thus demonstrate that only He can rule us, because being the Creator only he can bring us true peace, happiness and justice.

Each of us has the opportunity to defend the Holy name of Jehovah, we do it by teaching people about the beautiful quality that Jehovah possesses and clarifying the misconceptions they have about him, also our actions and our integrity help to Sanctify your name.

SONG 2 Jehovah Is Your Name
What important issue is facing all intelligent creation? What makes that issue so vital, and what role do we play in settling it? Understanding the answers to those and related questions will help us to strengthen our relationship with Jehovah.
On occasion our publications have taught that Jehovah’s name does not need to be vindicated because no one has called into question his right to bear that name. However, a clarified understanding was presented at the 2017 annual meeting. The chairman stated: “Simply put, it’s not wrong to say that we pray for the vindication of Jehovah’s name because his reputation certainly needs to be exonerated.”​—See the January 2018 program on jw.org®. Look under LIBRARY > JW BROADCASTING®.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: The Devil slandered God, telling Eve that God is a liar. Over the centuries, Satan has promoted false ideas, such as the teaching that God is cruel and that He did not create humans.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: As he conducts a Bible study, a brother emphasizes God’s personality.

Show Your Appreciation for Unseen Treasures

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines


STUDY ARTICLE 22

Show Your Appreciation for Unseen Treasures

“Keep [your] eyes . . . on the things unseen. For the things seen are temporary, but the things unseen are everlasting.”​—2 COR. 4:18.
SONG 45 The Meditation of My Heart
PREVIEW*

1. What did Jesus say about heavenly treasures?

Jesus said that heavenly treasures are superior to material treasures found on earth, for this reason he encouraged everyone to accumulate heavenly treasures, as he explained that nothing and no one can destroy or steal these valuable treasures.

Matthew 6: 19-21 prompts us to consider what treasures are most valuable to us. The accumulation of treasures in heaven will make us have a good name before God and obtain his approval, this is a good investment because Jesus explained that no one can destroy or steal these treasures.

To get rich in a material sense you need to put a lot of effort and make certain sacrifices. The same is true of spiritual riches. This is what Jesus was referring to when he said: \”Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven\” (Matthew 6:20). And it is that spiritual riches do not accumulate by themselves. The simple fact of belonging to a religion does not automatically make a person spiritually rich, in the same way that no one becomes a millionaire just by having a bank account. To develop as a spiritual person, cultivate a close relationship with God, and abound in spiritual qualities, it takes time, determination, commitment, and sacrifice (Proverbs 2: 1-6).

2. a) What does Paul encourage us to do in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18?

He encourages us to keep an eye on the things that are not seen, this because, as Paul said, the things that are seen are temporary while those that are not seen are eternal.

Paul encourages us not to allow trouble, hardship, persecution, or any other kind of tribulation to cloud our sight of the blessings that await us. We must look beyond the circumstances of the moment and keep our eyes fixed on the Christian\’s happy outcome. This will help us renew our resolve daily to move forward in the fight.

2. b) What will we analyze in this article?

In this article we will analyze four invisible treasures that we already enjoy today, friendship with God, prayer, the help of the holy spirit and the support of Jehovah Jesus and the angels who give us in the ministry, we will also see how to show gratitude for these unseen treasures.

FRIENDSHIP WITH JEHOVAH

3. What is the most valuable invisible treasure, and what makes it possible?

The most valuable invisible treasure is friendship with Jehovah and what makes this possible was the sacrifice of Jesus, because it is thanks to this sacrifice even Jehovah was able to offer his friendship to humans who lived before the death of Jesus.

\”Intimacy with Jehovah belongs to those who fear him.\” What a privilege it is for us mere mortals to enjoy such an intimate friendship with Him. Let us never let our day-to-day occupations lead us to neglect communication with our heavenly Father. As Jehovah is our friend, he expects us to show him our trust and open our hearts by sharing our fears, desires and concerns.

The great Hindu treasure, which is for many experts the most valuable treasure found to date, was found in 2011 buried in the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, in southern India. The value of the treasure is certainly incalculable, but by some estimates it could comfortably exceed $ 22 billion. How much is friendship with Jehovah worth to us? Without a doubt, we could not put a price on it, what we can do is show day by day how much we value it.

4. Name some friends of God who lived before Jesus died.

Among the friends of God who lived before the death of Jesus are Abraham, Job and Daniel, these three characters stand out for their faith and extraordinary loyalty, in the cited texts we see how Jehovah also spoke about them, even so much is the friendship that He had with them, which he surely remembers even though they are already dead he has them in his memory, we can imagine the longing that Jehovah feels for the day to come when he resurrects his dear friends.

Abraham is an excellent example of a person with extraordinary faith. Jehovah continued to call him even 1000 years after his death his friend since to Jehovah he is alive in his memory.

Job is another good example. Although he was an imperfect man and surely with some defects, Jehovah gave him his confidence by mentioning that he was a man of integrity and upright before a meeting of angels, that is, perfect celestial beings.

Prophet Daniel served Jehovah faithfully for 80 years under unfavorable circumstances due to living in a foreign country surrounded by people who worshiped other gods. Even on one occasion when Daniel was very) old, the angels assured him 3 times that he was someone very valuable to God.

5. What steps must be taken to have “a close friendship” with Jehovah?

In Proverbs chapter 3 verse 32, we find one of these steps, it is to be an upright person, that is, we must maintain a behavior according to the will of Jehovah God, another step is to have faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, this wonderful gift that Jehovah gave us allow us to dedicate ourselves and be baptized.

Proverbs 3:32 urges us to realize that if we appreciate our relationship with Jehovah we will avoid actions that may hurt our brothers or Jehovah himself, that is why once we take the necessary steps, that is, we dedicate ourselves and are baptized we will be Christians with good behavior, patients understanding and compassionate as Jehovah\’s holy spirit will motivate us to act in a loving and benevolent way.

It is true that dedication and baptism are very important steps towards having a close friendship with Jehovah. But this is not the only thing we must do, it is also important to keep our faith strong and our conduct upright.

Also perhaps we could ask ourselves; Is my conduct and faith the same or stronger than when I dedicated myself and baptized Jehovah? Let us examine ourselves and continue to reject the crooked ways of this wicked and violent world, rather maintain a right course and strengthen our relationship with Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION

A sister stops with her bicycle on a hill by a lake to enjoy creation, it is a way in which we can show gratitude for treasures that are not seen.

6. How can we show gratitude for friendship with God?

We do it by imitating the faith of Abraham and Job, no matter how long we have been serving Jehovah in this world ruled by satan, we can also show gratitude by imitating Daniel who put friendship with Jehovah above his own life, because we must Keep in mind that with Jehovah\’s help we can endure any trial and thus maintain our friendship with him.

In this subtopic then we have seen the great value of being able to have a friendship with Jehovah. But of course this is not something automatic, it is something that must be cultivated. The examples of faithful servants of old are excellent starting points for us, too, to have and maintain a friendship with Jehovah. So if we are already dedicated and baptized servants, let us strive to maintain our friendship with Jehovah and strengthen it even more and, if we are not, let us still work to develop it.

A valuable treasure that remains buried in the ground serves no useful purpose. It differs little from a rock hidden by a layer of earth. But when someone owns and uses that treasure, that is where the value of a treasure truly increases. The invisible treasure of friendship with Jehovah is there, it is up to each one of us to take it and use it in a productive way, if we do not use it, no matter how valuable it is, it will not bring us any benefit and the only ones harmed will be us. Let us strive to tap into this valuable treasure of friendship with Jehovah.

THE GIFT OF PRAYER

7. a) According to Proverbs 15: 8, how does Jehovah view our prayers?

According to this text, Jehovah views our prayers with pleasure, because he loves us and cares for us, without a doubt there is no greater friendship than the one we can have with Jehovah.

True friends don\’t just talk to each other when they need something. They are interested in each other, and their friendship deepens when they express their feelings. In the same way, prayer does not serve only to ask for the necessary things. It gives us an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Jehovah by expressing our sincere devotion to him.

The privilege of prayer should never be taken lightly. It should not be reserved as a last resort, to be used only when all else has failed. Instead, prayer should be part of our daily life. Private prayer, family prayer, and congregation prayer will strengthen us in these difficult times. Speaking to God through prayer brings his peace, promotes the flow of his holy spirit, and helps us trust his blessings for an eternal future of life in his righteous new order.

7. b) How do you answer them?

He answers our prayers at the right time and in the best way, this means that there will be times when we will not receive the answer immediately or maybe the answer he gives us is not what we expected.

On some occasions we will not receive the answer we want for our prayer, because instead of freeing ourselves from a test, Jehovah gives us only the necessary strength to endure it, we should not feel bad for that, rather we must remember that Jehovah will never allow them to difficulties are greater than our ability to overcome them, He will always give us a way out to endure them.

The same sister is sitting in a cafeteria saying a prayer. At the next table is a woman with her son.

8. How can we show gratitude for the gift of prayer?

We can do this by following the words recorded in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17, praying constantly, since it is obvious that if someone gives us a gift we must use it, it is also necessary in all prayers to mention how grateful we are to Jehovah and praise him.

When praying we must not forget to give thanks and praise him. When can we do it? Perhaps when something we have read in his word, seeing his fascinating creation, or for the privilege of preaching the good news reaches our hearts. Jehovah has done fascinating things for us without our prompting, so we must continually show our appreciation. It is like when someone does something for us that helped us a lot and we thank him not once but several times, in the same way we should do that with Jehovah who has given us all the good we have.

ILLUSTRATION

The same sister is sitting in a cafeteria saying a prayer. At the next table is a woman with her son.

9. a) How does a brother named Chris see prayer?

For this brother, prayer is a way in which he can achieve tranquility, so much so that we can see how he enjoys this wonderful gift.

Brother Chris sees prayer as a wonderful gift. He loves to get up early to be able to pray quietly to Jehovah while he can see the first rays of the sun, it is born in him, to thank Jehovah for all his gifts and especially for the honor he has given him to be able to pray to him. Even at the end of his day he says a prayer for a peaceful sleep with a clear conscience.

9. b) How do you see the sentence?

I see it as a way in which I can unburden myself, in case of having any problems or difficulties, it makes me feel so special to be able to communicate with the creator of the universe and to know that he is willing to listen to me, without a doubt I enjoy telling him my joys and also my sorrows.

Personally, I try to make an effort to never see prayer as routine. I don\’t want to express words learned by heart. I want my prayer to have a true meaning. Sometimes I find myself with the dilemma that there are so many things that I have to say to God, but I know that he hears them no matter how long my prayers are, in them I can express to him how admired I am for his creation, the joys and sorrows of every day, the interest I feel for some people in the territory or even for some of my brothers who are going through problems. I also endeavor to ask that you continue to give guidance to the brothers of the governing body so that they can serve the interests of the kingdom here on earth. I always want to strive for my prayers to be spontaneous and from the heart.

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

10. Why should we value God\’s holy spirit so highly?

Because it comes from God and how we know Jehovah wants the best for us and with the help of his spirit we can endure any trial that comes our way, we see how important God\’s holy spirit is so important that even Jesus encouraged us to ask for it insistently.

Jehovah is the best father there is if we plead with him from our hearts for his holy spirit he will never deny us. Let us ask for his Holy Spirit to be able to resist in this world dominated by Satan, let us do everything we can to continue receiving this wonderful help from God.

ILLUSTRATION

The sister preaches with her phone to the woman and the child.

11. How can the holy spirit help us?

It can help us in the responsibilities we receive in our service from God, if we ask for holy spirit we can fulfill these obligations as best as possible, because this spirit can enhance our talents and abilities.

It helps us to fulfill our responsibilities in a good way in our service to God. The holy spirit enhances or enhances our talents and abilities to achieve good results in our worship of Jehovah.

A biblical example of how the holy spirit enhances our abilities is that of Bezalel and Oliab. These were two Israelites who had been slaves for their entire lives, yet Jehovah commissioned them to build the Tabernacle. How could they build such a magnificent work? Jehovah filled them with holy spirit and enhanced their abilities. The tabernacle of the tent of meeting served its purpose for 485 years, Jehovah\’s spirit had worked through them.

16. Who should take the credit when we do well in ministry?

Like Paul, whenever we do well in the ministry, we should give credit to Jehovah.

To reap good results in preaching, we need Jehovah\’s help. Keeping this in mind helps us to be humble and have a correct attitude in ministry. Although it is true that we preach and teach with determination, the credit for growth belongs to Jehovah, none of us can understand the process of spiritual growth of the people of the territory, much less control it.

17. How can we show that we appreciate the honor of partnering with God, Christ, and the angels?

Looking for opportunities to be able to talk about the good news with as many people as possible, this is why apart from participating in public preaching and from house to house, we can also do it informally, either in the place of study or work, as well as In the means of transport that we use, for this we must realize if the person is willing to speak and thus tactfully present the message of the Kingdom.

We show our gratitude to Jehovah, Jesus, and the angels by taking every opportunity to preach to people. For example by preaching from house to house, by letter, by telephone, in public preaching and even informal preaching. Whenever we find a person willing to speak we give him the message of the Kingdom.

18, 19. a) How do we water the seeds of truth?

We water the seeds of truth, by doing our best to cultivate people\’s interest in the Kingdom message and in the event that due to some inconvenience we cannot start a Bible course, we can ask someone else to help us get in touch with this person.

Jehovah has given us many tools to cultivate people\’s interest, we have the teaching kit, the Bible, the magazines, the brochures, the jw site. It is important that we use these tools as each of us has a responsibility to keep busy with the preaching every month.

ILLUSTRATION

A sister giving Bible classes to a woman she gave informal witness to in a coffee shop and we also see angels smiling as they watch them study the Bible.

18, 19. (b) How did Jehovah help a Bible student named Raphalalani?

It helped him when the student allowed Jehovah to shape his way of thinking, it helped him to cleanse his life and thus allow him to participate in the ministry as a Jehovah\’s Witness, Jehovah also helped him through the brothers who helped him find a job that was in accordance with biblical teachings.

Raphalalani was a South African healer taking Bible classes and he loved what he learned when he read in Deuteronomy 18: 10-12 what the Bible teaches about communicating with ancestors he left witchcraft and allowed God to shape his way of thinking. Witchcraft was his source of employment so he is grateful to the Jehovah\’s Witnesses because they helped him find a new job and he is more than grateful to Jehovah for helping him clean his life, now he preaches and is a baptized witness.

20. What are we determined to do?

We are determined to value more the unseen treasures, our friendship with Jehovah, prayer, holy spirit and the support we receive from heaven in the ministry, also we will never stop thanking Jehovah for being a wonderful friend.

We are determined to value these treasures more and more, that is; being friends of Jehovah, prayer and the help of the holy spirit, as well as heavenly support in our ministry and we will never stop thanking Jehovah for being such a wonderful friend.

HOW CAN WE SHOW GRATITUDE FOR THESE TREASURES THAT ARE NOT SEEN?

The honor of praying.

We can do this by following the words recorded in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17, praying constantly, since it is obvious that if someone gives us a gift we must use it, it is also necessary in all prayers to mention how grateful we are to Jehovah and praise him .

We show gratitude for the gift of prayer When we make constant use of it, no one forces us to pray we do it because it is a way of being close to God. So we pray many times throughout the day to give thanks and praise him.

The help of the holy spirit.

We can do it by reflecting on what the holy spirit is achieving today, one of the things they are achieving is that with the support of this spirit, more than 8 and a half million people from all corners of the planet have decided to serve. To Jehovah, another of the things the holy spirit accomplished is to help us cultivate wonderful qualities.

Jehovah\’s holy spirit helps us fulfill our responsibility to serve Jehovah, empowering our talents and abilities. Jehovah helps us through his spirit.

The support we receive from heaven in ministry.

We can do it by looking for opportunities to be able to talk about the good news with as many people as possible, that is why apart from participating in public preaching and from house to house we can also do it informally and thus in the place of study or work, As well as in the means of transportation that we use for this, we must realize if the person is willing to speak and thus tactfully present the message of the Kingdom.

Every day we are looking for new opportunities to speak the good news to as many people as possible, we do it in different ways from house to house and in public. Whenever we find someone willing to listen to us, we talk about the Kingdom of God no matter where we are.

Do You Appreciate God-Given Gifts?

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines



STUDY ARTICLE 21
Do You Appreciate God-Given Gifts?
“How many things you have done, O Jehovah my God, your wonderful works and your thoughts toward us.”—PS. 40:5.

SONG 5 God’s Wondrous Works
PREVIEW*

1-2. According to Psalm 40:5, what gifts has Jehovah given us, and why will we consider them?
According to this text he has given us so many gifts that we would even have a hard time telling them, but we can mention three wonderful gifts, the land that is the place that has given us to live, the brain with which we have the ability to think and communicate and also the Bible.
The Psalm says that there are many works of the Lord and he has done them for our favor, which shows us that jehovah is very generous to us, this paragraph mentions three gifts he has given us, the earth a place to live, the brain with the ability to think and communicate, and the Bible that gives us the answers to the most important questions of life.
For as we ponder these three more gifts we will value them and more we would like to please our loving Father Jehovah, so that we can be more prepared to be able to help people who have been deceived with the false doctrine of evolution.
How we want to please our Creator who loves us, we want to fulfill the commission he has given us to help others know him, and in this study we will specifically discuss these 3 gifts which will help us be prepared to help people who believe in the doctrine of evolution.
Based on the crushing trials of creation, these evidences show that these gifts are a sign of the great love of our creator Jehovah, which encourages us to proclaim the four winds that the Lord created all things and therefore deserves our respect and admiration.

OUR UNIQUE PLANET

3. Why is the earth unique?
3 There are two reasons why planet earth is special, the first is that if we set out to observe how the Lord has created the earth, we will be able to perceive what is mentioned in Romans chapter 1 verse 20, its qualities its power and its divinity, this is certainly a great privilege, the second reason is because it is the only planet that has the necessary conditions for human beings to live.
In Romans 1:20 we see a fundamental truth, the invisible qualities of the Lord are clearly seen in creation, for example love, the Lord created the earth with the perfect conditions for us to live there, it is the only planet with these characteristics that makes this gift special, in the course of the magazine we will analyze how his wisdom is manifested in the design and sustainability of this beautiful planet.

4. Why can we say that the earth is better than any man-made boat?
4  For example if we compare the earth with a ship, we can observe a little more in detail the wisdom of God, because while a ship is not able to produce its own oxygen, food and water, planet earth can provide us with these resources that are essential for life, in addition Jehovah designed the land with recycling systems that renew its resources as are the oxygen cycle and the water cycle.
The world\’s longest cruiser on a 245-day journey with a maximum of just over 8000 passengers and crew members, of course does not supply their own resources, we can imagine the magnitude of Jehovah who created a planet that has been self-sustaining for thousands of years, to build this ship requires well-prepared engineers to design a ship that can only recycle and acquire its resources, there is no doubt of the immense wisdom of our God Jehovah who designed a planet perfectly for human life that produces and recycles all the supplies necessary for our survival.

5. What is the oxygen cycle, and what does it confirm?
5 Oxygen: This cycle is the circulation of oxygen inside and on the surface of the earth, which in short becomes the absorption of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide or vice versa.
It is estimated that every year we occupy one hundred billion tons of oxygen, despite this the oxygen does not end since Jehovah created the cycle of oxygen with which carbon dioxide is transformed into oxygen, we notice the great wisdom of the Jehovah because thanks to this cycle we never worry about how much oxygen the Lord gave us hands full to breathe as much oxygen as we want.

6. What is the water cycle, and what does it prove? (See also the box “Jehovah’s Gift of the Water Cycle.”)
6 Water: It consists of the evaporation of water from the oceans and the Earth\’s surface, this evaporation ends in the formation of clouds. These clouds contain water that will later fall in the form of rain or snow.
It all starts with the perfect distance, the earth is close enough to the sun to heat the earth and evaporate the surface of the water, it transforms into clouds and about 10 days later, by rain, the water returns to seas, rivers, lakes or any accumulation of water…
This highly effective and sustainable cycle certainly shows that Jehovah is wise and powerful, since this cycle is something truly amazing.
This also demonstrates its great power since for the water cycle to exist Jehovah had to manipulate visible and invisible objects such as the sun, the planet Earth and other planets, as well as objects that we do not see such as oxygen or gravity. There is no doubt that meditating on the water cycle helps us increase our trust in Jehovah.
The water cycle is a gift from Jehovah
FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS
Thanks to the rain, the plants grow and give us food. And most of them produce flowers, which we like so much.
BEAUTY
Rivers, lakes and waterfalls beautify the planet and make life more enjoyable.
OTHER BENEFITS
For example, evaporation of sea water produces salt.
IN DAY TO DAY
We drink water and use it to prepare other drinks, such as lemonade, coffee or tea. And we also use water for cooking, cleaning and showering.

Jehovah’s Gift of the Water Cycle
•
FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS
Rain makes plants grow, giving us food to eat. Most plants also produce flowers for our enjoyment
•
BEAUTY AND ENJOYMENT
Rivers, lakes, and waterfalls beautify the earth and bring us enjoyment
•
OTHER BENEFITS
The water cycle has other benefits. For instance, the evaporation of seawater produces salt
•
DAILY USE
We drink water and use it to make other drinks, such as lemonade, coffee, and tea. We also use water for cooking, cleaning, and bathing

7. What are some ways that we can show appreciation for the gift described at Psalm 115:16?
7 We do this by meditating on what Jehovah has created, obviously it is also necessary to tell Jehovah how grateful we are for the good he gives us, also another way to show appreciation is to keep the piece of land in which we live as clean as possible
Jehovah went out of his way to give us a home, as we have analyzed it is not just any home because our planet not only meets our needs, he also made an effort to make us enjoy it, we have a great variety of food seen etc. The best thing is that we don\’t even worry about this since it is self-sustaining, the least we could do is take care of it and keep our piece of Earth clean.

OUR UNIQUE BRAIN

8. Why can we say that our brain is a marvel of engineering?
8 Because despite its small size, an adult brain has approximately 100 billion neurons, and each nerve cell spreads thousands of connective fibers to establish contact with other nerve cells in the brain.
To get an idea of how many neurons we have in our brain we can take the world population as a reference, it is calculated that approximately we are 7,760,000,000 (seven thousand seven hundred and sixty million) humans on the planet, if an adult brain can house 100 billion neurons, Our brain houses more than 12 times the world population of people on earth. And all that only in an organ that only weighs 1.5 kg. Such a work could not have been entrusted to any beginner, much less to chance, it is undoubtedly the work of the greatest engineer in the universe.

9. What proves to you that our ability to speak is a gift from God?
9 Our ability to speak: What convinces that this gift comes from God are the recorded words Exodus chapter 4 verse 11, because only he has the ability for someone to speak or stop doing it, since the fact that in order to pronounce a single word, the brain has To coordinate the movements of the muscles of the tongue, the throat, the lips, the jaw and the chest, is that without good coordination, our words would not be easy to understand.
Seeing all the work of our body when speaking we can not think that everything happens by chance, it is as if an orchestra could be coordinated just by reading the notes, of course not, they require a conductor, in the same way someone was aware that our brain could move chest, jaw, tongue etc. in a coordinated way and Exodus 4:11 shows us that it was Jehovah.

10. How can we show that we appreciate the God-given gift of speech?
10 We do it by applying what is mentioned in Psalm chapter 9 verse 1, because it tells us to praise Jehovah and proclaim his wonderful works, we show appreciation if we take advantage of this wonderful gift of God to teach other people what his word the bible indicates. , since it is necessary to use it to indicate and explain to others why we are convinced that he is the creator of heaven and earth.
1 Peter 3:15 gives us a spirited invitation, to defend our faith, today many try to hide the glory of Jehovah through theories such as evolution and many others that discard the idea of a creator, that\’s why in harmony with this verse of the Bible let\’s defend our faith by preaching.

11. What is one reason why our brain is amazing?
11 Our capacity to remember:  Another reason is for our memory, and it is even believed that it can store even more of the information that would fit in 20 million books.
We can imagine the times we use memory, such as when we wash our hands, prepare food, etc. And all that information is stored in our brain. Without a doubt, the capacity we have to remember and store information is surprising, the work of the greatest engineer in the entire universe.

12. How does our ability to learn moral lessons separate us from the animals?
12 Thanks to this ability we can learn and express values such as love, compassion, mercy and justice, we can also correct our way of thinking and acting, in fact we have a conscience that we can train to distinguish the good from the bad .
Just as some Corinthian Christians many of us dislike Jehovah before knowing his norms, as we learn more from the Bible we acquire the ability to discern whether our decision is good or not, this is how we train our conscience thanks to the moral lessons that we extract from the Bible.

13. In line with Psalm 77:11, 12, how should we use our gift of memory?
13 We can use it by remembering the times that Jehovah has helped and comforted us, if we do this our confidence that he will help us in the future will be present, another way to use this gift is to always remember the goodness of other people, let\’s imitate the example of Although Jehovah has a perfect memory, he decides to forget our mistakes and forgive us.
It is also good to remember what others have done for our good, of course our imperfection makes us remember negative things more, but if we want to use our memory in the right way, that is why we will imitate our beloved God Jehovah who forgets our sins when we repent.

We show appreciation for the gift of our brain by using it to honor Jehovah (See paragraph 14)*

14. How can we show appreciation for the marvelous gift of our brain?
14 We do this by honoring Jehovah, recognizing that the standards and advice that he gives us will certainly benefit us, because if, as mentioned in Isaiah chapter 48 verse 18, we will enjoy true peace.
We can follow your advice. In Isaiah 48: 17,18 he shows us that they are for our own benefit, but they also serve to honor him, when we meditate on all that he has given us with our brain, all that we can achieve, there is no doubt that it is thanks to his loving kindness, so let\’s not be selfish and try to use our brains for our own benefit, let\’s think about showing Jehovah our gratitude by using it to be loyal and obedient to Him.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: There is no doubt that the human brain is extraordinary. But we must be careful with the great power it exercises over us. For example, consider the therapeutic effect of placebo. From the 18th century to date, some doctors have resorted to prescribing pills without curative action when they do not have any suitable medicine. Their intention is not always to deceive the patient, but to try to encourage in him a natural healing process driven by the mind. In some cases it is known that some people get cured of their diseases thanks to the convincing power that the placebo generates in their brain. If the brain is capable of this we must be careful not to fill our brain with things that can weaken us spiritually because if our brain is spiritually weak our entire body will also be weak.
ILLUSTRATION
In the picture we can see a sister learning the Hindi language, with the help of some cards and a book, and then the sister preaches to an Indian woman in the market using the Good News brochure, in this way our sister shows her appreciation for the wonderful gift that is our brain, for it is using it to honor Jehovah.

THE BIBLE—A UNIQUE GIFT

15. How does the gift of the Bible reflect Jehovah’s love for mankind?
15 It reflects this love by finding wise advice and answers to important questions such as Where do we come from? What is the meaning of life? and What will happen in the future ?, because all these we find in her word the bible.
The more than 7,760 million people who live in the world are important to Jehovah, that is why he has blessed the work of translating his word the Bible, currently it is available in more than 3000 languages, either in whole or in parts, although this covers approximately 90% of the human population continues to redouble their efforts so that this wonderful gift of Jehovah can be reached more people.
The Bible is translated into African languages
By 1800, the Bible — complete or in part — was available in some seventy languages, but very few of them were African. At that time, the Bantu languages did not have a writing system. But everything changed when people like William Boyce, a Methodist missionary from England, went to Africa and lived with people who spoke unwritten languages. Boyce contributed to the creation of a writing system for Xhosa, and with the collaboration of others he translated the Gospel of Luke into that language. This Gospel, which was published in 1833, contains the name of God in the same places where it now appears in the New World Translation. Furthermore, Boyce deciphered the complex grammatical norms not only of the Xhosa language, but also of all the Bantu languages. This opened the way for the Bible to be translated into many African languages. Today, the Bible can be read, in whole or in part, in over a thousand African languages. It is clear that Jehovah wants people of all nations to receive this gift (Acts 10:35).
ILLUSTRATION
Sisters and a brother with the newly published Xhosa Translation of the New World in their hands.
In 2019, the New World Translation was presented in xhosa, one of the more than one hundred and eighty languages in which this translation is available, in whole or in part.

Making the Bible Available in African Languages
By the year 1800, printed copies of the Bible in whole or in part were available in some 70 languages, but very few of those languages were spoken in Africa. At the time, the African Bantu languages did not have a written form. Things changed when individuals, such as William Boyce from England, went to Africa and lived with people who spoke unwritten languages. Boyce helped to develop a written form of Xhosa, and he, along with others, translated the Gospel of Luke into that language. Published in 1833, this Gospel contained God’s name in all the same places that it now appears in the New World Translation. Boyce also discovered the key to the complex grammatical rules that govern not only the Xhosa language but also the complete Bantu-language family. This opened the way for translators to produce the Bible in many other African languages. Today, the Bible or portions of it are available in over 1,000 African languages. Clearly, Jehovah wants people from every nation to have this gift!—Acts 10:35.

In 2019 the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released in Xhosa—one of the over 180 languages in which this translation is now available in whole or in part

16. Based on Matthew 28:19, 20, how can we prove that we appreciate the Bible?
16 According to the quoted text we can show appreciation by taking the message of the Bible to as many people as possible and according to the paragraph, another way to show appreciation is to use it and we do it by reading it every day, meditating on what it teaches and strive to put into practice what we learn.
Let\’s imagine that we see a person in need and we give them food that will help them to have better health, we would really feel very bad if they accept it but don\’t eat it, let\’s not make Jehovah feel bad, on the contrary we show gratitude for his wonderful gift that is The Bible, one of the best ways is taking advantage of this spiritual food with daily reading, if we do it we will be like the trees described in Psalms 1: 3, healthy trees that are planted near the waters and bear their fruit at the appropriate time.

17. What kind of gifts have we considered in this article, and what will be discussed in the next article?
17 In this article we have talked about three gifts from God, our home the earth, our amazing brain and his inspired word the bible and in the next article we will discuss some other gifts from Jehovah that have something unique, they are invisible.

HOW CAN WE SHOW THAT WE APPRECIATE…..

The Earth?
We do this by meditating on what Jehovah has obviously created.It is also necessary to tell Jehovah how grateful we are for how good he gives us.Another way to show appreciation is to keep the piece of land in which we live as clean as possible.
It can be in 2 ways:
Defending Jehovah from theories such as evolution and many that discard the idea of a creator and use the same creation to highlight its invisible qualities.
Taking care of our space in which we live as well as keeping it clean, Jehovah created everything beautiful, let us help keep it looking like this

Our Brain?
We do this to honor Jehovah, recognizing that the standards and advice that he gives us will certainly benefit us, because as mentioned in Isaiah 48:18, we will enjoy true peace.
We can show our gratitude by using it the right way, studying moral lessons that will be in our memory when facing some test, also using the skills of speech to declare the glory of Jehovah to all others.

The Bible?
We do it by taking the message of the Bible to as many people as possible, also by using it, and we do it by reading it every day, meditating on what it teaches us and striving to put into practice what we learn.
This gift from Jehovah, unlike the other two, offers us eternal rewards. If we study it deeply, we put into practice what we learn and foster a love for Jehovah based on this study and knowledge, we can enjoy a great friendship with Jehovah and eternal life.

SONG 12 Great God, Jehovah

This article will build our appreciation for Jehovah and for three of the gifts that he has given us. It will also help us to reason with those who doubt that God exists.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: A sister is learning a foreign language in order to teach immigrants the truths of God’s Word.

Visit jw.org Official WEB 

Do You Appreciate God-Given Gifts? – Study Article

Leave a reply

                                           Awake!

                                          Watchtower 

                                          Publications

                                          Magazines



STUDY ARTICLE 21

Do You Appreciate God-Given Gifts?

“How many things you have done, O Jehovah my God, your wonderful works and your thoughts toward us.”​—PS. 40:5.
SONG 5 God’s Wondrous Works
PREVIEW*
1-2. According to Psalm 40:5, what gifts has Jehovah given us, and why will we consider them?
JEHOVAH is a generous God. Think of some of the gifts he has given us: our beautiful and unique home, the earth; our marvelously designed brain; and his precious Word, the Bible. By means of these three gifts, Jehovah has given us a place to live, he has granted us the ability to think and communicate, and he has answered the most important questions we could ask.​—Read Psalm 40:5.
2 In this article, we will briefly consider those three gifts. The more we meditate on them, the more we will appreciate them and the stronger our desire will be to please our loving Creator, Jehovah. (Rev. 4:11) We will also be better equipped to help those who have been misled by the false doctrine of evolution.

OUR UNIQUE PLANET

3. Why is the earth unique?
3 God’s wisdom is clearly seen in the way he constructed our home, the earth. (Rom. 1:20; Heb. 3:4) Ours is not the only planet to orbit the sun, but the earth is unique because it has all the right conditions to sustain human life.
4. Why can we say that the earth is better than any man-made boat?
4 In some respects, the earth is like a boat floating in the vast ocean of space. But there are key differences between a man-made boat, full of people, and our earth. For example, how long would the occupants of a literal boat survive if they had to produce their own oxygen, food, and water and if they could not throw any waste products overboard? The people in that boat would soon die. In contrast, the earth supports billions of living creatures. It produces all the oxygen, food, and water we need, and we do not run out of those vital supplies. Its waste products are not ejected into space; yet, the earth remains beautiful and habitable. How is that possible? Jehovah designed the earth with the ability to recycle resources. We will briefly look at two of these brilliantly designed cycles, the oxygen cycle and the water cycle.
5. What is the oxygen cycle, and what does it confirm?
5 Oxygen is a life-sustaining gas that is used by some living things, including us. It has been estimated that living creatures breathe in a hundred billion tons of oxygen in a year. These same creatures breathe out a waste product called carbon dioxide. Yet, these living creatures never consume all the oxygen, and the atmosphere never becomes choked with the “waste” gas, carbon dioxide. Why not? Because Jehovah also created organisms​—from large trees to tiny algae—​that take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. In a very literal way, the oxygen cycle confirms the words recorded at Acts 17:24, 25: “God . . . gives to all people life and breath.”
6. What is the water cycle, and what does it prove? (See also the box “Jehovah’s Gift of the Water Cycle.”)
6 Water in liquid form exists on earth because our planet is located at the perfect distance from the sun. If it were just a little closer, all the water would boil off, leaving a hot, lifeless rock. If the earth were just a little farther from the sun, all the water would freeze, turning the earth into a giant ball of ice. Because Jehovah placed the earth at this ideal location, the earth’s water cycle can sustain life. The sun heats water in the oceans and on the earth’s surface and evaporates the water to form clouds. Each year, the sun evaporates nearly 120,000 cubic miles (500,000 cu km) of water. This water stays in the atmosphere for about ten days before falling as rain or snow. The water eventually makes its way back to the oceans or other bodies of water, and the cycle is repeated. This efficient, sustainable cycle proves that Jehovah is both wise and powerful.​—Job 36:27, 28; Eccl. 1:7.
7. What are some ways that we can show appreciation for the gift described at Psalm 115:16?
7 How can we develop appreciation for our amazing planet and all that it supplies? (Read Psalm 115:16.) One way is by meditating on the things Jehovah has made. That will motivate us to thank Jehovah each day for the good things he gives us. And we show that we appreciate the earth by keeping the part of it where we live as clean as possible.

OUR UNIQUE BRAIN

8. Why can we say that our brain is a marvel of engineering?
8 The human brain is a marvel of engineering. When you were in your mother’s womb, your brain was built according to a preset plan, and thousands of new brain cells were constructed every minute! Researchers estimate that an adult’s brain contains close to 100 billion special cells called neurons. These cells have been efficiently assembled into a package that weighs about 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg). Consider just a few of the brain’s amazing abilities.
9. What proves to you that our ability to speak is a gift from God?
9 Our ability to speak is a miracle. Think for a moment about the mechanics of speaking. With each word you say, your brain has to coordinate the movement of some 100 muscles in your tongue, throat, lips, jaw, and chest. All those muscles have to move according to precise timing if the words are to be understood. Regarding the ability to speak languages, a study published in 2019 showed that newborn babies can pick out individual words. This finding reinforces what many researchers believe​—that we are born with the ability to recognize and learn languages. Certainly, our ability to speak is a gift from God.​—Ex. 4:11.
10. How can we show that we appreciate the God-given gift of speech?
10 One way we can show that we appreciate our gift of speech is by explaining our belief in God to those who wonder why we do not accept the teaching of evolution. (Ps. 9:1; 1 Pet. 3:15) Those who promote that doctrine would have us believe that the earth and all life on it came about by accident. Using the Bible and some of the points we discussed in this article, we can defend our heavenly Father and explain to those who are willing to listen why we are convinced that Jehovah is the Creator of heaven and earth.​—Ps. 102:25; Isa. 40:25, 26.
11. What is one reason why our brain is amazing?
11 Our capacity to remember is amazing. In the past, one author estimated that the human brain has the ability to remember information that would fill the equivalent of 20 million books. Now, however, it is thought that our memory capacity is much larger. What unique ability do humans have?
12. How does our ability to learn moral lessons separate us from the animals?
12 Among all the creatures on earth, only humans have the ability to learn moral lessons by remembering and analyzing past events. As a result, we can adopt better values and change our way of thinking and living. (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Col. 3:9, 10) In fact, we can train our conscience to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Heb. 5:14) We can learn to show love, compassion, and mercy. And we can develop a healthy sense of justice.
13. In line with Psalm 77:11, 12, how should we use our gift of memory?
13 One way we prove that we appreciate the gift of memory is by choosing to remember all the times that Jehovah has helped and comforted us in the past. This will build our confidence that he will also help us in the future. (Read Psalm 77:11, 12; 78:4, 7) Another way is by remembering the good things that other people do for us and being grateful for what they do. Researchers have found that people who are grateful are more likely to be happy. We also do well to imitate Jehovah regarding the things he chooses to forget. For example, Jehovah has a perfect memory, but if we are repentant, he chooses to forgive and forget the mistakes we make. (Ps. 25:7;130:3, 4) And he wants us to do the same for others when they are sorry for mistakes they make that hurt us.​—Matt. 6:14; Luke 17:3, 4.

We show appreciation for the gift of our brain by using it to honor Jehovah (See paragraph 14)*
14. How can we show appreciation for the marvelous gift of our brain?
14 We can show appreciation for the marvelous gift of our brain by using it to honor the One who gave it to us. Some choose to use their brain for selfish purposes​—to set their own standards of right and wrong. But because Jehovah created us, it is only reasonable to expect that his standards are better than any standards we could set for ourselves. (Rom. 12:1, 2) When we live by his standards, our life is peaceful. (Isa. 48:17, 18) And we gain a clear purpose for living​—to bring honor to our Creator and Father and make him proud of us.​—Prov. 27:11.

THE BIBLE​—A UNIQUE GIFT

15. How does the gift of the Bible reflect Jehovah’s love for mankind?
15 The Bible is a loving gift from God. Our heavenly Father inspired men to write it because he cares greatly for his earthly children. By means of the Bible, Jehovah answers the most important questions we could ask, such as: Where did we come from? What is the purpose of life? And what does the future hold? Jehovah wants all his children to learn the answers to those questions, so throughout the centuries he has moved men to translate the Bible into many languages. Today, the whole Bible or portions of it are available in over 3,000 languages! The Bible is the most widely translated and distributed book in history. No matter where people live or what language they speak, most have the opportunity to learn the Bible’s message in their mother tongue.​—See the box “Making the Bible Available in African Languages.”
16. Based on Matthew 28:19, 20, how can we prove that we appreciate the Bible?
16 We can prove that we appreciate the Bible by reading it each day, meditating on what it teaches, and doing our best to apply what we learn. In addition, we show our gratitude to God by doing all we can to share its message with as many people as possible.​—Ps. 1:1-3; Matt. 24:14; read Matthew 28:19, 20.
17. What kind of gifts have we considered in this article, and what will be discussed in the next article?
17 So far we have considered such God-given gifts as our home, the earth; our amazingly designed brain; and God’s inspired Word, the Bible. But there are other gifts that Jehovah has given us that are invisible to our eyes. These unseen treasures will be discussed in the next article.
SONG 12 Great God, Jehovah
This article will build our appreciation for Jehovah and for three of the gifts that he has given us. It will also help us to reason with those who doubt that God exists.
PICTURE DESCRIPTION: A sister is learning a foreign language in order to teach immigrants the truths of God’s Word.

“The King of the North” in the Time of the End

Leave a reply

See Also Related Articles:


                                               meetingBOX
                                          Treasures from God\’s Word 
                                          Living As Christians 
                                          Life and Ministry Meeting Workbook

STUDY ARTICLE 19

“The King of the North” in the Time of the End

“In the time of the end the king of the south will engage with him [the king of the north] in a pushing.”​—DAN. 11:40.
SONG 150 Seek God for Your Deliverance
PREVIEW*
1. What does Bible prophecy reveal to us?
Not all Biblical professes have the purpose of predicting the future. However, there are professes of the Bible that help us know that important events will affect us very soon.
There is one in particular that reveals to us what some of the most powerful governments in the world will do. It is found in Daniel, chapter 11, and describes the struggle between two kings: the king of the north and the king of the south.
Much of that prophecy has already been fulfilled, so we can be sure that the rest will also come true.
2. As indicated at Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 11:7 and 12:17, what facts must we keep in mind when studying Daniel’s prophecy?
2 According to these texts we must bear in mind that it refers only to rulers and governments who have had a direct influence on the people of Jehovah, governments that have acted according to Satan’s\’ goal which is to eliminate those who serve Jehovah and Jesus.
Satan\’s primary goal and his entire system is to eliminate those who serve Jehovah and Jesus.
3. What will we discuss in this article and the one that follows?
3 In this and the following article we will discuss Daniel\’s prophecy which is recorded in Daniel chapter 11, in addition to this article we will review who were the king of the north and the king of the south between 1870 and 1991, and we will see why it is logical to change the way we understand a part of the prophecy and, for the next article, it will clarify what the prophecy tells us about the period that begins in the 1990 and culminates in Armageddon.
IDENTIFYING THE KING OF THE NORTH AND THE KING OF THE SOUTH
4. What three factors should we look for when identifying the king of the north and the king of the south?
4 Although the identities of the king of the north and the king of the south over time have been changing, during all this time they have kept three points in common. First, they have greatly influenced the people of Jehovah, second by the way they treat their people, they have shown that they hate the true God, and, third, both kings have become involved in a struggle against each other.
5. Can we identify the king of the north and the king of the south from the 2nd century C.E. to the late 19th century? Explain.
5 No, because if we remember the first two common points of these kings that were mentioned in the previous paragraph, we see that they have to do with the people of Jehovah, although among the second century there were Christians, these should not be considered as the people of Jehovah because they were false Christians, so we can say that during this time there was no organized group of servants of God who could be attacked , on the other hand we cannot be entirely sure as far as the end of the nineteenth century is concerned.
6. When could God’s people again be identified? Explain.
6 It was in 1870, and it was possible to know because it was on this date that Brother Russell and his companions formed a Bible study group. As predicted, this group was the messenger who would clear the way before the Messianic kingdom was established.
WHO IS THE KING OF THE SOUTH?
7. Who was the king of the south well into World War I?
7 Becoming the world\’s greatest empire, Britain was the king of the south until well into World War I.
8. Who has been the king of the south throughout the last days?
8 The king of the south over the last few days has been the alliance that exists between Britain and the United States that, as mentioned in Daniel 11:25, have formed an immensely large and powerful army.


THE KING OF THE NORTH REAPPEARS

9. When did the king of the north reappear, and how was Daniel 11:25 fulfilled?

•  This king reappeared in 1817, just after Russell and his companions formed his Bible study group and this king is Germany.

•  They have been fulfilled since Germany became a colonial power and began to gather a powerful execution, also defying Britain\’s supremacy.

10. How was Daniel 11:25b, 26 fulfilled?

10 It was fulfilled when officials as generals and military advisers of the emperor began as mentioned in Daniel\’s prophecy plotting evil plans against him, from withdrawing his support for the emperor, disclosing confidential information about the war and even forcing him to resign, followed by this also fulfilled these words when in World War I the German army was razed.

11. What did the king of the north and the king of the south do?

11 First lies began to be told about whether, wishing for peace, lies laid and despite that in 1914 war broke out, also in previous decades the king of the north that is to say Germany began to accumulate wealth, to the point that it became the second largest economy of the world and finally this king decides to fight against the king of the south, but as mentioned in the cited text he was humiliated, that is, he was defeated.

THE KINGS FIGHT GOD’S PEOPLE

12. In the first world war, what did the king of the north and the king of the south do?

12 The two kings redoubled their attacks on each other and also on the people of God. And in World War I, both the German and British governments persecuted God\’s servants who refused to fight, and the United States government also jailed those who led the preaching.

13. In the 1930’s and during the second world war, what did the king of the north do?

13 This king attacked the people of God without any compassion, they not only prohibited our work, but that Hitler and those who supported him killed hundreds of Jehovah\’s servants and also sent thousands to the concentration camps, and even Hitler swore that he would exterminate the God\’s people in Germany.

A NEW KING OF THE NORTH RISES

14. Who took on the role of the king of the north after the second world war? Explain.

14 After the Second World War, the Soviet Union assumed the role of the king of the north, and we know this since both it and its allies showed opposition to anyone who put the worship of Jehovah over the obedience to the state.*

15. What did the king of the north do after World War II ended?

15 What he did was oppose and attack God\’s people, from banning preaching to even sending thousands of Jehovah\’s servants into exile.

16. How did the Soviet Union fulfill Daniel 11:37-39?

16 Read Daniel 11:37-39. These words were fulfilled by wanting to completely end religions, so much so that he even ordered the teaching of atheism in schools, another way in which these words were fulfilled was when huge amounts of money were spent in order to reinforce their I exercise and produce thousands of nuclear weapons to increase their influence.

A RARE ACT OF COOPERATION

17. What is “the disgusting thing that causes desolation”?

17 This disgusting and devastating thing is the United Nations Organization.

18. Why is the United Nations described as a “disgusting thing”?

18 Firstly it is considered as the disgusting thing because it promises to bring world peace, something that obviously will not be able to because it is something that only the Kingdom of God can achieve, on the other hand it is considered as devastating because being the one who plays a very important role in the destruction of all false religions.

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THIS HISTORY?

19-20. (a) Why do we need to know this history? (b) What question will we answer in the next article?

19 (a) Because this is how we see a part of Daniel\’s prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south was fulfilled between 1870 and 1991. Therefore we can have faith that the rest of this prophecy will also come true.

(b) The question is who is the king of the North today?

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

• What three factors help us identify “the king of the north” and “the king of the south”?

Although the identities of the king of the north and the king of the south have changed over time, during all this time they have kept three points in common. First, they have had a significant influence on Jehovah\’s people. Second, by the way they treat their people, they have shown that they hate the true God. And third, both kings have engaged in a fight against each other.

• Who fulfilled the roles of the king of the north and of the king of the south from the 1870’s to 1991?

Let\’s start with the king of the north who since 1871 was Germany, but already after the second world war who assumed this role was the Soviet Union, now the king of the south we can say that until well into the first world war it was Great Britain while throughout the last few days it has been this same with the alliance it has with the United States.

• Why do we need to know this history?

For thus we see how a part of Daniel\’s prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south have been fulfilled. Therefore we can have faith that the rest of this prophecy will also come true.


SONG 128   Enduring to the End

We are seeing evidence that Daniel’s prophecy about “the king of the north” and “the king of the south” continues to be fulfilled. How can we be so sure? And why do we need to understand the details of this prophecy?

For the reason stated here, it no longer seems appropriate to list Roman Emperor Aurelian (270-275 C.E.) as a “king of the north” or Queen Zenobia (267-272 C.E.) as a “king of the south.” This updates what was published in chapters 13 and 14 of the book Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy!

See the box “The Anglo-American World Power in Bible Prophecy.”

In 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II forced Bismarck out of power.

They hastened the fall of the empire in a number of ways. For instance, they withdrew support for the Kaiser, leaked sensitive information about losses in the war, and forced the Kaiser to abdicate.

As indicated at Daniel 11:34, Christians living under the king of the north experienced some relief from persecution. This happened, for example, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Visit jw.org Official WEB