watchtower bound volume 2011 (jw)

STUDY ARTICLES FOR THEWEEKS OF:

February 28–March 6“Take Refuge in the Name of

Jehovah”PAGE 3 SONGS TO BE USED: 49, 74

March 7-13Respect Marriage as a Gift From GodPAGE 13 SONGS TO BE USED: 36, 94

March 14-20Make the Most of Your SinglenessPAGE 17 SONGS TO BE USED: 85, 121

March 21-27Empowered to Fight Temptationand Cope With Discouragement

PAGE 22 SONGS TO BE USED: 81, 17

March 28–April 3Empowered to Overcome Any TrialPAGE 26 SONGS TO BE USED: 133, 100

34567�

JANUARY 15, 2011

(Pages 3-7, 13-21, 22-30)

� 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. wst11 01/15-E

PURPOSE OF STUDY ARTICLES

STUDY ARTICLE 1 PAGES 3-7

Where can we find refuge at this criticaltime? God’s Word explains that we can takerefuge in the name of Jehovah. This articleconsiders how we can find protection bothnow and when “the great day of Jehovah”strikes. This discussion highlights the year-text for 2011.

STUDY ARTICLES 2, 3 PAGES 13-21

Marriage and singleness are both gifts fromGod, each with its own blessings. Whetherwe are married or single, these articles willdiscuss reasons to appreciate these gifts andshow us how to demonstrate our apprecia-tion for them.


We need Jehovah’s assistance to fulfill ourdedication to him. These articles will discusshow holy spirit helps us to fight temptation,cope with discouragement, withstand perse-cution, resist negative peer pressure, and en-dure adversity.

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JANUARY 15, 2011 3

HAVE you ever had to take refuge from arainstorm or a hailstorm by seeking

cover under a bridge? A bridge might welloffer you adequate shelter from a rainstormor a hailstorm, but it would probably pro-vide little protection from a tornado or ahurricane.

2 A different type of storm is approaching—one that threatens the very existence ofthe human race. It is a figurative “day ofstorm.” This “great day of Jehovah” will af-fect all mankind. However, we can find therefugewe need. (Read Zephaniah 1:14-18.)How can we do so during “the day of Jeho-vah’s fury” that is soon to begin?

Days of Storm in Bible Times3 The day of Jehovah will break out with

the destruction of all false religious systemson earth. As to how to find refuge, we canlook for the answer in the history of God’sancient people. Isaiah, who lived in theeighth century B.C.E., likened Jehovah’sjudgment on the apostate ten-tribe king-dom of Israel to a “thunderous storm” thatpeople would not be able to prevent. (ReadIsaiah 28:1, 2.)That prophecy found fulfill-ment in 740 B.C.E. when Assyria invadedthe land of those tribes, Ephraim being themost prominent of the ten.

1, 2. What figurative storm will soon strike man-kind?3. What “thunderous storm” came upon the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel?

4 The judgment against unfaithful Israelwas followed in 607 B.C.E. by a “great day ofJehovah” against Jerusalem and the king-dom of Judah. That event occurred becausethe people of Judah had also turned apos-tate. The Babylonians under Nebuchadnez-zar threatened Judah and its capital, Jerusa-lem. The Judeans had turned for help to“the refuge of a lie,” that is, to their politicalalliance with Egypt. Nevertheless, like a de-structive hailstorm, the Babylonians sweptaway that “refuge.”—Isa. 28:14,17.

5 The great day of Jehovah that struckJerusalem was an indication of the judg-ment to come upon apostate Christen-dom in our time. Furthermore, the rest of

4. How did a “great day of Jehovah” strike Jerusa-lem in 607 B.C.E.?5. How will God’s people as a group fare during thedestruction of all false religion?

“TAKE REFUGE IN THENAME OF JEHOVAH”

“I shall certainly let remain . . .a people humble and lowly, and they will actually

take refuge in the name of Jehovah.”—ZEPH. 3:12.

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JANUARY 15, 2011

“Babylon the Great,” the world empire offalse religion, will be destroyed. Thereafter,the remaining parts of Satan’s wicked sys-temof things will be annihilated. Yet, God’speople as a group will survive because theyare taking refuge in Jehovah.—Rev. 7:14; 18:2, 8; 19:19-21.

Spiritual and Physical Refuge6 How can God’s people find refuge even

now during this time of the end? We findspiritual refuge by prayerfully “thinkingupon [God’s] name” and by serving himzealously. (Read Malachi 3:16-18.) We canappreciate, though, thatweneed todomorethan just think upon his name. We read:“Everyone who calls on the name of Jeho-vah will be saved.” (Rom. 10:13) There is aconnection between calling on Jehovah’sname and the resulting salvation by him.Andmanyhonestheartedpeople can see thedifference between true Christians, who arereverently “thinking upon his name” andserving as his Witnesses, and those of man-kind who are not serving him.

7 Still, the salvation available to us is notlimited to finding spiritual refuge. Physicalsalvation is promised for God’s people. Wesee indication of this in what happened in66 C.E. after a Roman army under CestiusGallus attacked Jerusalem. Jesus had fore-told that the days of that tribulation wouldbe “cut short.” (Matt. 24:15, 16, 21, 22)That happened when the Roman forces un-expectedly abandoned the siege of the city,which allowed some “flesh,” namely trueChristians, to be “saved.” They were able toflee the city and the surrounding area. Somecrossed the Jordan and found refuge in

6. How can Jehovah’s people find refuge?7, 8. In what way did first-century Christiansexperience physical salvation, with what parallel to-day?

the mountains on the eastern side of thatriver.

8 We can draw a parallel between thoseChristians and God’s people today. In thepast, first-century Christians sought refuge,and God’s servants today will do likewise.However, this time it will not involve an ac-tual flight to a single geographic spot, fortrue Christians are located all around theglobe. Still, as a people, “the chosen ones”and their loyal companions will physicallysurvive the end of apostate Christendom bytaking refuge in Jehovah and his mountain-like organization.

9 On the other hand, Christendom de-serves the coming destruction for contrib-uting to the spiritual illiteracy commonamong churchgoers and for its manifest ha-tred of God’s name. In the Middle Ages,God’s personal name was rather widelyknown in Europe. That name, representedby four Hebrew letters called the Tetra-grammaton and commonly transliteratedYHWH (or JHVH), appeared on coins, on fa-cades of houses, in many books and Bibles,and even in some Catholic and Protes-tant churches. However, the trend in recenttimes is to eliminate the name of God fromBible translations and from other uses. Oneindication of this is the Letter to the Bish-ops’ Conferences on ‘theNameofGod,’dat-ed June 29, 2008, issued by the Congrega-tion for Divine Worship and the Disciplineof the Sacraments. In it the Roman Catho-lic Church advised that the Tetragramma-ton in its various renderings should be re-placed by “Lord.” The Vatican instructedthat God’s personal name should not beused or pronounced in hymns and prayersduring Catholic religious services. And theleaders of other religions inside and outside

9. Who have tried to cause Jehovah’s name to beforgotten? Give an example.


of Christendom have also hidden the iden-tityof the true God frommillions uponmil-lions of worshippers.

Protection for ThoseSanctifying God’s Name

10 In stark contrast with what other reli-gions are doing, Jehovah’s Witnesses honorandglorify thedivinename.They sanctify itby using it in a dignified way. Jehovah takespleasure in those who trust in him, andhe becomes whatever is necessary to blessand protect his people. “He is cognizant ofthose seeking refuge in him.”—Nah. 1:7;Acts 15:14.

11 Although the majority in ancient Ju-dah had become apostate, there were somewho took “refuge in the name of Jehovah.”(Read Zephaniah 3:12, 13.) Yes, when Godpunished faithless Judah by allowing theBabylonians to conquer the land and takeher people captive, some individuals, suchas Jeremiah, Baruch, andEbed-melech,werespared. They had lived “in the midst” ofan apostate nation. Others stayed faithfulwhile in captivity. In 539 B.C.E., the Medesand Persians under Cyrus conquered Bab-ylon. Cyrus soon issued a decree allowing aJewish remnant to return to their home-land.

12 Regarding those who would enjoy thatrestorationof trueworship, Zephaniah fore-told that Jehovah would save them and re-joice over them. (Read Zephaniah 3:14-17.)This has proved true in our time too. Af-ter God’s Kingdom was set up in heaven, Je-hovah delivered the faithful remnant ofanointed ones from spiritual captivity toBabylon the Great. And he rejoices overthem down to this day.

10. How is God’s name being honored today?11, 12. Who upheld Jehovah’s name in ancient Ju-dah, and who have done so in modern times?

13 Those with the hope of living foreveron earth have also got out of Babylon theGreat and enjoy spiritual liberation fromfalse religious teachings. (Rev. 18:4) Thus,Zephaniah 2:3 finds its major fulfillment inour time: “Seek Jehovah, all you meek onesof the earth.” Meek ones of all nations,whether they cherish the heavenly or theearthly hope, are now taking refuge in Jeho-vah’s name.

God’s Name Is Not a Talisman14 Some Israelites viewed the temple as a

talisman that would protect them from ene-mies. (Jer. 7:1-4) Earlier, Israelites viewed theark of the covenant as a charm that wouldprotect them in battle. (1 Sam. 4:3, 10, 11)Constantine the Great painted the Greekletters khi and rho, the first two letters ofthe title “Christ” in Greek, on his soldiers’shields in hopes of protecting his soldiers inbattle. And King Gustav Adolph II of Swe-den, who fought in the Thirty Years’ War, isthought to have worn the armor shown onpage 7. Note that the name Iehova is fea-tured prominentlyon the collar.

15 Some of God’s people who have beenattackedbydemonshave found refuge in Je-hovahby calling his nameout loud. Still, anobject that features God’s name should notbe considered a talisman or used as a charmin everyday life as if it had some magicalpower of protection. This is not what itmeans to take refuge in the name of Jeho-vah.

Taking Refuge Today16 We find refuge today in the spiritual se-

curity enjoyed by God’s people as a whole.

13. What liberation are people of all nations experi-encing?14, 15. (a) What have some used as talismans?(b) What should not be used as a charm?16. Spiritually, how can we take refuge today?


(Ps. 91:1) Through “the faithful and discreetslave” andelders in the congregation,we arealerted to trends in the world that could en-danger that security. (Matt. 24:45-47; Isa. 32:1, 2) Think of how often we have beenwarned about materialism, and considerhow such warnings have protected us fromspiritual calamity. And what about the dan-ger of developing an easygoing attitude,which could lead to our becoming inactivein Jehovah’s service? God’s Word says: “Theeasygoingness of the stupid is what will de-stroy them. As for the one listening to me,hewill reside in security andbe undisturbedfrom dread of calamity.” (Prov. 1:32, 33)Striving to keep morally clean also helps usto maintain our spiritual security.

17 Think, too, of the encouragement fromthe faithful slave to follow Jesus’ commandto preach the good news of the Kingdom inall the inhabited earth. (Matt. 24:14; 28:19,20) Zephaniah mentioned a change thatwould help people to take refuge in God’sname.We read: “Then I shall give to peoplesthe change to a pure language, in order forthem all to call upon the name of Jehovah,in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.”—Zeph. 3:9.

18 What is this pure language? The purelanguage is the truth about Jehovah Godand his purposes as found in his inspired

17, 18. What is helping millions to take refuge inthe name of Jehovah today?

Word.You are in a sense using that languagewhen you share with others the correct un-derstanding of God’s Kingdom and how itwill sanctify his name, when you stress thevindication of God’s sovereignty, and whenyou happily talk about the everlasting bless-ings faithful humans will enjoy. As a resultof so many speaking this figurative lan-guage, a growing number are ‘calling uponthe name of Jehovah’ and ‘serving himshoulder to shoulder.’ Yes, millions aroundthe world are now finding refuge in Jeho-vah.—Ps.1:1, 3.

19 People in the world have to deal withseemingly insurmountable problems. Des-perate to solve their problems,many look toimperfect men. Or they hope for solutionsfrom political institutions, even as ancientIsrael at times looked to neighboring na-tions for support, making alliances withthem. Yet, you know that doing so did nothelp Israel. And no political state today, northe United Nations organization, will fullysolve mankind’s problems. So why shouldone regard political institutions and alli-ances as a refuge? The Bible propheticallycalls thema “refuge of a lie.” You can rightlyview them as such because all individualswhohope in themwill be sorely disappoint-ed.—Read Isaiah 28:15,17.

20 Soon the figurative hailstorm of Jeho-

19, 20. Howdid trusting in a “refuge of a lie” fail inBible times?

The yeartext for 2011 is:“Take refuge in the name

of Jehovah.”—Zephaniah 3:12.

Do You Recall?˙ How can we take refuge in Jehovah’s

name now?˙ Why should we not trust in “the

refuge of a lie”?˙ What refuge is assured us for the

future?

vah’s day will strike the earth. Humanschemes will not be able to provideprotection; neither will nuclearshelters nor wealth. Isaiah28:17 points out: “The hailmust sweep away the refugeof a lie, and the waters them-selves will flood out the veryplace of concealment.”

21 Both now and duringthat future development,God’s people will find real se-curity in their God, Jehovah.

21. What benefit can we enjoy by fol-lowing the yeartext for 2011?

Zephaniah’s name, meaning “Jeho-vah Has Concealed,” points to this

true source of concealment.Fittingly,wehave as the year-text for 2011 the wise advice:“Take refuge in the name ofJehovah.” (Zeph. 3:12) Evennow we can and should take

refuge in the name of Jehovah,trusting in him implicitly. (Ps. 9:

10) Let us daily keep in mind thisinspired assurance: “The name of

Jehovah is a strong tower. Into itthe righteous runs and is given pro-

tection.”—Prov.18:10./Th

urin

gerL

ande

smus

eum

Hei

deck

sbur

gRu

dolst

adt,

Waff

ensa

mm

lung

“Sch

war

zbur

gerZ

eugh

aus”


JEHOVAH GOD, the Originator of mar-riage, surely deserves our respect. As our

Creator, Sovereign, and heavenly Father, heis rightly described as the Giver of “everygood gift and every perfect present.” (Jas. 1:17; Rev. 4:11) This is a manifestation of hisgreat love. (1 John 4:8) Everything he hastaught us, everything he has asked of us,everything he has given to us has been onlyfor our welfare and benefit.—Isa. 48:17.

2 The Bible presents marriage as one ofthese “good” gifts from God. (Ruth 1:9; 2:12) When he performed the first wedding,Jehovah gave the couple, Adam and Eve,specific instructions on how to succeed.(Read Matthew 19:4-6.) If they had fol-lowed God’s direction, they would have en-joyed permanent happiness. However, theyfoolishly disregarded God’s command andsuffered terrible consequences.—Gen. 3:6-13,16-19, 23.

3 Like that first couple, many people to-day make marital decisions with little or noregard for Jehovah’s direction. Some rejectmarriage outright, while others try to re-define it to suit their own desires. (Rom. 1:24-32; 2 Tim. 3:1-5) They ignore the factthat marriage is a gift from God, and by dis-

1. Why does Jehovah deserve our respect?2. What instructions did Jehovah give to the firstmarried couple?3, 4. (a) How are many today disrespecting bothmarriage and Jehovah God? (b) What examples willwe consider in this article?

respecting that gift, they also disrespect theGiver, Jehovah God.

4 At times, even someofGod’speople loseclear sight of Jehovah’s view of marriage.Some Christian couples decide to separate,or they divorce without having Scripturalgrounds to do so. How can this be avoided?How can God’s direction at Genesis 2:24help married Christians to strengthen theirmarriage? And how can those who are con-templating marriage prepare for it? Let uslook at three successful marriages in Bibletimes that illustrate how respect for Jehovahis a vital key to a lasting marriage.

Cultivate Loyalty5 Zechariah and Elizabeth did all the right

things. Each married a spiritually-mindedpartner. Zechariah faithfully carried out hispriestly duties, and both of themkept God’sLaw to the best of their ability. They certain-ly had much to be thankful for. Yet, ifyou had visited their home in Judah, youwould have soon realized that somethingwas missing. They had no children. Eliza-beth was barren, and both of them werewell up in years.—Luke 1:5-7.

6 In ancient Israel, childbearing was high-ly esteemed, and families were often quitelarge. (1 Sam.1:2, 6, 10; Ps. 128:3, 4) An Isra-elite man back then might treacherously

5, 6. What situation may have tested Zechariahand Elizabeth, and how was their loyalty rewarded?

RESPECT MARRIAGE ASA GIFT FROM GOD“That is why a man will leave his father and his

mother and he must stick to his wife and they mustbecome one flesh.”—GEN. 2:24.


divorce his wife if she bore himno children.Zechariah, though, loyally stayed with Eliz-abeth.Hedidnot look for an easywayoutoftheir marriage, nor did his wife. Althoughhaving no children saddened them, theycontinued to serve Jehovah together faith-fully. Miraculously, in time Jehovah richlyrewarded them with the birth of a son intheir old age.—Luke 1:8-14.

7 Elizabeth showed commendable loyaltyin yet another way. When her son, John,was born, Zechariah could not speak be-cause he had been struck with speechless-ness for questioning God’s angel. Yet, Zech-ariah must have communicated to his wifein some way that Jehovah’s angel had toldhimtoname theboy “John.” Theneighborsand relatives wanted to name the boy afterhis father. But Elizabeth loyally upheld herhusband’s direction to her. She said: “No,indeed! but he shall be called John.”—Luke1:59-63.

8 Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, marriedcouples today face disappointments andother challenges. A marriagewithout loyaltywill not flourish. Flirtation, pornography,adultery, and other threats to a wholesomemarriage can irreparably destroy maritaltrust. And when trust within a marriagebreaks down, love begins to wither. In someways, loyalty is like a protective fence aroundthe family home that keeps out unwelcomevisitors and threats, providing a measure ofsecurity for those inside the home. Thus,when a husband and wife are loyal to eachother, they can reside together safely andopen their heart to each other, letting theirlove grow. Yes, loyalty is vital.

7. In what other way did Elizabeth prove loyal toher husband?8, 9. (a) How does loyalty strengthen a marriage?(b) What are some specific ways inwhich a husbandand wife can show loyalty?

9 Jehovah told Adam: “A man will leavehis father and his mother and he must stickto his wife.” (Gen. 2:24) What does thatmean? Former ties to friends and relativeshave to be adjusted. Each mate must firstgive the other his or her time and attention.Friends and relatives can no longer take pri-ority at the expense of the new family; norshould the couple allow parents to interferein family decisions or disagreements. Thecouple must now stick to each other. That isGod’s direction.

10 Even in religiously divided households,loyalty brings rewards. A sister with an un-believing mate says: “I am so thankful to Je-hovah for teaching me how to be in subjec-tion to my husband and have deep respectfor him. Staying loyal has resulted in 47years of sustained love and respect.” (1 Cor.7:10, 11; 1 Pet. 3:1, 2) So work hard to makeyour marriage mate feel secure. By yourwords and actions, look for ways to reassureyour mate that to you, he or she is the mostimportant person on earth. To the extentthat it depends on you, do not let anyone oranything comebetweenyou and your mate.(Read Proverbs 5:15-20.) Ron and Jean-nette, who have been happily married forover 35 years, say, “Because we loyally dowhat God requires of us, we have a happy,successful marriage.”

Unity Strengthens Marriage11 When the apostle Paul spoke about his

close friends Aquila and Priscilla, he did notmentiononewithout the other. This unitedcouple is a good example of what Godmeant when he said that a husband and a

10. What will help marriage mates to cultivate loy-alty?11, 12. How did Aquila and Priscilla cooperate(a) at home, (b) in their secular work, and (c) in theChristian ministry?


wife should become “one flesh.”(Gen. 2:24) They constantlyworked together in their home,in their secular work, and inthe Christian ministry. For ex-ample, when Paul first arrivedin Corinth, Aquila and Priscil-la kindly invited him to stay intheir home, which he apparentlyused for a time thereafter as abase for his activities. Later, inEphesus, they used their homefor holding congregation meet-ings and worked together to helpnewones, such asApollos, to growspiritually. (Acts 18:2, 18-26) This zealouscouple then went to Rome, where theyagain opened their home for congregationmeetings. Later, they returned to Ephesus,strengthening the brothers.—Rom.16:3-5.

12 For a time, Aquila and Priscilla alsoworked with Paul in their common trade,tentmaking. Again, we find the couple to-gether, cooperating without competition orstrife. (Acts 18:3) Surely, though, it wasthe time they spent together in Chris-tian activities that kept their marriage ona high spiritual plane. Whether in Cor-inth, Ephesus, orRome, theybecamewidelyknown as “fellow workers in Christ Jesus.”(Rom.16:3) They worked side by side to fur-ther theKingdom-preachingworkwhereverthey served.

13 Indeed, unity in goals and activitiesstrengthens a marriage. (Eccl. 4:9, 10) Un-fortunately,manycouples today spend littletime together. Theywork longhours at theirseparate jobs. Others travel extensively fortheir secular work or move abroad alone to

13, 14. (a) What situations can work against uni-ty in a marriage? (b) What are some things mar-riage mates can do to strengthen their bond as “oneflesh”?

work to send money back home. Even athome, some marriage partners find them-selves isolated from each other because ofthe time they spend on television, hobbies,sports, video games, or the Internet. Is thattrue inyourhousehold? If so, canyou adjustyour circumstances to spend more time to-gether? What about sharing in such com-mon tasks as preparing meals, washing thedishes, or working in the yard? Could youwork together as you care for the childrenorassist your aging parents?

14 Most important, regularly spend timetogether in activities related to worship ofJehovah. Discussing the daily text togetherand sharing in family worship provide ex-cellent opportunities to keep your family’sthinking and goals aligned. Also share to-gether in the ministry. If possible, try pio-neering together, even if your circumstanc-es allow you to do it only for one month orone year. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:58.)A sis-ter who pioneered with her husband says:“The ministry was one of the ways we couldspend time together and really talk. Becausewe both had the common goal of helpingothers spiritually, I felt that we were a realteam. I felt closer to him not just as a

Working together helpscouples to stay united


husband but also as a good friend.” As youwork together in worthwhile pursuits, yourinterests, priorities, and habits will gradual-ly harmonize with those of your spouse un-til, like Aquila and Priscilla, you will increas-ingly think, feel, and act as “one flesh.”

Let Spirituality Guide You15 Jesus knew the importance of putting

God first in marriage. He saw Jehovah per-form the first wedding. He observed howhappy Adam and Eve were as long as theyfollowed God’s direction, and he saw first-hand the trouble that resultedwhen they ig-nored it. So when Jesus taught others, heechoed his Father’s instruction found atGenesis 2:24. He also added this thought:“What God has yoked together let no manput apart.” (Matt. 19:6) Deep respect for Je-hovah, therefore, is still the key to a happy,successful marriage. In this regard, Jesus’earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, set anoutstanding example.

16 Joseph was kind and respectful towardMary. When he first learned that she waspregnant, hewanted to deal mercifully withher, even before God’s angel explained tohim what had happened to Mary. (Matt. 1:

15. What is the key to a successful marriage? Ex-plain.16. How did Joseph and Mary manifest spiritualityin their family life?

18-20) As a couple, they obeyed Caesar’s de-cree and also closely adhered to the MosaicLaw. (Luke 2:1-5, 21, 22) And although onlymen were required to attend the major reli-gious festivals in Jerusalem, Joseph andMary, together with members of their fami-ly, attended each year. (Deut. 16:16; Luke 2:41) In these and other ways, this godlycouple endeavored to please Jehovah andshoweddeep respect for spiritual things. It isno wonder that Jehovah had chosen themto care for his Son during the first part of Je-sus’ earthly life.

17 Does spirituality similarly guide yourfamily life? For example, when you makeimportant decisions, do you first researchBible principles, pray about the matter, andthen seek advice from a mature Christian?Or do you tend to resolve problems by fol-lowing your own feelings or those of familyand friends? Do you strive to put into prac-tice the many practical suggestions pub-lished by the faithful slave on marriage andfamily life? Or do you find yourself simplyfollowing local customs or popular secularadvice? Do you regularly pray and study to-gether, set spiritual goals, and talk aboutyour family’s priorities?

18 Regarding their 50 years of happy mar-ried life, Ray says, “We have never had aproblem we could not overcome, becausewe kept Jehovah as part of our ‘threefoldcord.’ ” (Read Ecclesiastes 4:12.) Dannyand Trina agree. “As we have served God to-gether,” they say, “our marriage has becomestronger.” They have been happily marriedfor more than 34 years. If you always put Je-hovah first in your marriage, he will helpyou to succeed andwill richlybless you.—Ps.127:1.

17, 18. (a) In what ways can a couple put spiritual-ity first in their family? (b) How will this benefitthem?

How Would You Answer?˙ How should loyalty influence married

Christians?˙ Why will working together in unity

strengthen a marriage?˙ What are some ways married people

can let spirituality guide them?˙ How can we show respect for Jeho-

vah, the Originator of marriage?


Continue to Respect God’s Gift19 For many today, the only thing that

matters is their personal happiness. But aservant of Jehovah sees things differently.He knows that God provided marriage as agift to further His purpose. (Gen.1:26-28) IfAdam and Eve had respected that gift, thewhole earth would have become a para-dise filled with happy, righteous servants ofGod.

20 Above all, God’s servants see marriageas an opportunity to bring glory to Jeho-vah. (Read 1 Corinthians 10:31.) As we

19. Why did God provide the gift of marriage?20, 21. (a) Why should we treat marriage as sa-cred? (b) What gift will we study about next week?

have seen, loyalty, unity, and spirituality aregodly qualities that fortify a marriage. Sowhether we are preparing for, strengthen-ing, or trying to save our marriage, we mustfirst see marriage for what it is: a divine andsacred institution. Keeping that truth inmind will move us to do our best to makemarital decisions based on God’s Word. Inthisway we show respect not just for the giftof marriage but also for the Giver of thatgift, Jehovah God.

21 Marriage, of course, is not the only giftJehovah has given us; nor is it the only roadto happiness in life. In our next article, wewill look at yet another precious gift fromGod—the gift of singleness.

MARRIAGE is unquestionably one ofGod’s most precious gifts to man-

kind. (Prov. 19:14) Yet, many single Chris-tians also enjoy a rich and satisfying life.Harold, a 95-year-old brother who nevermarried, says: “Although I enjoy being withothers and showing hospitality, when I amalone I am never lonely. I guess it can trulybe said that I have the gift of singleness.”

2 Indeed, both Jesus Christ and the apos-tle Paul referred to singleness, like mar-riage, as a gift from God. (Read Matthew19:11, 12; 1 Corinthians 7:7.) Admittedly,

1, 2. (a) How did Jesus, Paul, and others view sin-gleness? (b) Why might some not think of single-ness as a gift?

though, not everyone who is unmarried issingle by choice. Sometimes circumstancesmake it hard tofind a suitablepartner.Or af-ter years of marriage, some unexpectedlyfind themselves alone because of a divorceor the death of their spouse. In what sense,then, can singleness be a gift? And how cansingleChristiansmake themost of their sin-gleness?

A Unique Gift3 A single personoftenhasmore time and

greater personal freedom than a marriedperson does. (1 Cor. 7:32-35) These are

3. What advantages do single Christians often en-joy?

MAKE THE MOST OFYOUR SINGLENESS

“Let him that can make room for it make room for it.”—MATT. 19:12.


unique advantages that may allow him toexpand his ministry, widen out in love forothers, and draw closer to Jehovah. A num-ber of Christians, therefore, have come toappreciate the benefits of singleness andhave decided to “make room for it,” at leastfor a time. Others may not have initiallyplanned for singleness, but when their cir-cumstances changed, they prayerfully re-flected on their situation and realized thatwith Jehovah’s help they too could be set-tled in their heart. Thus, they accepted theirchanged circumstances and made room forsingleness.—1 Cor. 7:37, 38.

4 Single Christians know that they do nothave to get married to be recognized or ap-preciated by Jehovah or his organization.God’s love reaches out to each of us as indi-viduals. (Matt. 10:29-31) No one and noth-ing can separate us from God’s love. (Rom.8:38, 39) Whether married or single, wehave every reason to feel complete in God’sservice.

5 Still, as with such gifts as musical or ath-letic talent, the gift of singleness has to becultivated in order to realize its full poten-

4. Why can single Christians feel complete in God’sservice?5. What is needed in order to obtain the full re-wards of singleness?

tial. So how can single Christians today—whether brothers or sisters, young in ageor up inyears, single bychoice or because ofcircumstances—make the most of their situ-ation in life? Let us consider some encour-aging examples from the early Christiancongregation and seewhat we can learn.

Singleness in Youth6 The evangelizer Philip had four virgin

daughters who shared their father’s zeal forevangelizing. (Acts 21:8, 9) Prophesying wasamong themiraculous gifts of theholy spir-it, and these young women used that gift infulfillment of Joel 2:28, 29.

7 Timothy was a young man who madegood use of his singleness. From infan-cy he was taught “the holy writings” byhis mother, Eunice, and his grandmotherLois. (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14, 15) But they likelyembraced Christianity only during Paul’sfirst visit to Lystra, their hometown, about47 C.E. Two years later, when Paul visited asecond time, Timothy was perhaps in hislate teens or early 20’s. Despite being rela-

6, 7. (a) What privilege did Philip’s virgin daugh-ters receive in God’s service? (b) In what ways didTimothy make good use of his single years, and howwas he blessed for his willingness to serve in hisyouth?

Are you making the most of your opportunities in God’s service?


tively young both in age and in the truth, hewas “well reported on” by the Christian el-ders in Lystra and neighboring Iconium.(Acts 16:1, 2) So Paul invitedTimothy to joinhim as a traveling companion. (1 Tim. 1:18;4:14) We cannot say for certain that Timo-thy never married. But we do know that as ayoung man, he cheerfully accepted Paul’sinvitation, and for many years thereafter, heenjoyed serving as a single missionary andoverseer.—Phil. 2:20-22.

8 In his youth, John Mark also used hissingle years to good advantage. He andhis mother, Mary, as well as his cousinBarnabas were early members of the Je-rusalem congregation. Mark’s family mayalso have been comfortably situated, sincethey owned their own home in the cityand had a servant. (Acts 12:12, 13) Despitethese advantages, however, even as a youngman, Mark was not self-indulgent or self-centered; nor was he content to settle downand lead a comfortable family life. His earlyassociation with the apostles likely instilledin him a desire for missionary service. So heeagerly joined Paul and Barnabas on theirfirst missionary tour and served as their at-tendant. (Acts 13:5) Later, he traveled withBarnabas, and later still, wefindhimservingwith Peter in Babylon. (Acts 15:39; 1 Pet. 5:13) How long Mark remained single, we donot know. But he earned an excellent repu-tationas someonewhowaswilling tominis-ter to others and do more in God’s service.

9 Many young ones in the congregationtoday also gladly use their single years toexpand their share in God’s service. Like

8. What enabled John Mark to pursue spiritualgoals, and what blessings did he receive for do-ing so?9, 10. What opportunities are there today foryoung single Christians to expand their ministry?Give an example.

Mark and Timothy, they appreciate thatsingleness allows for “constant attendanceupon the Lord without distraction.” (1 Cor.7:35) This is a real advantage. Opportu-nities abound—pioneering, serving wherethe need for Kingdom preachers is greater,learning a foreign language, assisting withKingdom Hall or branch construction, at-tending Ministerial Training School, andserving at Bethel. If you are still young andunmarried, are you making the most ofyour opportunities?

10 A brother named Mark started pioneer-ing in his late teens, attended the Ministeri-al Training School, and has served in vari-ous assignments around theworld. Lookingbackon25yearsof full-time service, he says:“I’ve tried to work with everyone in thecongregation, sharing in the ministry withthem, making shepherding calls on them,inviting them to my home for meals, andeven arranging gatherings with a spiritualfocus. All these things have brought me agreat deal of joy.” As Mark’s comments re-veal, the greatest joy in life comes from giv-ing, and a full life in sacred service offersmany opportunities for giving to others.(Acts 20:35) No matter what your personalinterests, skills, or experience in life, foryoung people today, there is plenty to do inthe Lord’s work.—1 Cor.15:58.

11 Although most young people wouldlike to marry eventually, there are good rea-sons not to rush into marriage. Paul encour-ages youths to wait at least until they arepast “the bloom of youth,” when sexual de-sires are most powerful. (1 Cor. 7:36) It takestime to understand yourself and acquire theexperience in life that is needed to choose asuitable mate. Making a marriage vow is a

11. What are some benefits of not rushing intomarriage?


serious decision, one that should last forlife.—Eccl. 5:2-5.

Singleness in Later Life12 Anna, mentioned in Luke’s Gospel,

likely was deeply saddened when her hus-band died unexpectedly after just sevenyears of marriage. We do not know whetherthey had any children or if she ever consid-ered remarrying. But the Bible reports thatat age 84, Annawas still awidow. Fromwhatthe Bible says, we can conclude that Annaused her changed circumstances to drawcloser to Jehovah. She was “never missingfrom the temple, rendering sacred servicenight and day with fastings and supplica-tions.” (Luke 2:36, 37) So spiritual thingscame first in her life. That took real determi-nation and effort, but she was greatly re-warded. She was privileged to see the youngchild Jesus, and she witnessed to othersabout the liberation that was due to be ef-fected through this coming Messiah.—Luke2:38.

13 A woman named Dorcas, or Tabitha,lived in Joppa, an ancient seaport northwestof Jerusalem. Since the Bible mentions nohusband, she was likely unmarried at thetime. Dorcas “abounded in good deeds andgifts of mercy.” She evidently made manygarments for needy widows and others,and this greatly endeared her to them. Sowhen she suddenly fell ill and died, thewhole congregation sent for Peter to im-plore him to resurrect their dear sister. Asnews of her resurrection spread throughoutJoppa, many became believers. (Acts 9:36-42) Through her extraordinary kindness,

12. (a) How did the widow Anna cope with herchanged circumstances? (b) What privilege did shereceive?13. (a) What indicates that Dorcas was actively in-volved in the congregation? (b) How was Dorcas re-warded for her goodness and kindness?

Dorcasherselfmayhavehad a share inhelp-ing some of them.

14 Like Anna and Dorcas, many in congre-gations today find themselves single later inlife. Some may not have found a suitablemarriage mate. Others are divorced or wid-owed. Having no marriage mate to confidein, single Christians often learn to leanmore heavily on Jehovah. (Prov. 16:3) Sil-via, a single sister who has served at Beth-el for more than 38 years, sees this as ablessing. “Sometimes I get tired of beingthe strong one,” she admits. “I wonder,‘Who will encourage me?’” But then sheadds: “Trusting that Jehovah knows what Ineed better than I do helps me to drawcloser to him. And the encouragement al-ways comes, sometimes from completelyunexpected sources.” Whenever we drawcloser to Jehovah, he always responds in amost tender and reassuring way.

15 Singleness affords a special opportuni-ty to “widen out” in love. (Read 2 Corinthi-ans 6:11-13.) Jolene, a single sister who hasspent the past 34 years in full-time service,says: “I’ve tried to work hard at buildingwarmrelationships, not justwithpeoplemyownage, butwithall typesof people. Single-ness is a real opportunity to give to Jehovah,your family, and your brothers and sisters,as well as to your neighbors. The older Iget, the happier I feel about my singlestate.” The elderly, the infirm, single par-ents, youths, and others in the congrega-tion certainly appreciate the unselfish sup-port that single ones offer to them. Indeed,whenever we show love to others, we feelbetter about ourselves. Can you too “widenout” in your love for others?

14. What moves single Christians to draw closer toJehovah?15. How may unmarried Christians “widen out” intheir love?


Single for Life16 Jesus did not marry; he had to prepare

for and carry out his assigned ministry. Hetraveled extensively, worked from early inthe morning until late at night, and eventu-ally laid downhis life in sacrifice. Singlenesswas an advantage in his case. The apostlePaul traveled thousands of miles and facedgreat hardships in the ministry. (2 Cor.11:23-27) Although he may have been mar-ried earlier, Paul chose to stay single after hewas commissioned as an apostle. (1 Cor. 7:7;9:5) For the sake of the ministry, both Je-sus and Paul encouraged others to imitatetheir example where possible. Yet, neitherof them set celibacy as a requirement forministers.—1 Tim. 4:1-3.

17 Today, some have likewise made theconscious choice to remain single so thatthey can better pursue their ministry. Har-old, mentioned earlier, has enjoyed over56 years in Bethel service. “By the time Icompleted ten years at Bethel,” he says, “Ihad observed many married couples leav-ingBethel because of sickness or theneed tocare for an aging parent. My parents wereboth deceased. But I loved Bethel so much

16. (a) Why did Jesus stay single for life? (b) Howdid Paul make wise use of his single state?17. How have some today followed in the footstepsof Jesus and Paul, and why can we be sure that Jeho-vah appreciates those who make such sacrifices?

that I did not want to put that privilegein jeopardy by getting married.” Similarly,years ago, a longtime pioneer named Mar-garet observed: “There have been opportu-nities for marriage inmy life, but I just nevergot around to it. Instead, I was able to usethe extra freedom and mobility that single-ness affords to keep busy in the ministry,and this has brought me great happiness.”Surely, Jehovah will never forget any whomake such unselfish sacrifices for true wor-ship.—Read Isaiah 56:4, 5.

Make the Mostof Your Circumstances

18 All unmarried Christians who are do-ing their best to serve Jehovah deserveour genuine commendation and encour-agement. We love them for who they areand for the significant contribution theymake to the congregation. They will neverhave to feel lonely if we truly become theirspiritual “brothers and sisters and mothersand children.”—Read Mark 10:28-30.

19 Whether you are single by choice orsimply because of circumstances, may theseScriptural and modern examples assure youthat you can lead a happy and productivelife. Somegifts are eagerly anticipated,whileothers are completely unexpected. Someare immediately appreciated, while othersare valued only over time. Much, then, de-pends on our attitude. What can you do tomake the most of your singleness? Drawcloser to Jehovah, have plenty to do inGod’s service, and widen out in your lovefor others. Like marriage, singleness can berewarding when we view it from God’s per-spective and makewise use of this gift.

18. How can others encourage and support singleChristians?19. What can you do to make the most of your sin-gleness?

Do You Recall?˙ In what ways can singleness be a

gift?˙ How can singleness be a blessing in

youth?˙ What opportunities do single Chris-

tians have to draw closer to Jehovahand widen out in love?


JESUS knew that his disciples in their ownstrengthwerenot capable ofobserving all

that he had commanded. Considering thescope of their preaching commission, thestrength of their opponents, and the frailtyof the human flesh, it was clear that theyneeded superhuman power. Thus, just be-fore his ascension to heaven, Jesus assuredhis disciples: “You will receive power whentheholy spirit arrivesuponyou, andyouwillbe witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and inall Judea and Samaria and to the most dis-tant part of the earth.”—Acts 1:8.

2 That promise began to have its fulfill-ment at Pentecost 33 C.E. when holy spiritempowered the followers of Jesus Christ tofill Jerusalem with their preaching. No op-position was able to halt it. (Acts 4:20) “Allthe days until the conclusion of the systemof things,” Jesus’ faithful followers, includ-ing us, would be inurgent need of that sameGod-given strength.—Matt. 28:20.

3 Jesus promised his disciples that ‘theywould receive power when the holy spirit ar-rived upon them.’ The terms “power” and“spirit” are distinct in their meaning. God’sspirit, his active force, describes energy thatis projected and exerted on people or things

1, 2. What help did Jesus promise his disciples,and why would they need it?3. (a) Explain the difference between holy spiritand power. (b) What can power from Jehovah helpus to do?

to accomplish God’s will. Power, however,can be defined as the “ability to act or pro-duce an effect.” It can lie dormant in some-one or something until it is needed to pro-duce a given result. Thus, holy spirit mightbe likened to the electric current that ener-gizes a rechargeable battery,whereas power ismore like the latent energy that is then storedin the battery. Thepower that Jehovahgrantsto his servants by means of holy spirit giveseach one of us the ability to fulfill our Chris-tiandedication and,whennecessary, to resistnegative forces that are exerted upon us.—Read Micah 3:8; Colossians 1:29.

4 Howis the powergiven tous byholy spir-it manifested? What kinds of actions or re-actions might be the result of its influence?Aswe seek to serveGod faithfully,we facenu-merous obstacles caused either by Satan, byhis systemof things, or byourown imperfectflesh. It is important that we overcome suchobstacles in order to persevere as Christians,share regularly in the ministry, and maintaina good relationshipwith Jehovah. Let us con-siderhowholy spirit helps us tofight tempta-tion and cope with tiredness and discourage-ment.

Empowered to Fight Temptation5 Jesus taught his followers to pray: “Do

not bring us into temptation, but deliver us

4. What will be considered in this article, and why?5. How can prayer empower us?

EMPOWERED TOFIGHT TEMPTATION AND

COPE WITH DISCOURAGEMENT“You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you.”—ACTS 1:8.


from the wicked one.” (Matt. 6:13) Jehovahwill not abandon his faithful servants whomake this request. On another occasion, Je-sus said that “the Father in heaven [will]give holy spirit to those asking him.” (Luke11:13) How reassuring that Jehovah promis-es to grant us this force for righteousness!This, of course, does not mean that Jehovahwill prevent us from being tempted. (1 Cor.10:13) But when we face temptation, that isa time to pray even more intensely.—Matt.26:42.

6 In answer to the Devil’s temptations, Je-sus quoted scriptures.God’sWord was clear-ly in Jesus’ mind when he responded: “It iswritten . . . Again it iswritten . . .Go away, Sa-tan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your Godyoumustworship, and it is tohimalone youmust render sacred service.’ ” Love for Jeho-vahand forhisWord impelled Jesus to rejectthe allurements that the Tempter put beforehim. (Matt. 4:1-10) After Jesus repeatedly re-sisted temptation, Satan left him.

7 Since Jesus relied on the Scriptures toresist the Devil’s temptations, how muchmore so shouldwe! Indeed, our ability to re-sist the Devil and his agents begins with adetermination to be acquainted with God’sstandards and to adhere to them fully.Manypeople have been moved to live by Biblestandards as they studied the Scriptures andcame to appreciate God’s wisdom and righ-teousness. Indeed, “the word of God” ex-erts a power that is capable of discerning“thoughts and intentions of the heart.”(Heb. 4:12) The more one reads and pon-ders over the Scriptures, the more one cangain ‘insight into Jehovah’s trueness.’ (Dan.9:13) That being so, we do well to meditate

6. Upon what did Jesus base his answers to Satan’stemptations?7. How does the Bible help us to resist temptation?

on scriptures that deal with our specificweaknesses.

8 In addition to knowing the Scriptures,Jesus could resist temptationbecausehewas“full of holy spirit.” (Luke 4:1) In order tohave similar strength and ability, weneed todraw close to Jehovah by taking full advan-tage of all the provisions he has made to fillus with his spirit. (Jas. 4:7, 8) Among theseare Bible study, prayer, and association withfellowbelievers.Manyhave also appreciatedthebenefitof maintaining a full schedule ofChristian activities, which helps to keepthe mind focused on upbuilding spiritualthoughts.

9 What enticements to err do you have toresist? Have you ever been tempted to flirtwith someone who is not your marriagemate? If you are not married, have you everhad the urge to accept a date with an un-believer? When watching television or us-ing the Internet, Christians may suddenlybe tempted to view something unclean. Hasthat happened to you, and if so, how didyou react? It would be wise to meditate onhow one false step could lead to anotherand then to serious wrongdoing. (Jas. 1:14, 15) Think about the pain that an un-faithful act would bring to Jehovah, tothe congregation, and to your family. Aclean conscience, on the otherhand, resultsfrom maintaining loyalty to divine princi-ples. (Read Psalm 119:37; Proverbs 22:3.)Whenever you face such tests, be deter-mined to pray for strength to resist them.

10 There is something else to rememberabout the Devil’s temptations. Satan ap-proached Jesus after He had been fasting for

8. Through what means can we obtain holy spirit?9, 10. (a) What temptations are common in yourarea? (b) How can meditation and prayer empoweryou to fight temptation even when you feel tired?

40 days in the wilderness. No doubt theDevil thought that this was a particularly“convenient time” to test Jesus’ integri-ty. (Luke 4:13) Satan looks for convenienttimes to test our integrity too. It is vital,therefore, that we keep ourselves spirituallystrong. Satan often attacks when he per-ceives that his target is at its weakest point.So whenever we feel tired or discouraged,we should be more determined than ever topetition Jehovah for his protective help andholy spirit.—2 Cor.12:8-10.

Empowered to Cope WithTiredness and Discouragement

11 As imperfect humans, we feel discour-aged fromtime to time.Thatmayparticular-ly be true today because the period inwhichwe live is especially stressful. We are passingthrough perhaps the most difficult timesthat mankind as a whole has yet experi-enced. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) As Armageddon ap-proaches, economic, emotional, and otherpressures are mounting. It should not comeas a surprise, then, that some find it increas-ingly hard to fulfill their responsibility to

11, 12. (a) Why do many feel discouraged today?(b) What can empower us to resist discouragement?

look after and provide for their families.They feel tired, burdened down, worn-out,and even burned-out. If that is true in yourcase, howcanyou copewith the pressure?

12 Remember, Jesus assured his disciplesthat he would give them a helper—God’sholy spirit. (Read John 14:16,17.)This is themost powerful force in theuniverse.With it,Jehovah can “more than superabundantly”provide the strength that we need to endureany trial. (Eph. 3:20) By relying on it, saidthe apostle Paul, we receive “power be-yond what is normal,” even though we are“pressed in every way.” (2 Cor. 4:7, 8) Jeho-vah does not promise to remove stress, buthe does assure us that by means of his spirit,he will give us the strength to deal with it.—Phil. 4:13.

13 Consider the example of Stephanie, a19-year-old regular pioneer. At age 12, shesuffered a stroke and was diagnosed with abrain tumor. Since then, she has undergonesurgery twice, received radiation treatment,and suffered two more strokes, which lefther with limited movement on her left side

13. (a) How has one young person been empow-ered to cope with a difficult situation? (b) Do youknow of similar examples?

Christian meetings can invigorate us spiritually


and limited vision. Stephanie has to save herenergy for the things that she considersmore important, such as Christian meetingsand field service. Yet, she perceives Jeho-vah’s strengthening hand helping her to en-dure inmany ways. Bible-based publicationscontaining experiences of fellow Christianshave uplifted her when she has been down-hearted. Brothers and sisters have supportedher by sending her letters or by speaking en-couragingly to her before and after meet-ings. Interested people too have shown ap-preciation for what Stephanie is teachingthem by going to her home to receive theirBible instruction. For all of this, Stephaniefeels a great debtof gratitude to Jehovah.Herfavorite scripture is Psalm 41:3, which shebelieves has been fulfilled in her case.

14 When we are tired or under pressure,we must never reason that the way to dealwith stress is to cut back on spiritual activi-ties. That is the worst thing we could possi-bly do. Why? Because such activities aspersonal and family Bible study, field ser-vice, and meeting attendance are the meansby which we receive revitalizing holy spir-it. Christian activities are always refresh-ing. (Read Matthew 11:28, 29.) How oftenbrothers and sisters arrive at meetings feel-ing weary, but when the time comes to gohome, it is as if their energy has been re-newed, their spiritual batteries recharged!

15 This is not to say, of course, that theload of Christian discipleship is weightless.It takes effort to be a faithful Christian.(Matt. 16:24-26; Luke 13:24) Nevertheless,bymeans ofholy spirit, Jehovah cangive thetired one strength. “Those who are hoping

14. What must we avoid when we are discouraged,and why?15. (a) Does Jehovah promise that he will makelife effortless for a Christian? Explain Scripturally.(b) What does God promise us, leading to whatquestion?

in Jehovah will regain power,” wrote theprophet Isaiah. “They will mount up withwings like eagles. They will run and notgrow weary; they will walk and not tire out.”(Isa. 40:29-31) That being the case,wewoulddo well to ask, What truly is at the root ofspiritual fatigue?

16 Jehovah’s Word urges us to “make sureof the more important things.” (Phil. 1:10) Likening the Christian life course to along-distance footrace, under inspirationthe apostle Paul recommended: “Let us alsoput off every weight . . . , and let us runwithendurance the race that is set before us.”(Heb. 12:1) His point was that we mustavoid needless pursuits, needless weights,that will tire us out. It may be that some ofus are simply trying to squeeze too muchinto already busy lives. So if you often feeltired and under pressure, you might benefitfrom reviewing how you meet the demandsof secular work, the frequency with whichyou travel for pleasure, and the intensitywith which you pursue sports or other lei-sure activities. Reasonableness and modestyshould move all of us to recognize our limi-tations andkeepunnecessarycommitmentsto a minimum.

17 It may also be that some among us feel

16. What can we do to eliminate possible causes oftiredness or discouragement?17. Why may some feel discouraged, but what as-surance does Jehovah provide in this regard?

How Would You Answer?˙ How does Bible reading empower

us?˙ How do prayer and meditation

empower us?˙ How can you eliminate potential

causes of discouragement?


a measure of discouragement because theend of this systemof things has not come assoon as we expected. (Prov. 13:12) Any whofeel this way, however, can draw encourage-ment from the words found at Habakkuk2:3: “The vision is yet for the appointedtime, and it keeps panting on to the end,and it will not tell a lie. Even if it should de-lay, keep in expectation of it; for it will with-out fail come true. It will not be late.” Wehave Jehovah’s assurance that the end ofthis system of things will come right onschedule!

18 Surely, all of Jehovah’s faithful servants

18. (a) What promises give you strength? (b) Howwill the next article be of benefit to us?

long for the day when tiredness and dis-couragement will be gone, when all alivewill enjoy “youthful vigor.” (Job 33:25)Evennowwe canbemademightyon the in-side through the action of holy spirit aswe participate in invigorating spiritual ac-tivities. (2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16) Do notlet fatigue cause you to miss out on eter-nal blessings. Every trial—whether causedby temptation, tiredness, or discourage-ment—will pass, if not immediately, then inGod’s new world. In the following article,we will examine how holy spirit empowersChristians to withstand persecution, resistharmful peer pressure, and endure variousother adversities.

JEHOVAH’S people are no strangers to ad-versity of one type or another. Some

trials are due to our own imperfections orare a consequenceof the systemof things inwhich we live. Others are due to the enmitythat exists between those who serve Godand thosewho do not. (Gen. 3:15) From ear-ly on in human history, God has helped hisfaithful servants to withstand religious per-secution, resist harmful peer pressure, andendure all kinds of other adversities. Hisholy spirit can empower us to do the same.

1. Why do Jehovah’s people face many adversities?

Helped to WithstandReligious Persecution

2 Religious persecution is harassment orinjury deliberately inflicted on people be-cause of their faith or beliefs. Its purpose isto stamp out such beliefs, prevent theirspread, or break the integrity of believers.Persecution can take various forms, someovert, some subtle. The Bible likens Satan’sattacks to those of both a young lion and acobra.—Read Psalm 91:13.2. What is the aim of religious persecution, andwhat forms can it take?

EMPOWERED TOOVERCOME ANY TRIAL

“For all things I have the strength by virtue of himwho imparts power to me.”—PHIL. 4:13.


3 Like a savage lion, Satan has often madeopen, frontal attacks by means of violence,imprisonment, or ban. (Ps. 94:20) Yearbookreports describing acts of Jehovah’s Witness-es in modern times contain numerous ac-counts of such tactics. Lawless mobs, someled by clergymen or political fanatics, havemistreated God’s people in many places.These lionlike attacks have caused a few tostumble. Like a cobra, the Devil also launch-es treacherous strikes from hidden places inorder to poison minds and deceive peopleinto doing his will. This type of attack is de-signed to weaken or corrupt us spiritually.But by means of God’s holy spirit, we canwithstand both forms of persecution.

4 Imagining different scenarios of possi-ble future persecution is not the best way toprepare for it. The fact is that we simply can-not know what the future holds in suchmat-ters, so there is little to be gained from wor-rying about things that may never happen.There is, however, something that we cando. Most of those who have successfully en-dured persecution have done so by meditat-ing on the faithful course of integrity keep-ers, as recorded in the Scriptures, as well ason the teachings and example of Jesus. Thishas enabled them to deepen their love for Je-hovah. That love, in turn, helped them to re-sist whatever trials came their way.

5 Consider the example of two of our sis-ters in Malawi. In an effort to get them tobuy political party cards, a violent mob beat,stripped, and threatened to rape them. Themob lyingly told them that even the mem-bers of the Bethel family had obtained par-ty cards. The sisters’ response? “We serveonly Jehovah God. So if the brothers at the

3. What characterizes lionlike and cobralike perse-cution?4, 5. What is the best way to prepare for persecu-tion, and why? Give an example.

branch office have bought cards, that doesnot make any difference to us. We will notcompromise, even if you kill us!” After tak-ing that courageous stand, the sisters werereleased.

6 The apostle Paul noted that Christians inThessalonica had accepted the message oftruth “under much tribulation” yet “withjoy of holy spirit.” (1 Thess. 1:6) Indeed,many Christians, past and present, whohave faced and overcome persecution reportthat at the height of their trials, they experi-enced inner peace, one aspect of the fruitageof God’s holy spirit. (Gal. 5:22) That peace,in turn, helped to guard their hearts andmental powers. Yes, Jehovah uses his ac-tive force to empower his servants to copewith trials and to act wisely when adversitystrikes.�

7 Onlookers have been amazed by the de-termination of God’s people to maintaintheir integrity even in the face of viciouspersecution. The Witnesses seemed imbuedwith superhuman strength, and indeed theywere. The apostle Peter assures us: “If you arebeing reproached for the name of Christ,you are happy, because the spirit of glory,even the spirit of God, is resting upon you.”(1 Pet. 4:14) That we are persecuted for up-holding righteous standards indicates thatwe have divine approval. (Matt. 5:10-12;John15:20) What joy this proof of Jehovah’sblessing brings!

Helped to Resist Peer Pressure8 A more subtle form of opposition that

� For examples, see The Watchtower, May 1, 2001,page 16; and Awake! February 8, 1993, pages 21 and 22.

6, 7. How does Jehovah empower his servants toface persecution?8. (a) What enabled Joshua and Caleb to resist peerpressure? (b) What can we learn from Joshua andCaleb’s example?


Christians must endure is negative peerpressure. However, because Jehovah’s spiritis much more powerful than the spirit ofthe world, we can resist people who ridiculeus, who spread untruths about us, or whoattempt to force us to conform to their stan-dards. What was it, for example, that en-abled Joshua and Caleb to disagree with theviews of the ten other spies who were sentinto the land of Canaan? Holy spirit stirredwithin them a different “spirit,” or mentalinclination.—Read Numbers 13:30; 14:6-10, 24.

9 Holy spirit likewise empowered Jesus’apostles to obey God rather than thosewhommanyesteemed as teachers of true re-ligion. (Acts 4:21, 31; 5:29, 32) Most peopleprefer to go along with the crowd, so tospeak, to avoid confrontation or conflict.True Christians, though, often have to takea stand for what they know to be right.Even so, thanks to the strength imparted byGod’s active force, they do not fear to be dif-ferent. (2Tim.1:7)Considerone area inwhich we must not give in to peer pres-sure.

10 Some young ones might face a di-lemma if they learn that a friend hasengaged in unscriptural conduct. Theymay feel that seeking spiritual help fortheir friend would violate an unwrittencode of silence; therefore, they refuseto speak about the matter because of amisguided sense of loyalty. A wrong-doer may even pressure his friends tokeep his sin hidden. Of course, thiskindof problem is not unique to youngpeople. Some adults too may find it dif-ficult to approach congregation elders

9. Why must Christians be willing to differfrom the majority?10. What dilemma might some Christiansface?

concerning the wrongdoing of a friend or afamily member. But how should true Chris-tians react to such pressure?

11 Imagine this situation. Suppose thatAlex, a young brother, learned that Steve,his friend in the congregation, was in thehabit of viewing pornography. Alex tellsSteve that he is deeply concerned aboutwhat his friend is doing. However, Steveshrugs off his words. When Alex urges himto talk to the elders about it, Steve respondsthat if the two really are friends, then Alexwill not tell onhim. ShouldAlex be afraid oflosing his friend? He might wonder whomthe elders would believe if Steve deniedeverything. Still, the situation is not goingto improve if Alex keeps quiet about it. In-deed, it could lead to Steve’s losing his rela-tionship with Jehovah. Alex would do wellto recall that “trembling at men is what lays

11, 12. What is the best response if a member ofthe congregation urges you not to reveal his or herwrongdoing, and why?

What can we learn from Joshua and Caleb?


a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovahwill be protected.” (Prov. 29:25) What elsecould Alex do? He might lovingly approachSteve again and lay bare his fault. That willtake courage. It may well be, though, thatthis time Steve will welcome the opportuni-ty to talk about his problem. Alex shouldagain encourage Steve to speak to the eldersand tell him that if he does not do so with-in a reasonable period of time, then Alexwill alert them.—Lev. 5:1.

12 If you ever have to handle such a situa-tion, your friend may not at first appreciateyour efforts to help. But he might in timecome to realize that you are acting in hisbest interests. If the erring one receives andaccepts help, then he might be lastinglygrateful to you for your courage and loyalty.On the other hand, if he becomes hardenedagainst you, is he really the kind of friendthat you want? Pleasing our greatest Friend,Jehovah, is always the right thing to do.Whenweput himfirst, otherswho lovehimwill respect us for our loyalty and becometrue friends. We should never allow placefor the Devil in the Christian congregation.If wewere to do so, we truly would grieve Je-

hovah’s holy spirit. We act in harmo-ny with it, however, by working tokeep the Christian congregation pure.—Eph. 4:27, 30.

Empowered to EndureAll Kinds of Adversity

13 Adversitymay takemany forms—afinancial reversal, the loss of employ-ment, a natural disaster, the death of aloved one, a health crisis, and so on.Since we live in “critical times,” it is tobe expected that sooner or later all ofus will have to deal with some kind oftrial. (2 Tim. 3:1) When that occurs, itis important not to panic. Holy spirit

can empower us to endure any kind of ad-versity.

14 Job suffered one adversity after anoth-er. He lost his livelihood, children, friends,and health, and his wife lost confidence inJehovah. (Job 1:13-19; 2:7-9) Yet, Job founda true comforter in Elihu. His message, aswell as the substance of Jehovah’s own mes-sage to Job, was: “Stand still and show your-self attentive to the wonderful works ofGod.” (Job 37:14) What helped Job to en-dure his trials? And what can help us toendure ours? Remembering and ponder-ing the various manifestations of Jehovah’sholy spirit and power. (Job 38:1-41; 42:1, 2)Perhapswe recall times inourown lifewhenwe saw evidence of God’s interest in us per-sonally. He is still interested in us.

15 The apostle Paul endured many life-threatening adversities for the sake of hisfaith. (2Cor.11:23-28)Howdidhemaintainbalance andemotional stabilityunder those

13. What kinds of adversity are Jehovah’s peoplefacing, and why are such things so prevalent?14. What empowered Job to endure his adversities?15. What strengthened the apostle Paul to enduretrials?

How can you help a friend whocommits some wrong?


trying circumstances? By prayerful relianceon Jehovah. During the time of testing thatapparently culminated in his martyrdom,Paul wrote: “The Lord stood near me and in-fused power into me, that through me thepreaching might be fully accomplished andall thenationsmight hear it; and Iwas deliv-ered from the lion’s mouth.” (2 Tim. 4:17)Therefore, from personal experience, Paulcould assure fellow believers that there wasno need to “be anxious over anything.”—Read Philippians 4:6, 7,13.

16 A pioneer named Roxana is one whohas seen how Jehovah provides for his peo-ple. When she asked her employer for per-mission to take some days off to attend oneof our conventions, he angrily retorted thatif she went, he would fire her. Roxana wentanyway, fervently praying that she mightkeep her job. After that, she felt calm. Sureenough, on the Monday after the conven-tion, her boss did fire her. Roxana was per-turbed. She needed that job, low-payingthough it was, to help support her family.Again she prayed, and she reflected on thefact that God had provided for her spiritual-ly at the convention, so he could surely alsoprovide for her physically. As she walkedhome, Roxana sawa “HelpWanted” sign forexperienced operators of industrial sewingmachines, and she applied for a job. The

16, 17. Give an example of how Jehovah is empow-ering his people to face adversities today.

manager realized that she had no experi-ence but offered her a job anyway, at almostdouble the wages she had been earning.Roxana felt that her prayers had been an-swered. The greatest blessing, however, wasthat she was able to share the good newswith several of her fellow workers. Five ofthem, including the manager, accepted thetruth and were baptized.

17 At times, it might seem that our prayersare not being answered—at least not rightaway or in the way we expect. If so, doubt-less there is a good reason. Jehovah knowsit, but it may become clear to us only in thefuture. Of one thing we can be sure—Goddoes not abandon his faithful ones.—Heb.6:10.

Helped to OvercomeTrials and Temptations

18 Jehovah’s people are not surprised tomeet up with temptation, discouragement,persecution, and peer pressure. The world isbasically hostile toward us. (John 15:17-19)Yet, holy spirit can make us equal to anychallenge we might face in our service toGod. Jehovah will not let us be tempted be-yond what we can bear. (1 Cor. 10:13) Hewill by no means ever leave or forsake us.(Heb. 13:5) Obedience to his inspired Wordprotects and fortifies us. Moreover, God’sspirit can impel fellow believers to impartthe assistance we need when we need itmost.

19 May all of us continue to seek holy spir-it through prayer and study of the Scrip-tures. May we go on “being made powerfulwith all power to the extent of [God’s] glori-ous might so as to endure fully and be long-suffering with joy.”—Col.1:11.

18, 19. (a) Why can we expect to face trials andtemptations? (b) How can you face trials success-fully?

How Would You Answer?˙ How can you prepare to withstand

persecution?˙ How should you react if someone

urges you not to reveal wrongdoing?˙ What confidence can you have in

the face of any kind of adversity?

STUDY ARTICLES FOR THE WEEKS OF:

April 4-10Holy Spirit—At Work in Creation!PAGE 6 SONGS TO BE USED: 110, 112

April 11-17Gaining God’s ApprovalLeads to Everlasting Life


April 18-24Love RighteousnessWith All Your Heart


April 25–May 1Do You Hate Lawlessness?PAGE 28 SONGS TO BE USED: 61, 120

34567FEBRUARY 15, 2011

S T U D Y E D I T I O N

34567�

THE PURPOSE OF THIS MAGAZINE, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the Supreme Ruler ofthe universe. Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person to observe developments from afar,so this magazine shows us the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comfortspeople with the good news that God’s Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bringan end to all wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise. It promotes faith in Jesus Christ, whodied so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling as King of God’s Kingdom. Thismagazine has been published by Jehovah’s Witnesses continuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical. Itadheres to the Bible as its authority.This publication is not for sale. It is provided as part of a worldwide Bible educational work supported by voluntary donations. Unless otherwise indicated,Scripture quotations are from the modern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References.

The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown,ON L7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower, 1000 Red MillsRoad, Wallkill, NY 12589-3299. � 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.Vol. 132, No. 4 Semimonthly ENGLISH

FEBRUARY 15, 2011



Points presented in this article will deepen ourunderstanding of how God used his holy spiritto create the heavens and the earth. This studywill also strengthen our conviction that Jeho-vah is our wise and powerful Creator.


People in general concern themselves mostlywith material security. But the Bible shows thatwe should be more concerned with gainingGod’s approval. This article stresses the needfor us to build our trust in Jehovah and showswhat measures we can take to be assured of hisfavor.


‘Jesus loved righteousness, and he hated law-lessness.’ (Heb. 1:9) These articles show howwe can imitate him. They point out why it is im-portant that we learn to love righteousnessand cultivate a hatred for lawlessness.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Teach Your Childrento Be Respectful

11 It Is Worth the Effort!

12 Questions From Readers

18 Do You ReallyAppreciate YourBlessings? )

21 “To ObeyIs Better Thana Sacrifice” )

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ FEBRUARY 15, 2011 3

A GERMAN prove rbstates: “With hat in

hand, one goes through allthe land.” Inmanycultures,a man’s removing his hatupon entering someone’shome or when exchanginggreetings was considereda gesture of courtesy thatwon him respect. Hence,the meaning of the afore-mentioned proverb is thatpeople are inclined to bekinder and are better disposed toward thosewho have good manners.

How refreshing it is when young peopleare well-mannered! A circuit overseer inHonduras who accompanies publishers ofvarious ages in the door-to-door evangeliz-ing work notes, “I have often found that awell-trained and respectful child has moreof an impact on a householder than mywords do.”

In these times of growing disrespect,knowing how to treat others is practical andbeneficial. More than that, the Scripturesadmonish us to “behave in a manner wor-thy of the good news about the Christ.”(Phil. 1:27; 2 Tim. 3:1-5) It is vital that weteach our children to respect others. Howcan they be taught not just to be outwardlypolite but to be genuinely respectful?�

� Of course, parents need to help their children seethe difference between being respectful to adults andsubmitting to someone whose motive might be harm-ful. See Awake! of October 2007, pages 3-11.

Good Manners Taught by ExampleChildren learn by imitating the examples

they observe. So a fundamental way inwhich parents can instill good manners intheir children is by being well-manneredthemselves. (Deut. 6:6, 7) Reasoning withyour child about politeness is important,but that alone is not enough. Along withthe reminders, a good example is absolutelyessential.

Consider the case of Paula,� who wasraised in a Christian household by a sin-gle parent. Showing respect to all becamea part of her personality. Why? She an-swers, “Mom set the example, so being re-spectful came naturally to us children.” AChristian named Walter taught his sonsto respect their unbelieving mother. Hesays, “I sought to teach my sons to respecttheir mother by my own example, neverspeaking disparagingly of my wife.” Walter

� Some names have been changed.

Teach Your Childrento Be Respectful

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ FEBRUARY 15, 2011

continued to instruct hisboys in God’s Word, andhe prayed for Jehovah’shelp. One of them nowserves at a branch officeof Jehovah’s Witnesses,and the other is a pioneer.His sons love and respectboth of their parents.

The Bible states: “God isa God, not of disorder, but ofpeace.” (1 Cor. 14:33) Everything Je-hovah does is orderly. Christians shouldstrive to imitate this godly quality and keepthings tidy in the home. Some parents havetrained their children to make their bedsevery day before going to school, to puttheir clothes in theproper place, and tohelpwith household chores. If children ob-serve a well-ordered and clean en-vironment in the rest of thehome, they are more likely tokeep their rooms and pos-sessions neat.

How do your childrenview what they are learn-ing at school? Do theyexpress appreciation forwhat their teachers are do-ing for them? As a par-ent, do you express such ap-preciation? Your children willtend to reflect the same attitudetoward their schoolwork and teach-ers that you display. Why not encouragethem to make a practice of thanking theirteachers? Expressing gratitude for servicesrendered is an excellent way to show re-spect, whether to a teacher, a doctor, a shop-keeper, or anyone else. (Luke 17:15, 16)Young Christians who stand out amongtheir schoolmates because of politeness andgood conduct are to be commended.

Members of the Christiancongregation should seta fine example when itcomes to manners. Howgood it is to see youthswho are associated withthe congregation displaygraciousness by saying

“please” and “thank you”!When adults show respect for

Jehovah by being attentive tothe instruction provided during the

meetings, young ones are encouraged to im-itate them. Children can learn to respecttheir neighbors by observing fine examplesof good manners at the Kingdom Hall. Forinstance, four-year-old Andrew has alreadylearned to say, “Excuse me,” when he has topass by adults.

What else can parents do to helptheir children learn what is ex-

pected of them in the way ofproper conduct? Parents canand should take time toshare with their childrenthe lessons learned fromthemanyexamples foundin God’s Word.—Rom.15:4.

Teach WithBible Examples

Samuel’s mother most likelyprepared her son to bow before

High Priest Eli. When she took Samuel tothe tabernacle, he was probably only threeor four years old. (1 Sam.1:28)Could you re-hearse with your little child such greet-ings as “good morning,” “good afternoon,”“good evening,” or whatever is customarywhere you live? Like young Samuel, yourchildren too canbe “likable both from Jeho-vah’s standpoint and from that of men.”—1 Sam. 2:26.


Why not use Bible ac-counts to highlight thecontrast between respectand disrespect? For ex-ample, when Israel’s un-faithful King Ahaziahwanted to see the proph-et Elijah, he dispatched ‘achief of fifty and his fiftymen’ to summon him. Theofficer demanded that theprophet accompany him. That wasno way to speak to a man who was God’srepresentative. How did Elijah answer?“Well, if I am a man of God,” he said, “letfire come down from the heavens and eatup you and your fifty.” And that is exact-ly what happened. “Fire came descendingfrom the heavens and went eating up himand his fifty.”—2 Ki.1:9,10.

A second chief of 50 was sentto get Elijah. He too triedto order Elijah to go withhim.Once again, fire camedown from the heavens.But then, a third chief of50 came to Elijah. Thisman showed respect. In-stead of giving Elijah anorder, he bent down uponhis knees and pleaded:“Man of the true God, pleaselet my soul and the soul of thesefifty servants of yours be precious inyour eyes. Here fire came down from theheavens and went eating up the two formerchiefs of fifty and their fifties, but now letmy soul be precious in your eyes.” WouldGod’s prophet call down fire on someonewho may have been fearful but spoke withsuch respect? That would be unthinkable!Instead, Jehovah’s angel told Elijah to gowith this officer. (2 Ki. 1:11-15) Does that

not emphasize the value ofshowing respect?

When the apostle Paulwas taken into custody atthe temple by Roman sol-diers, he did not assumethat he had the right

to speak. He respectfullyasked the officer in charge:

“Am I allowed to say some-thing to you?” As a result, Paul

was given the opportunity to speakin his own defense.—Acts 21:37-40.

While on trial, Jesus was slapped in theface. However, he knew how to protest: “If Ispoke wrongly, bear witness concerning thewrong; but if rightly, why do you hit me?”No one could find any fault with theway Je-sus spoke.—John 18:22, 23.

God’s Word also provides exam-ples of how we may respond to

severe correction and how toacknowledge respectfullysome past wrongdoing ornegligence. (Gen. 41:9-13;Acts 8:20-24) For exam-ple, Abigail apologizedfor the insolent way inwhich her husband, Na-

bal, treated David. To herapology she added a gift

of generous provisions. Da-vid was so impressed with what

Abigail did that after Nabal’s deathhe chose her to be his wife.—1 Sam.25:23-41.

Teach your children to be respectful,whether it is amatterof showing respect un-der trying circumstances or simply of dis-playing good manners. ‘Letting our lightshine before men’ in this way ‘brings gloryto our Father, who is in the heavens.’—Matt.5:16.


WHEN Albert Einstein published hisspecial theory of relativity in 1905,

he and many other scientists believed thatthe universe consisted of just one galaxy—our Milky Way. How greatly they under-estimated the size of the universe! It isnow thought that the heavens contain over100 billion galaxies, some consisting of bil-lions of stars. As ever more sensitive tele-scopes are used on earth or put into orbitaround it, the number of known galaxieskeeps climbing.

2 Just as scientific knowledge of the heav-ens was limited in 1905, so was knowledgeof the earth. True, people living a centuryago knew more than their forebears. Today,however, the beauty and complexity of lifeand the terrestrial systems that sustain it arefar better understood than they were at thattime. And we will undoubtedly learn muchmore about the earth and the heavens inthe years ahead. But especially is it appropri-ate to ask, How did all of this come to be inthe first place? The answer to that questioncan be known only because the Creator hasrevealed it through the Holy Scriptures.

The Miracle of Creation3 How the universe came to be is ex-

plained in the Bible’s opening words: “In

1, 2. (a) How has man’s knowledge of the heavensand the earth increased over time? (b) What ques-tion requires an answer?3, 4. How did God create the universe, and how dohis works glorify him?

the beginning God created the heavensand the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) Starting with nopreexisting material, Jehovah used his holyspirit—his powerful active force—to createthe physical heavens, the earth, and every-thing else in the universe. A human crafts-man uses his hands and tools to makethings, but God sends forthholy spirit to ac-complish his great works.

4 The Scriptures figuratively refer to holyspirit as God’s “finger.” (Luke 11:20;Matt. 12:28) And “the work of his hands”—what Jehovah created by means of hisholy spirit—brings him great glory. “Theheavens are declaring the glory of God,”sang thepsalmist David, “andof theworkofhis hands the expanse is telling.” (Ps. 19:1)Indeed, physical creation testifies to theawesome power of God’s holy spirit. (Rom.1:20) How does it do so?

God’s Limitless Power5 Our unimaginably vast universe gives

evidence that Jehovah’s power and ener-gy are inexhaustible. (Read Isaiah 40:26.)Modern science is aware that matter can bechanged into energy and energy into mat-ter. Our sun, a star, provides an example ofmatter being turned into energy. Every sec-ond, the sun converts about four milliontonsofmatter into sunlight andother formsof radiant energy. The small fraction of that

5. Illustrate the creative power of Jehovah’s holyspirit.

HOLY SPIRIT—AT WORK IN CREATION!

“By the word of Jehovah the heavens themselves were made,and by the spirit of his mouth all their army.”—PS. 33:6.


energy that reachesus is sufficient to sustainlife on the earth. Obviously, tremendouspower and energy were required to createnot just the sun but also all the other bil-lions of stars. Jehovah possesses the energythat was needed—and much more.

6 Weare surroundedbyevidence thatGodused his holy spirit in a very orderly way. Toillustrate: Suppose you had a box contain-ing balls of different colors. You shake thebox, thoroughly mixing the balls. Then youthrow them out onto the ground all at once.Would you expect the balls to land groupedaccording to color—the blue balls together,the yellow likewise, and so on? Of coursenot! Uncontrolled actions always tend to re-sult in less order, not more. That fact is ac-cepted as a fundamental lawof nature.�

7 Yet, when we raise our eyes and tele-scopesheavenward,what dowe see?Wefindan immense and highly ordered system of

� See pages 24 and 25 of the book Is There a CreatorWho Cares About You?

6, 7. (a) Why can we say that God has used hisholy spirit in an orderly way? (b) What shows thatthe universe did not come about by chance?

galaxies, stars, and planets, all moving withgreat precision. This could not be the prod-uct of chance or of an unplanned and un-controlled cosmic accident. So we must ask,What forcewas originally employed inorderto produce our orderly universe? We hu-mans are limited in our ability to identifythat force through scientific observationand experimentation alone. However, theBible has identified it as God’s holy spirit,the most powerful force in the universe. Thepsalmist sang: “By the word of Jehovah theheavens themselves were made, and by thespirit of his mouth all their army.” (Ps. 33:6)And with our eyes, we can see only a verysmall part of that “army” of stars as we sur-vey the night sky!

Holy Spirit and the Earth8 What we presently understand about

nature is infinitesimal when compared withall there is to learn. As for the scope ofour knowledge of God’s creative works, thefaithful man Job concluded: “Look! Theseare the fringes of his ways, and what a whis-per of a matterhas been heard of him!” (Job26:14) Centuries later, King Solomon, anastute observer of Jehovah’s creation, de-clared: “Everything [God] has made prettyin its time. Even time indefinite he has putin their heart, that mankind may never findout the work that the true God has madefrom the start to the finish.”—Eccl. 3:11;8:17.

9 Jehovahhas, however, revealed essentialdetails about his works. For instance, theScriptures inform us that God’s spirit wasactive on the earth aeons ago. (Read Gene-sis 1:2.) At that time, there was no dry land,

8. How much do we really know about Jehovah’sworks?9, 10. God used what force when he created theearth, and what were some developments duringthe first three creative days?

What does the order seen in the universeteach us about creation?

Star

s:An

glo-

Aust

ralia

nO

bser

vato

ry/D

avid

Mal

inIm

ages

no light, and apparently no breathable air atthe earth’s surface.

10 The Bible goes on to describewhat Goddidduringa seriesof creative days.These arenot 24-hour days but are epochs. On thefirst creative day, Jehovah caused light to be-gin to appear at the earth’s surface. Thatprocess would be completed when the sunand the moon later became discerniblefrom the earth. (Gen.1:3,14) On the secondday, the atmosphere began to be formed.(Gen. 1:6) Earth then had water, light, andair but still no dry land. Early on the thirdcreative day, Jehovah used his holy spirit toproduce dry land, perhaps harnessing pow-erful geologic forces to push continents upoutof the global sea. (Gen.1:9) Therewouldbe other astounding developments on thethird day and during later creative periods.

Holy Spirit and Living Creatures11 God’s spirit also produced highly orga-

nized works in the biological sphere of cre-ation. By means of his holy spirit, duringcreative days three through six, God createdan astounding variety of plants and ani-mals. (Gen. 1:11, 20-25) Thus, living thingsprovide countless examples of complexity,symmetry, and beauty that bespeak designof the highest level.

12 ConsiderDNA (deoxyribonucleic acid),one of the chemical mechanisms involvedin passing on the characteristics of organ-isms from one generation to the next. Allliving things on the earth—including mi-crobes, grass, elephants, blue whales, andhumans—reproduce using DNA. Although

11. What is demonstrated by the complexity, sym-metry, and beauty of living things?12. (a) DNA performs what function? (b) Whatshould we learn from the continuing successfulfunction of DNA?

How is DNA commonto all these things?


the earth’s creatures differ widely, the codethat controls many of their inherited char-acteristics is very stable and has servedto maintain the distinction between basickinds of creatures down through the ages.According to Jehovah God’s purpose, theearth’s various organisms therefore contin-ue to perform their functions in the com-plex web of life. (Ps. 139:16) This very effec-tive, orderly arrangement provides furtherevidence that creation is the work of God’s“finger,” orholy spirit.

The Climax of Earthly Creation13 After aeons had passed and God had

produced innumerable animate and in-animate works, the earth was no longer“formless and waste.” Yet, Jehovah had notfinished using his spirit for creative purpos-es. He was about to produce his highestearthlycreation.Toward the endof the sixthcreative day, God created man. How did Je-hovah do so? By using his holy spirit andthe elements of the earth.—Gen. 2:7.

14 Genesis 1:27 states: “God proceeded tocreate the man in his image, in God’s imagehe created him; male and female he createdthem.” Being made in God’s image meansthat Jehovah created us with the ability todisplay love, to exercise freewill, and even toestablish a personal relationship with ourCreator. Hence, our brains differ greatlyfrom those of animals. Specifically, Jehovahdesigned the human brain so that we couldgo on joyfully learning about him and hisworks forever.

15 At mankind’s beginning, God gaveAdam and his wife, Eve, the earth and all its

13. How did God create man?14. In what important way do humans differ fromanimals?15. What prospect was placed before Adam andEve?

wonders to investigate and enjoy. (Gen. 1:28) Jehovah provided abundant food and aparadise home for them. They had the op-portunity to live forever and become the be-loved parents of billions of perfect descen-dants. Yet, things did not workout that way.

Acknowledging the Role of Holy Spirit16 Instead of gratefully obeying their Cre-

ator, AdamandEve selfishly rebelled. All im-perfect humans have descended from themand have suffered as a result. But the Bibleexplains how God will undo all the damagecaused by the sinful course of our first par-ents. The Scriptures also show that Jeho-vah will fulfill his original purpose. Earthwill become a paradise filled with happy,healthy people blessed with everlasting life.(Gen. 3:15) To maintain faith in that heart-warming prospect, we need the help ofGod’s holy spirit.

17 We should pray to Jehovah for holyspirit. (Luke 11:13) Doing so will help us toreinforce our conviction that creation is thework of God’s hand. Today, there is a risingtide of atheistic and evolutionist propagan-da dependent on flawed and baseless rea-soning. We should not let this flood offaulty thinking confuse or intimidate us. AllChristians must prepare themselves to resistsuch an onslaught and the peer pressure as-sociated with it.—Read Colossians 2:8.

18 Faith in the Bible and in God himself issure to be strengthenedby anhonest exami-nation of the evidence in favor of creation.In contemplating the origin of the universeand mankind, many would like to rule out

16. We have what hope despite the rebellion of thefirst humans?17. What kind of thinking must we avoid?18. When considering the origin of the universeand mankind, why would it be shortsighted to ruleout an intelligent Creator?


the influence of any force outside the physi-cal realm. If we were to discuss matters fromthat standpoint, though, we would not beweighingall the evidence impartially.More-over, we would be ignoring the obviousexistence of orderly, purposeful creations“without number.” (Job 9:10; Ps. 104:25) AsChristians, we are certain that the activeforce involved in creation was holy spiritunder the intelligent direction of Jehovah.

Holy Spirit and Our Faith in God19 We do not need to know everything

about creation in order to have faith in Godas well as love and profound reverence forhim. Like friendship with a human, faith inJehovah is based on more than cold facts.Just as a relationship between friends growsas they get to know each other better, ourfaith in God increases as we learn moreabout him. Indeed, his very existence isimpressed upon us when he answers ourprayers and we note the good effects of ap-plying his principles in our life. We drawever closer to Jehovah as we see mounting

19. What provides personal proof of the existenceof God and the operation of his spirit?

evidence that he is guiding oursteps, protecting us, blessing ourefforts in his service, and supply-ing the things we need. All of thisprovides powerful confirmation ofGod’s existence and of the opera-tion of his holy spirit.

20 The Bible is an outstanding ex-ample of Jehovah’s use of his activeforce because itswriters “spoke fromGod as they were borne along byholy spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:21) Carefulstudyof the Scriptures can build ourfaith in God as the one who createdall things. (Rev. 4:11) Jehovah be-came the Creator as an expression of

his endearing quality of love. (1 John 4:8)Let us, therefore, do our utmost to help oth-ers to learn about our loving heavenly Fa-ther and Friend. In our own case, if we con-tinue to be led by God’s spirit, we will beprivileged to learn about him forever. (Gal.5:16, 25) May each of us keep on learningabout Jehovah and his great works and re-flect in our lives the boundless love heshowed when he used his holy spirit tocreate the heavens, the earth, and mankind.

20. (a) Why did God create the universe and man?(b) What will result if we continue to follow the leadof God’s holy spirit?

Are you prepared to defend your faith?

Can You Explain?˙ What does the existence of the heav-

ens and the earth teach us aboutGod’s use of holy spirit?

˙ Being made in God’s image gives uswhat opportunities?

˙ Why do we need to examine the evi-dence for creation?

˙ In what ways can our relationshipwith Jehovah grow?

FAMILY WORSHIP and Bible study are es-sential if children are to be brought up

“in the discipline and mental-regulating ofJehovah.” (Eph. 6:4) If you are a parent,though, you know that youngones can easi-ly become bored.Howcanyou keep their at-tention? Consider what some parents havedone.

“When the children were younger,” saysGeorge, in California, U.S.A., “my wife and Itried to keep the family Bible study fresh.Sometimes we all would dress up as Biblecharacters and act out an account as weread from My Book of Bible Stories. We evenmade props—swords, scepters, baskets, andthe like. We also played ‘guess who I am’ Bi-ble games and created a Bible board gamewith questions of varying difficulty. Thenthere were projects, such as building a mod-el of Noah’s ark or creating a time line of Bi-ble events. Sometimes we used drawing ses-sions in which we depicted Bible charactersor stories. Currently, we are planning adrawing project on the spiritual armor de-scribed at Ephesians 6:11-17, with each of usexplaining what a certain piece represents.These methods have helped us to enjoy ourfamily study.”

Debi, a mother in Michigan, U.S.A., re-lates: “My husband and I had trou-ble reaching our daughter whenshe was about three years old.

Then,onedaywhile readingaloud the storyof Isaac and Rebekah from My Book of BibleStories, I scooped up two dolls and began toad-lib. Now she held on to every word! Inthe months that followed, those two dollsbecame many different Bible characters. Af-ter we read an account, ourdaughter wouldsearch the house for toys or other items thatcould be used to act out the story. It was likea treasure hunt! A shoe box and a red rib-bon became Rahab’s house with a scar-let cord. A five-foot-long [1.5 m] stuffedtoy snake wrapped around a broomstickworked well as the copper serpent of Num-bers 21:4-9. We kept the props in a largecanvas bag. To our delight, our girl wouldoften sit in the living room and rummagethrough her ‘Bible story bag.’ What a joy tosee her dramatize the stories in her own lit-tle way!”

Raising children is not easy, and it takesmore than weekly sessions to instill in thema desire to serve Jehovah. But family wor-ship and Bible study can be a base for otherspiritual instruction. Without question, it isworth the effort!

It Is Worththe Effort!

11

Why did Moses become angry withAaron’s sons Eleazar and Ithamar af-ter the death of their brothers Nadab andAbihu, and how was his anger appeased?—Lev. 10:16-20.

Shortly after the installation of the priest-hood for service at the tabernacle, Jeho-vah executed Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abi-hu because they had offered illegitimate firebefore Him. (Lev. 10:1, 2) Moses orderedAaron’s surviving sons not to mourn theirdead brothers. Not long thereafter, Mosesbecame indignant at Eleazar and Ithamar be-cause they had not eaten the goat of the sinoffering. (Lev. 9:3) Why did Moses react thisway?

The laws that Jehovah had given Mosesspecified that the priest who offered up a sinoffering was to eat part of it in the courtyardof the tent of meeting. Doing so was consid-ered to be answering for the sins of thosewho made the sacrifice. However, if some ofthe blood of the sacrifice was taken intothe Holy Place, the first compartment of thesanctuary, the offering was not to be eat-en. Instead, it was to be burned.—Lev. 6:24-26, 30.

It appears that after the tragic events ofthat day, Moses saw the needto make sure that all of Je-hovah’s commandments hadbeen followed. On discoveringthat the goat of the sin of-fering had been burned, heindignantly asked Eleazar andIthamar why they had not eat-en it as directed, because itsblood had not been presented

before Jehovah in the Holy Place.—Lev. 10:17, 18.

Aaron answered Moses’ question, sincethe surviving priests had evidently acted asthey did with his approval. In the light of theexecution of two of his sons, Aaron may havewondered whether any of the priests could ingood conscience eat of the sin offering onthat day. Perhaps he felt that their eating ofit would not be pleasing to Jehovah, eventhough they bore no direct responsibility forthe error committed by Nadab and Abihu.—Lev. 10:19.

Aaron may especially have reasoned thaton the day when members of his family firstperformed their priestly duties, they shouldhave exercised great care to please God ineven the smallest detail. However, Jehovah’sname had been profaned by Nadab and Abi-hu, and God’s anger had blazed againstthem. So Aaron may have thought that mem-bers of a priestly family in which such sin wasfound should not partake of a holy offering.

Moses seems to have accepted his broth-er’s answer, for the passage concludes:“When Moses got to hear that, then it provedsatisfactory in his eyes.” (Lev. 10:20) Evident-ly, Jehovah too was satisfied with Aaron’sanswer.

Questions From Readers

12

THE woman and her son were hungry,and sowasGod’s prophet. As thiswidow

in Zarephath got ready to light a cookingfire, the prophet Elijah asked her for waterandbread. Shewaswilling togive him some-thing to drink, but all she had for food was“a handful of flour in the large jar and a littleoil in the small jar.” She felt that she was inno position to give the prophet any food,and she told him so.—1 Ki.17:8-12.

2 “From what is there make me a smallround cake first,” persisted Elijah, “and youmust bring it out to me, and for yourself andyour son you can make something after-ward. For this is what Jehovah the God of Is-rael has said, ‘The large jar offlour itself will not get ex-hausted, and the small jar ofoil itself will not fail.’”—1 Ki.17:13,14.

3 The issue before the wid-ow was more critical than de-ciding what to do with her

1, 2. What request did Elijahmake of the widow in Zarephath,and what assurance did he giveher?3. What important issue is set be-fore us?

last bit of food. Would she trust in Jehovahto save her and her son, or would she puther material needs ahead of gaining God’sapproval and friendship? A similar questionstands before all of us. Will we show great-er concern for gaining Jehovah’s approvalthan for seeking material security? We haveevery reason to trust and serve God. Andthere are steps we can take to seek and gainhis approval.

‘You Are Worthy to Receive Worship’4 Jehovah has the right to expect that

4. Why is Jehovah worthy of receiving our wor-ship?

GAININGGOD’S APPROVAL LEADSTO EVERLASTING LIFE

“You yourself will bless anyone righteous, O Jehovah; as with a large shield,with approval you will surround them.”—PS. 5:12.

God’s prophet placed whatimportant issue before

a needy mother?



humans will serve him acceptably. A groupof his heavenly servants confirmed that factin unison, saying: “You are worthy, Jeho-vah, even our God, to receive the glory andthehonor and thepower, because you creat-ed all things, and because of your will theyexisted and were created.” (Rev. 4:11) By rea-son of his Creatorship, Jehovah is worthy ofour worship.

5 Another reason for us to serve Jehovah ishismatchless love for us. “Godproceeded tocreate the man in his image,” states the Bi-ble, “in God’s image he created him; maleand female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27)Man is a free moral agent with the God-given ability to think and tomake decisions.By giving us life, Jehovah became Father tohumankind. (Luke 3:38) Like any good fa-ther, he has done everything to providewhat his sons and daughters need in orderto enjoy life. “He makes his sun rise” and“makes it rain,” so that planet Earth pro-duces abundant food for us against a back-dropof beautiful surroundings.—Matt. 5:45.

6 Jehovah has also rescued us from theterrible consequences of sin. By sinning,Adam became like a gambler who stealsfrom his family to engage in gambling. Byrebelling against Jehovah, Adam robbed hischildren of their prospect—eternal happi-ness. His selfishness reduced humankind toslavery under a cruel master, imperfection.All humans are thus bound to get sick, expe-rience sadness, and eventually die. Freeing aslave requires a payment, and Jehovah hasmade the payment that can save us fromthose dreadful consequences. (Read Ro-mans 5:21.) Acting in harmony with his Fa-

5. Why should God’s love motivate us to servehim?6, 7. (a) What harm did Adam bring upon all hisdescendants? (b) What will Christ’s sacrifice do forthose who seek God’s approval?

ther’s will, Jesus Christ gave “his soul a ran-som in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28)Soon the full benefits of that ransom pay-ment will accrue to those who gain God’sapproval.

7 Our Creator, Jehovah, has done morethan anyone to give us a happy, purposefullife. Having his approval, we will be able tosee how he works to undo all the damagedone to the human race. In a personal way,Jehovah will continue to show us how hebecomes “the rewarder of those earnestlyseeking him.”—Heb.11:6.

“Your People WillOffer Themselves Willingly”

8 Gaining God’s approval involves theproper exercise of our free will. This is be-cause Jehovah does not coerce anyone intoserving him. In Isaiah’s time, He asked:“Whom shall I send, and who will go forus?” By recognizing the prophet’s right todecide, Jehovah dignified him. Imagine Isa-iah’s satisfaction in responding: “Here I am!Send me.”—Isa. 6:8.

9 Humans are free to serve God or not todo so. Jehovah wants us to serve him will-ingly. (Read Joshua 24:15.) Any who be-grudge God their worship cannot be pleas-ing to him; nor does he accept the devotionof those whose true intent is only to pleaseother humans. (Col. 3:22) If we rendered sa-cred service “hesitantly” by allowing world-ly interests to interferewith our worship, wewould not win God’s approval. (Ex. 22:29)Jehovah knows that serving him whole-souled is good for us.Moses urged the Israel-ites to choose life ‘by loving Jehovah their

8. What does Isaiah’s experience teach us aboutserving God?9, 10. (a) With what attitude should we serveGod? (b) Why is it appropriate for us to serve Jeho-vah whole-souled?

God, by listening to his voice and by stick-ing to him.’—Deut. 30:19, 20.

10 King David of ancient Israel sang toJehovah: “Your people will offer them-selves willingly on the day of your militaryforce. In the splendors of holiness, from thewomb of the dawn, you have your compa-ny of young men just like dewdrops.” (Ps.110:3) Many people today live for financialsecurity and leisure. For those who love Je-hovah, however, their sacred service comesbefore everything else. The zeal with whichthey preach the good news proves wheretheir priorities lie. They have full confi-dence in Jehovah’s ability to supply theirdaily needs.—Matt. 6:33, 34.

Sacrifices That Meet WithGod’s Approval

11 Under the Law covenant, God’s peopleoffered acceptable sacrifices to gain his fa-vor. “In case you should sacrifice a commu-nion sacrifice to Jehovah,” says Leviticus19:5, “you should sacrifice it to gain ap-proval for yourselves.” In the same Biblebook, we read: “In case you should sacrificea thanksgiving sacrifice to Jehovah, youshould sacrifice it to gain approv-al for you.” (Lev. 22:29) Whenthe Israelites offered up properanimal sacrifices on Jehovah’s al-tar, the smoke that drifted upwas like “a restful odor” to thetrue God. (Lev. 1:9, 13) He feltsoothed and refreshed by thoseexpressions of love from his peo-ple. (Gen. 8:21, ftn.) In these fea-

11. What benefit did the Israeliteshope to receive by offering sacrifices toJehovah?

tures of the Law, we find a principle that ap-plies today. Those offering acceptable sacri-fices to Jehovah receive his approval. Whatsacrifices does he accept? Consider two areasof life: our conduct and our speech.

12 In his letter to the Romans, the apostlePaul wrote: “Present your bodies a sacrificeliving, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred ser-vice with your power of reason.” (Rom.12:1)GainingGod’s approval requires that aperson keep his body acceptable to God. Ifhewere to defile himself with tobacco, betelnut, illicit drugs, or alcohol abuse, that of-fering would have no value. (2 Cor. 7:1)Moreover, since he that “practices fornica-tion is sinning against his own body,” im-moral conduct of any kind renders his sacri-fice offensive to Jehovah. (1 Cor. 6:18) Toplease God, a person must ‘become holy inall his conduct.’—1 Pet.1:14-16.

13 Another sacrifice that Jehovah delightsin has to do with our power of speech.Those loving Jehovah have always spoken

12. What practices would make the ‘presenting ofour bodies as a sacrifice’ offensive to God?13. Why is it fitting that we praise Jehovah?

What benefit do we receiveby offering a sacrifice of

praise to Jehovah?



well of him in public and in the privacy oftheir homes. (Read Psalm 34:1-3.) ReadPsalms 148-150, and observe how oftenthese three psalms encourage us to praise Je-hovah. Truly, “on the part of the uprightones praise is fitting.” (Ps. 33:1) And our Ex-emplar, Jesus Christ, stressed the impor-tance of praising God by preaching thegood news.—Luke 4:18, 43, 44.

14 By preaching with zeal, we give evi-dence of our love for Jehovah and our desirefor his approval. For example, consider howthe prophet Hosea exhorted the Israeliteswhohad takenup falseworship andhad lostGod’s favor. (Hos. 13:1-3) Hosea told themto plead: “May you [Jehovah] pardon error;and accept what is good, and wewill offer inreturn the youngbulls ofour lips.”—Hos.14:1, 2.

15 A bull was the costliest animal that anIsraelite could offer to Jehovah. Hence, “theyoung bulls of our lips” referred to sincere,well-thought-out words spoken in praise ofthe true God. How did Jehovah respond tothose making such sacrifices? He said: “Ishall love them of my own free will.” (Hos.14:4) To those offering such sacrifices ofpraise, Jehovah granted his forgiveness, ap-proval, and friendship.

14, 15. Hosea urged the Israelites to offer what typeof sacrifices, and how did Jehovah respond?

16 Praising Jehovah publicly has alwaysbeen a prominent part of true worship. Glo-rifying the true God meant so much to thepsalmist that he beseeched God: “Pleasetake pleasure in the voluntary offerings ofmy mouth, O Jehovah.” (Ps. 119:108) Whatabout today? Speaking of a large crowd ofpeople in our time, Isaiah prophesied: “Thepraises of Jehovah they will announce. . . .With approval they [their gifts] will comeup upon my [God’s] altar.” (Isa. 60:6, 7)In fulfillment, millions are offering God“a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit oflips which make public declaration to hisname.”—Heb.13:15.

17 What about you? Are you offering Godacceptable sacrifices? If not, will you makeneeded changes and begin praising Jehovahpublicly? When faith moves you to startpreaching the good news, your offering willbe “more pleasing to Jehovah than a bull.”(Read Psalm 69:30, 31.) Be assured that“the restful odor” of your sacrifice of praisewill reach Jehovah and that he will grantyou his approval. (Ezek. 20:41) The joy thatyou will then feel has no equal.

‘Jehovah HimselfWill Bless Anyone Righteous’

18 Today, many people draw the sameconclusion as some did in Malachi’s time:“It is useless to serve God; and what profit isit that we have kept his charge?” (Mal. 3:14,An American Translation) Led on by ma-terialistic desires, they view God’s purposeas unattainable and his laws as no lon-ger applicable. To them, the preaching of

16, 17. When faith in God moves a person topreach the good news, how does Jehovah receivethat one’s praise?18, 19. (a) What view of serving God do manypeople hold today? (b) Losing God’s favor leads towhat?

Do You Recall?˙ Why does Jehovah deserve our heart-

felt worship?˙ What sacrifices does Jehovah accept

today?˙ The expression “the young bulls of

our lips” refers to what, and whyshould we offer them to Jehovah?

˙ Why should we seek God’s approval?


the good news is a waste oftime and a source of irrita-tion.

19 The driving force be-hind such ideas goes back tothe garden of Eden. It was Sa-tan who persuaded Eve todisregard the real value ofthe wonderful life Jehovahhad given her and to dis-dain His approval. Today, Sa-tan eggs people on to believethat nothing is to be gainedby doing God’s will. How-ever, Eve and her husband discovered thatlosing God’s favor meant losing their lives.Those who now follow their bad examplewill soon come to realize the same bittertruth.—Gen. 3:1-7,17-19.

20 Contrast the sad ending of Adam andEve with the outcome of the events men-tioned earlier regarding Elijah and the wid-ow of Zarephath. After hearing Elijah’s en-couraging words, the woman began bakingand first served the prophet some bread.Then Jehovah fulfilled thepromisehemadethrough Elijah. The account states: “Shecontinued to eat, she together withhim andher household, for days. The large jar offlour itself did not get exhausted, and thesmall jar of oil itself did not fail, accordingto Jehovah’s word that he had spoken bymeans of Elijah.”—1 Ki.17:15,16.

21 The widow of Zarephath did some-thing that few people of the billions now

20, 21. (a) What did the widow of Zarephath do,and how did the matter turn out for her? (b) Howand why should we imitate the widow of Zare-phath?

alive are willing to do. She put her completetrust in the God of salvation, and he did notleave her in the lurch. This and other Bibleaccounts confirm that Jehovahdeserves ourtrust. (Read Joshua 21:43-45; 23:14.) Thelives of modern-day Witnesses of Jehovahprovide further proof that he will neverabandon those who have his approval.—Ps.34:6, 7,17-19.�

22 God’s day of judgment “upon all thosedwelling upon the face of all the earth” isimminent. (Luke 21:34, 35) There is no es-caping it. No riches or material comfortscan ever come near in value to hearingGod’s appointed Judge say: “Come, youwho have been blessed by my Father, inher-it the kingdomprepared for you.” (Matt. 25:34) Yes, ‘Jehovah himself will bless anyonerighteous; as with a large shield, with ap-proval he will surround them.’ (Ps. 5:12)Should we not seek God’s approval?

� See The Watchtower, March 15, 2005, page 13, para-graph 15; August 1, 1997, pages 20-25.

22. Why is it urgent that we seek God’s approvalwithout delay?

Your genuine trustin Jehovah will never

lead to disappointment

18

HAVING been miraculously deliveredfrom slavery in Egypt, the sons of Isra-

el were initially delighted to be free toworship Jehovah. (Ex. 14:29–15:1, 20, 21)Soon thereafter, however, their viewpointchanged. They began to complain abouttheir lot in life. Why? Because they shiftedtheir focus fromwhat Jehovah had done forthem to the inconveniences of dwellingin thewilderness. They said to Moses: “Whyhave you brought us up out of Egypt to diein the wilderness? For there is no bread andno water, and our soul has come to abhorthe contemptible bread [manna].”—Num.21:5.

Centuries later, King David of ancientIsrael sang: “As for me, in your loving-kindness I have trusted; let my heart be joy-ful in your salvation. I will sing to Jehovah,for he has dealt rewardingly with me.” (Ps.

13:5, 6) David did not forget Jehovah’sacts of loving-kindness toward him. On thecontrary, he regularly spent time thinkingabout them. (Ps.103:2) Jehovahhas dealt re-wardingly with us too, and we are wise notto take for granted what he has done in ourbehalf. Let us, then, consider some of God’sblessings that we enjoy today.

“Intimacy With Jehovah”The psalmist sang: “The intimacy with Je-

hovah belongs to those fearful of him.” (Ps.25:14) What a privilege it is for imperfecthumans to have a close personal relation-ship with Jehovah! However, what if we be-come so preoccupied with the everyday af-fairs of life that we end up spending lesstime praying? Think of what will then hap-pen to our good relationship with Jehovah.As our Friend, Jehovah expects us to trust

Do You Really AppreciateYour Blessings?

We are blessed with spiritualsupport in times of trial


in him and pour out our heartto him in prayer, expressing tohim our fears, desires, and anxi-eties. (Prov. 3:5, 6; Phil. 4:6, 7) Soshould we not give considerationto the quality of our prayers?

When a young Witness namedPaul thought about his prayers,he realized that he needed tomake some improvements.� Hesaid, “I had fallen into the habitof using the same expressions re-peatedly when I prayed to Jeho-vah.” As Paul did research on thesubject in the Watch Tower Publi-cations Index, he learned that there areabout 180 prayers recorded in the Bible. Inthese, Jehovah’s servants of the past ex-pressed their innermost feelings. Paul stat-ed: “Bymeditating on suchScriptural exam-ples, I learned to be specific in my prayers.This has helped me to open my heart to Je-hovah. Now it is a delight to draw close tohim inprayer.”

“Food at the Proper Time”Another blessing that Jehovah has be-

stowed upon us is the great body of Scriptur-al truth. As we feast on an abundance of richspiritual food, we have reason to “cry outjoyfully because of the good condition ofthe heart.” (Isa. 65:13,14) However, we mustbe on guard against allowing unwholesomeinfluences to cause us to lose our enthusi-asm for the truth. For example, payingatten-tion to apostate propaganda canbecloudourthinking and blind us to the value of thespiritual “food at the proper time” madeavailable by Jehovah through “the faithfuland discreet slave.”—Matt. 24:45-47.

Andre, who had served Jehovah for years,had the bitter experience of being led astray

� Names have been changed.

by apostate thinking. He felt that having aquick look at an apostate Web site wouldnot be dangerous.He recalls: “Initially, I wasattracted to the so-called truths that theapostates spoke of. The more I examinedwhat they said, the more I came to thinkthat I was justified in leaving Jehovah’s or-ganization. But later, as I did some researchon the apostates’ arguments against Jeho-vah’s Witnesses, I became aware of howcrafty the false teachers were. Informationtaken out of context was their ‘strong evi-dence’ against us. Thus, I decided to startreading our publications again and to at-tend the meetings. Soon I realized howmuch I had missed.” Happily, Andre re-turned to the congregation.

“The Whole Associationof Brothers”

Our loving, united brotherhood is a bless-ing fromJehovah. (Ps.133:1)Withgood rea-son, the apostle Peter wrote: “Have love forthewhole association of brothers.” (1 Pet. 2:17) Being part of the Christian brother-hood, we enjoy the warmth of supportivespiritual fathers, mothers, brothers, and sis-ters of like faith.—Mark 10:29, 30.


Nevertheless, a variety of circumstancescan sometimes cause a strain in our rela-tionship with our brothers and sisters. Forinstance, it is easy to be annoyed at the im-perfections of someone and to adopt a criti-cal attitude toward that one. If this was tohappen,would it not help to remember thatJehovah loves his servants in spite of theirimperfections? Moreover, “if we make thestatement: ‘We have no sin,’ we are mislead-ing ourselves and the truth is not in us.”(1 John1:8) Should wenot strive to “contin-ue putting up with one another and forgiv-ing one another freely”?—Col. 3:13.

A young person named Ann learned thevalue of Christian association the hard way.Acting somewhat like the prodigal son of Je-sus’ illustration, she drifted away from theChristian congregation. Later on, she cameto her senses and returned to the truth.(Luke 15:11-24) What did Ann learn fromthis experience? She relates: “Now that Ihave returned to Jehovah’s organization, Ivalue all my brothers and sisters despitetheir imperfections. In the past, I was quickto be critical of them. But now I am deter-mined not to allow anything to deprive meof the blessings that I enjoy among fellowbelievers. Nothing out there in the world isworth abandoning our spiritual paradisefor.”

Always Be Grateful forYour Blessings

Our hope in God’s Kingdom as the solu-tion for all mankind’s problems is a treasureof inestimable value. When we first ac-quired this hope, how our hearts swelledwith appreciation! We felt just like the mer-chant in Jesus’ parable who “sold all thethings he had” in order to buy “one pearl ofhigh value.” (Matt. 13:45, 46) Jesus did notsay that the merchant ever lost apprecia-

tion for the pearl. Similarly, let us neverlose appreciation for our wonderful hope.—1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 6:19.

Consider the example of Jean, who hasbeen serving Jehovah for more than 60years. She says: “What has helped me tokeep God’s Kingdom in mind is talkingabout it toothers.When I see their eyes lightup with anunderstanding of what the King-dom is, it has a positive effect on me. Seeingthe difference that Kingdom truth makes inthe life of a Bible student causes me tothink, ‘What wonderful truths I have tosharewith others!’”

We have sound reasons for being gratefulfor the many spiritual blessings we enjoy.Although we may be beset by such trials asopposition, sickness, old age, depression,bereavement, and economic hardship, weknow that they are temporary. Under God’sKingdom, physical blessings will be addedto our spiritual blessings. Any suffering wenow endure will be done away with in thenew system of things.—Rev. 21:4.

In the meantime, let us count our spiritu-al blessings and display appreciation likethatof the psalmistwho sang: “Many thingsyou yourself have done, O Jehovah myGod, even your wonderful works and yourthoughts towardus; there isnone tobe com-pared to you. Were I inclined to tell andspeak of them, they have become more nu-merous than I can recount.”—Ps. 40:5.


THE first king of ancient Israel was Saul.Although chosen by the true God, Saul

eventually became disobedient.What wrongs did Saul commit? Could he

have avoided them? How can we benefitfrom considering his example?

Jehovah Makes KnownHis Choice of King

Before Saul became king, the prophetSamuel was serving as God’s representativein Israel. Now Samuel was old, and his sonswere unfaithful. At the same time, the na-tion was being threatened by its enemies.When the older men of Israel asked Samuelto appoint a king over them who couldjudge themand lead them inbattle, Jehovahdirected the prophet to anoint Saul as leaderand said: “He must save my people from thehand of the Philistines.”—1 Sam. 8:4-7, 20;9:16.

Saul was “young and handsome.” Hislooks, though,were not his only recommen-dation. He was also humble. For example,Saul asked Samuel: “Am I not a Benjaminiteof the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and myfamily the most insignificant of all the fami-lies of the tribe of Benjamin? So why haveyou spoken tome a thing like this?” Saulhada modest opinion of himself and his family,even thoughhis father, Kish, was “mighty inwealth.”—1 Sam. 9:1, 2, 21.

Consider also Saul’s responsewhenSamu-el made public Jehovah’s choice of Israel’sking. Samuel first anointed Saul in privateand told him: “Do for yourself what your

hand finds possible, because the true God iswithyou.” Thereafter, the prophet called thepeople together to make Jehovah’s choicepublic. When Saul was identified, however,he could not be found. Bashful Saul washiding. Jehovah indicated where he was,and Saul was proclaimed king.—1 Sam. 10:7,20-24.

On the BattlefieldSaul soon proved wrong any who may

have doubted his qualifications. When theAmmonites threatened an Israelite town,“the spirit of God became operative uponSaul.”He authoritatively summoned the na-tion’s warriors, organized them, and thenled them to victory. But Saul ascribed this

“To Obey Is BetterThan a Sacrifice”

Saul started out asa humble leader


triumph to God, saying: “Today Jehovah hasperformed salvation in Israel.”—1 Sam. 11:1-13.

Saul had good qualities and God’s bless-ing. He also acknowledged Jehovah’s power.However, the continued success of the Israel-ites and their king depended on one very im-portant factor. Samuel told thepeopleof Isra-el: “If you will fear Jehovah and actuallyserve him and obey his voice, and you willnot rebel against the order of Jehovah, bothyou and the king who must reign over youwill certainly prove to be followers of Jeho-vah your God.” What could the Israelites besureof if theywere faithful toGod? “Jehovahwill not desert his people for the sake of hisgreat name,” said Samuel, “because Jehovahhas taken it upon himself to make you hispeople.”—1 Sam.12:14, 22.

Obediencewas the key tohavingGod’s ap-proval, and it still is. When Jehovah’s ser-vants obey his commands, he blesses them.But what if they disobey Jehovah?

“You Have Acted Foolishly”Saul’s next action against the Philistines

provoked a strong reaction from them. Anarmy “like the grains of sand that are uponthe seashore for multitude” rose againstSaul. “The menof Israel themselves saw thatthey were in sore straits, because the peoplewere hard pressed; and the people went hid-ing themselves in the caves and the hollowsand the crags and the vaults and the water-pits.” (1 Sam.13:5, 6) What would Saul do?

Samuel had told Saul to meet him at Gil-gal, where the prophet would offer sacri-fices. Saul waited, but Samuel was late incoming, and Saul’s army was scattering. SoSaul took it upon himself to offer the sacri-fices. As soon as he did so, Samuel arrived.After hearing what Saul had done, Samueltold him: “You have acted foolishly. You

have not kept the commandment of Jeho-vah your God that he commanded you, be-cause, if you had, Jehovah would have madeyour kingdom firm over Israel to time indef-inite. And now your kingdom will not last.Jehovahwill certainly find forhimself amanagreeable to his heart; and Jehovah willcommission him as a leader over his peo-ple, because you did not keep what Jeho-vah commanded you.”—1 Sam. 10:8; 13:8,13,14.

Lacking faith, Saul presumptuously choseto disobey God’s command to wait for Sam-uel to come to offer the sacrifice. How Saul’scourse differed from that of Gideon, a for-mer commander of Israelite armies! Jeho-vah directed Gideon to reduce his armyfrom 32,000 to 300, and Gideon obeyed.Why?Because hehad faith in Jehovah.WithGod’s help, he defeated 135,000 invaders.(Judg. 7:1-7, 17-22; 8:10) Jehovah wouldhave helped Saul too. Because of Saul’s dis-obedience, however, the Philistines pillagedIsrael.—1 Sam.13:17,18.

When faced with difficulties, how do wemake decisions? From the point of view ofthose who lack faith, it might seempracticalto ignore divine principles. In Samuel’s ab-sence, Saul may have thought that what hedid was sensible. For those who are deter-mined to have God’s approval, though, fol-lowing Scriptural principles that apply to theissue at hand is the only proper course tofollow.

Jehovah Rejects SaulDuring a campaign against the Amale-

kites, Saul was guilty of another serious er-ror.Godhad condemned the people of Ama-lek because of their unprovoked attack onthe Israelites following the Exodus fromEgypt. (Ex. 17:8; Deut. 25:17, 18) Moreover,the Amalekites joined others in attacking


God’s chosen people again during the timesof the Judges. (Judg. 3:12, 13; 6:1-3, 33) SoJehovah called the Amalekites to accountand commanded Saul to execute judgmentupon them.—1 Sam.15:1-3.

Insteadofobeying Jehovah’s command towipe out the hostile Amalekites and destroytheir possessions, Saul captured their kingand kept their best animals. What happenedwhenSamuel challenged Saul in this regard?Saul tried to shift the blame by saying: “Thepeople had compassion upon the best of theflock and of the herd, for the purpose of sac-rificing to Jehovah.” Whether Saul really in-tended to sacrifice the animals or not, hehad been disobedient. Saul was no longer so‘little inhis owneyes.’ Hence, God’s prophetpointed out that Saul had disobeyed God.Samuel then said: “Does Jehovah have asmuch delight in burnt offerings and sacri-fices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah?Look! To obey is better than a sacrifice . . .Since youhave rejected thewordof Jehovah,he accordingly rejects you from being king.”—1 Sam.15:15,17, 22, 23.

When Jehovah withdrewhis holy spirit and blessingfrom Saul, “a bad spirit” be-gan to dominate Israel’s firstking. Saul’s disposition cameto be characterized by suspi-cion and jealousy toward Da-vid—a man to whom Jehovahwould later give the kingship.More than once, Saul tried tokill David. Seeing that “Jeho-vah was with David,” says theBible, “Saul came to be an en-emy of David always.” Saultried to hunt him down and

even ordered the death of 85 priests and oth-ers. No wonder Jehovah abandoned Saul!—1Sam.16:14; 18:11, 25, 28, 29; 19:10,11; 20:32, 33; 22:16-19.

When the Philistines again attacked Isra-el, Saul turned to spiritism in a fruitlesssearch forhelp. The next day, he was severelywounded in battle and committed suicide.(1 Sam. 28:4-8; 31:3, 4) Regarding Israel’s dis-obedient first king, the Scriptures state: “Sauldied for his unfaithfulness with which hehad acted faithlessly against Jehovah con-cerning the word of Jehovah that he had notkept and also for asking of a spirit medium tomake inquiry. And he did not inquire of Je-hovah.”—1 Chron.10:13,14.

Saul’s bad example clearly shows thatobeying Jehovah is better than offering anysacrifice tohim. “This iswhat the loveofGodmeans,” wrote the apostle John, “that we ob-serve his commandments; and yet his com-mandments are not burdensome.” (1 John5:3) May we never neglect this fundamentaltruth: Lasting friendship with God dependson our obedience to him.

Why did Samuel tell Saul that“to obey is better thana sacrifice”?


BY MEANS OF his Word and his holy spir-it, Jehovah is leading his people in “the

tracks of righteousness.” (Ps. 23:3) Since weare imperfect, however, we tend to deviatefrom that path. To return to doing what isright calls for determined effort. What willhelp us to succeed? Like Jesus, we must lovedoing what is right.—Read Psalm 45:7.

2 What are “the tracks of righteousness”?A track is a narrow footpath or trail.These “tracks” are determined by Jehovah’sstandard of righteousness. In Hebrew andGreek, “righteousness” refers to that whichis “upright,” implying a strict adherenceto moral principles. Since Jehovah is “theabiding place of righteousness,” his wor-shippers are happy to look to him to deter-mine the morally upright path that theyshould follow.—Jer. 50:7.

3 Only by striving with all our heart toconform to God’s righteous standards willwe be found fully pleasing to him. (Deut.32:4) That begins with learning all we canabout Jehovah God from his Word, the Bi-ble. The more we learn about him, drawingcloser to him every day, the more we willlove his righteousness. (Jas. 4:8) We mustalso accept the guidance of God’s inspiredWord when we are called upon to make im-portant decisions in life.

1. What will help us to follow “the tracks of righ-teousness”?2. What are “the tracks of righteousness”?3. How can we learn more about God’s righteous-ness?

Seek God’s Righteousness4 Read Matthew 6:33. Seeking God’s

righteousness involves more than ourspending time preaching the good news ofthe Kingdom. For our sacred service to beacceptable to Jehovah, our everyday con-duct must harmonize with his high stan-dards. What has to be done by all whoare seeking Jehovah’s righteousness? Theymust “put on the new personality whichwas created according to God’s will in truerighteousness and loyalty.”—Eph. 4:24.

5 As we strive to live up to God’s righ-teous standards,wemay sometimesbecomediscouraged because of our shortcomings.What can help us to overcome debilitatingdiscouragement and learn to love and prac-tice righteousness? (Prov. 24:10) We mustregularly approach Jehovah in prayer “withtrue hearts in the full assurance of faith.”(Heb. 10:19-22) Whether we are anointedChristians or we have an earthly hope, weexercise faith in the ransom sacrifice of Je-sus Christ and in his services as our greatHigh Priest. (Rom. 5:8; Heb. 4:14-16) The ef-fectivenessof Jesus’ shedbloodwas illustrat-ed in the very first issue of this magazine.(1 John 1:6, 7) The article stated: “It is a sin-gular fact, that [when] a scarlet or crimsonobject [is] viewed through a red glass in thelight, the object appears white; so, thoughour sins be as scarlet or crimson, when we

4. What is involved in seeking God’s righteous-ness?5. What will help us to overcome discouragement?

LOVE RIGHTEOUSNESSWITH ALL YOUR HEART

“You have loved righteousness.”—PS. 45:7.


come where God will view them throughthe blood of Christ, they are accounted aswhite.” (July 1879, p. 6) What a marvelousprovision Jehovah has made for us throughthe ransom sacrifice of his dear Son!—Isa.1:18.

Check Your Spiritual Armor6 At all times, we need to have on “the

breastplate of righteousness,” for it is an es-sential part of the spiritual armor fromGod.(Eph. 6:11, 14) Whether we have recentlydedicated ourselves to Jehovah or we al-ready have decades of sacred service behindus, it is crucial thatwe checkour spiritual ar-mor every day. Why? Because the Devil andhis demons have been cast down to the vi-cinityof the earth. (Rev.12:7-12) Satan is an-gry, and he knows that his time is limited.Thus, hehas intensifiedhis attacks onGod’speople. Do we appreciate the importance ofhaving on “the breastplate of righteous-ness”?

6. Why is it crucial that we check our spiritual ar-mor?

7 A breastplate protects the physical heart.Because of our imperfect nature, our figura-tive heart tends to be treacherous and des-perate. (Jer. 17:9) Since our heart is inclinedto do what is wrong, it is vital that it betrained anddisciplined. (Gen.8:21) Ifwe ap-preciate our need for “the breastplate ofrighteousness,” we will not temporarily re-move it by choosing to be entertained bywhat God hates; nor will we allow ourselvesto fantasize about engaging in wrongdoing.Wewill not squander large amounts of valu-able time viewing television. Instead, wewill keep struggling to dowhat is pleasing toJehovah. Even if we were to stumble by mo-mentarily giving in to unrighteous fleshlythinking, we would get up again with Jeho-vah’s help.—Read Proverbs 24:16.

8 Among the parts of our spiritual armoris “the large shield of faith.” It enables us to“quench all the wicked one’s burning mis-siles.” (Eph. 6:16) In turn, faith and whole-hearted love for Jehovah help us to practicerighteousness and remain on the road toeverlasting life. Themorewe learn to love Je-hovah, themorewewill valuehis righteous-ness. But what about our conscience? Howdoes it help us in our efforts to love righ-teousness?

Maintain a Good Conscience9 At our baptism, we made a request to Je-

hovah for “a good conscience.” (1 Pet. 3:21)Because we exercise faith in the ransom, theblood of Jesus covers our sins and we thusenjoy a clean standing before God. To re-main in a saved condition, however, weneed to maintain a good conscience. If ourconscience at times accuses us and sounds

7. How will we conduct ourselves if we appreciateour need for “the breastplate of righteousness”?8. Why do we need “the large shield of faith”?9. How do we benefit from maintaining a goodconscience?


warnings, we should be grateful that it isworking properly. Such proddings indicatethat our conscience has not become searedwith respect to Jehovah’s righteous ways.(1 Tim. 4:2) But the conscience can play anadditional role for those wanting to loverighteousness.

10 When we do what is wrong, our con-science may condemn or torment us. Oneyouth strayed from “the tracks of righteous-ness.” He became addicted to pornogra-phy and started smoking marijuana. He feltguiltywhenhewent to themeetings and feltlike a hypocrite when he shared in the fieldservice, so he stopped participating in theseChristian activities. “But,” he stated, “littledid I know that my conscience would holdme accountable for my actions.” He added,“My stupidity lasted for about four years.”Then he started to think about returning tothe truth. Although he thought that Jeho-vah would not listen to his prayer, he prayedanyway and asked for forgiveness. Less thanten minutes later, his mother visited himand encouraged him to return to the meet-ings. He went to the Kingdom Hall andasked an elder to study withhim. In time, hewas baptized, and he is thankful to Jehovahfor saving his life.

11 Have we not found that great pleasurecan be derived from doing what is right? Aswe learn to love righteousness andpractice itmore fully, we will find more joy in doingwhat pleases our heavenly Father. And justthink! The day is coming when all humanswill experience only feelings of pleasurefrom their conscience; they will perfectly re-flect God’s image. Let us, therefore, now im-plant a love of righteousness deep in our

10, 11. (a) Relate an experience that shows whywe should heed our Bible-trained conscience.(b) Why can a love of righteousness bring us greatpleasure?

heart and cause Jehovah to rejoice.—Prov.23:15,16.

12 What can we do to train our con-science? When we study the Scriptures andour Bible-based publications, it is impor-tant to remember that “the heart of therighteous one meditates so as to answer.”(Prov.15:28) Considerhow this proves bene-ficial when we face questions regarding em-ployment. If a certain type of work is plain-ly in conflict with Scriptural requirements,most of us quickly respond to the directionprovided through the faithful and discreetslave class. When the answer to an employ-ment question is not clear-cut, however, Bi-ble principles should be noted and con-sidered prayerfully.� This applies to suchprinciples as the need to avoid offending theconsciences of others. (1 Cor. 10:31-33) Es-pecially should we be concerned with prin-ciples involving our relationship with God.

� For a discussion of Bible principles related to em-ployment questions, see The Watchtower of April 15,1999, pages 28-30.

12, 13. How can we train our conscience?

A trained conscience helps us toresolve employment questions


If Jehovah is real to us, we will primarily askourselves, ‘Would my doing this work makeJehovah feel hurt, causing him pain?’—Ps.78:40, 41.

13 When preparing for the WatchtowerStudy or the Congregation Bible Study, weought to bear in mind the need to meditateon the information presented. Do we findourselves always quickly underlining the an-swer to a study question and moving on tothe next paragraph? Such study sessions areunlikely to deepen our love for righteousnessor to develop within us a sensitive con-science. If we are to come to love righteous-ness, we need to study diligently and medi-tate on what we read in God’s written Word.There are no shortcuts when it comes tolearning to love righteousness with all ourheart!

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness14 JehovahGodand JesusChristwant us to

be happy as we perform our sacred ser-vice. What will contribute to our happiness?Why, a love of righteousness! In the Sermonon the Mount, Jesus stated: “Happy arethose hungering and thirsting for righteous-ness, since they will be filled.” (Matt. 5:6)What significance do these words have forthose who have a desire to love righteous-ness?

15 Theworldwe live in is ruledby thewick-ed one. (1 John 5:19) If we pick up a news-paper in any country, we find reports ofcruelty and violence on an unprecedentedscale. Man’s inhumanity to man is troublingfor a righteous person to contemplate. (Eccl.8:9) As those who love Jehovah, we knowthat only he can satisfy the spiritual hunger

14. How do Jehovah God and Jesus Christ want usto feel about our sacred service?15, 16. In what ways can spiritual hunger andthirst be satisfied?

and thirst of individuals desiring to learnrighteousness. The ungodly will soon be re-moved, and lovers of righteousness will nolonger experience the distress caused by law-defying people and their evil deeds. (2 Pet. 2:7, 8) What a relief that will be!

16 As Jehovah’s servants and followers ofJesusChrist, we realize that all those hunger-ing and thirsting for righteousness “will befilled.” They will be fully satisfied throughGod’s arrangement of the new heavens andthe new earth in which “righteousness is todwell.” (2 Pet. 3:13) So let usnot lose heart orbe amazed that oppression and violencehave taken away righteousness in this satan-ic world. (Eccl. 5:8) Jehovah, the Most High,knows what is taking place and will soon de-liver lovers of righteousness.

Benefit From Loving Righteousness17 Psalm 146:8 emphasizes an outstanding

benefit of following the path of righteous-ness. The psalmist sang: “Jehovah is lovingthe righteous ones.” Just imagine! The Sov-ereign of the universe loves us for lovingrighteousness! Because of Jehovah’s love,weare confident that he will provide for us aswe keep Kingdom interests first in our life.(Read Psalm 37:25; Proverbs 10:3.) Eventu-ally, this entire planet will be enjoyed by lov-ers of righteousness. (Prov. 13:22) For most

17. What are some of the benefits that come fromloving righteousness?

How Would You Answer?˙ Why is appreciation for the ransom

necessary in order to love righteous-ness?

˙ Why is it vital that we wear “thebreastplate of righteousness”?

˙ How can we train our conscience?


STRESSING the importance of love, JesusChrist toldhis disciples: “I amgiving you

a newcommandment, that you love one an-other; just as I have loved you, that you alsolove one another. By this all will knowthat you are my disciples, if you have loveamong yourselves.” (John 13:34, 35) Je-sus commanded his followers to show self-sacrificing love toward one another. Thatlove would be their identifying mark. Jesusalso exhorted them: “Continue to love yourenemies and to pray for those persecutingyou.”—Matt. 5:44.

1. What did Jesus teach regarding love?

2 In addition to teaching his disciplesabout love, however, Jesus taught themwhat to hate. It was said with reference to Je-sus: “You loved righteousness, and you hat-ed lawlessness [wickedness].” (Heb. 1:9; Ps.45:7) This shows that we must develop notonly a loveof righteousness but also a hatredof sin, or lawlessness. It is noteworthy thatthe apostle John specifically stated: “Every-one who practices sin is also practicing law-lessness, and so sin is lawlessness.”—1 John3:4.

2. Followers of Christ should develop a hatred forwhat?

DO YOU HATE LAWLESSNESS?“You [ Jesus] hated lawlessness.”—HEB. 1:9.

of God’s people, the reward for having prac-ticed righteousness will be overwhelmingjoy and life without end in a beautiful earth-ly paradise. Even now, those who love God’srighteousness are rewarded with an innerpeace that contributes to harmony in theirfamilies and in their congregations.—Phil. 4:6, 7.

18 As we await the arrival of the great dayof Jehovah, we must continue to seek hisrighteousness. (Zeph. 2:2, 3) Let us, there-fore, manifest a genuine love for JehovahGod’s upright ways. That includes keeping“the breastplate of righteousness” firmly inplace to protect our figurative heart. We alsoneed to maintain a good conscience—onethat will bring pleasure to us and cause theheart of our God to rejoice.—Prov. 27:11.

18. What positive things can we do as we await Je-hovah’s day?

19 Jehovah’s “eyes are roving aboutthrough all the earth to show his strength inbehalf of those whose heart is complete to-ward him.” (2 Chron.16:9) How comfortingthose words are to us as we do what is rightin the face of increasing instability, violence,and wickedness in this troubled world! True,our righteous ways may be puzzling to themasses of mankind alienated from God. Butwe benefit ourselves greatly by adhering toJehovah’s righteousness. (Isa. 48:17; 1 Pet.4:4) So, then,witha completeheart, let us bedetermined to continue finding enjoymentin loving and practicing righteousness withall our heart. However, having a completeheart also includes hating lawlessness. Thefollowing article will show us what thismeans.

19. What should we be determined to do, and whatwill be discussed in the next article?


3 As Christians, then, we do well to askourselves, ‘Do I hate lawlessness?’ Let us ex-amine how we can showourhatred for whatis bad in the following four areas of life:(1) our attitude toward the abuse of alcohol,(2) our viewof the occult, (3) our reaction toimmorality, and (4) our view of those wholove lawlessness.

Keep Alcohol in Its Place4 Jesus occasionally drank wine, recogniz-

ing it as a gift from God. (Ps. 104:14, 15)However, he never abused this gift by in-dulging in heavy drinking. (Prov. 23:29-33)Jesus thus had freeness of speech whencounseling against such a practice. (ReadLuke 21:34.) Misuse of alcohol can lead toother serious sins. Thus, the apostle Paulwrote: “Do not be getting drunk with wine,in which there is debauchery, but keep get-tingfilled with spirit.”(Eph. 5:18) He also ad-monished the aged women in the congrega-tion not to be “enslaved to a lot of wine.”—Titus 2:3.

3. With regard to hatred for lawlessness, what areasof life will this article consider?4. Why did Jesus enjoy freeness of speech whenwarning about heavy drinking?

5 If you choose to drink alcoholic bever-ages, you would also do well to ask yourself:‘Do I share Jesus’ attitude toward heavydrinking? If I need to counsel others onthis matter, do I have freeness of speech?Do I drink to escape worries or to easestress? How much alcohol do I consumeeach week? How do I react when someoneimplies that I might be drinking too much?Do I become defensive or even resentful?’Allowing ourselves to become enslaved to alot of wine can affect our ability to reasonthings out properly and to make wise deci-sions. Followers of Christ strive to safeguardtheir thinking ability.—Prov. 3:21, 22.

Avoid Occult Practices6 While on earth, Jesus firmlyopposed Sa-

tan and the demons. He rejected Satan’s di-rect attacks on his loyalty. (Luke 4:1-13) Healso identified and resisted subtle attemptsto influence his thinking and actions. (Matt.16:21-23) Jesus helped deserving ones toescape cruel domination by the demons.—Mark 5:2, 8,12-15; 9:20, 25-27.

7 After Jesus’ enthronement as King in1914, he cleansed the heavens of the con-taminating influence of Satan and the de-mons. As a result, Satan is—now more thanever—bent on “misleading the entire inhab-ited earth.” (Rev. 12:9, 10) It should come asno surprise to us, then, that fascinationwiththe occult is widespread and is growing.What measures can we take to protect our-selves?

8 The Bible clearly warns of the dan-gers connected with spiritism. (Read5. What questions might those who choose todrink alcoholic beverages ask themselves?6, 7. (a) How did Jesus deal with Satan and the de-mons? (b) Why are occult practices so widespreadtoday?8. What self-examination may be in order concern-ing our choice of entertainment?

If you choose to drink alcoholic beverages,what should you consider?


Deuteronomy 18:10-12.) Today, Satan andthe demons influence people’s think-ing through movies, books, and electronicgames that promote occult practices. Whenselecting entertainment, therefore, eachof us should ask himself: ‘Over the pastmonths, have I chosen to be entertained byfilms, TV programs, electronic games, books,or comics that feature uncannypractices? DoI understand the importance of rejecting oc-cult influences, or do I downplay these dan-gers? Have I even considered how Jehovahmight feel about my choice of entertain-ment? If I have opened the door to such sa-tanic influences, will my love for Jehovahand his righteous principles impel me to actdecisively and slam that door shut?’—Acts19:19, 20.

Heed Jesus’ WarningAbout Immorality

9 Jesus upheld Jehovah’s standard of sexu-al morality. He said: “Did you not read thathe who created them from the beginningmade them male and female and said, ‘Forthis reason a man will leave his father andhis mother and will stick to his wife, and thetwo will be one flesh’? So that they are nolonger two, but one flesh. Therefore, what

9. How might a person nurture the love of lawless-ness?

God has yoked together let no man putapart.” (Matt. 19:4-6) Jesus knew that whatwe take in through our eyes can affect ourheart. In his Sermon on the Mount, hetherefore stated: “You heard that it was said,‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say toyou that everyone that keeps on looking at awoman so as to have a passion for her has al-ready committed adultery with her in hisheart.” (Matt. 5:27, 28) Those who ignore Je-sus’warning are in reality nurturing the loveof lawlessness.

10 Satan promotes sexual immorality bymeans of pornography. The present systemof things is awash with it. Those who viewpornography find it difficult to erase the im-moral scenes from their minds. They canevenbecomeaddicted topornography.Con-sider what happened to one Christian. Hesays: “I secretly viewed pornography. I creat-ed a fantasyworld that I thoughtwas discon-nected from the world where I served Jeho-vah. I knew that this practice was wrong buttold myself that my service to God was stillacceptable.” What changed this brother’sthinking? He states: “Although it was themost difficult thing I have everdone, I decid-ed to tell the elders about my problem.” Thisbrother eventually broke free from this de-grading habit. “After I cleansed my life ofthis sin,” he admits, “I finally felt that I had atruly clean conscience.” Those who hatelawlessness must learn to hate pornography.

11 Music and its accompanying lyrics canstrongly influence our emotions and, there-fore, ourfigurative heart.Music itself is a giftfrom God and has long held a place in trueworship. (Ex. 15:20, 21; Eph. 5:19) But Sa-tan’s wicked world promotes music that glo-

10. Relate an experience showing that an individu-al can break free from pornography.11, 12. How can we show hatred for lawlessnesswhen it comes to our choice of music?

Beware of satanic influencein entertainment


rifies immorality. (1 John 5:19) Howcanyoutell whether the music you listen to is defil-ing you or not?

12 You might start by asking yourself: ‘Dothe songs I listen to glorify murder, adultery,fornication, and blasphemy? If I were toread the lyrics of certain songs to someone,would that person get the impression that Ihate lawlessness, or would the words indi-cate that my heart is defiled?’ We cannothate lawlessness in word while glorifying itin song. “The things proceeding out of themouth come out of the heart,” said Jesus,“and those thingsdefile aman. For example,out of the heart come wicked reasonings,murders, adulteries, fornications, thiever-ies, false testimonies, blasphemies.”—Matt.15:18,19; compare James 3:10,11.

Adopt Jesus’ View ofThose Who Love Lawlessness

13 Jesus said that he came to call sinners,or lawless ones, to repentance. (Luke 5:30-32) How, though, did he view those who be-came hardened in a course of sin? Jesus gavestrong warnings against being influenced bysuchones. (Matt. 23:15, 23-26) He also clear-ly stated: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord,Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the

13. How did Jesus view those who became hard-ened in sin?

heavens, but the one doing the will of myFather who is in the heavens will. Many willsay to me in that day [when God executesjudgment], ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesyin your name, and expel demons in yourname, and perform many powerful works inyour name?’” However, he will reject thosewhounrepentantly practice lawlessness, say-ing: “Get away from me.” (Matt. 7:21-23)Why such a judgment? Because such indi-viduals dishonor God and cause harm toothers by their lawless practices.

14 God’s Word commands that unrepen-tant sinners be removed from the congrega-tion. (Read 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.) This isnecessary for at least three reasons: (1) tokeep Jehovah’s name free from reproach,(2) to protect the congregation from con-tamination, and (3) to help the sinner cometo repentance if possible.

15 Do we share Jesus’ view of those whohave become set in their lawless course? Weneed to give thought to these questions:‘Would I choose to associate regularly withsomeone who has been disfellowshippedor who has disassociated himself from theChristian congregation? What if that oneis a close relative who no longer lives athome?’ Such a situation can be a real test ofour love of righteousness and of our loyaltyto God.�

16 Consider the experience of a sister

� For a detailed discussion of this subject, see the Sep-tember 15, 1981, issue of The Watchtower, pages 26-31.

14. Why are unrepentant sinners removed from thecongregation?15. Loyalty to Jehovah calls for an answer to whatsearching questions?16, 17. What difficulty did a Christian mother face,and what helped her to uphold the arrangement fordisfellowshipping unrepentant wrongdoers?

A viewer of pornographynurtures love for what?

www.watchtower.org w11 02/15-E

whose adult son at one time had love forJehovah. Later in life, however, he unrepen-tantly chose to practice lawlessness. Hence,he was disfellowshipped from the congrega-tion. Our sister loved Jehovah, but she alsoloved her son and found it extremely dif-ficult to apply the Scriptural command toavoid associating with him.

17 What advice would you have given thissister? An elder helped her to realize that Je-hovah understood the pain she felt. Thebrother invited her to think about the painJehovah must have experienced when someof his angelic sons rebelled. The elder rea-soned with her that even though Jehovahknows how painful such a circumstance canbe, he requires that unrepentant sinners bedisfellowshipped. She took the reminders toheart and loyally upheld the disfellowship-ping arrangement.� Such loyalty makes Je-hovah’s heart glad.—Prov. 27:11.

18 If you face a similar situation, pleaseremember that Jehovah sympathizes withyou. By cutting off contact with the dis-fellowshipped or disassociated one, you areshowing that you hate the attitudes and ac-tions that led to that outcome.However, youare also showing that you love the wrong-doer enough to do what is best for him orher. Your loyalty to Jehovah may increasethe likelihood that the disciplined one willrepent and return to Jehovah.

19 One individual who was disfellow-shipped and was later reinstated wrote: “Iam happy that Jehovah loves his peopleenough to see that his organization is keptclean. What may seem harsh to outsid-

� See also the January 15, 2007, issue of The Watch-tower, pages 17-20.

18, 19. (a) Cutting off contact with a practicer oflawlessness gives evidence of our hatred for what?(b) What may result when we are loyal to God andhis arrangement?

ers is both necessary and really a lovingthing to do.” Do you think that this per-son would have been helped to come tosuch a conclusion had members of thecongregation, including her family, main-tained regular contact with her while shewas disfellowshipped? Our supporting theScriptural arrangement of disfellowshippinggives evidence that we love righteousnessand recognize Jehovah’s right to set stan-dards of conduct.

“Hate What Is Bad”20 “Keep your senses, be watchful,” warns

the apostle Peter. Why? Because “your ad-versary, the Devil, walks about like a roaringlion, seeking to devour someone.” (1 Pet.5:8) Will that someone be you? Much de-pends on how well you learn to hate lawless-ness.

21 Developing a hatred for what is bad isnot easy. We are born in sin, and we live in aworld that caters to fleshly desires. (1 John 2:15-17) By imitating Jesus Christ and develop-ing deep love for Jehovah God, however, wecan succeed in cultivating hatred for lawless-ness. Let us be determined to “hate what isbad,” fully confident that Jehovah “is guard-ing . . . his loyal ones; out of the hand of thewicked ones he delivers them.”—Ps. 97:10.

20, 21. Why is it important to learn to hate lawless-ness?

How Would You Answer?˙ What will help us to examine our

attitude toward alcoholic beverages?˙ What protective measures can we

take against occult practices?˙ Why is pornography dangerous?˙ How do we display hatred for law-

lessness when someone we love isdisfellowshipped?


May 2-8Receive God’s Spirit, Not the World’sPAGE 8 SONGS TO BE USED: 60, 71

May 9-15Trust in Jehovah as the EndDraws Near


May 16-22Prove Yourself Ready!PAGE 24 SONGS TO BE USED: 54, 135

May 23-29Keep Awake, as Jeremiah DidPAGE 28 SONGS TO BE USED: 65, 43

34567MARCH 15, 2011


34567�



MARCH 15, 2011



People around us reflect the spirit of the world,so is it possible for us to be different? This arti-cle will help us to see how the world’s spiritmight influence us. We will also consider whatwe can learn from Jesus’ example about receiv-ing God’s spirit.


What does it mean to trust in Jehovah? Fromthis article, we will see that it means more thansimply believing his promises about a newworld. It includes our wholeheartedly accept-ing his ways and standards while rejectingthose of the world.


These articles will show how Noah and his fam-ily, Moses, and Jeremiah kept themselves readyto carry out their assignments and will becomeeyewitnesses to the fulfillment of God’s prom-ises. See what lessons you can draw from thesemen and their attitude.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Do Not DeceiveYourself WithFalse Reasoning

6 QuestionsFrom Readers

17 You HaveCause forRejoicing )

20 Never ForsakeYour FellowBelievers )

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MARCH 15, 2011 3

“WHAT is this you have done?” Godasked Eve after she had eaten from

the forbidden tree. “The serpent—it de-ceived me and so I ate,” she replied. (Gen. 3:13) Satan, the crafty serpent who led her todisobey God, was later called “the originalserpent, . . . who is misleading the entire in-habited earth.”—Rev.12:9.

This Genesis account presents Satan ascunning, as one who spins lies with the in-tention of deceiving the unwary. Eve cer-tainly succumbed to his deceit. Neverthe-less, we should not think that Satan is theonlyonewho can mislead us. The Bible alsowarns about the danger of ‘deceiving our-selves with false reasoning.’—Jas.1:22.

The thought of deceiving ourselves mayseem highly improbable or even impossi-ble. The divine warning, however, is ob-viously there for a purpose. So we would dowell to consider how we might deceiveourselves and what sort of false reasoningcould mislead us. A Scriptural example canhelp us.

Self-Deception in ActionAbout the year 537B.C.E., Cyrus theGreat

of Persia issued a decree for the Jews exiledin Babylon to return to Jerusalem and re-build the temple. (Ezra 1:1, 2) The followingyear, in accord with Jehovah’s purpose, thepeople laid the foundations for a new tem-ple.The returnees rejoiced andpraised Jeho-vah for blessing the initial stage of this im-portant project. (Ezra 3:8, 10, 11) But soon,opposition to their rebuilding arose andthe people became disheartened. (Ezra 4:4)

About 15years after their return, the Persianauthorities banned all construction work inJerusalem. To enforce the ban, regional of-ficials arrived in Jerusalem and “stopped[the Jews] by force of arms.”—Ezra 4:21-24.

Faced with this serious obstacle, the Jewsdeceived themselves with false reasoning.“The time has not come, the time of thehouse of Jehovah, for it to be built,” theytold themselves. (Hag. 1:2) They concludedthat God did not want the temple built im-mediately. Instead of seeking away to do hiswill, they abandoned their sacred assign-ment and became absorbed in improvingtheir own homes. God’s prophet Haggaipointedly asked them: “Is it the time for youyourselves to dwell in your paneled hous-es, while this house [Jehovah’s temple] iswaste?”—Hag.1:4.

Do you see a lesson in this example? Awrong view of the timing of the divine pur-pose could leadus to lose sightof the impor-tance of our spiritual activities and becomesidetracked with personal interests. To illus-trate, imagine you are expecting guests. An-ticipation of their visit may lead to a flurryof activity as you attend to necessary house-hold chores related to their stay. However,then you receive word that your visitors aredelayed. Will you abandon the prepara-tions?

Recall, though, that Haggai and Zechari-ah helped the Jews to understand that Jeho-vah still wanted the temple rebuilt withoutdelay. “Be strong, all you people of the land,. . . and work,” Haggai urged. (Hag. 2:4)They needed to get on with the work at

Do Not Deceive YourselfWith False Reasoning

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MARCH 15, 2011

hand, confident that God’s spirit wouldback them up. (Zech. 4:6, 7) Can this exam-ple help us avoid reaching wrong conclu-sions about Jehovah’s day?—1 Cor.10:11.

Replacing False ReasoningWith Sound Thinking

In his second letter, the apostle Peter con-sidered Jehovah’s timetable for establishinga “new heavens and a new earth.” (2 Pet. 3:13) He noted that some ridiculers raiseddoubts as to whether God would ever inter-vene inhumanaffairs. Theywrongly arguedthat nothing would happen, that “all things[were] continuing exactly as from creation’sbeginning.” (2 Pet. 3:4) Peter wanted tocounteract such faulty reasoning. He wrote:“I am arousing your clear thinking facultiesby way of a reminder.” He reminded fellowChristians that the ridiculersweremistaken.God had previously intervened in man-kind’s affairs, bringing a catastrophic globaldeluge.—2 Pet. 3:1, 5-7.

Haggai gave a similar exhortation to thedisheartened, inactive Jews in 520 B.C.E. He

admonished them: “Set your heart uponyour ways.” (Hag.1:5) To arouse their think-ing abilities, he reminded his fellow wor-shippers of God’s purposes and promiseswith regard to His people. (Hag. 1:8; 2:4, 5)Soon after that encouragement, construc-tionwork restarted—despite the official pro-hibition. Once again, adversaries tried toscuttle the building project, but they wereunsuccessful. The banwas rescinded, and infive years the temple was completed.—Ezra6:14,15; Hag.1:14,15.

Setting Our Hearts Upon Our WaysDo you think that like the Jews in Hag-

gai’s day, we could become disheartenedwhendifficulties arise? If that happened,wemight find it hard to maintain our zeal forpreaching the good news. But what mightcause us to be disheartened? Well, we mightfind ourselves suffering because of the in-justice of this system of things. Thinkof Ha-bakkuk, who asked: “How long must I callforhelp before you listen, before you save usfrom violence?” (Hab. 1:2, Today’s EnglishVersion) Inviewofwhat somemight consid-er a delay, a Christian could lose his sense ofurgency and instead give priority to a com-fortable lifestyle. Could you see that hap-pening to you? If we followed this line ofreasoning,wewouldbedeceivingourselves.How vital that we heed the Scriptural coun-sel to ‘set our hearts upon our ways’ and‘arouse our clear thinking faculties’! Wecould ask ourselves, ‘Should it surprise methat this wicked system of things has lastedlonger than I expected?’

A Period That the Bible AnticipatedStop to consider Jesus’ words about the

conclusion of this system of things. Mark’saccount of Jesus’ prophecy of the last daysreveals that Jesus repeatedly admonished us

Haggai and Zechariah urgedthe Jews to build


to keep alert. (Mark 13:33-37) We find a sim-ilar warning in the middle of the propheticdescription of Jehovah’s great day at Arma-geddon. (Rev. 16:14-16) Why the repeatedwarnings? Such reminders areneeded whenas a result of waiting over what seems to bean extended period, people are at riskof los-ing their sense of urgency.

Jesus illustrated the need for us to be con-tinually vigilant as we await the end of thesystem of things. He referred to a house-holder whose home had been burglarized.How could he have avoided being robbed?By staying awake through the whole night.Jesus concluded this illustration by counsel-ing us: “Prove yourselves ready, because atan hour that you do not think to be it, theSon of man is coming.”—Matt. 24:43, 44.

That illustration shows theneed for beingprepared to wait, even for a considerablelength of time. No, we should not be overlyconcerned that this wicked system mayhave lasted longer than we expected. Weshould not deceive ourselves by falsely rea-soning that ‘Jehovah’s time has not come.’

Such thinking would dull our desire topreach the good news of the Kingdom.—Rom.12:11.

Weeding Out False ReasoningWith regard to false reasoning, the princi-

ple at Galatians 6:7 applies: “Do not be mis-led . . . Whatever a man is sowing, this hewill also reap.” If a plotof soil is left unsown,weeds easily take over. Likewise, if we do notarouse our clear thinking faculties, false rea-sonings can take root in our minds. For ex-ample, we might tell ourselves, ‘Jehovah’sday is undoubtedly coming—but not imme-diately.’ Such a shift in expectations couldlead to a relaxed approach toward our theo-cratic activities. In time, we could beginto neglect our spiritual routine. Jehovah’sday could then catch us unawares.—2 Pet.3:10.

However, false reasoning will not takeroot in our minds if we constantly prove toourselves “the good and acceptable and per-fect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2) Regular read-ing of God’sWord is one of the best helps tothis end. The Scriptures can strengthen ourconviction that Jehovah always acts at theappointed time.—Hab. 2:3.

Our study, prayers, faithful meeting at-tendance, and preaching, along with lovingacts of kindness,will enableus to ‘keep closeinmind the presence of the dayof Jehovah.’(2 Pet. 3:11, 12) Jehovah will notice our con-stancy. The apostle Paul reminds us: “Let usnot give up in doing what is fine, for in dueseason we shall reap if we do not tire out.”—Gal. 6:9.

Now is certainly not the time to allowfalse reasoning to deceive us into thinkingthat Jehovah’s day has been postponed.Rather, it is the time to make our heartsfirm, for Jehovah’s day has drawn close.

What if the householder had knownthat the thief was coming?


When Jesus Christ sent out the 12 apos-tles to preach, were they told to carry staffsand wear sandals?

Some contend that the three Gospel ac-counts that report on Jesus’ sending out theapostles contradict one another. By compar-ing these accounts, however, we can reach aninteresting conclusion. First, compare whatMark and Luke wrote. Mark’s account says:“[Jesus] gave them orders to carry nothingfor the trip except a staff alone, no bread,no food pouch, no copper money in theirgirdle purses, but to bind on sandals, andnot to wear two undergarments.” (Mark 6:7-9) Luke recorded: “Carry nothing for thetrip, neither staff nor food pouch, nor breadnor silver money; neither have two under-garments.” (Luke 9:1-3) Here we note theseeming contradiction. According to Mark,the apostles were told to carry a staff and tobind on sandals, but Luke’s record says thatthey were to carry nothing, not even a staff.Unlike Mark, Luke made no mention of san-dals.

To understand what Jesus wanted to con-vey on this occasion, note the expressioncommon to all three Gospels. In the ac-counts just quoted as well as at Matthew 10:5-10, the apostles were told not to wear orto have “two undergarments.” Likely, eachapostle was wearing one undergarment. Sothey were not to get another for the trip.Similarly, they were wearing sandals. Markhighlighted the need “to bind on sandals,”the sandals they were already wearing. Howabout staffs? The Jewish Encyclopedia notes:“It seems to have been the universal customamong the ancient Hebrews also to carrya staff.” (Gen. 32:10) Mark mentionedthat the apostles were to “carry nothing

for the trip” except the staff that they hadwith them when Jesus gave the command.Hence, the Gospel writers were emphasizingJesus’ instruction not to go out of the way toget extra supplies for the trip.

This point is further emphasized by Mat-thew, who heard Jesus’ command on this oc-casion and recorded it. Jesus said: “Do notprocure gold or silver or copper for your gir-dle purses, or a food pouch for the trip, ortwo undergarments, or sandals or a staff; forthe worker deserves his food.” (Matt. 10:9,10) What about the sandals that the apostleswere wearing and the staffs that they had intheir hands? Jesus did not say to throw awaywhat they already had, but he was tellingthem not to procure such things. Why did hegive such a command? Because “the workerdeserves his food.” That was the thrust of Je-sus’ command, which was in harmony withhis exhortation in the Sermon on the Mountthat they not be anxious about what theywould eat, drink, or wear.—Matt. 6:25-32.

Though the Gospel accounts may at firstseem to be contradictory, they were all cover-ing the same point. The apostles were to goas they were and not be distracted by procur-ing anything extra. Why? Because Jehovahwould provide for them.



Who were the “lady, even ladies” towhom Solomon referred?—Eccl. 2:8.

We cannot be sure, but one possibility isthat they were notable women that Solomonencountered at his royal court.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon men-tioned various things he had accomplished,including his extensive building projects. Headded: “I accumulated also silver and goldfor myself, and property peculiar to kingsand the jurisdictional districts. I made malesingers and female singers for myself and theexquisite delights of the sons of mankind, alady, even ladies.”—Eccl. 2:8.

Many commentators assume that the “la-dies” to whom Solomon was referring werethe many foreign wives and concubines thathe had in his later years, women who ledhim into false worship. (1 Ki. 11:1-4) How-ever, there are problems withthat explanation. When Solo-mon wrote these words, healready was acquainted withthe “lady, even ladies.” Andat that point, he still hadJehovah’s approval, for Godwas inspiring him to writebooks of the Bible. That hard-ly fits his situation in lateryears when he had hundredsof foreign wives and concu-bines and he took up falseworship.

In the book of Ecclesiastes,Solomon said that he had“sought to find the delightfulwords and the writing of cor-rect words of truth.” (Eccl. 12:10) He obviously knew thewords for “wife,” “queen,”and “concubine,” because heused those words in his in-spired writings. (Prov. 5:18;12:4; 18:22; Eccl. 9:9; Song of

Sol. 6:8, 9) But at Ecclesiastes 2:8, those fa-miliar words are not used.

In the words “lady, even ladies,” we findthe only instances (singular and plural) inthe Bible of an unusual Hebrew word. Schol-ars admit that its meaning is uncertain. ManyBible translators take the phrase at Eccle-siastes 2:8 to refer to women, expressed insingular and then the plural or superlativedegree. The rendering “lady, even ladies”conveys that sense.

Solomon was renowned, so much so that aqueen from the wealthy kingdom of Shebaheard of him, visited, and was impressed.(1 Ki. 10:1, 2) That points to one possiblemeaning to Solomon’s mention of “a lady,even ladies.” He may have been referring tooutstanding women whom he encounteredat his court during the many years when hestill had God’s favor.


TRUE Christians are at war! Our ene-my is powerful, cunning, and battle-

hardened.Hehas at his disposal aweapon soeffective that it has subdued the majority ofmankind. But we need not feel powerless ordoomed to defeat. (Isa. 41:10) We have a de-fense available to us that is impenetrableand unbeatable.

2 Our war is not physical; it is spiritual.Our enemy is Satan the Devil, and a primeweapon that he uses is “the spirit of theworld.” (1Cor. 2:12) Ourkey defense againsthis attacks is God’s spirit. To survive this warand remain spiritually vibrant, we need toask for God’s spirit and then display itsfruitage in our lives. (Gal. 5:22, 23) What,though, is the spirit of the world, and howdid it become so influential? Howcanwe de-terminewhether the spirit of theworld is in-fluencing us? And what can we learn fromJesus about receiving God’s spirit and resist-ing the spirit of the world?

The Spirit of the World—Why So Pervasive?

3 The spirit of this world originates withSatan, “the ruler of the world,” and it is inopposition to God’s holy spirit. (John 12:31;14:30; 1 John 5:19) It is the world’s domi-nant inclination, and it moves people to ac-tion. This animating force leads human

1, 2. (a) In what sense are true Christians at war?(b) What questions will we consider?3. What is the spirit of the world?

society into conflict withGod’s will and pur-pose.

4 How did the spirit that Satan promotesbecome so pervasive? First, Satan deceivedEve in the garden of Eden. He convinced herthat independence from God would im-prove her life. (Gen. 3:13) What a liar heproved to be! (John8:44) Then, through thewoman, he maneuvered Adam into becom-ing disloyal to Jehovah. Because of Adam’schoice, mankind was sold into sin, thus in-heriting a tendency to be influenced by Sa-tan’s spirit of disobedience.—Read Ephe-sians 2:1-3.4, 5. How did the spirit that Satan promotes be-come so pervasive?

RECEIVE GOD’S SPIRIT,NOT THE WORLD’S

“We received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God,that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God.”

—1 COR. 2:12.

How did some angels become demons?


5 Satan also influenced a considerablenumber of angels, who became demons.(Rev. 12:3, 4) That betrayal of God occurredsometime before the Flood of Noah’s day.Those angels believed that they would bebetter off forsaking their assigned positionsin heaven and giving free rein to unnaturaldesires on earth. (Jude 6) With the help ofthose demons, now back in the spirit realm,Satan is “misleading the entire inhabitedearth.” (Rev. 12:9) Sadly, the majority ofmankind remain blind to demonic influ-ence.—2 Cor. 4:4.

Is the World’s Spirit Influencing You?6 Many are blind to Satan’s influence, but

there is no need for true Christians to be ig-norantof his tactics. (2Cor. 2:11) In fact, thespirit of the world cannot influence us un-less we allow it to do so. Let us examine fourquestions that will help to reveal whetherwearebeing influencedbyGod’s spiritor bythat of theworld.

7 What does my choice of entertainment re-veal about me? (Read James 3:14-18.) Satantries to alienate us from God by stirring uplove of violence in our hearts. The Devilknows that Jehovahhates anyonewho lovesviolence. (Ps. 11:5) Therefore, Satan tries touse literature, movies, music, and electronicgames—someof which incite players to sim-ulate gross immorality and brutality—to ap-peal to our fleshly desires. Satan does notmind if part of our heart is loving what isright as long as part of it loves what is bad,what he promotes.—Ps. 97:10.

8 On the other hand, God’s spirit movesthose who receive it to be chaste, peaceable,

6. How only can the spirit of the world infect us?7. What is one way that Satan tries to alienate usfrom Jehovah?8, 9. What questions regarding entertainmentshould we ask ourselves?

and full of mercy. We would do well to askourselves, ‘Does the entertainment I chooseencourage positive qualities in me?’ Thewisdom from above is “not hypocritical.”Those who are influenced by God’s spiritdo not preach chastity and peace to theirneighbors and then revel in watching sadis-tic violence and immorality in the privacyof their homes.

9 Jehovah expects exclusive devotion. Sa-tan, though, will settle for just one act ofworship, as he sought from Jesus. (Luke 4:7, 8) We might ask ourselves: ‘Does the en-tertainment I choose make it possible forme to give God exclusive devotion? Doesmy choice make it harder or easier for me toresist the spirit of the world? Should I makeany adjustments as to future choices?’

10 What is my attitude toward materialpossessions? (Read Luke 18:24-30.) The spir-it of the world promotes “the desire of theeyes” by encouraging greed and material-ism. (1 John 2:16) It has nurtured in many adetermination to be rich. (1 Tim. 6:9, 10)That spirit would have us believe that astockpile of material things will providelasting security. (Prov. 18:11) However, if weallow a love for money to supplant our lovefor God, Satan will have gained a victory.We should ask ourselves, ‘Has my life be-come focused on a quest for material com-forts and pleasures?’

11 By contrast, God’s spirit-inspired Wordencourages us to have a balanced viewof money and to work hard to providematerial necessities for ourselves and ourfamily. (1 Tim. 5:8) God’s spirit helpsthose who receive it to reflect Jehovah’s

10, 11. (a) Regarding material possessions, whatattitude does the spirit of the world promote?(b) God’s spirit-inspired Word encourages what atti-tude?


generouspersonality. Suchonesare known as givers, not takers.They value people more high-ly than things and glad-ly share what they havewhen they can afford todo so. (Prov. 3:27, 28) Andthey never allow the pur-suit of money to take pre-cedence over serving God.

12 Which spirit does mypersonality reflect? (ReadColossians 3:8-10, 13.)The spirit of the world advances the worksof the flesh. (Gal. 5:19-21) A real test as towhich spirit influences us comes, not whenthings are going well, but when they arenot, suchas if aChristianbrotheror sister ig-nores us, offends us, or even sins against us.Additionally, in the privacy of our homes, itmay become evident which spirit holdssway. Some self-examination may be in or-der. Ask yourself, ‘Over the past six months,has my personality become more Christlikeor have I slipped back into some bad habitsof speech and conduct?’

13 God’s spirit can help us to “strip off theold personality with its practices” and toclotheourselveswith“thenewpersonality.”That will help us to become more lovingand kind. We will be inclined to forgive oneanother freely, even if there seems to be a le-gitimate cause for complaint. We will nolonger react to perceived injustices withoutbursts of “malicious bitterness and an-ger and wrath and screaming and abusivespeech.” Instead, we will put forth effort to

12, 13. In contrast with the world’s spirit, how canGod’s spirit affect us for our good?

become “tenderly compassionate.”—Eph. 4:31, 32.

14 Do I respect and love the Bible’s moralstandards? (Read Proverbs 3:5, 6.) The spir-it of the world reflects rebellion againstGod’s Word. Those influenced by this spir-it ignore what they view as inconvenientparts of the Bible, preferring instead hu-man traditions and philosophies. (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Some disregard God’s Word altogeth-er. Such ones question the Bible’s rele-vance and authenticity, becoming wise intheir own eyes. They water down its purestandards regarding adultery, homosexuali-ty, anddivorce. They teach that “good is badand bad is good.” (Isa. 5:20) Have we beenaffected by this spirit? Dowe relyon humanwisdom, includingourown ideas,when fac-ing problems? Or do we strive to follow theBible’s advice?

15 God’s spirit engenders in us a respectfor the Bible. Like the psalmist, we viewGod’s word as both a lamp to our foot and a

14. How do many in the world view God’s Word?15. Rather than lean on our own wisdom, whatshould we do?

Satan uses the spirit of the worldto control people, but we can

break free of its influence


light to our roadway. (Ps. 119:105) Ratherthan lean on our own wisdom, we confi-dently relyonGod’swrittenWord tohelpusdiscern right fromwrong.We learnnotonlyto respect theBiblebut also to love God’s law.—Ps.119:97.

Learn From Jesus’ Example16 To receive God’s spirit, we must devel-

op in ourselves “the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor.2:16) Having “the samemental attitude thatChrist Jesus had” requires our knowing theway he thought and acted and then imitat-ing him. (Rom. 15:5; 1 Pet. 2:21) Considersome ways that we can do so.

17 Pray for God’s spirit. Before facing trials,Jesus prayed for God’s spirit to help him.(Luke 22:40, 41) We too need to ask God forhis holy spirit. Jehovah gives it freely andgenerously to all who ask for it in faith.(Luke 11:13) Jesus said: “Keep on asking,and it will be given you; keep on seeking,and you will find; keep on knocking, and itwill be opened to you. For everyone askingreceives, and everyone seeking finds, andto everyone knocking it will be opened.”—Matt. 7:7, 8.

18 When seeking Jehovah’s spirit andhelp, do not be too quick to stop asking forit. We may need to pray more often and tolinger inprayer. At times, Jehovah allows hispetitioners to demonstrate the depth oftheir concern and the genuineness of theirfaith before he answers their prayers.�

19 Obey Jehovah completely. Jesus alwaysdid the things pleasing to his Father. On at

� For more information, see pages 170-173 of thebook What Does the Bible Really Teach?

16. What is involved in having “the mind ofChrist”?17, 18. (a) What do we learn from Jesus aboutprayer? (b) Why should we “keep on asking”?19. What did Jesus always do, and why should weimitate him?

least one occasion, Jesus’ inclination onhow to deal with a situation was differentfromwhat his Father wanted. Yet, with con-fidence he said to his Father: “Let, not mywill, but yours take place.” (Luke 22:42) Askyourself, ‘Do I obey God even when doingso is not easy?’ Obedience to God is essen-tial for life. We owe him implicit obedienceas our Maker, the Source and Sustainer ofour life. (Ps. 95:6, 7) There is no substitutefor obedience. We cannot gain God’s favorwithout it.

20 Know the Bible well. When resisting Sa-tan’s direct attack on his faith, Jesus quotedthe Scriptures. (Luke 4:1-13) When con-fronting his religious opposers, Jesus usedGod’s Word as his authority. (Matt. 15:3-6)Jesus’ whole life revolved around knowingand fulfilling God’s law. (Matt. 5:17) We toowant to keep feeding our mind with thefaith-strengthening Word of God. (Phil. 4:8, 9) Finding time for personal and familystudy may prove to be a challenge for someof us. Rather than find time, though, wemay have to make time.—Eph. 5:15-17.

21 “The faithful and discreet slave” hashelped us to have time for personal andfamily study by arranging for a FamilyWorship evening each week. (Matt. 24:45)

20. Jesus’ life revolved around what, and how canwe imitate him?21. What arrangement can we use to help us knowGod’s Word better and apply it?

Do You Remember?˙ Why is the spirit of the world so

pervasive?˙ What four questions should we ask

ourselves?˙ What are three things we learn from

Jesus about receiving God’s spirit?


Are you making wise use of this arrange-ment? To help you gain the mind of Christ,could you include in your study sessiona systematic consideration of what Jesustaught on subjects of your choice? Youcould use the Watch Tower Publications In-dex to locate informative discussions of thesubject you are pursuing. For example, from2008 to2010, the public editionof thismag-azine carried a series of 12 articles that hadthe theme “What We Learn From Jesus.”You may want to use these articles as a basisfor study. Beginning in 2006, Awake! carriedthe feature “How Would You Answer?” Thisquiz was designed to help broaden anddeepen your knowledge of God’s Word.Why not include material from such fea-tures in your Family Worship program fromtime to time?

We Can Conquer the World22 To be led by God’s spirit, we must resist

the spirit of the world. Such resistance doesnot come easily. It can be a struggle, a hardfight. (Jude 3) But we can win! Jesus said tohis disciples: “In the world you are havingtribulation, but take courage! I have con-quered theworld.”—John 16:33.

23 We too can conquer the world if we re-sist its spirit and do all we can to receiveGod’s spirit. Really, “if God is for us, whowill be against us?” (Rom. 8:31) By receivingGod’s spirit and by following its direction asoutlined in the Bible, we will find content-ment, peace, happiness, and the assuranceof everlasting life in the new world near athand.

22, 23. What must we do to conquer the world?

WE LIVE in a world where millions nolonger know whom or what to trust,

perhaps because they have been hurt or dis-appointed too many times. What a contrastto Jehovah’s servants! Guided by godly wis-dom, they know better than to place theirtrust in this world or its “nobles.” (Ps. 146:3)Rather, they place their lives and their futurein Jehovah’s hands, knowing that he lovesthem and that he always fulfills his Word.—Rom. 3:4; 8:38, 39.

1. What contrast is there between God’s servantsand people in the world?

2 Joshua of old attested to God’s trustwor-thiness. Toward the end of his life, he said tohis fellow Israelites: “You well know with allyour hearts and with all your souls that notone word out of all the good words that Je-hovah your God has spoken to you hasfailed. They have all come true for you.”—Josh. 23:14.

3 Jehovah fulfills his promises, not justout of love for his servants but especial-ly for the sake of his own name. (Ex. 3:

2. How did Joshua attest to God’s trustworthiness?3. God’s name reveals what about him?

TRUST IN JEHOVAHAS THE END DRAWS NEAR

“Trust in Jehovah, you people, for all times.”—ISA. 26:4.


14; 1 Sam. 12:22) Concerningthe divine name, the introduc-tion to The Emphasized Bible, byJ. B. Rotherham, states: “[It] be-comes a most gracious promise;the Divine capacityof adaptationto any circumstances, any dif-ficulties, any necessities that mayarise . . . [It is] a promise, . . . a rev-elation, a memorial, a pledge.To this Name, God will ever befaithful; of it He will never beashamed.”

4 Ask yourself: ‘Do I know Je-hovah well enough to have abso-lute trust inhim?Do I face the fu-ture with confidence, knowing that God isin full control?’ Says Isaiah26:4: “Trust in Je-hovah, you people, for all times, for in JahJehovah is the Rock of times indefinite.”Granted,God does not now miraculously in-tervene in people’s lives as he did on occa-sion in Bible times. Nevertheless, as “theRock of times indefinite,” he can be trusted“for all times.” How does our trustworthyGod assist his faithful worshippers today?Let us consider three ways: He strengthensus when we seek his help to resist tempta-tion, he supports us when we have to dealwith apathy or outright opposition, and hebuoys us up when anxieties weigh us down.As we examine these areas, be sure to reflecton how you can strengthen your trust in Je-hovah.

Trust in God WhenTempted to Do Wrong

5 It is one thing to trust in Jehovahwhen itcomes to his promise of Paradise or the res-urrection—things for which we yearn. But itmay be an entirely different thing to trust in

4. (a) What does Isaiah 26:4 exhort us to do?(b) What will we consider in this article?5. As to our trust in God, where may a great test lie?

him in moral matters, to be thoroughly con-vinced at heart that submitting to his waysand standards is right and will lead to thegreatest happiness. King Solomonwrote thisadmonition: “Trust in Jehovah with all yourheart and donot leanuponyour ownunder-standing. In all your ways take notice ofhim, and he himself will make your pathsstraight.” (Prov. 3:5, 6) Note the reference toour “ways” and “paths.” Yes, our whole wayof life—not just our Christian hope—shouldreflect our trust in God. How can we showthat trust when temptations arise?

6 Turning away from bad begins in themind. (Read Romans 8:5; Ephesians 2:3.)How, then, can you strengthen your resolveto reject bad thoughts? Consider these fiveways: 1. Seek God’s help through prayer.(Matt. 6:9,13) 2.Meditate onBible examplesof those who failed to listen to Jehovah andthose who listened. Then note how thingsturned out for them.� (1 Cor. 10:8-11) 3. Re-flect on the mental and emotional harm

� See pages 102-106 of the book “Keep Yourselves inGod’s Love.”

6. How can we strengthen our resolve to reject badthoughts?

Holding to God’s standards leads to happiness


that sin can cause to you and to your lovedones. 4. Think how God must feel when oneof his servants falls into gross sin. (ReadPsalm 78:40, 41.) 5. Imagine the joy thatfills Jehovah’s heart when he sees a loyalworshipper reject bad and do what is right,whether in public or in private. (Ps. 15:1, 2;Prov. 27:11) You too can show you trust in Je-hovah.

Trust in God WhenFacing Apathy and Opposition

7 Many of our brothers serve in territorieswhere endurance is a special challenge. Theprophet Jeremiah served in such an environ-ment—the kingdom of Judah during its tu-multuous last days. Daily he was buffeted bytests of faith because he obediently an-nounced God’s judgment messages. At onepoint, even his loyal secretary, Baruch, com-plained of weariness. (Jer. 45:2, 3) Did Jere-miah give in to discouragement? Well, onoccasion, he did feel depressed. “Cursed bethe dayonwhich I was born!” he exclaimed.“Why is it that I have come forth from thevery womb in order to see hard work andgrief and that my days should come to theirend in mere shame?”—Jer. 20:14,15,18.

8 Yet, Jeremiah did not give up. He contin-ued to trust in Jehovah. As a result, this faith-ful prophet experienced the fulfillment ofJehovah’s own words recorded at Jeremiah17:7, 8: “Blessed is the able-bodied man whoputs his trust in Jehovah, and whose confi-dence Jehovah has become. And he will cer-tainly become like a tree planted by the wa-ters, that sends out its roots right by thewatercourse; and he will not see when heatcomes, but his foliage will actually prove tobe luxuriant. And in the year of drought he

7. What tests did Jeremiah face, and how did he attimes feel?8, 9. In line with Jeremiah 17:7, 8 and Psalm 1:1-3,what must we do to continue bearing good fruit?

will not become anxious, nor will he leaveoff fromproducing fruit.”

9 Like a luxuriant fruit tree “planted bythe waters” or in an irrigated orchard, Jere-miah never ‘left off from producing fruit.’He refused to be influenced by the wickedridiculers around him. Rather, he stuck tothe Source of life-sustaining “water” andtook to heart everything Jehovah told him.(Read Psalm 1:1-3; Jer. 20:9)What a fine ex-ample Jeremiah is for us, especially those ofus who serve God in difficult territories! Ifthat is your situation, continue to rely heavi-ly on Jehovah, who will grant you endur-ance as you “make public declaration to hisname.”—Heb.13:15.

10 To help us cope with life during theselast days, Jehovah has given us a truly ver-dant spiritual estate. Amongother things, hehas provided the complete Word of God,which is being accurately translated intomore and more languages. He has madeavailable an abundance of timely spiritualfood through the faithful and discreet slaveclass. And he has given us the supportivecompanionship of a vast throng of fellowbelievers at meetings and assemblies. Doyou take full advantage of these provisions?All who do “will cry out joyfully because ofthe good condition of the heart.” However,those who fail to listen to God “will makeoutcries because of the pain of heart and . . .will howl because of the sheer breakdown ofspirit.”—Isa. 65:13,14.

Trust in God WhenDealing With Anxieties

11 As foretold, a rising flood of woes is af-fecting mankind. (Matt. 24:6-8; Rev. 12:12)

10. What blessings dowe have, and what should weask ourselves?11, 12. In viewof the world’s problems, what is thecourse of true wisdom?


When literal flooding occurs, a commonreaction is to run to higher ground or toclimb onto the roof of a building—any-where of higher elevation. Similarly, as theworld’s problems mount, millions seek ref-uge in seemingly lofty financial, political, orreligious institutions, as well as in scienceand technology. But none of these give realsecurity. (Jer. 17:5, 6) Jehovah’s servants, onthe other hand, do have a sure refuge—“theRock of times indefinite.” (Isa. 26:4) Thepsalmist stated: “[Jehovah] is my rock andmy salvation, my secure height.” (ReadPsalm 62:6-9.) How do we make this Rockour refuge?

12 We cling to Jehovah when we heed hisWord, which often runs contrary to humanwisdom. (Ps. 73:23, 24) For instance, peopleinfluenced by human wisdom may say:‘Youhaveonlyone life;make themostof it.’‘Pursue a good career.’ ‘Make a lot of mon-ey.’ ‘Buy this, buy that.’ ‘Travel; enjoy theworld.’ Godly wisdom,on theotherhand, isin line with the advice: “[Let] those makinguse of the world [be] as those not using it tothe full; for the scene of this world is chang-ing.” (1 Cor. 7:31) Likewise, Jesus exhorts

us always to put Kingdom interests firstand thereby store up “treasures in heaven,”where they will be absolutely secure.—Matt.6:19, 20.

13 Does your attitude toward “the world”and “the things in the world” reflect yourcomplete trust in God? (1 John 2:15-17) Arespiritual riches and privileges of Kingdomservice more desirable and important to youthan the things the world offers? (Phil. 3:8)Do you strive to maintain a ‘simple eye’?(Matt. 6:22) Of course, God does not wantyou to be imprudent or irresponsible, espe-cially if you have a family to care for. (1 Tim.5:8) But he does expect his servants to trustfully in him—not in Satan’s dying world.—Heb.13:5.

14 Consider the example of Richard andRuth, parents of three young children. “Myheart was telling me that I could do more forJehovah,” says Richard. “I had a comfortablelife but felt that Iwas just givingGodmy sur-plus, as it were. After praying about the mat-ter and counting the cost, Ruth and I agreedthat I would ask my supervisor for a reducedwork schedule of four days a week—eventhough the country was in the middle of aneconomic crisis. My request was approved,and I started working the new schedulewithin one month.” How does Richard feelnow?

15 “I get 20 percent less pay than before,”he says, “but now I have an extra 50 days ayear to be with my family and train the chil-dren. I have been able to double my time infield service, triple my number of Bible stud-ies, and take a greater lead in the congrega-tion. And because I am more available to

13. With 1 John 2:15-17 in mind, what should weask ourselves?14-16. How have some benefited by maintaining a‘simple eye’ and keeping Kingdom interests in firstplace?

“Jehovah is the Rock of times indefinite”


help with the children, Ruth has been ableto auxiliary pioneer from time to time. I amdetermined to maintain this schedule for aslong as possible.”

16 Roy and Petina, who still have a daugh-ter at home, were able to cut back their secu-lar work so as to share in the ministry full-time. “I work three days a week,” says Roy,“and Petinaworks two. Also, we moved froma house to an apartment, which is much eas-ier to care for. We pioneered before we hadour son and daughter, and we never lost thedesire to pioneer. So when our children hadgrown up, we got back into the full-timeministry.No amount ofmoneycan comparewith the blessings we have received.”

Let “the Peace of God”Guard Your Heart

17 None of us know what tomorrow maybring, for “time and unforeseen occur-rence”befall us all. (Eccl. 9:11)However, un-certainty about tomorrow need not rob usof peace of mind today, as it often doesthose who lack the security of a warm rela-tionship with God. (Matt. 6:34) The apostlePaul wrote: “Do not be anxious over any-thing, but in everything by prayer and sup-plication along with thanksgiving let yourpetitions be made known to God; and thepeace of God that excels all thought willguard yourhearts and your mental powers.”—Phil. 4:6, 7.

17. In view of life’s uncertainties, how have theScriptures comforted you?

18 Manybrothers and sisters in trying situ-ations have experienced inner calm andpeace from Jehovah. Says one sister: “A sur-geon repeatedly tried to intimidate me intoaccepting a blood transfusion. ‘What’s thisnonsense about no blood?’ was one of hisfirst ‘greetings.’ Then and at other times, Iprayed silently to Jehovah, and his peacecame over me. I felt like a rock. Despiteweakness from my low blood count, I wasable to give clear Scriptural reasons for mystand.”

19 God may at times provide needed sup-port by means of a comforting fellow be-liever or by spiritual food at the right time.You have likely heard a brother or a sistersay: “This article is just what I needed. It waswritten just for me!” Yes, no matter whatour circumstances or need may be, Jehovahwill prove his love for us if we trust in him.After all, we are his “sheep,” and he hasplaced his name upon us.—Ps. 100:3; John10:16; Acts 15:14,17.

20 During the rapidly approaching “dayofJehovah’s fury,” everything in which Sa-tan’s world puts its trust will come crash-ing down. Gold, silver, and other valuablethings will provide no security whatsoever.(Zeph. 1:18; Prov. 11:4) The only refuge willbe our “Rockof times indefinite.” (Isa. 26:4)So let us demonstrate our full trust in Jeho-vah now by walking obediently in his righ-teous ways, by proclaiming his Kingdommessagedespite ourhaving to face apathyoropposition, and by rolling all our anxietieson him. As we do these things, we truly will“reside in security and be undisturbed fromdread of calamity.”—Prov.1:33.

18, 19. In what ways does God comfort us? Illus-trate.20. Why will Jehovah’s servants reside in securitywhen Satan’s world comes to its end?

Can You Explain?How can we trust in God˙ when tempted to do wrong?˙ when facing apathy or opposition?˙ when dealing with anxieties?


FROM the tiniest living cell to colossalgalaxies grouped into clusters and su-

perclusters, creation reflects organization.This is hardly surprising, for the Creator‘is not a God of disorder.’ (1 Cor. 14:33)God’s arrangement for worship is also im-pressive. Consider what Jehovah has done.He has formed into one universal organiza-tion hundreds of millions of intelligent crea-tures—physical as well as spiritual—havingfree will, united in pure worship. How mag-nificent!

In ancient Israel, the earthly part of God’sorganization was symbolized by Jerusalem,where Jehovah’s temple was located and hisanointed king resided. One Israelite captivein Babylon expressed his feelings toward theholy city this way: “Let my tongue stick tomy palate, if I were not to remember you, if Iwere not to make Jerusalem ascend abovemychief cause for rejoicing.”—Ps.137:6.

Is that how you feel about God’s organiza-tion today? Does it bring more joy to youthan anythingelse? Doyour children under-stand thehistory and functionof the earthlypart of God’s organization? Do they appreci-ate that they are part of aworldwide brother-hood of Jehovah’s Witnesses? (1 Pet. 2:17)Why not implement the following sugges-tions in your Family Worship evening in or-der to enhance your family’s appreciationfor Jehovah’s organization?

Recount “the Days of Long Ago”Each year, Israelite families assembled to

celebrate the Passover. When the festival

was instituted, Moses instructed the people:“In case your son should inquire of you lateron, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ thenyoumust say to him, ‘By strength of hand Jeho-vah brought us out of Egypt, from the houseof slaves.’” (Ex. 13:14) Jehovah’s dealingswith the Israelites were not to be forgottenhistory. Certainly, many Israelite fathers fol-lowed Moses’ command. Generations later,one Israelite prayed: “O God, with our earswe have heard, our forefathers themselveshave recounted to us the activity that youperformed in their days, in the days of longago.”—Ps. 44:1.

To a young person today, the history of Je-hovah’s Witnesses over the last 100 years orsomay also seem like “the days of long ago.”How can you bring these events to lifefor your offspring? To do so, some par-ents use Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers ofGod’s Kingdom, the Yearbook, life storiespublished in our journals, and other reportsof theocratic history, including our newDVD about God’s people in modern times.Videos relating the persecutionofour broth-ers in the former Soviet Union and NaziGermany teach families to rely on Jeho-vah during trials. Include such material foryour Family Worship evening. That will bol-ster the faith of your children in case theyface challenges to their integrity.

A lecture about history, however, mayquickly bore young minds. So get your chil-dren involved. For example, you might askyour son to choose a country that interestshim, research the theocratic history of that

You HaveCause for Rejoicing

How did the work of modern-day trav-eling overseers get started?—Jehovah’sWitnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom,pages 222-227.What was significant about “Children’sDay” at the 1941 Theocratic Assem-bly?—Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers ofGod’s Kingdom, pages 86, 88.How does the Governing Body make de-cisions?—“Bearing Thorough Witness”About God’s Kingdom, pages 108-114.

God’s OrganizationA Worthy Topic for StudyWe have abundant provisions to help allto learn more about the history and operationof Jehovah’s organization. The followingquestions may help you to get started:

X

X

X


land, and present some of what he learnedto his family. In your congregation, theremay be Christians with a long record offaithful service who might join you forfamily worship one evening. Perhaps yourdaughter could interview them and drawthem out, having them tell their experienc-es. Or you can have your child draw picturesof theocratic milestones, such as the con-struction of a branch, an international con-vention, or the use of a phonograph in thehouse-to-house ministry.

Learn How “Each Part Does Its Work”The apostle Paul compared the Christian

congregation to “the whole body, joinedand held together by every supporting liga-ment, [which] grows and builds itself up inlove, as each part does its work.” (Eph. 4:16,New International Version) Learning abouthow the human body functions increasesour appreciation and respect for our Creator.Similarly, when we examine how the world-wide congregation operates, we marvel at“the greatly diversified wisdom of God.”—Eph. 3:10.

Jehovah describes how his organization,including its heavenly part, operates. For ex-ample, he tells us that he first gave a revela-tion to Jesus Christ, who then “sent forthhisangel and presented it in signs through himto his slave John, who bore witness.” (Rev. 1:1, 2) If God reveals how the invisible part ofhis organization functions, would he notwant us to understand how “each part doesits work” on earth?

For instance, if the circuit overseer willsoon visit your congregation, why not con-sider with your family the duties and privi-leges of traveling overseers? How do theyhelp each one of us? Other questions thatmight be considered include: Why is it im-portant to report field service? How is God’sorganization financed? How is the Govern-

ing Bodyorganized, and how does it providespiritual food?

When we understand how Jehovah’s peo-ple are organized, we benefit in at leastthreeways:Our appreciation is enhanced forthosewhoworkhard in our behalf. (1 Thess.5:12, 13) We are motivated to support theo-cratic arrangements. (Acts 16:4, 5) Finally,our trust in those taking the lead is strength-ened as we see the Scriptural basis for deci-sions and arrangements made.—Heb.13:7.

“Inspect Its Dwelling Towers”“March around Zion, you people, and go

about it, count its towers. Set your heartsupon its rampart. Inspect its dwelling tow-ers, in order that you may recount it tothe future generation.” (Ps. 48:12, 13) Thepsalmist there urged the Israelites to see Je-rusalem up close. Can you imagine the pre-cious memories shared by Israelite familieswho had traveled to the holy city for annualfestivals and had seen its magnificent tem-ple? They must have been moved to “re-count it to the future generation.”

Think of the queen of Sheba, who was atfirst skeptical of reports of Solomon’s splen-did rule and great wisdom. What convincedher that the things she had heard were true?“I did not put faith in their words,” she said,“until I had come that my own eyes mightsee.” (2 Chron. 9:6) Yes, what we see withour “own eyes” can affect us deeply.

How can you help your children to seethe wonders of Jehovah’s organization withtheir “own eyes”? If there is a branch officeof Jehovah’s Witnesses near your home,make an effort to visit it. Mandy and Betha-ny, for example, grew up some 900 miles(1,500 km) from the Bethel home in theircountry. Yet, their parents planned frequenttrips to tour its facilities, especially whiletheir daughters were growing up. “Before we


toured Bethel, we thought it was rather stiffand only for old people,” they explain. “Butwe met young people who were workinghard for Jehovah and enjoying it! We sawthat Jehovah’s organization was more thanjust the little area where we lived, and eachvisit to Bethel gave us a dose of spiritual en-ergy.” Seeing God’s organization up closemotivated Mandy and Bethany to start pio-neering, and they were even invited to serveat Bethel as temporary volunteers.

We have another way to “see” Jehovah’sorganization, a way that was unavailable toancient Israel. In recent years, God’s peoplehave received videos and DVDs that take upvarious features of God’s organization, suchas: Jehovah’s Witnesses—Organized to Share

the Good News, Our Whole Association ofBrothers, To the Ends of the Earth, and Unitedby Divine Teaching. When you and yourfamily see the hard work of Bethelites, re-lief workers, missionaries, and brothers whoprepare and organize conventions, apprecia-tion for the worldwide brotherhood willsurely grow inyourheart.

Every congregation of God’s people playsan important role in preaching the goodnews and supporting Christians in its locali-ty. However, take time with your family toremember “the entire association of yourbrothers in the world.” This will help youand your children to remain “solid in thefaith,” recognizing that you have cause forrejoicing.—1 Pet. 5:9.

“FOR ten years, we were mesmerized by theglittering lights of the businessworld, en-

joying considerable wealth. Although wewere raised in the truth, we had strayed toofar and had no spiritual strength to return,”relate Jarosław and his wife, Beata.�

Another brother, Marek, recalls: “Becauseof social and political changes in Poland, Ilost job after job. I was frustrated. I had beenafraid to start my own company because Ididnot have aflair for business. Finally, I wastempted to start one, thinking this would


help me to take better care of my family’smaterial needs without any negative impacton my spirituality. In time, I found out howwrong I was.”

In aworld where the cost of living is risingrelentlessly and unemployment is increas-ing steadily, some individuals become des-perate and, as a result, make unwise deci-sions. A number of brothers have decided toaccept overtime work, to take on additionalemployment, or to start their own businesseven though lacking experience. They pre-sume that the extra income will help the

Never ForsakeYour Fellow Believers

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙


family and cause no spiritual harm. Yet, un-foreseen circumstances and the unstableeconomy can disrupt even well-motivatedplans. As a result, some have fallen into thetrap of greed and have sacrificed spiritual in-terests in favor of material ones.—Eccl. 9:11,12.

Some brothers and sisters have becomeso engrossed in worldly pursuits that theyno longer have time for personal study,meetings, or the ministry. Clearly, such ne-glect causes harm to their spirituality and totheir relationship with Jehovah. They may

also abandon another important relation-ship—their bond with those ‘related to themin the faith.’ (Gal. 6:10) Somegraduallywith-draw from the Christian brotherhood. Con-sider seriously this aspect of the matter.

Our Obligation TowardFellow Believers

As brothers and sisters, we have many oc-casions to show tender feelings toward oneanother. (Rom. 13:8) In your congregation,youhave likely seen ‘afflictedones crying for

help.’ (Job 29:12) Some may lack basic ma-terial sustenance. The apostle John remind-ed us of the opportunity that this presents.“Whoever has this world’s means for sup-porting life and beholds his brother havingneed and yet shuts the door of his tendercompassions upon him, in what way doesthe love of God remain in him?”—1 John3:17.

You may have responded to such needsand extended generous help to others. Yet,our interest in the brotherhood is not limit-ed to material assistance. Some may cry

forhelp because they arelonely or discouraged.They may feel unwor-thy, suffer from a seri-ous illness, or have expe-rienced the death of aloved one. One way thatwe can encourage themis by listening to andtalking with them, thusbeing sensitive to theiremotional and spiritu-al needs. (1 Thess. 5:14) This often further ce-ments the bond of lovewith our brothers.

Spiritual shepherdsmay especially be in aposition to listen with

empathy, show understanding, and provideloving Scriptural counsel. (Acts 20:28) Inthat way overseers imitate the apostle Paul,who had “tender affection” for his spiritualbrothers and sisters.—1 Thess. 2:7, 8.

However, if a Christian strays from theflock, what happens to his obligation to hisfellow believers? Not even overseers are im-mune to the temptationofmaterialistic pur-suits.What if aChristian should succumb tosuch a temptation?

Does your secular work interfere withyour meeting attendance?


Weighed Down by Life’s AnxietiesAs noted, toiling to fill our family’s basic

physical needs often brings anxieties andcan weaken our view of spiritual values.(Matt. 13:22) Marek, mentioned earlier, ex-plains: “When my business failed, I decidedto find a well-paying job abroad. I left justfor three months, then for another threemonths, and soon,with short intervals backhome. My unbelieving wife suffered emo-tionally from that.”

Family life was not the only thing thatsuffered. “In addition to long hours of workinoppressiveheat,” continuesMarek, “I wasexposed to vulgar people who were strivingto exploit others. They acted like commongangsters. I felt depressed and dominated.Not even having time to take care of myself,I began to doubt my ability to serve others.”

The sad consequences of Marek’s deci-sion should moveus to stop and think. Evenif it seems that moving abroad would solvefinancial difficulties, would it not createother problems? For instance, what wouldhappen to the spiritual and emotional well-being of our family? Would such a movelead to the severing of our ties with the con-gregation? Would it not deprive us of theprivilege of ministering to fellow believers?—1 Tim. 3:2-5.

As you probably realize, though, a per-son does not have to work outside of hishomecountry to becomeengrossed in secu-lar work. Consider Jarosław and Beata. “Itall started innocently enough,” he says.“As newlyweds, we opened a small hot-dogstand in a good location. Swelling profitsencouraged us to expand our business. Butwe had little time, so we missed Christianmeetings. Before long, I gave up pioneeringand serving as a ministerial servant. Excitedover the profits we were making, we opened

a large shop and entered into a partnershipwith an unbeliever. Soon I was travelingabroad to sign contracts worth millions ofdollars. I was rarely at home, and the familybond with my wife and my daughter deteri-orated. Finally, the booming business lulledus to sleep spiritually. Cut off from the con-gregation, we did not spare a thought forour brothers.”

What lesson can we learn from this? Thedesire to create a private “paradise” can en-snare a Christian, resulting in complacency—even the loss of “his outer garments,” hisChristian identity. (Rev. 16:15) That couldcut us off from the brothers whomwe previ-ously were in a position to help.

Make an Honest Evaluation‘That wouldn’t happen to me,’ we might

be inclined to think. Yet, we all do well toconsider seriously how much is really need-ed in life. “We have brought nothing intothe world, and neither can we carry any-thing out,” wrote Paul. “So, having suste-nance and covering, we shall be contentwith these things.” (1 Tim. 6:7, 8) Granted,the standard of living varies from coun-try to country. What may be consideredthe bare minimum in a developed countrymay be considered a luxury in many otherlands.

Whatever the standard where we live,consider Paul’s next words: “Those who aredetermined to be rich fall into temptationand a snare and many senseless and hurtfuldesires, which plunge men into destructionand ruin.” (1 Tim. 6:9) A snare is hiddenfrom the prey. It is designed to catch the vic-tim by surprise. How canwe avoid being en-snared by “hurtful desires”?

Establishing priorities can move us to findmore time for Kingdom interests, includingpersonal study. Such prayerful study can


help a Christian to become“fully competent, complete-ly equipped” to assist others.—2 Tim. 2:15; 3:17.

Over the course of a fewyears, loving elders workedto build up and encourageJarosław. He was moved tomake radical changes. Hesays: “In one crucial con-versation, the elders quotedthe Scriptural example of arich young manwho wantedto live forever but who wasnot willing to give up hismaterial possessions. Thenthey tactfully raised the issue of whetherthis information might apply to me. Thatwas a real eye-opener!”—Prov. 11:28; Mark10:17-22.

Jarosław evaluated his situation honestlyand decided to end his involvement in bigbusiness. Within two years, he and his fami-ly regained their spiritual health. He is nowserving his brothers as an elder. Jarosławsays: “When brothers become engrossed inbusiness to the pointof neglecting their spir-ituality, I use my own example to illustratehow unwise it is to become unevenly yokedwith unbelievers. It is not easy to resisttempting offers and to keep away from dis-honest practices.”—2 Cor. 6:14.

Marek too learned a lesson the hard way.Though a well-paying job abroad helped hisfamily financially, his relationship with Godand his brothers suffered. In time, he re-defined his priorities. “Over the years, mysituation resembled the one of Baruchof oldwho ‘kept seeking great things for himself.’Finally, I poured out my heart, telling Jeho-vah of my anxieties, and now I feel that Ihave regained spiritual balance.” (Jer. 45:1-5) Marek is now reaching out for the “fine

work” of an overseer in the congregation.—1 Tim. 3:1.

Marek gives this warning for those whomight consider traveling abroad in search ofa better-paying job: “When abroad, it is veryeasy to fall into the traps of this wickedworld. Poor knowledge of the local languagehinders communication with others. Youmay return home with money, but you alsohave spiritual wounds that can take a longtime to heal.”

Maintaining the balance between secu-lar employment and our obligation to ourbrothers will help us to please Jehovah. Andwe can provide a living example that maymotivate others to make a wise decision.Those who are weighed down need support,compassion, and the good example of theirbrothers and sisters. Congregation elders andother mature ones can help fellow believersto maintain their balance and avoid beingconsumed by life’s anxieties.—Heb.13:7.

Yes, may we never forsake our fellow be-lievers by becoming engrossed in our secularjob. (Phil.1:10) Instead, let us be “rich towardGod” as we put Kingdom interests first in ourlife.—Luke 12:21.

Do you value your opportunities to helpyour spiritual brothers and sisters?


FOR years, a noted performer entertainedaudiencesby interactingpeacefullywith

his trained Bengal tigers. He said: “When ananimal gives you its trust, you feel like youhave been given the most beautiful gift inthe world.” But on October 3, 2003, thattrust ended. For no apparent reason, one ofhis animals, a 380-pound (172 kg) white ti-ger, attacked him. That attack was totallyunexpected, and the trainer was not pre-pared.

2 It is of interest to note that the Bibleforetells an attack of a “wild beast,” and weneed to be ready. (Read Revelation 17:15-18.) Whomdoes this beast attack? In a stun-ning plot twist, the Devil’s world becomesdivided against itself. The scarlet-coloredwild beast represents the United Nations,and “the ten horns” represent all the politi-cal powers. These will turn on the harlotlikeBabylon the Great, theworld empire of falsereligion, and violently destroy her. Whenwill this event occur? We do not know theday and thehour. (Matt. 24:36) Wedo knowthat it will be at an hour whenwe do not ex-pect it and that the time left before this at-tack is reduced. (Matt. 24:44; 1 Cor. 7:29) Itis vital, then, that we keep ourselves spiritu-ally ready so that when that attack occursand Christ comes as Executioner, he willalso prove to be our Deliverer! (Luke 21:28)To achieve this state of readiness, we canlearn from faithful servants of God who

1, 2. (a) What events foretold in Bible prophecycan be compared to an attack by a tiger? (b) Howdoes the coming attack affect you?

proved themselves ready and thus becameeyewitnesses of the fulfillment of God’spromises. Will we take these real-life experi-ences to heart?

Prove Yourself Ready—Like Noah3 Despite the sickening conditions that

prevailed onearthduringhis lifetime,Noahproved himself ready to see the fulfillmentof God’s promise. Imagine the challengesNoah had to face as rebel angels material-ized in human form and cohabited with at-tractive women! These unnatural unionsproduced superhuman offspring, “mightyones”who used their superior power to bul-ly others. (Gen. 6:4) Think of the violencethat was fomented as these giants causedhavoc wherever they went. Consequently,wickedness prevailed and man’s thinkingand behavior became thoroughly depraved.The Sovereign Lord Jehovah then issued adivine decree that marked the beginning ofthe end for that ungodly world.—Read Gen-esis 6:3, 5,11,12.�

4 Jesus prophesied that the conditions inour day would be similar to those in thedays of Noah. (Matt. 24:37) For example, wealso witness interference by wicked spirits.(Rev. 12:7-9, 12) These demon angels ma-terialized in the days of Noah. Although

� As to the “hundred and twenty years” mentioned atGenesis 6:3, see The Watchtower, December 15, 2010,page 30.

3. What conditions made it challenging for Noahto serve God faithfully?4, 5. Inwhat ways are conditions in our day similarto those of Noah’s day?

PROVE YOURSELF READY!“Prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it,

the Son of man is coming.”—MATT. 24:44.


they are now barred from materializing ashumans, they endeavor to control youngand old alike. Behind the scenes, these sexperverts derive pleasure from the evil anddebased actions of those whom they cancorrupt on the earth.—Eph. 6:11,12.

5 God’s Word describes the Devil as “amanslayer” and says that he has “the meansto cause death.” (John 8:44; Heb. 2:14)His power is limited when it comes tocausing death directly. Nonetheless, this vi-cious spirit fosters deceit and seduction. Heplants murderous attitudes in the heartsand minds of people. For example, 1 out ofevery 142 children born in the United Stateswill become a murder victim. With sense-less violence so prevalent, do you think thatJehovah will take less notice today than hedid in Noah’s day? Will he fail to act?

6 In due time, Noah was informed ofGod’s decision to bring a deluge of watersupon the earth, bringing all flesh to ruin.(Gen. 6:13, 17) Jehovah instructed Noah to

6, 7. How did Noah and his family demonstratefaith and godly fear?

build an ark shaped like a huge chest. Noahand his family went to work. What helpedthem to obey and prove themselves readywhen God’s judgment arrived?

7 Deep faith and godly fear moved Noahand his family to do as God commanded.(Gen. 6:22; Heb. 11:7) As family head, Noahstayed alert spiritually and avoided the cor-ruption of that ancient world. (Gen. 6:9)He knew that his family needed to guardagainst adopting the violent ways and defi-ant attitude of the people around them. Itwas important that they not become en-grossed in the everyday affairs of life. Godhad a work for them to do, and it was vitalthat the entire family center their lives on it.—Read Genesis 6:14,18.

Noah and His Family Proved Ready8 The Bible account focuses attention on

the family head Noah, but Noah’s wife andhis sons and their wives were also worship-pers of Jehovah. The prophet Ezekiel con-firmed this. He said that if Noah were livingin Ezekiel’s time, his children would not bedelivered on the basis of their father’s righ-teousness. They were old enough to obey ordisobey. Therefore, they had personally giv-en evidence of their love for God and hisways. (Ezek.14:19, 20) Noah’s family accept-ed his instruction, shared his faith, and didnot allow the influence of others to hindertheir God-givenwork.

9 How encouraging today to see withinour worldwide brotherhood family headswho are doing their utmost to imitateNoah! They realize that it is not enoughto provide food, clothing, shelter, andeducation for their families. They must also

8. What indicates that the members of Noah’s fam-ily practiced godly devotion?9. We can point to what modern-day examples ofNoahlike faith?

Noah and his familykept focused on Jehovah’s work


care for their spiritual needs.In doing so, they are provingthemselves ready for what Je-hovah will soon do.

10 Noah, his wife, his sons,and their wives may haveworked on building the arkfor some 50 years. As theybuilt the ark, they must havegone in and out of it hun-dreds of times. They water-proofed it, stocked it withfood, and brought in the ani-mals. Picture the scene. The big day finallyarrives. It is the 17th day of the secondmonth of the year 2370 B.C.E., and they gointo the ark. Jehovah shuts the door, and itbegins to rain. This is no mere local flood.Thewater canopy, orheavenlyocean, burstsopen, and a torrential downpour poundsthe ark. (Gen. 7:11, 16) People outside theark are dying while those inside are beingsaved. What might Noah’s family have felt?Profound gratitude to God, yes. But un-doubtedly they thought, ‘How glad we arethat we walked with the true God andproved ourselves ready!’ (Gen. 6:9) Can youpicture yourself on the other side of Arma-geddon, yourheart swelling with similar ap-preciation?

11 Nothing can stop the Almighty fromfulfilling his promise to bring an end to thissatanic system of things. Ask yourself, ‘DoI have absolute confidence that none ofGod’s promises will fail even in the slightestdetail and that all of themwill be fulfilled athis appointed time?’ If so, prove yourself

10, 11. (a) While inside the ark, howdid Noah andhis family undoubtedly feel? (b) What question dowe do well to ask ourselves?

ready by keeping close in mind that fast-approaching “day of Jehovah.”—2 Pet. 3:12.

Moses Remained Alert12 Let us consider another example. From

a fleshly viewpoint, Moses seemed to be inanexceedingly advantageous position in theEgyptian world. As the adopted son of Pha-raoh’s daughter, likely he was highly es-teemed and enjoyed the finest of foods, thebest of clothing, and the most luxurious ofsurroundings. He received an extensive edu-cation. (Read Acts 7:20-22.) He may havebeen in line to inherit a magnificent estate.

13 Apparently, early training by his parentsallowed Moses to discern the folly of idolworship practiced by the Egyptians. (Ex.32:8) The educational system of Egypt andthe material splendor of the royal house didnot cause Moses to abandon true worship.He must have pondered deeply over God’spromises to his forefathers and had a keendesire to prove himself ready to do the di-

12. What could have blurred Moses’ spiritual vi-sion?13. How did Moses remain focused on God’s prom-ises?

God’s sure promises helpedMoses to remain watchful


vine will. After all, Moses told the sons of Is-rael: “Jehovah . . . the God of Abraham, theGod of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sentme to you.”—Read Exodus 3:15-17.

14 Unlike all the idols representing the life-less gods of Egypt, Jehovah, the true God,was real to Moses. He lived his life as if hecould see “the One who is invisible.” Moseshad faith thatGod’s peoplewouldbe liberat-ed, but hedidnot knowwhen thatwouldbe.(Heb. 11:24, 25, 27) His strong desire to seethe Hebrews set free was manifested by hisdefending an Israelite slave who was beingabused. (Ex. 2:11, 12) However, it was not Je-hovah’s time, so Moses had to live as a fugi-tive in a faraway land. No doubt it wasdifficult for him to go from enjoying thecomfortable surroundings of the Egyptiancourt to living in the wilderness. Still, Mosesproved himself ready by keeping awake toevery instruction Jehovah gave him. Thus,God could use him to bring relief to hisbrothers afterhe spent 40 years inMidian. AtGod’s direction, Moses obediently returnedto Egypt. The time had come for Moses tocarry out a divine commission and to doGod’s work in God’s way. (Ex. 3:2, 7, 8, 10)Back in Egypt, Moses, ‘the meekest of allmen,’ needed faith and courage to appearbefore Pharaoh. (Num. 12:3) He did so, notjust once, but time and again as the plaguesproceeded, not knowing from one plague tothe next how many more times he wouldneed to go before Pharaoh.

15 Over thenext 40years, from1513B.C.E.to 1473 B.C.E., Moses faced disappoint-ments. Yet, he watched for opportunities tohonor Jehovah and wholeheartedly encour-

14. How were Moses’ faith and courage put to thetest?15. Despite setbacks, what moved Moses to remainwatchful for opportunities to honorhis heavenly Fa-ther?

aged his fellow Israelites to do so. (Deut. 31:1-8) Why? Because he loved Jehovah’s nameand sovereignty more than his own name.(Ex. 32:10-13; Num. 14:11-16) Despite dis-appointments or setbacks, we too must con-tinue to support God’s rulership, confidentthat his way of doing things is wiser, morerighteous, and better than any other. (Isa.55:8-11; Jer.10:23) Is that how you feel?

Keep Awake!16 “Keep looking, keep awake, for you do

not know when the appointed time is.”(Mark 13:33) Jesus gave that warning whendiscussing the sign that would mark theconclusion of this wicked system of things.Consider the concluding words to Jesus’great prophecy as recorded by Mark: “Keepon the watch, for you do not know whenthe master of the house is coming, whetherlate in the day or at midnight or at cock-crowing or early in the morning; in orderthat when he arrives suddenly, he does notfind you sleeping. But what I say to you I sayto all, Keep on thewatch.”—Mark 13:35-37.

17 Jesus’ exhor tat ion is thought -provoking. He referred to four differentwatches of the night. The final watch would

16, 17. Why does Mark 13:35-37 have profoundmeaning for you?

Do You Recall?˙ Why did Noah need to give priority

to his family’s spiritual needs?˙ How are our times remarkably similar

to Noah’s day?˙ Despite disappointments, why did

Moses keep his eyes focused on Jeho-vah’s promises?

˙ What Bible prophecies move you tostay awake spiritually?


prove to be a challenging time to stay awake,for it lasted from about three in the morn-ing until sunrise. War strategists considerthis to be the most effective time to attackthe enemy, affording the best opportunityto catch them “sleeping.” Likewise now,when in a spiritual sense the world is soundasleep, we might have our greatest struggleto stay awake.Dowehave any doubt that weneed to “keep awake” and “keep looking”for the foretold end and our deliverance?

18 The animal trainer mentioned at theoutset survived the attack by the Bengal ti-ger. But Bible prophecy unmistakably indi-

18. As Jehovah’s Witnesses, what inestimable privi-lege do we have?

cates that neither false religion nor the restof this wicked system will escape the ap-proaching end. (Rev. 18:4-8) May all ofGod’s servants, young and old, see the seri-ousness of doing all they can to proveourselves ready for Jehovah’s day as didNoah and his family. We live in a God-dishonoring world in which teachers offalse religion, as well as agnostics and athe-ists,mock theCreator with their speech. Butwe cannot risk being affected. Let us take toheart the examples that we have consideredand stay watchful for opportunities to de-fend and honor Jehovah as “the God ofgods,” yes, “the God great, mighty and fear-inspiring.”—Deut.10:17.

ON THE hills of Lebanon and Israel, oneof the first trees to blossom is the al-

mond tree. Its lovely pink or white flowerscan be seen as early as the end of January orthe beginning of February. Its Hebrew nameliterally means “awakening one.”

2 When Jehovah appointed Jeremiah ashis prophet, this characteristic of the al-mond tree was aptly used to illustrate an im-portant reality. At the start of his ministry,the prophet was shown invision an offshootof that tree. What did it mean? Jehovah ex-

1, 2. Why is Jehovah’s “keeping awake” associatedwith the almond tree?

plained: “I am keeping awake concerningmy word in order to carry it out.” (Jer. 1:11,12) Just as the almond tree ‘awakened’ early,so Jehovah was figuratively “getting up ear-ly” to send his prophets to warn his peopleabout the consequences of disobedience.(Jer. 7:25) And he would not rest—he would‘keep awake’—until his prophetic word wasaccomplished. In 607 B.C.E., right at theappointed time, Jehovah’s judgment cameupon the apostate nation of Judah.

3 Likewise today, Jehovah is awake, atten-tive to carrying out his will. It is impossible

3. Of what can we be sure regarding Jehovah?

KEEP AWAKE,AS JEREMIAH DID

“I [Jehovah] am keeping awake concerning my wordin order to carry it out.”—JER. 1:12.


for him to neglect the fulfillment of hisword. How does Jehovah’s attentiveness af-fect you? Do you believe that in this year of2011, Jehovah is “awake” to the fulfillmentof his promises? If wehave any doubts aboutJehovah’s sure promises, now is the time forus to awaken from any spiritual drowsiness.(Rom.13:11) As Jehovah’s prophet, Jeremiahkept himself awake. Examining how andwhy Jeremiah kept awake to his God-givenassignment will help us to see how we canpersevere in the work that Jehovah has giv-en us.

An Urgent Message4 Jeremiah may have been close to 25

years oldwhenhe received from Jehovahhiscommission as a watchman. (Jer. 1:1, 2) Buthe felt like a mere boy, utterly unqualified tospeak to the elders of the nation, men ad-vanced in age and having positions of au-thority. (Jer. 1:6) He had scathing denuncia-tions and fearful judgments to proclaim,especially to the priests, false prophets, andrulers, as well as to those who took “the pop-ular course” and developed “an enduringunfaithfulness.” (Jer. 6:13; 8:5, 6) King Solo-mon’s glorious temple, which had been thecenter of trueworship for almost four centu-ries, would be demolished. Jerusalem andJudah would lie desolate, and their inhabi-tants would be taken captive. Clearly, themessage that Jeremiahwas commissioned todeliver was urgent!

5 In modern times, Jehovah has lovinglyprovided mankind with a group of anointedChristians who act as figurative watchmento warn about his judgment of this world.For decades, this Jeremiah class has beenurging people to pay attention to the times

4. What challenges did Jeremiah face in deliveringhis message, and what made it urgent?5, 6. (a) How is Jehovah using the Jeremiah classtoday? (b) On what will our study focus?

in which we live. (Jer. 6:17) The Bible em-phasizes that Jehovah, the Great Timekeep-er, is not slow. His day will come exactly ontime, at an hour that humans do not expect.—Zeph. 3:8; Mark 13:33; 2 Pet. 3:9,10.

6 Keep in mind that Jehovah is awake andwill usher in his righteous new world righton time. Knowing that should urge on thoseof the Jeremiah class and help their dedicat-ed companions to keep awake to the increas-ing urgency of their message. How does thataffect you? Jesus indicated that all need totake a stand for God’s Kingdom. Let us ex-amine three qualities that helped Jeremiahto stay awake to his commission and thatwill help us to do the same.

Love for People7 What motivated Jeremiah to preach de-

spite challenging circumstances? He hadlove for people. Jeremiah knew that falseshepherds were causing much of the troublethe people faced. (Jer. 23:1, 2) This knowl-edge helped him do his work with love andcompassion. He wanted his countrymen tohear God’s words and live. He was so con-cerned that he wept over the calamity tocome upon them. (Read Jeremiah 8:21;9:1.) The book of Lamentations vividly re-flects Jeremiah’s deep love and concern forJehovah’s name and people. (Lam. 4:6, 9)When you see people being “skinned andthrown about like sheep without a shep-herd” today, do you not feel a desire to bringthem the comforting news of God’s King-dom?—Matt. 9:36.

8 Jeremiah suffered at the hands of thevery people hewished tohelp, yet he did notretaliate or become bitter. He was long-suffering and kind, even toward corrupt

7. Explain how love motivated Jeremiah to preachdespite difficult circumstances.8. What shows that suffering did not make Jeremi-ah bitter?


King Zedekiah! After Zedekiah turned himover to be put to death, Jeremiah still plead-ed with him to obey the voice of Jehovah.(Jer. 38:4, 5, 19, 20) Is our love for people asstrong as Jeremiah’s?

God-Given Courage9 When Jehovah first spoke to him, Jere-

miah tried to beg off. From this, we see thatthe boldness and firmness he went on toshow were not inherent in him. No, the ex-traordinary strength Jeremiah showed dur-ing his prophetic career actually came fromhis full reliance on God. Truly, Jehovah waswith the prophet “like a terrible mightyone” in that he supported Jeremiah andgave him the strength to handle his assign-ment. (Jer. 20:11) Jeremiah’s reputation forboldness and courage was such that duringJesus’ earthlyministry, some took Jesus to beJeremiah returned to life!—Matt.16:13,14.

10 As “King of the nations,” Jehovah com-missioned Jeremiah to deliver a judgmentmessage to nations and kingdoms. (Jer. 10:6, 7) But inwhat sense are the anointed rem-nant “over the nations and over the king-doms”? (Jer. 1:10) Like the prophet of old,the Jeremiah class has been given an assign-ment from the Sovereign of the universe.God’s anointed servants are thus duly au-thorized to make pronouncements world-wide against nations and kingdoms. Invest-ed with authority from the Most High Godand using the clear language of his inspiredWord, the Jeremiah class declares that thenations and kingdoms of today will be up-rooted and destroyed at God’s due time andby his chosen means. (Jer. 18:7-10; Rev. 11:18) The Jeremiah class is determined not torelent in its God-given commission to pro-

9. How do we know that Jeremiah’s courage wasfrom God?10. Why can it be said that the anointed remnantare ‘over nations and kingdoms’?

claim Jehovah’s judgment messages earthwide.

11 It is not unusual to get discouraged attimes in the face of opposition, indifference,or difficult circumstances. (2 Cor. 1:8) Butlike Jeremiah, let us keep going. Do not loseheart. May each of us continue to supplicateGod, lean on him, and ‘muster up boldness’as we look to him for help. (1 Thess. 2:2) Be-ing true worshippers, we must continue tokeep awake to our God-given responsibili-ties. We need to be determined to keeppreaching without letup about the destruc-tion of Christendom, which was foreshad-owed by that of unfaithful Jerusalem. TheJeremiah class will declare not just “the yearof goodwill on the part of Jehovah” but also“the day of vengeance on the part of ourGod.”—Isa. 61:1, 2; 2 Cor. 6:2.

Heartfelt Joy12 Jeremiah found joy in his work. He said

to Jehovah: “Your words were found, and Iproceeded to eat them; and your word be-comes to me the exultation and the rejoic-ing of my heart; for your name has beencalled upon me, O Jehovah.” (Jer. 15:16) ForJeremiah, it was a privilege to represent thetrueGodandpreachhisword. It is of interestthat when Jeremiah focused on the ridiculefrom the people, he lost his joy. Whenhe turned his attention to the beauty andimportance of his message, his joy was re-kindled.—Jer. 20:8, 9.

13 To maintain joy in the preaching workinourday,weneed to feedourselves on“sol-id food,” deep truths of God’s Word. (Heb.

11. What will help us to keep preaching without let-up when we face difficult circumstances?12. Why may we conclude that Jeremiah main-tained his joy, and what was a key element in his do-ing so?13. Why is feeding on deeper spiritual truths im-portant in our maintaining joy?


5:14) Deeper study builds faith. (Col. 2:6, 7)It impresses on us how our actions reallytouch Jehovah’s heart. If we are struggling tofind time to read and study the Bible, weshould reexamine our schedule. Even a fewminutes of study and meditation each daywill draw us closer to Jehovah and will con-tribute to ‘the exultation and rejoicing ofthe heart,’ as was true in Jeremiah’s case.

14 Jeremiah did declare Jehovah’s warn-

14, 15. (a) What fruitage resulted from Jeremiah’sfaithfully sticking to his commission? (b) God’speople today appreciate what about the preachingwork?

ings and judgment message without letup,yet he had at heart his commission “to buildand toplant.” (Jer.1:10)Hisworkof buildingand planting bore fruitage. Some Jews aswell as non-Israelites survived Jerusalem’sdestruction in607B.C.E.Weknowof the Re-chabites, Ebed-melech, and Baruch. (Jer. 35:19; 39:15-18; 43:5-7) These loyal and God-fearing friends of Jeremiah well illustratethose having an earthly hope today whobefriend the Jeremiah class. Great is thepleasure of the Jeremiah class in spirituallybuilding up this “great crowd.” (Rev. 7:9)Likewise, these loyal companions of the

Will you keep onpreaching despiteopposition?


anointedfind immense satisfaction in assist-ing honesthearted ones to come to a knowl-edge of the truth.

15 God’s people appreciate that thepreaching of the good news is not only apublic service to those who hear it but alsoan act of worship to our God. Whether wefind a receptive ear or not, rendering sacredservice to Jehovah by means of our preach-ing brings us great joy.—Ps. 71:23; read Ro-mans 1:9.

‘Keep Awake’ to Your Assignment!16 The urgency of the times we live in is

underscored whenwe consider the inspiredprophecy at Revelation 17:10. The seventhking, the Anglo-American World Power, hascome into existence. Concerning it we read:“When he [the seventh world power] doesarrive he must remain a short while.” Bynow that “short while” must be near itscompletion.TheprophetHabakkukgives usthis assurance concerning the end of thiswicked system: “The vision is yet for the ap-pointed time . . . Keep in expectation of it;for it will without fail come true. It will notbe late.”—Hab. 2:3.

17 Ask yourself: ‘Does my life truly reflectthe urgency of our times? Does my way oflife show that I expect the end to comesoon? Or do my decisions and priorities in-

16, 17. How do Revelation 17:10 and Habakkuk 2:3show the urgency of our times?

dicate that I do not expect the end anytimesoon or even that I am not sure if it will evercome?’

18 The work of the watchman class is notyet over. (Read Jeremiah 1:17-19.) What asource of joy it is that the anointed remnantare standing immovable, like “an iron pil-lar” and “a fortified city”! They have their“loins girded about with truth” in that theyallow God’s Word to strengthen them un-til their commissioned work is complet-ed. (Eph. 6:14) With similar determination,those of the great crowd actively supportthe Jeremiah class in carrying out its divineassignment.

19 Now is not the time to slow down inKingdom activity but to consider the im-port of Jeremiah 12:5. (Read.) All of us facetrials that we must endure. These tests offaith may be compared to “footmen” withwhom we must run. Nonetheless, as the“great tribulation” approaches, we can ex-pect hardships to increase. (Matt. 24:21)Grappling with the more challenging dif-ficulties aheadmaybe likened to running “arace with horses.” It would require greatpowers of endurance for a man to keep upwith galloping horses. So it is beneficial toendure the trials we now face, which mayprepare us to endure those that lie ahead.

20 We can all imitate Jeremiah and suc-cessfully fulfill our assignment to preach!Such qualities as love, courage, and joymoved Jeremiah to carry out his 67-year-long ministry faithfully. The beautiful al-mond blossom reminds us that Jehovahwill ‘keep awake’ concerning his word in or-der to carry it out. We have good reason,then, to do likewise. Jeremiah ‘kept awake,’and so canwe.

18, 19. Why is now not the time to slow down?20. What are you determined to do?

Do You Recall?˙ How did love help Jeremiah ‘keep

awake’ to his commission?˙ Why do we need God-given courage?˙ What helped Jeremiah maintain

his joy?˙ Why do you want to ‘keep awake’?


May 30–June 5Serving Jehovah With All SeriousnessPAGE 9 SONGS TO BE USED: 125, 66

June 6-12Make Decisions That Honor GodPAGE 13 SONGS TO BE USED: 112, 104

June 13-19“The Fruitage of the Spirit”

Glorifies GodPAGE 18 SONGS TO BE USED: 25, 11

June 20-26Are You Allowing God’s Spiritto Lead You?


34567APRIL 15, 2011


34567�



APRIL 15, 2011



In a world that engenders a spirit of lightheart-edness, Christians need to have a serious viewof life. This is especially critical in our worship ofJehovah. This article will provide a balanced,Scriptural look at how serious we should beabout our Christian responsibilities.


Many find it difficult to make decisions. This ar-ticle will help us examine why it is vital that welearn how to make good decisions. It will alsodiscuss practical steps we can take to ensurethat the decisions we make will honor God.


What is “the fruitage of the spirit”? How canwe cultivate it? And why should we do so? Youwill find answers to these questions as we con-sider the nine aspects of the spirit’s fruitage.These articles also include practical sugges-tions that many will find helpful.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Do You Discern the Evidenceof God’s Guidance?

6 How to RemainHonest in aDishonestWorld )

28 Do You Remember?

29 I Have FoundMany GoodThings )

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ APRIL 15, 2011 3

NEITHER the Israelites nor the Egyptianshad seen anything like it before. As the

Israelites made their Exodus from Egypt, apillarof cloudhoverednear themand stayedwith them day in and day out. At night it be-came a pillar of fire. How awe-inspiring! Butwhere did it come from? What was its pur-pose? And what can we, some 3,500 yearslater, learn from the way that Israel regarded“the pillar of fire and cloud”?—Ex.14:24.

God’s Word reveals the source and thepurpose of the pillar, stating: “Jehovah wasgoing ahead of them in the daytime in a pil-lar of cloud to lead them by the way, and inthe nighttime in a pillar of fire to give themlight to go in the daytime and nighttime.”(Ex. 13:21, 22) Jehovah God used the pillarof fire and cloud to guide his people out ofEgypt and through the wilderness. They hadto be ready to move in order to follow it.When the pursuing Egyptian forces wereabout to attack God’s people, the pillarmoved between the two groups, protectingthe Israelites. (Ex. 14:19, 20) Though the pil-lardidnot indicate themost direct route, fol-lowing its lead was the only way for Israel toget to the Promised Land.

The presence of the pillar assured God’speople that Jehovahwas with them. It repre-sented Jehovah, and at times he spoke out ofit. (Num. 14:14; Ps. 99:7) Further, the cloudidentified Moses as the one appointed by Je-hovah to lead the nation. (Ex. 33:9) Like-wise, the last recorded appearance of thecloud confirmed Jehovah’s appointment ofJoshua as Moses’ successor. (Deut. 31:14, 15)

Indeed, the successful outcome of the Exo-dus depended on the Israelites’ discerningthe evidence of God’s guidance and thenfollowing it.

They Lost Sight of the EvidenceWhen the Israelites saw that pillar for the

first time, they must have been awestruck.Sadly, though, that constantly present mira-cle did not impress the Israelites enough tofill them with lasting confidence in Jeho-vah. They challenged God’s guidance sever-al times. When the Egyptian army pursuedthem, they showed no trust in Jehovah’ssaving power. Instead, they accused God’sservant Moses of having led them towardtheirdeath. (Ex.14:10-12) After their deliver-ance through the Red Sea, they murmuredagainst Moses, Aaron, and Jehovah becauseof the presumed lack of food and water. (Ex.15:22-24; 16:1-3; 17:1-3, 7) And some weeksafter that, they pressuredAaron into makinga golden calf. Just imagine! In one section oftheir camp, the Israelites saw the pillar of fireandcloud—themajestic evidence of theOnewho had led them out of Egypt—and not farfrom there, they began worshipping a life-less idol, saying: “This is your God, O Israel,who led you up out of the land of Egypt.”What “great acts of disrespect”!—Ex. 32:4;Neh. 9:18.

Israel’s rebellious acts demonstrated strik-ing disregard for Jehovah’s guidance. Theproblem was not with their physical sightbut with their spiritual outlook. They sawthe pillar, but they no longer appreciated

Do You Discern the Evidenceof God’s Guidance?

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ APRIL 15, 2011

its meaning. Though their actions “painedeven theHolyOneof Israel,” Jehovahmerci-fully kept on providing guidance by meansof the pillar until Israel reached the Prom-ised Land.—Ps. 78:40-42, 52-54; Neh. 9:19.

See the Evidenceof Divine Guidance Today

Similarly in modern times, Jehovah hasnever left his people without clear guidance.Just as he did not expect the Israelites toscout out their own route, we today are notasked to find the way into the promised newworld on our own. Jesus Christ is the as-signed Leader of the congregation. (Matt.23:10; Eph. 5:23) He has delegated some au-thority to a faithful slave class, made upof faithful spirit-anointed Christians. Thatslave class, in turn, appoints overseers in theChristian congregation.—Matt. 24:45-47; Ti-tus 1:5-9.

How canwe be sure of the identity of thatfaithful slave, or steward, class? Notice howJesus himself describes it: “Who really is thefaithful steward, the discreet one, whom hismaster will appoint over his body of atten-dants to keep giving them their measure offood supplies at the proper time? Happy isthat slave, if hismaster onarrivingfinds himdoing so!”—Luke 12:42, 43.

Hence, the steward class is “faithful,” nev-er betraying or abandoning Jehovah, Jesus,Bible truths, or God’s people. Being “dis-creet,” the steward class shows good judg-ment in directing the all-important work ofpreaching the “good news of the kingdom”and making “disciples of people of all thenations.” (Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20) “At theproper time,” the steward class obedient-ly distributes spiritual food that is whole-some and nourishing. Jehovah’s approval isseen in how he blesses his people withincrease, guidance in important decisions,

better comprehension of Bible truths, safe-guards against annihilation at the hands oftheir enemies, and peace of mind and heart.—Isa. 54:17; Phil. 4:7.

Respond to God’s GuidanceHow can we show that we appreciate

God’s guidance? The apostle Paul said: “Beobedient to those who are taking the leadamong you and be submissive.” (Heb.13:17)Doing so may not always be easy. To illus-trate: Put yourself in the place of an Israel-ite in Moses’ day. Imagine that after youhave been walking for some time, the pillarcomes to a halt. How long will it stay there?A day? A week? Several months? You won-der, ‘Is it worth unpacking all my posses-sions?’ First, you may unpack only the mostnecessary items. Yet, after a few days, frus-trated at searching through your belong-ings, you begin to unpack everything. Butthen, just whenyou have about finished un-packing, you see the pillar lifting—and youhave to start packing again! That would notbe so easy or convenient. Still, the Israeliteshad to “pull away right afterward.”—Num.9:17-22.

How, then, do we react when we receivedivine direction? Do we try to apply it “rightafterward”? Or do we continue doing thingsjust as we have been accustomed to doingthem? Are we familiar with up-to-date direc-tions, such as those regarding conductinghome Bible studies, preaching to foreign-speaking people, regularly sharing in fami-ly worship, cooperating with Hospital Liai-son Committees, and conducting ourselvesproperly at conventions? We also show ourappreciation for God’s guidance by accept-ing counsel. When faced with far-reachingdecisions, we do not trust in our own wis-dom but look to Jehovah and his organiza-tion for guidance. And just as a child seeks


his parents’ protection when a storm rages,we seek protection in Jehovah’s organiza-tion when, like a thunderstorm, the prob-lems of this world strike us.

Of course, those taking the lead in theearthly part of God’s organization are notperfect—but neither was Moses. Even so, thepillar provided constant evidence of his di-vine appointment and of God’s approval.Note, too, that it was not for each Israelite todetermine when to start moving. Instead,the people acted “at the order of Jehovah bymeans of Moses.” (Num. 9:23) Thus Moses,God’s channel of direction, likely gave thesignal to move.

Today, Jehovah’s steward class gives aclear signal whenever it is time to make amove. How does the steward do that? Bymeans of articles inThe Watchtower and OurKingdom Ministry, new publications, andtalks at assemblies and conventions. Instruc-tions are also conveyed to the congregations

through traveling overseers or through let-ters or training sessions attended by broth-ers having congregation responsibilities.

Do you clearly discern the evidence of di-vine guidance? Jehovah uses his organiza-tion to guide us, his people, through “thewilderness” during these last days of Satan’swicked world. As a result, we enjoy unity,love, and security.

When Israel reached the Promised Land,Joshua said: “You well know with all yourhearts and with all your souls that not oneword out of all the good words that Jehovahyour God has spoken to you has failed. Theyhave all come true for you.” (Josh. 23:14)Likewise, God’s people today will withoutfail reach the promisednewworld.However,whether wepersonallywill be there dependsto no small degree on our humble willing-ness to follow God’s direction. Therefore,may we all keep on discerning the evidenceof Jehovah’s guidance!

We are being guidedby Jehovah’s organizationtoday

Convention releases / Theocratic schooling /

Training at meetings for service /


LIKE the air we breathe, dishonesty iseverywhere. People lie, overcharge,

steal, do not repay debts, and boast of sharpbusiness practices. Living in this environ-ment,we are often facedwith situations thattest our determination to be honest. Howcan we keep on resisting the tendency to-ward dishonesty? Let us consider three keyfactors that will help us to do so. They arefear of Jehovah, a good conscience, and asense of contentment.

A Healthy Fear of JehovahThe prophet Isaiah wrote: “Jehovah is our

Judge, Jehovah is our Statute-giver, Jehovahis our King.” (Isa. 33:22) Recognizing Jeho-vah’s position of authority results in godlyfear—a driving force behind our determina-tion to resist the spirit of dishonesty. Prov-erbs 16:6 states: “In the fear of Jehovah oneturns away from bad.” Such fear is, not mor-bid dread of a vindictive God, but healthyconcern over displeasing our heavenly Fa-ther, who is deeply interested in our welfare.—1 Pet. 3:12.

A true-life experience illustrates the posi-tive effect of such healthy concern, or fear.Ricardo and his wife, Fernanda, withdrewthe equivalent of seven hundred dollars(U.S.) from their bank account.� Fernandaput the stack of bills into her purse withoutcounting it. On arriving home after havingpaid some bills, they were surprised to findalmost the same amount that theyhadwith-drawn still in Fernanda’s purse. “The bank


cashier must have overpaid us,” they con-cluded. At first, they were tempted to keepthe money, since they had many other un-paid bills. Ricardo explains: “We prayed toJehovah for strength to return the money.Our desire to please him in response to hisappeal at Proverbs 27:11 made us want to re-turn the money.”

A Bible-Trained ConscienceWe can develop a sensitive conscience by

studying the Bible and striving to put whatwe learn into practice. Thus ‘the word ofGod, which is alive and exerts power,’ willreach not only our minds but also ourhearts. This will motivate us “to conductourselveshonestly in all things.”—Heb. 4:12;13:18.

Consider Joao’s case. He ran up a hugedebt, equivalent to five thousand dollars(U.S.). Then, without paying his debt, hemoved to another town. Eight years later,Joao learned the truth, and his Bible-trainedconscience moved him to contact his credi-tor andpayoff that debt! Because Joaohas tosupport a wife and four children on a smallincome, the creditor agreed that he couldpay back the amount in monthly install-ments.

A Sense of ContentmentThe apostle Paul wrote: “It is a means

of great gain, this godly devotion alongwith self-sufficiency. . . . Having suste-nance and covering, we shall be contentwith these things.” (1 Tim. 6:6-8) Takingthis wise counsel to heart will help us to

How to Remain Honestin a Dishonest World


avoid being ensnared in greedy, question-able business practices or in unrealistic get-rich-quick schemes. (Prov. 28:20) FollowingPaul’s counsel will also help us to put God’sKingdom first, confident that our basic ne-cessities will be supplied.—Matt. 6:25-34.

However, because of “the deceptive powerof riches,” we should never underestimatethe danger of being overcome by greed andcovetousness. (Matt.13:22) Recall the case ofthe man Achan. He had witnessed the Israel-ites’miraculous crossing of the JordanRiver.Even so, overcome by greed, he did not resistthe desire to steal some silver and gold andan expensive garment from the spoils of thecity of Jericho. That act cost him his life.(Josh. 7:1, 20-26) No wonder that centurieslater, Jesus warned: “Keep your eyes openand guard against every sort of covetous-ness”!—Luke 12:15.

Be Honest at the WorkplaceLet us now consider some circumstances

that can test our determination to remainhonest in all things. Being honest at ourworkplace includes “not committing theft”—even if doing so is the supposed norm. (Ti-tus 2:9, 10) Jurandir, who works at a govern-ment agency, was honest when reporting

his travel expenses. His colleagues, though,claimed more than they had spent. Theycould do so because the head of the depart-ment covered for the dishonest workers. Infact, that same person reprimanded Jurandirfor being honest and stopped sending himon business trips. In time, however, theagency was audited, and Jurandir was com-mended for his honesty. He also received apromotion.

Andre, a salesman, was told by his employ-er to charge the same service fee twice tocustomers’ accounts. Our brother prayed toJehovah for courage to adhere toBible princi-ples. (Ps. 145:18-20) He also tried to explainto his employer why he could not follow hisinstructions—but to no avail. So Andre decid-ed to quit this well-paying job. However,about a year later, his former employer calledhim back to work, assuring him that the cus-tomers were no longer being overcharged.Andre was promoted to manager.

Pay Back DebtsThe apostle Paul advised Christians: “Do

not you people be owing anybody a singlething.” (Rom. 13:8) We might try to justifynot repaying a debt, assuming that the credi-tor is well-off and does not need the money.

A healthy fear of Jehovah strengthensour resolve to be honest


The Bible, however, warns: “The wicked oneis borrowing and does not pay back.”—Ps.37:21.

What, though, if an “unforeseen occur-rence” prevents us from paying back whatwe owe? (Eccl. 9:11) Francisco borrowed theequivalent of seven thousand dollars (U.S.)fromAlfredo to payoff his mortgage. But be-cause of some business setbacks, Franciscowas unable to pay his debt on the set date.He took the initiative to approach Alfredo todiscuss the matter, and Alfredo agreed to berepaid in several installments.

Avoid Giving a False ImpressionRecall the bad example of Ananias and

Sapphira, a couple in the first-century Chris-tian congregation. Having sold a field, theybrought only part of the proceeds to theapostles and claimed that it was the entireamount of the sale. They wanted to impressothers with their inflated generosity. Theapostle Peter, however, under the inspira-tion of God’s holy spirit, unmasked their de-ceit, and they were struck dead by Jehovah.—Acts 5:1-11.

In contrast with dishonest Ananias andSapphira, the Bible writers were candid andhonest. Moses honestly reported his loss oftemper that resulted in his being barredfrom entering the Promised Land. (Num.20:7-13) Similarly, Jonah did not cover upthe weaknesses that he manifested beforeand after preaching to the Ninevites. In-stead, he recorded them.—Jonah 1:1-3; 4:1-3.

Certainly, courage is needed to tell thetruth even if that costs you something, as isillustrated by what happened to 14-year-oldNathalia at school. She reviewed a writtenexam she had taken and noticed that one of

the answers her teacher marked as correctwas actually wrong. Although she knew thatthis would adversely affect her grades, Na-thalia did not hesitate to tell her teacher.“My parents have always taught me that toplease Jehovah, I must be honest. My con-science would have troubled me if I had notinformed my teacher,” she said. The teacherappreciated Nathalia’s honesty.

Honesty—A QualityThat Brings Honor to Jehovah

Giselle, a 17-year-old girl, found a wal-let with documents and the equivalent of$35 (U.S.). She made arrangements throughthe school authorities to have the wal-let returned to its owner. A month later,the school vice-principal read a letter to thewhole class praising Giselle for her hon-esty and commending her family for hergood training and religious upbringing. Her“fineworks” gave glory to Jehovah.—Matt. 5:14-16.

It takes effort to be honest while livingamid those who are ‘lovers of themselves,lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty,and disloyal.’ (2 Tim. 3:2) Nevertheless, ahealthy fear of Jehovah, a Bible-trained con-science, and a sense of contentment help usto remain honest in a dishonest world. Wealso cultivate an ever closer friendship withJehovah, who ‘is righteous and loves righ-teous acts.’—Ps.11:7.

Our honest behaviorbrings glory to Jehovah


WE LIVE in a world that is experiencingsome of the most difficult and tragic

times in human history. For people who donot have a sound spiritual foundation, cop-ing with these “critical times hard to dealwith” can be nearly impossible. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Only their own fortitude gets themthrough each day—with limited success. Inan effort to avoid taking life too seriously,many turn to the constant flow of amuse-ments of the entertainment world.

2 To cope with the stresses of life, peopleoften put the desire for pleasures in firstplace. If not careful, Christians could easilyget caught up in this way of living. How canwe avoid that? Would it require that we beserious all the time? How do we strike a bal-ance betweenpleasures and responsibilities?What Scriptural principles should guide us,so that while we are sober about life, we donot take ourselves too seriously?

Being Serious in a WorldThat Loves Pleasure

3 Needless to say, this world places undueimportance on ‘love of pleasure.’ (2 Tim.3:4) Its emphasis on having a good time canbe a threat to our spirituality. (Prov. 21:17)Thus, for good reason the apostle Paul’sletters to Timothy and Titus also includecounsel regarding the subject of seriousness.

1, 2. What has caused many in this world to have afrivolous view of life, prompting what questions?3, 4. How do the Scriptures help us to value theneed for being serious?

Applying that counsel will help us to coun-teract the world’s frivolous view of life.—Read 1 Timothy 2:1, 2; Titus 2:2-8.

4 Centuries earlier, Solomon wrote aboutthe value of forgoing pleasures at times inorder to take life seriously. (Eccl. 3:4; 7:2-4)Indeed, because of the shortness of life, weneed to ‘exert ourselves vigorously’ to attainsalvation. (Luke 13:24) To that end, we needto keep considering all the things that are of“serious concern.” (Phil. 4:8, 9) That meansgiving careful attention to every facet ofChristian life.

5 For example, in imitation of Jehovahand Jesus, Christians take seriously their re-sponsibility toworkhard. (John5:17) As a re-sult, they are often praised for their goodwork ethic and dependability. Especially arefamily heads concerned about working hardto support their families. After all, not pro-viding materially for one’s household is tan-tamount to having “disowned Jehovah”!—1 Tim. 5:8, ftn.

A Serious yet Joyful Viewof Our Worship

6 Jehovah has never taken true worshiplightly. As an example, under the MosaicLaw, the Israelites experienced severe conse-quences when they veered from their wor-ship of Jehovah. (Josh. 23:12, 13) In the first

5. What is one area of life that we should take seri-ously?6. How do we know that we should take seriouslyour worship of Jehovah?

SERVING JEHOVAHWITH ALL SERIOUSNESS

“Whatever things are of serious concern, . . .continue considering these things.”—PHIL. 4:8.


century C.E., Christ’s followers needed toput up a vigorous fight to keep true wor-ship free of corrupt teachings and attitudes.(2 John 7-11; Rev. 2:14-16) Today, true Chris-tians continue to take their worship serious-ly.—1 Tim. 6:20.

7 Our field ministry is a source of joy.However, in order to maintain joy in theministry, we need to give it serious thoughtand advance preparation. Paul explainedhow he took into consideration the peoplehe taught. He wrote: “I have become allthings to people of all sorts, that I might byall means save some. But I do all things forthe sake of the good news, that I may be-come a sharer of it withothers.” (1Cor. 9:22,23) Paul found pleasure in helping peoplespiritually, and he gave serious thought tohow he would provide for the specific needsof his listeners. Thus, he was able to givethem encouragement and incentive to wor-ship Jehovah.

8 How serious was Paul about his minis-try? He was willing to “slave” both for Jeho-vah and for those who would listen to themessage of truth. (Rom. 12:11; 1 Cor. 9:19)Whenwe take on the responsibility to teachpeople God’s Word—either during a homeBible study, a Christian meeting, or a FamilyWorship session—do we sense our responsi-bility toward thosewe are teaching? Perhapswe feel that conducting a regularBible studyis too much of a burden for us to take on.Granted, it usuallycalls for taking time fromour personal pursuits and devoting thattime to helping others. But is that not in thespirit of Jesus’ words that “there is morehappiness in giving than there is in receiv-ing”? (Acts 20:35) Personally teaching oth-

7. How did Paul prepare for his ministry?8. (a) What should be our attitude toward the peo-ple we teach in our ministry? (b) How may conduct-ing a Bible study contribute to a joyful ministry?

ers the way to salvation will bring us happi-ness that cannot be compared with anyoth-er activity.

9 Being serious does not mean that wecannot have a relaxing and enjoyable timewithpeople. Jesus set the perfect example oftaking time not only to teach but also to re-lax and develop meaningful relationshipswith others. (Luke 5:27-29; John 12:1, 2) Be-ing serious also does not mean that weshould always have an appearance of severi-ty. Had Jesus had a stern, overly serious na-ture, people certainly would not have beendrawn to him. Even children were comfort-able with him. (Mark 10:13-16) How can weimitate Jesus’ balanced manner?

10 Referring to an elder, one brother stat-ed, “He expectsmuch fromhimself but nev-er expects perfection from others.” Can thatbe said of you? It is proper to have some rea-sonable expectations of others. For exam-ple, children respond well when parents setreasonable goals and help the children toreach them. Similarly, eldersmayencourageindividuals in the congregation to growspiritually and offer them specific sugges-tions on how to do so. Furthermore, whenan elder has a balanced view of himself, hewill have a warm and refreshing manner.(Rom.12:3) One sister said: “I don’t want anelder to take everything as a joke. But if he isserious all the time, it is difficult to ap-proach him.” Another said that she feelsthat some elders “can be very intimidatingbecause they have an extremely serious na-ture.” Never would elders want to diminishthe joyful view that all believers shouldhave of their worship of Jehovah, “the hap-py God.”—1 Tim.1:11.

9, 10. (a) Does being serious mean that we cannotrelax and enjoy spending time with people? Ex-plain. (b) What will help an elder to be encouragingand approachable?


Taking On Responsibilityin the Congregation

11 When Paul encouraged the men in thecongregation to strive to qualify for great-er responsibility, his intention was not toencourage anyone to satisfy personal am-bition. Instead, he wrote: “If any man isreaching out for an office of overseer, heis desirous of a fine work.” (1 Tim. 3:1, 4)“Reaching out” requires of Christian menthat they develop a strong desire to workhard at acquiring needed spiritual qualitiesin order to serve their brothers. If a brotherhas been baptized at least one year and to areasonable degree meets the Scriptural qual-ifications for ministerial servants outlined at1 Timothy 3:8-13, he can be recommendedfor appointment. Note that verse 8 specif-ically states: “Ministerial servants shouldlikewise be serious.”

12 Are you a serious baptized brother inyour late teens? There are several ways thatyou can reach out. One is by improving yourpersonal share in the field ministry. Are youthe sort who enjoys working with brothersof all age groups in the field service? Are youtrying to find someone with whom you canstudy the Bible? When you conduct a Biblestudy according to the suggestions given atChristian meetings, you will improve yourteaching ability. Moreover, you will learn tohave empathy for the one learning Jeho-vah’s ways. As your student begins to see theneed for making changes, you will learn—patiently and discreetly—to help him toapply Bible principles.

13 You young brothers can make your-selves available to older ones in the congre-gation, offering to assist them in any way

11. What does it mean to be “reaching out” in thecongregation?12, 13. Describe ways young brothers may reachout for responsibility.

possible. You canalso showan interest in theappearance of the Kingdom Hall, helping tokeep it clean and neat. When you offer tohelp out in any way you can, your willingspirit gives evidence that you are seriousabout your ministry. Like Timothy, you canlearn to care genuinely for the needs of thecongregation.—Read Philippians 2:19-22.

14 Elders, be conscious of putting to workyoung brothers who are endeavoring to“flee from the desires incidental to youth”and who are pursuing “righteousness, faith,love, peace,” along with other serious traits.(2 Tim. 2:22) By assigning them things to doin the congregation, theycanbe “tested as tofitness” to shoulder responsibility, so thattheir “advancement may be manifest to allpersons.”—1 Tim. 3:10; 4:15.

Demonstrating Seriousness inthe Congregation and the Family

15 Seriousness includes according ourbrothers and sisters dignity. Inhis counsel toTimothy, Paul addressed the need to viewothers with respect. (Read 1 Timothy 5:1, 2.) This is especially important when

14. Howcanyoung brothers be “tested as to fitness”to serve in the congregation?15. According to 1 Timothy 5:1, 2, how may weshow seriousness in our view of others?

How Would You Answer?˙ Why should we counteract the

world’s frivolous view of life?˙ How can we be joyful yet serious

about our ministry?˙ How does our view of taking on

responsibility show whether we areserious or not?

˙ Explain why dignifying our brothersand family members is a seriousmatter.

dealing with those of the opposite sex. Job’sexample of dignifyingwomen, especially hismarriage mate, is worthy of imitation. Hemade a conscious effort to keep from gazinglustfully at another woman. (Job 31:1) Tak-ing our brothers and sisters seriously wouldrule out flirting with them or doing any-thing that would make a brother or a sisterfeel uncomfortable around us. Dignifyingothers is especially important when twopeople are pursuing a romantic relationshipwith marriage in mind. A serious Christianwouldnever toywith the emotions ofone ofthe opposite sex.—Prov.12:22.

16 We also need to be careful to maintaina serious view of our God-given roles in thefamily. Satan’s world is making a mockery ofthe role of husband and father. The enter-tainment industry takes pleasure in reduc-ing the family head to a mere subject of ridi-cule and disrespect. However, the Scripturesplace a great deal of responsibility on thehusband, assigning him as “head of hiswife.”—Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor.11:3.

17 A husband may provide materially forhis family. But if he does not provide spiritu-

16. Contrast the view some in the world have of therole of husband and father with how the Bible de-scribes his role.17. Explain how our participation in family wor-ship can show that we are serious about our respon-sibilities.

al direction, he would be displaying a lackofdiscretion and wisdom. (Deut. 6:6, 7) Thus,1 Timothy 3:4 says that if you are thehead ofa family and are reaching out for extra priv-ileges in the congregation, you must beamanwho is “presiding overhis ownhouse-hold in a fine manner, having children insubjection with all seriousness.” In this re-gard, ask yourself, ‘Do I regularly set asidetime for family worship in my household?’Some Christian wives virtually have to begtheir husbands to take the lead spiritually.Each husband should take a serious lookat his own view of this responsibility. Ofcourse, a Christian wife should be support-ing the Family Worship arrangement and becooperating with her husband to make ita success.

18 Children are also encouraged to take lifeseriously. (Eccl. 12:1) There is no harm inyoung children learning toworkhard, doingchores in the home that are reasonable fortheir age and abilities. (Lam. 3:27) WhenKing David was still a young boy, he learnedto be a fine shepherd. He also learned tobe a musician and a composer—skills thatled him to serve before the ruler of Israel.(1 Sam. 16:11, 12, 18-21) No doubt, as a ladDavid knew how to be playful, but he alsolearned valuable skills that he later used

18. How may children learn to be serious?

A husband must provide both materiallyand spiritually for his family


to praise Jehovah. His skills as a shepherdhelped him to lead the nation of Israel pa-tiently. You young people, how many usefulskills are you learning—skills that will helpyou to serve your Creator and prepare youfor future responsibilities?

Keeping a Balanced View19 We can all strive to keep a balanced

view of ourselves—not taking ourselves tooseriously. We would not want to become“righteous overmuch.” (Eccl. 7:16) Somelevity can break tense moments, whether inthe home, at work, or when dealing withour Christian brothers and sisters. Family

19, 20. What balanced attitude are you determinedto maintain toward yourself and your worship?

members will want to be careful about be-ing overly critical so that they do not erodethe safe haven of peace that a home shouldbe. In the congregation, all can learn tolaugh with and enjoy one another, keepingconversations and our teaching manner up-building and positive.—2 Cor. 13:10; Eph.4:29.

20 We live in a world that does not takeJehovah or his laws seriously. In contrast,Jehovah’s people are very concerned abouttheir obedience and loyalty to their God.What apleasure it is to bepartof sucha largeassociation of people who worship Jehovah“with all seriousness”! May we be deter-mined to maintain a serious view of our lifeand worship.

WE LIKELY make dozens of them eachday. Many are of little lasting conse-

quence. Some, though, can have a profoundimpact on our lives. What are they? Deci-sions. In all the decisions that we make, bigor small, our primary concern is to honorGod.—Read 1 Corinthians 10:31.

2 Do you find it easy to make decisions, oris it a challenge for you to do so? If weare to progress to Christian maturity, wemust learn to distinguish right from wrongand then make decisions that reflect our

1, 2. (a) What should be our primary concern inall the decisions that we make? (b) What questionswill we consider?

own convictions, not those of someone else.(Rom.12:1, 2;Heb. 5:14)What are someoth-er compelling reasons why we need to learnto make good decisions? Why is it some-times so difficult to make them? And whatsteps can we take to make sure that the deci-sions we make honor God?

Why Make Decisions at All?3 If we are indecisivewhenBible standards

are involved, our schoolmates or workmatesmay conclude that we are not really con-vinced of our beliefs and therefore are easily

3. What should we not allow to interfere with ourdecision-making process?

MAKE DECISIONSTHAT HONOR GOD“The shrewd one considers his steps.”—PROV. 14:15.


influenced. They may lie, cheat, or steal andthen try to persuade us to “follow after thecrowd” by joining them or at least by cover-ing up for them. (Ex. 23:2) However, a per-son who knows how to make decisions thathonorGodwill not permit fearor a desire foracceptance to cause him to behave in a waythat conflicts with his Bible-trained con-science.—Rom.13:5.

4 Not all who want to make decisions forus mean us harm. Well-intentioned friendsmight insist thatwe follow their advice. If weare living away from home, our relativeslikely still have deep concern for our well-beingandmay feel compelled to continue toinvolve themselves in important decisionswe face. For instance, consider the matter ofmedical treatment. The Bible clearly con-demns the misuse of blood. (Acts 15:28, 29)Other matters that have to do with healthcare, though, are not clear-cut and requirethat each of us make a personal decision asto what treatment we will accept or reject.�Our loved ones may have strong opinionson these issues. However, when decidingabout those matters, each dedicated bap-tizedChristianneeds to carry “his own load”of responsibility. (Gal. 6:4, 5) Our primaryconcern is to maintain a good consciencebefore God, not men.—1 Tim.1:5.

5 Indecision can place us in grave danger.The disciple James wrote that an indecisiveperson is “unsteady in all hisways.” (Jas.1:8)Like a man in a rudderless boat on a stormysea, he will be tossed about by shifting hu-man opinion. How easy it would be for such

� For a discussion of this subject, see the insert “HowDo I View Blood Fractions and Medical Procedures In-volving My Own Blood?” published in Our KingdomMinistry of November 2006, pages 3-6.

4. Why might others want to make decisionsfor us?5. How can we avoid suffering shipwreck of ourfaith?

a person to suffer shipwreck of his faith andthen blame others for his sad situation!(1 Tim. 1:19) How can we avoid that out-come? We must become “stabilized in thefaith.” (Read Colossians 2:6, 7.) To achievestability, we need to learn to make decisionsthat reflect our faith inGod’s inspired Word.(2 Tim. 3:14-17) What, though, may hinderour ability to make good decisions?

Why Decisions Can BeDifficult to Make

6 Fearmay paralyze us—fearofmaking thewrong decision, fear of failure, or fear of ap-pearing foolish to others. Those concernsare understandable. Nobody wants to makea poor decision, one that causes trouble andpossibly shame. Even so, love of God and hisWord can help us shrink our fears. In whatways? Love of Godwillmotivate us always toconsult his Word and Bible-based publica-tions before we make important decisions.We will thus minimize the number of mis-takes we make. Why? Because the Bible can“give to the inexperienced ones shrewdness,to a young man knowledge and thinkingability.”—Prov.1:4.

7 Will we always make the right decision?No. All of us make mistakes. (Rom. 3:23)King David, for example, was a wise andfaithful man. Yet, he at times made poor de-cisions that caused suffering to himself andothers. (2 Sam.12:9-12) Nevertheless, Daviddid not let his mistakes undermine his abili-ty to make decisions that had God’s favor.(1 Ki.15:4, 5) We can be decisive despite pastmistakes if, like David, we remember thatJehovah will overlook our errors and for-give our sins. He will continue to supportthose who love and obey him.—Ps. 51:1-4,7-10.

6. How might fear affect us?7. King David’s example can teach us what?


8 We can lessen the anxiety we feel aboutmaking decisions. How? By realizing thatsometimes there are several correct paths tochoose from. Consider the way the apos-tle Paul reasoned on the subject of mar-riage.Under inspirationhewrote: “If anyonethinks he is behaving improperly toward hisvirginity, if that is past the bloom of youth,and this is the way it should take place, lethim do what he wants; he does not sin. Letthem marry. But if anyone stands settled inhis heart, having no necessity, but has au-thority over his own will and has made thisdecision in his own heart, to keep his ownvirginity, he will do well.” (1 Cor. 7:36-38)Paul recommended singleness as the bestcourse, but it was not the only right option.

9 Should we be concerned with how oth-ers view the decisions that we make? Tosome degree. Note what Paul said on thematter of eating foods that might seem to

8. What do we learn from the apostle Paul’s com-ments about marriage?9. Should we be concerned about how others viewour decisions? Explain.

have been sacrificed to idols. He acknowl-edged that a decision may not in itself bewrong, yet it could cause harm to someonewith a weak conscience. What was Paul’s re-solve? “If food makes my brother stumble,”he wrote, “I will never again eat flesh at all,that I may not make my brother stumble.”(1 Cor. 8:4-13) We too need to consider howour decisions will affect the consciences ofothers. Of course, our main concern is theeffect that our choices will have on ourfriendship with Jehovah. (Read Romans 14:1-4.) What Bible principles will help us tomake decisions that honor God?

Six Steps to Making Good Decisions10 Avoid being presumptuous. Before

choosing a course of action, we needto ask ourselves, ‘Is this my decision tomake?’ King Solomon wrote: “Has pre-sumptuousness come? Then dishonor willcome; but wisdom is with the modest ones.”—Prov.11:2.

11 Parentsmay grant their children the op-portunity to make some decisions, but chil-dren should not just assume such authority.(Col. 3:20) Wives and mothers have a mea-sure of authority within the family but dowell to recognize the headship of their hus-bands. (Prov. 1:8; 31:10-18; Eph. 5:23) Like-wise, husbands need to recognize that theirauthority is limited and that they are subjectto Christ. (1 Cor. 11:3) Elders make deci-sions that affect the congregation. However,they make sure that they “do not go be-yond the things that are written” in God’sWord. (1 Cor. 4:6) They also follow closelythe direction they receive from the faithfulslave. (Matt. 24:45-47)We can save ourselvesand others much anxiety and grief if we

10, 11. (a) How can we avoid being presumptuouswithin the family? (b) What should elders keep inmind when making decisions that affect the congre-gation?

An indecisive person is like a manin a rudderless boat on a stormy sea


modestly make decisions only when wehave been granted the authority to do so.

12 Do research. “The plans of the diligentone surely make for advantage,” wrote Solo-mon, “but everyone that is hasty surelyheads for want.” (Prov. 21:5) For example,are you considering a business proposal? Donot let emotion rule. Gather all the relevantfacts, seek the counsel of those familiarwith such things, and determine what Bibleprinciples have a bearing on the matter.(Prov. 20:18) To organize your research, pre-pare two lists—one detailing the benefits,the other the liabilities. Before you makeadecision, “calculate the expense.” (Luke14:28) Consider the potential impact that yourdecisionwill have not only onyour financialhealth but also on your spiritual well-being.It takes time and effort to do research. But bydoing so, you may avoid making hasty deci-sions that lead to unnecessary anxiety.

13 Pray for wisdom. Ourdecisionswill hon-or God only if we invite him to help us inmaking them. The disciple James wrote: “Ifany one of you is lacking inwisdom, let himkeep on asking God, for he gives generouslyto all and without reproaching; and it will begiven him.” (Jas. 1:5) There is no shame inadmitting that we need God’s wisdom tohelp us make decisions. (Prov. 3:5, 6) Afterall, relying purely on our own understand-ing caneasilymisguide us.Whenwepray forwisdom and search out the principles inGod’s Word, we allow holy spirit to help usdiscern our real motives for wanting to takea certain course of action.—Heb. 4:12; readJames 1:22-25.

14 Make the decision. Do not rush straight

12. (a) Why should we do research? (b) Explainhow a person could do such research.13. (a) What assurance is found at James 1:5?(b) How can praying for wisdom help us?14. Why should we avoid procrastination?

to this step before doing research and pray-ing for wisdom. A wise person takes time to‘consider his steps.’ (Prov.14:15) On the oth-er hand, do not procrastinate. A procrastina-tor may come up with outlandish excusesfor not taking action. (Prov. 22:13) But hestill makes a decision—he decides, in effect,to let others control his life.

15 Implement the decision. The effort weexpend tomake a gooddecision canbewast-ed if we do not follow throughand vigorous-ly implement it. “All that your hand finds todo, do with your very power,” wrote Sol-omon. (Eccl. 9:10) To succeed, we mustbe willing to allocate the resources neededto implement our decisions. For example,

15, 16. What is involved in implementing a deci-sion?

Steps to MakingGood Decisions1 Avoid Being Presumptuous2 Do Research3 Pray for Wisdom4 Make the Decision5 Implement the Decision6 Review and Adjust


a congregation publisher might decide topioneer. Will he succeed? He likely will if hedoes not allow excessive secular work andrecreation to sap his strength and rob him ofthe time he needs to take care of his minis-try.

16 The best decisions are seldom the easi-est to implement. Why? Because “the wholeworld is lying in the power of the wickedone.” (1 John 5:19) We must wrestle against“the world rulers of this darkness, againstthe wicked spirit forces in the heavenlyplaces.” (Eph. 6:12) Both the apostle Pauland the disciple Jude indicated that thosewho decide to honor God will have a fighton their hands.—1 Tim. 6:12; Jude 3.

17 Review the decision and make adjust-ments if needed. Not all decisions work outexactly as planned. “Time and unforeseenoccurrence”befall us all. (Eccl. 9:11) Even so,Jehovah expects us to persevere with somedecisions though we may encounter trials. Aperson’s decision to dedicate his life to Jeho-vah or to make a marriage vow is not negoti-able. God expects us to live up to suchdecisions. (Read Psalm 15:1, 2, 4.) Most de-cisions, though, are less weighty. A wise per-son will from time to time review the deci-sions he has made. He will not let pride orstubbornness prevent him fromadjusting oreven reversing a decision. (Prov. 16:18) Hisprime concern is to make sure that his lifecourse continues to honor God.

Train Others to MakeDecisions That Honor God

18 Parents can do much to help their chil-dren learn how to make decisions thathonor God. A fine example is one of the

17. When it comes to the decisions that we make,what does Jehovah expect of us?18. How can parents train their children to makegood decisions?

best teachers. (Luke 6:40) When appropri-ate, parents can explain to their childrenwhich steps they themselves took to make acertain decision. They may also want to al-low their children to make some decisionsfor themselves and then commend themwhen the decision works out well. What,though, if a child makes a poor decision?A parent’s first inclination may be to shieldthe child from the consequences, but doingso may not always be in the child’s best in-terests. For example, the parent may allowthe child to obtain a driver’s license. Sup-pose the child were to break a traffic law andreceive a fine. The parent could pay thefine. However, if the child is required towork to pay off the fine, he is more likelyto learn to be responsible for his actions.—Rom.13:4.

19 Jesus told his followers to teach others.(Matt. 28:20)Oneof themost important les-sons we can teach Bible students is how tomakegooddecisions. Todo so effectively,wemust resist theurge to tell themhowtoact. Itis muchbetter for us to teach them to reasonon Bible principles so that they can decidefor themselves how to act. After all, “each ofus will render an account for himself toGod.” (Rom.14:12) All of us, therefore, havecompelling reason formakingdecisions thathonor God.

19. What should we teach our Bible students, andhow can we do so?

How Would You Answer?˙ Why do we need to learn how to

make decisions?˙ How might fear affect us, and how

can we overcome our fears?˙ What six steps can we take to make

sure that our decisions honor God?


CONSIDER two scenarios: A Christianwoman notices that a younger sis-

ter seems preoccupied. She makes arrange-ments to work with her in field service.As they are conversing between doors, theyounger sister begins sharing what is trou-bling her. Later that day inprayer, the youn-ger woman thanks Jehovah for the lovinginterest of the mature sister; it was just whatshe needed. In another place, a couple hasrecently returned from preaching in a for-eign land. At a gathering, as they excitedlyrelate experiences, a young brother is quiet-ly listening. Some years later, as he is pre-paring to leave for his own foreign assign-ment, he thinks of that couple and theconversation that made him want to be amissionary.

2 Perhaps those situations remind you ofsomeonewho made a difference in your lifeor of someone whose life you touched.Of course, rarely does a single conversa-tion change someone’s life, but each day,we have opportunities to encourage andstrengthen others. Imagine that there wassomething that would enhance your abili-ties and attributes, making them more ben-eficial to your brothers and more useful toGod. Would that not be wonderful? Actual-ly, Jehovah gives us just such a gift—his holyspirit. (Luke 11:13) As God’s spirit operatesin our life, it produces in us beautiful quali-

1, 2. (a) What opportunities do we have to en-courage others? (b) What gift from Jehovah en-hances our ability to serve him?

ties that enhance every aspect of our serviceto God. What a marvelous gift!—Read Ga-latians 5:22, 23.

3 The qualities that holy spirit producesare a reflectionof the very personalityof theSource of that spirit, Jehovah God. (Col. 3:9, 10) Jesus indicated the foremost reasonwhy Christians should strive to imitate Godwhen he told his apostles: “My Father is glo-rified in this, that you keep bearing muchfruit.”� (John 15:8) As we cultivate “thefruitage of the spirit,” the results are plain tosee in thewaywe speakandact; this, in turn,brings praise to our God. (Matt. 5:16) Inwhat ways is the spirit’s fruitage differentfrom the traits of Satan’sworld?Howcanwecultivate the fruitage of the spirit?Whymaywe find it a challenge to do so? We will con-sider these questions as we discuss the firstthree aspects of the spirit’s fruitage—love,joy, and peace.

Love Based on a Higher Principle4 The love produced by holy spirit is

markedly different from the sortof love thatis common in theworld.How so? It is basedon a higher principle. Jesus highlighted this

� The fruit Jesus mentioned includes both “the fruit-age of the spirit” and “the fruit of lips” that Christiansoffer to God by means of the Kingdom-preaching work.—Heb. 13:15.

3. (a) How does our cultivating “the fruitage of thespirit” glorify God? (b) What questions will we con-sider?4. What kind of love did Jesus teach his followers topractice?

“THE FRUITAGE OF THE SPIRIT”GLORIFIES GOD

“My Father is glorified in this, that you keep bearing much fruit.”—JOHN 15:8.

difference in the Sermon on the Mount.(Read Matthew 5:43-48.) He noted thateven sinners will follow a policy of like forlike, treating others as others treat them.Such “love” does not involve real sacrificebut amounts to an exchange of favors. If wewant to ‘prove ourselves sons of our Fatherwho is in theheavens,’wemust be different.Rather than treating others as they treat us,we are to view and treat others as Jehovahviews and treats them. How, though, is itpossible to love our enemies, as Jesus com-manded?

5 Consider one Bible example. Whilepreaching inPhilippi, Paul andSilaswere ar-rested, severely beaten, and thrown into theinner prison, where their feet were securedin stocks. In the process, they may well havebeen mistreated by the jailer also. Whenthey were unexpectedly freed as a result ofan earthquake, did they relish the prospectof getting even with that man? No. Theirsincere concern for his welfare—their self-sacrificing love—moved them to act swiftlyin his behalf, opening the way for the jailerand his entire household to become believ-

5. How can we show love for those who perse-cute us?

ers. (Acts 16:19-34) Many of our brothersin modern times have similarly followeda course of “blessing those who persecute.”—Rom.12:14.

6 Our love for fellow believers goes fur-ther. “We are under obligation to surrenderour souls for our brothers.” (Read 1 John 3:16-18.) More often, though, we can showlove in smaller ways. For example, if we sayor do something that offends a brother, wecan demonstrate love by taking the initia-tive to restore peace. (Matt. 5:23, 24) What ifsomeone offends us? Are we “ready to for-give,” or are we sometimes inclined to holda grudge? (Ps. 86:5) The intense love pro-duced by holy spirit can help us to coverover minor transgressions, freely forgivingothers “even as Jehovah freely forgave” us.—Col. 3:13,14; 1 Pet. 4:8.

7 How can we cultivate self-sacrificinglove forourbrothers? Bydeepeningour lovefor God. (Eph. 5:1, 2; 1 John 4:9-11, 20,21) The intimate moments we spend with

6. Inwhat ways canwe show self-sacrificing love forour brothers? (See box on page 21.)7, 8. (a) How is love for people linked with love forGod? (b) How can we deepen our love for Jehovah?(See illustration below.)

Do you buy out time each dayfrom other activities to draw

close to Jehovah?


Jehovah in Bible reading, meditation, andprayer nourish our hearts and nurture ourlove for our heavenly Father. However, weneed to buyout time to draw close to God.

8 To illustrate: Imagine that it was possi-ble to read God’s Word, meditate on it, andpray to Jehovah only during a certain houreach day. Would you not jealously guardthat time slot so that nothing interferedwith your personal time with Jehovah? Ofcourse, no one can restrict our access to Godin prayer, and most of us can read the Biblewhenever we want to. Yet, we may need totake measures to prevent the whirlwind ofdaily activities from infringing on our per-sonal time with God. Do you buy out asmuch time as possible each day to drawclose to Jehovah?

“Joy of Holy Spirit”9 A notable characteristic of the fruitage

of the spirit is its stability. Joy, the secondaspect we will consider, exemplifies thisresilience. Joy is like a hardy plant thatcan thrive even in a hostile environment.Throughout the earth, many of God’s ser-vants have “accepted the word under muchtribulationwith joyof holy spirit.” (1 Thess.1:6)Others facehardships anddeprivations.Yet, Jehovah empowers them by means ofhis spirit “to endure fully and be long-suffering with joy.” (Col. 1:11) What is thesource of this joy?

10 Unlike the “uncertain riches” of Satan’sworld, the spiritual treasures we have re-ceived from Jehovah have lasting value.(1 Tim. 6:17; Matt. 6:19, 20) He holds beforeus the joyful prospect of an unending fu-ture. We have the joy of being part of aworldwide Christian brotherhood. Above

9. What is a characteristic of the joy produced byholy spirit?10. What is the source of our joy?

all, our joy is founded on our relationshipwith God. We share the feelings expressedby David, who although forced to live asa fugitive, praised Jehovah in song, say-ing: “Because your loving-kindness is betterthan life, my own lips will commend you.Thus I shall bless you during my lifetime.”(Ps. 63:3, 4) Even when we experience hard-ships, joyful praise to God wells up in ourhearts.

11 The apostle Paul urged Christians: “Al-ways rejoice in the Lord. Once more I willsay, Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4) Why is it importantfor Christians to carry out their service toJehovahwith joy?Becauseof the issue Satanraised in connection with Jehovah’s sover-eignty. Satan claims that no one serves Godoutof awilling heart. (Job 1:9-11) If wewereto serve Jehovah dutifully but joylessly, oursacrifice of praise would be incomplete. Wetherefore endeavor to heed the psalmist’sexhortation: “Serve Jehovah with rejoicing.Come in before him with a joyful cry.”(Ps. 100:2) Service rendered from a joyful,willing heart glorifies God.

12 Realistically, though, even devoted ser-vants of Jehovah will have times when theybecome downhearted and struggle to main-tain a positive outlook. (Phil. 2:25-30) Whatcan help us during such times? Ephesians 5:18, 19 says: “Keep getting filled with spirit,speaking to yourselves with psalms andpraises to God and spiritual songs, singingand accompanying yourselves with musicin your hearts to Jehovah.” How can we ap-ply that counsel?

13 When beset by negative feelings, wecanbeseech Jehovah inprayer and endeavorto meditate on praiseworthy things. (Read

11. Why is it important that we serve Jehovah withjoy?12, 13. What can we do to combat negative feel-ings?

Philippians 4:6-9.) Some find that softlyhumming along with recordings of ourKingdom songs lifts their spirits and helpsto rechannel their thoughts. A brother whofaced an ordeal that often left him feelingfrustrated and discouraged recalls: “In addi-tion to regularheartfelt prayer, I memorizeda few Kingdom songs. It brought peace tomy heart to sing these beautiful praises toJehovah either out loud or silently to my-self. Also, the book Draw Close to Jehovahwas released about that time. I read it twiceduring the following year. It was like asoothingbalm formyheart. I know Jehovahblessed myefforts.”

“The Uniting Bond of Peace”14 At our international conventions, del-

14. What is a notable feature of the peace producedby holy spirit?

egates from diverse backgrounds bask inthe warmth of Christian fellowship. Suchscenes highlight a feature of the peace en-joyed by God’s people today—our globalunity.Onlookers are often astonished whenthey see peoplewhom they would expect tobe at enmity with one another “earnestlyendeavoring to observe the oneness of thespirit in the uniting bond of peace.” (Eph.4:3) This unity is truly remarkable inviewofwhat many have had to overcome.

15 Uniting people who are of differentbackgrounds is a challenge. To help us gaininsight into what must be overcome toachieve such unity, let us consider a first-century example, the apostle Peter. His atti-tude toward uncircumcised Gentiles can be

15, 16. (a) What was Peter’s background, and howdid that pose a challenge for him? (b) How did Jeho-vah help Peter to adjust his attitude?

The book Between Resistance and Mar-tyrdom—Jehovah’s Witnesses in the ThirdReich relates the comments of a youngJewish prisoner, in which he describes hisfirst encounter with Jehovah’s Witnessesafter he arrived at the Neuengamme con-centration camp:

“As soon as we Jews from Dachau cameinto the block, the other Jews beganto hide everything they had so thatthey would not have to share with us. . . .Outside [of the concentration camp], wehad been there for one another. But here,in a situation of life and death, every-body’s first concern is to save himself,forgetting about the others. But imag-ine what the Bible Students were doing.At that time, they had to work very hard,

repairing some water pipes. The weath-er was cold and they were standing allday long in ice-cold water. Nobody un-derstood how they could endure this.They said Jehovah gives them thestrength. They needed their bread des-perately, just like we, because they werehungry. But what were they doing? Theycollected all the bread they had, took halfof it for themselves, and the other halfthey gave to their fellow believers whohad just arrived from Dachau. And theywelcomed them and kissed them. Beforethey ate, they prayed. Afterwards, theyall were satisfied and happy. They saidthat they were no longer hungry. You see,that is when I thought: These are the trueChristians.”

“These Are the True Christians”


detected in his words: “You well know howunlawful it is for a Jew to join himself to orapproach a man of another race; and yetGod has shown me I should call no man de-filed or unclean.” (Acts 10:24-29; 11:1-3) Inkeeping with a viewpoint common at thetime, Peter apparently grew up believingthat the Law obligated him to love only fel-low Jews. It may have seemed completelynormal to him to view Gentiles as enemiesto be hated.�

16 Just imagine the awkwardness Petermust have felt as he entered the home ofCornelius.Could amanwhohad previouslyheldnegative views ofGentiles ever become“harmoniously joined together” with themin “the uniting bond of peace”? (Eph. 4:3,16) Yes, for just days earlier, God’s spirit hadopened Peter’s heart, enabling him to beginto adjust his attitude and overcome his prej-udice. Through a vision, Jehovah made itclear to him that God’s viewof people is notdetermined by race or nationality. (Acts10:10-15) Thus, Peter could tell Cornelius:“For a certainty I perceive that God is notpartial, but in every nation the man thatfears himandworks righteousness is accept-able to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35) Peter changed,andhebecame trulyunitedwith“thewholeassociation of brothers.”—1 Pet. 2:17.

17 Peter’s experience helps us to appreci-ate the remarkable transformation that istaking place among God’s people today.(Read Isaiah 2:3, 4.) Millions of people

� Leviticus 19:18 says: “You must not take vengeancenor have a grudge against the sons of your people; andyou must love your fellow as yourself.” Jewish religiousleaders held that “the sons of your people” and “yourfellow” referred to Jews only. The Law required that theIsraelites stay separate from other nations. However, itdid not endorse the viewpoint promoted by the first-century religious leaders, namely, that all non-Jews wereenemies and were to be hated as individuals.

17. How is the unity enjoyed by God’s people re-markable?

“out of all nations and tribes and peoplesand tongues” have adjusted their thinkingto conform to “the good and acceptable andperfect will of God.” (Rev. 7:9; Rom. 12:2)Many of these at one time were steeped inthe hatreds, enmities, and divisiveness ofSatan’s world. But through a study of God’sWord and with the help of holy spirit, theyhave learned to “pursue the things makingfor peace.” (Rom.14:19) The resulting unitybrings praise to God.

18 How can each of us contribute to thepeace and unity found among God’s peo-ple?Manycongregations include thosewhohave moved from a foreign land. Some mayhave different customs or may not speakour language well. Do we reach out tothem? This is the course God’s Word rec-ommends. Writing to the congregation inRome, which included both Jewish andGentile believers, Paul stated: “Welcomeone another, just as the Christ also wel-comed us, with glory to God in view.”(Rom. 15:7) Is there someone in your con-gregationwhom you could get to know bet-ter?

19 What else canwe do to allow holy spiritto operate in our lives? The next article willconsider this question as we discuss the re-maining aspects of the fruitage of the spirit.

18, 19. (a) How can each of us contribute to thepeace and unity of the congregation? (b) What willwe consider in the next article?

How Would You Answer?˙ How can we show self-sacrificing love

for our brothers?˙ Why is it important that we carry out

our service to God with joy?˙ How can we contribute to the peace

and unity of the congregation?


WHAT comes to mind when you thinkof the operation of holy spirit? Do

you picture the mighty acts of Gideon andSamson? (Judg. 6:33, 34; 15:14, 15) Perhapsyou think of the boldness of the early Chris-tians or the serenity of Stephen as he stoodbefore the Sanhedrin. (Acts 4:31; 6:15) Inmodern times, what about the joy thatabounds at our international conventions,the integrity of our brothers who are impris-oned for their neutrality, and the remark-able growth of the preaching work? Theseexamples all give evidence of the operationof holy spirit.

2 Does holy spirit operate only on specialoccasions or under extraordinary circum-stances? No. God’s Word speaks of Chris-tians’ “walking by spirit,” “being led by spir-it,” and “living by spirit.” (Gal. 5:16, 18, 25)These expressions indicate that holy spiritcan continually exercise an influence in ourlives. On a daily basis, we should entreat Je-hovah to guide our thinking, speech, and ac-tions by means of his spirit. (Read Psalm143:10.) As we allow the spirit to operatefreely in our lives, it will produce in us fruit-age that is refreshing to others and thatbrings praise to God.

3 Why is it vital thatwebe ledbyholy spir-it? Because another force seeks to dominate

1, 2. (a) Name some occasions on which Jehovahused holy spirit in behalf of his servants. (b) Is theoperation of holy spirit limited to special occasions?Explain.3. (a) Why do we need to be led by holy spirit?(b) What questions will we consider?

us, a force thatopposes theoperationofholyspirit. That other force is what the Scripturesterm “the flesh,” which refers to the sinfulinclinations of our fallen flesh, the legacyof imperfection we have received as de-scendants of Adam. (Read Galatians 5:17.)What, then, is involved in allowing our-selves to be led by God’s spirit? Are therepractical steps we can take to counteract thepull of our sinful flesh? Let us consider thesequestions as we discuss the remaining six as-pects of “the fruitage of the spirit,” namely,“long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,mildness, self-control.”—Gal. 5:22, 23.

Mildness and Long-SufferingPromote Peace in the Congregation4 Read Colossians 3:12, 13. In the con-

gregation, mildness and long-sufferingwork hand in hand to promote peace. Bothof these aspects of the spirit’s fruitage helpus to deal graciously with others, to remaincalm under provocation, and to avoid retal-iating when others say or do unkind things.If we have a difference with a fellow Chris-tian, long-suffering, or patience, will helpus not to give up on our brother or sister butto do what we can to heal the breach. Aremildness and long-suffering really neededin the congregation? Yes, because all of usare imperfect.

5 Consider what took place between Paul

4. How do mildness and long-suffering contributeto peace in the congregation?5. What occurred between Paul and Barnabas, andwhat does this underscore?

ARE YOU ALLOWINGGOD’S SPIRIT TO LEAD YOU?“Your spirit is good; may it lead me in the land of uprightness.”—PS. 143:10.


and Barnabas. They had worked side by sidefor years in advancement of the good news.Each had commendable qualities. Yet, onone occasion, there occurred between them“a sharp burst of anger, so that they separat-ed fromeachother.” (Acts 15:36-39) This in-cident underscores that even among devot-ed servants of God, disagreements will attimes arise. If a Christian has a misunder-standing with a fellow believer, what mighthe do to prevent the situation from escalat-ing into a heated exchange that could resultin a lasting rift?

6 As is indicated by the phrase “a sharpburst of anger,” the disagreement betweenPaul and Barnabas was sudden and intense.If a Christian senses that he is becom-ing angry when discussing a matter witha fellow believer, he is wise to heed thecounsel found at James 1:19, 20: “Everyman must be swift about hearing, slow

6, 7. (a) What Scriptural counsel canwe follow be-fore a discussion with a fellow believer becomesheated? (b) What are the benefits of being “swiftabout hearing, slow about speaking, slow aboutwrath”?

about speaking, slow aboutwrath; for man’s wrath doesnot work out God’s righ-teousness.” Depending onthe circumstances, he mighttry to change the subject,defer the discussion, or ex-cuse himself before theconversation becomes heat-ed.—Prov. 12:16; 17:14; 29:11.

7 What are the benefits offollowing this counsel? Bytaking time to calm down,

pray about the matter, and consider howbest to reply, a Christian allows himself tobe led by God’s spirit. (Prov. 15:1, 28) Underthe influence of the spirit, he can manifestmildness and long-suffering. He is therebyequipped to heed the counsel found atEphesians 4:26, 29: “Be wrathful, and yet donot sin . . . Let a rotten saying not proceedout of your mouth, but whatever saying isgood for building up as the need may be,that it may impart what is favorable to thehearers.” Indeed, when we clothe ourselveswith mildness and long-suffering, we con-tribute to the peace and unityof the congre-gation.

Refresh Your FamilyWith Kindness and Goodness

8 Read Ephesians 4:31, 32; 5:8, 9. Like agentle breeze and a cool drink on a hotday, kindness and goodness are refreshing.Within the family circle, they contribute toa pleasant atmosphere. Kindness is an en-dearing quality that stems from genuine in-

8, 9. What are kindness and goodness, and whateffect do they have on the atmosphere in the home?

How can youprevent a discussionfrom becoming heated?

terest in others, an interest that is manifest-ed in helpful acts and considerate words.Goodness, like kindness, is a positive qualitythat is expressed in actions that benefit oth-ers. It is marked by a spirit of generosity.(Acts 9:36, 39; 16:14, 15) But goodness in-volves something more.

9 Goodness is moral excellence. It in-volves not just what we do but, more impor-tant, what we are. Picture a woman prepar-ing fruit for her family, examining eachpiece as she slices it to make sure that it issweet and ripe all the way through, withoutdefect inside or out. Similarly, the goodnessproduced by holy spirit permeates a Chris-tian’s entirewayof life.

10 In a Christian household, what canhelp family members to treat one an-other with kindness and goodness? Accu-rate knowledge of God’s Word plays animportant role. (Col. 3:9, 10) Some fami-ly heads include a study of the fruitageof the spirit as part of their weekly Fam-ily Worship evening. Sucha consideration is not dif-ficult to arrange. Using theresearch tools available inyour language, select materi-al on each aspect of the spir-it’s fruitage. You might con-sider just a few paragraphsper week, spending severalweeks on each aspect. As youstudy the material, read anddiscuss the cited scriptures.

10. What can be done to helpfamily members cultivate thefruitage of the spirit?

Look for ways to apply what you learn,and pray for Jehovah to bless your efforts.(1 Tim. 4:15; 1 John 5:14, 15) Can such astudy really make a difference in the wayfamily members treat one another?

11 Ayoung couple, desiring to make a suc-cess of their marriage, decided to make anin-depth study of the fruitage of the spirit.How have they benefited? The wife com-ments: “Learning that kindness includesboth fidelity and loyalty has made a real dif-ference in how we treat each other down tothis day. It has taught us to be yielding aswell as forgiving. And it has helped us learnto say ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’ when ap-propriate.”

12 AnotherChristiancouple,whowere ex-periencing marital problems, realized thatkindness was missing in their relation-ship. They decided to study the subject ofkindness together. With what result? The

11, 12. How did two Christian couples benefitfrom making a study of kindness?

A study of the fruitage ofthe spirit can benefit

your family



husband recalls: “Our study of kindnesshelped us to see the need to give each otherthe benefit of the doubt rather than imputewrong motives, to look for the good in eachother. We began to take more of an interestin each other’s needs. Being kind includedinviting my wife to express freely what wason her mind without my taking offense atwhat she said. Itmeant that I had to set asidemy pride. As we began to put kindness intopractice in our marriage, our defenses grad-ually melted away. It was quite liberating.”Would your family benefit from a study ofthe fruitage of the spirit?

Exercise Faith When in Private13 Christians need to allow God’s spirit to

lead them both in public and in private. To-day in Satan’s world, sordid images anddegraded entertainment have proliferated.This poses a danger to our spirituality.Whatis a Christian to do? God’s Word counselsus: “Put away all filthiness and that su-perfluous thing, badness, and accept withmildness the implanting of the word whichis able to save your souls.” (Jas. 1:21) Let usconsider how faith, another aspect of thespirit’s fruitage, can help us to remain cleanbefore Jehovah.

14 Faith means, fundamentally, that Jeho-vah God is real to us. If God is not realto us, wrong conduct will be just a shortstep away. Consider what happened amongGod’s people in ancient times. Jehovah re-vealed to the prophet Ezekiel that detestablethings were being done in private, saying:

13. What danger to our spirituality must we guardagainst?14. How can lack of faith lead to wrong conduct?

“Have you seen, O son of man, what the el-derlyones of the house of Israel are doing inthe darkness, each one in the inner roomsof his showpiece? For they are saying, ‘Jeho-vah is not seeing us. Jehovah has left theland.’” (Ezek. 8:12) Did you notice whatcontributed to the problem? They did notbelieve that Jehovahwas aware of what theywere doing. Jehovah was not real to them.

15 In contrast, consider the example of Jo-seph. Although away from his family andhis people, Joseph refused to commit adul-tery with Potiphar’s wife. Why? He said:“How could I commit this great badnessand actually sin against God?” (Gen. 39:7-9)Yes, Jehovahwas real tohim. IfGod is real tous, we will not view unclean entertainmentor do anything else in private that we knowdispleases God. Our resolve will be like thatof the psalmist who sang: “I shall walkabout in the integrity of my heart inside my

15. How does strong faith in Jehovah protect us?

What dangers do we avoidby exercising faith and

self-control?


house. I shall not set in front of my eyes anygood-for-nothing thing.”—Ps.101:2, 3.

Guard Your Heartby Exercising Self-Control

16 Self-control, the final aspect of the spir-it’s fruitage, enables us to say no to thingsthat God condemns. It can help us to guardourheart. (Prov. 4:23) Consider the scenariofound at Proverbs 7:6-23, which describeshow “a young man in want of heart” suc-cumbs to the wiles of a prostitute. He be-comes ensnared after “passing along on thestreet near her corner.” Perhaps he venturedinto her neighborhood out of curiosity. Alltoo quickly, he fails to discern that he is be-ing led into a foolish course that “involveshis very soul.”

17 How could the young man have avoid-ed this disastrous mistake? By heeding thewarning: “Do not wander into her road-ways.” (Prov. 7:25) There is a lesson for us: Ifwe want God’s spirit to lead us, we need toavoid placing ourselves in the path of temp-tation. One way a person could wanderinto the foolish course of the “young manin want of heart” is by aimlessly flippingthrough television channels or surfing theInternet. Whether intentionally or not, hemight well chance upon sexually stimulat-ing scenes. He could gradually develop theunclean habit of viewing pornography, withdevastating consequences to his conscienceand his relationship with God. It could in-volve his very life.—Read Romans 8:5-8.

18 Of course, we can and should exercise

16, 17. (a) As described in the book of Proverbs,how does “a young man in want of heart” becomeensnared in sin? (b) As depicted on page 26, howcould something similar happen today regardless ofone’s age?18. What measures might a Christian take to guardhis heart, and how do these involve the exercise ofself-control?

self-control by taking immediate action ifwe are confrontedwith aprovocative image.But how much better if we avoid the situa-tion in the first place! (Prov. 22:3) Set-ting appropriate safeguards and adhering tothem involve the exercise of self-control.For example, keeping the computer in anopen area can serve as a protection. Somefind it best to use the computer or watchtelevision only when others are present.Others have decided not to have access tothe Internet. (Read Matthew 5:27-30.)Maywe take whatever measures are necessary toprotect ourselves and our family so that wecan worship Jehovah “out of a clean heartand out of a good conscience and out offaith without hypocrisy.”—1 Tim.1:5.

19 The fruitage produced through the op-eration of holy spirit brings many benefits.Mildness and long-suffering contribute topeace in the congregation. Kindness andgoodness promote family happiness. Faithand self-control help us to remain close toJehovah and clean before him. Moreover,Galatians 6:8 assures us: “He who is sowingwith a view to the spirit will reap everlastinglife from the spirit.” Yes, based on Christ’sransom, Jehovah will use holy spirit to im-part endless life to those who allow them-selves to be led by the spirit.

19. What are the benefits of allowing holy spirit tolead us?

How Would You Answer?˙ How do mildness and long-suffering

promote peace in the congregation?˙ What can help Christians to manifest

kindness and goodness at home?˙ How do faith and self-control help a

Christian to guard his heart?


˙ Why can we believe that the garden ofEden was a real place?The Bible portrays it as real, giving specificsabout its location. Two of the rivers men-tioned in the account flow today. This is nothow myths or fairy tales are presented. Jesus,the most reliable Witness, spoke of Adam andEve as real.—1/1, pages 5-6, 9.˙ Did God know that Adam and Eve wouldsin?No. Jehovah endowed them with intelligenceand free will, enabling them to choose toobey or not. Though having the capacity offoreknowledge, God exercises that ability se-lectively.—1/1, pages 13-15.˙ Do true Christians use God’s name as atalisman?Some people view an object or a symbol as atalisman, a charm that protects them magi-cally, but God’s people do not consider hisname to be such. They put faith in Jehovahand seek to do his will, thus taking refuge inhis name. (Zeph. 3:12, 13)—1/15, pages 5-6.˙ Who in Israel benefited from the customof gleaning?All did. It promoted industriousness in thepoor, who had to glean. Others benefited bybeing encouraged to be generous and to relyon God’s blessing.—2/1, page 15.˙ Why did Jehovah reject King Saul?Saul was supposed to wait on God’s prophetto offer a sacrifice, but the king disobeyed, of-fering the sacrifice himself. Later, he did notobey the command to wipe out an enemypeople.—2/15, pages 22-23.˙ How can we show that we hate lawless-ness?We will keep alcohol in its place, avoid occult

practices, and heed Jesus’ warning about im-morality. For example, we will avoid por-nography and the fantasies it might create.(Matt. 5:27, 28) Also, we will not asso-ciate with disfellowshipped ones.—2/15, pag-es 29-32.˙ What is noteworthy about archaeolo-gists’ finding an ancient beehive colony inmodern-day Israel?Archaeologists found more than 30 beehives,which scholars estimate produced as much ashalf a ton of honey annually. This indicatesthat beekeeping was done in the land thatGod had said would ‘flow with milk and hon-ey.’ (Ex. 3:8)—3/1, page 15.˙ How was Jeremiah like a tree “planted bythe waters, that sends out its roots”? (Jer.17:7, 8)He never left off producing fruit; nor did helet himself be influenced by ridiculers. Rath-er, he stuck to the Source of life-sustainingwater, taking to heart what God told him.—3/15, page 14.˙ What was Jesus’ point in telling Marthathat just a few things were needed or justone? (Luke 10:41, 42)He was not calling her a materialist for pre-paring various dishes to eat; nor was he dis-missing her hard work. Rather, he was high-lighting priorities. Martha was not takingadvantage of a unique opportunity to deep-en her faith.—4/1, pages 12-13.˙ What were some illegalities in the trial ofJesus?The court heard no arguments for acquittal.False witnesses were sought. The case washeard at night. The trial began and conclud-ed in one day.—4/1, page 20.

Do You Remember?

Have you appreciated reading the recent issues of The Watchtower?Well, see if you can answer the following questions:


IT WAS 1951. My wife, Edith, and I were ata district convention when we heard the

announcement that a meeting would beheld for those interested in missionary ser-vice.

“Let’s go and listen!” I exclaimed.“Art, that’s not for us!” Edith responded.“Come on, Edie, we will just listen.”After the meeting, application forms for

Gilead School were offered.“Let’s fill them out,” I urged.“But Art, what about our families?”About a year and a half after that con-

vention, we attended Gilead School andwere assigned to serve in Ecuador, SouthAmerica.

As you might gather from the conversa-tion that my wife and I had at that conven-tion, I had a rather forceful personality anda can-do attitude. Edith, however, was mildand modest. While growing up in the smalltown of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.,she had never ventured very far from homeor met a foreigner. It was hard for herto leave her family. Even so, she whole-heartedly accepted the assignment to serveabroad. In 1954 we arrived in Ecuador andhave been serving as missionaries in thiscountry ever since. During our years here,we have found many good things. Wouldyou like to hear about some of them?

Bright MemoriesOur first assignment was to the capital

city, Quito, some 9,000 feet (2,850 m) highin the AndesMountains. It tookus twodaysby train and truck to travel there from thecoastal city of Guayaquil—a trip now ac-complished in 30 minutes by airplane!We served in Quito for four memorableyears. Then, in1958 another good thing oc-curred: We were invited to serve in the cir-cuit work.

At that time, there were only two smallcircuits in the entire country. So in additionto visiting congregations, we spent many

I HAVEFOUND MANYGOOD THINGS

˘

AS TOLD BYARTHUR BONNO

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

In New York’s Yankee Stadium with fellowmissionaries from our Gilead class, 1958


weeks during the year preaching in smallIndian towns where no Witnesses wereliving. Accommodations in those pueb-los usually consisted of a tiny, windowlessroom with a bed and nothing else. We car-ried with us a wooden case that containeda kerosene burner, a pan, plates, a wash ba-sin, sheets, a mosquito net, clothing, oldnewspapers, and some other items. Weused the newspapers to plug the holes inthe walls so that the rats would find it a bitharder to enter.

Although those rooms were dark anddingy, we have bright memories of thenightly conversations we had while sittingon the bed, eating a simple meal cookedon our kerosene burner. Since my impet-uous nature often led me to speak be-fore thinking, my wife at times would usethose calm moments to mention tactfulways that I could better express myselfto the brothers we visited. I listened toher, and my visits became more encourag-ing. Also, when I thoughtlessly spoke illof another, she would refuse to partici-pate in the conversation. I thus learned tomaintain a positive view of my brothers.Mostly, though, our conversations at nightrevolved around points we learned from ar-ticles in The Watchtower and our field ser-vice experiences of that day. And what ex-citing experiences we had!

How We Found CarlosIn the town of Jipijapa, in western Ecua-

dor, we were given the name of an interest-ed person—just the name, Carlos Mejıa, butno address. Leaving our rented room thatmorning, we did not know where to beginlooking for him, so we simply struck out ina random direction. We had to dodge manya mud hole on the dirt streets because oftheheavy rains thenight before. Iwaswalk-

ing ahead of my wife when, suddenly, Iheard a cry of distress from behind, “Art!” Iturned and saw that Edie was standing inblack mud up to her knees. The scene wasso humorous that I would have laughedhad it not been for her tearful face.

Iwas able topull her outof that mess, buther shoes remained stuck in themud.A boyand a girl were watching, so I told them,“I will give you some money if you getthose shoes out of the mud.” In a flash, theshoes were retrieved, but Edie needed aplace to clean up. The children’s motherwas observing the scene and invited us intoher house, where she helped my wife washher legs while the children cleaned thedirty shoes. Before we left, a good thinghappened. I asked the woman if she knewwhere we could find a man named CarlosMejıa. With a surprised look on her face,she said, “He is my husband.” In time a Bi-ble study was started, and all the membersof that family were eventually baptized.Years later, Carlos, his wife, and twoof theirchildren became special pioneers.

Challenging Travels—Heartwarming Hospitality

Traveling in the circuit work posed chal-lenges. We used buses, trains, trucks, dug-out canoes, and small airplanes. One timeJohn McLenachan, who served as the dis-trict overseer, and his wife, Dorothy, ac-companiedus ona preaching trip tofishingvillages near the Colombian border. Wetraveled in a dugout canoe equipped withan outboard motor. Sharks as large as thecanoe were swimming right alongside us!Even the experienced navigator with us be-came alarmed at the size of the sharks andquickly steered the canoe closer to shore.

The challenges that we encountered inthe circuit work, though, were more than


worthwhile. We got to know wonderful,hospitable brothers. Many times the fami-lies with whom we stayed insisted that weeat three meals a day, while they ate onlyone. Or they made us sleep in the only bedin the house, while they slept on the floor.My wife often said, “These dear brothersand sisters help me to see how few thingswe really need to get by.”

“We Do Not Want to Hold Back”In 1960 another good thing happened to

us—we were invited to serve at the branchoffice inGuayaquil.While I did administra-tive work, Edith served in the ministry ina congregation near the branch. I neverconsidered myself an office man and feltsomewhat inept, but asHebrews 13:21 indi-cates, God equips us “with every goodthing to do his will.” Two years later, Iwas invited to attend a ten-month Gileadcourse to be held at Bethel in Brooklyn,New York. At that time, wives were expect-ed to remain in their assignment. A letter

came from Brooklyn, addressed to my wife.Shewas asked to consider carefullywhethershe would be willing to accept the ten-month absence of her husband.

In response, Edith wrote: “I am sure thatthis will not be the easiest thing in theworld to do, but we know that Jehovah willcertainly help us through whatever dif-ficulties may arise. . . . We do not want tohold back from any privileges that may beset before us or from any opportunity to bebetterqualified to carryout our responsibil-ities.” During the time that I was in Brook-lyn, I received a letter from my wife everyweek.

Serving AlongsideFaithful Fellow Believers

In 1966, because of health problems,Edith and I returned to Quito, where we re-sumed our missionary service alongsidethe local brothers and sisters. What fine in-tegrity keepers they were!

A faithful sister had an unbelieving hus-band, who often beat her. One day, atsix o’clock in the morning, someone calledus to say that she had been beaten again. Idashed to the sister’s house. When I sawher, I could hardly believe my eyes. She waslying in bed, swollen and covered withbruises. Herhusband had beaten her with abroom handle until it broke in two. Laterthat day, I found him at home and told himthat hehaddone a cowardly thing.He apol-ogized profusely.

In the early 1970’s, my health had im-proved and we resumed the circuit work.The city of Ibarra was part of our circuit.Whenwe visited that city in the late 1950’s,only two Witnesses were there, a mission-ary and a local brother. So we were eager tomeet the many new ones who had beenadded to the congregation.

Visiting a Witness family whilein the circuit work, 1959


At our first meeting there, Brother Rod-rigo Vaca stood on the platform andconducted a part that included audienceparticipation. Whenever he asked a ques-tion, those in attendance called out “Yo,yo!” (“Me, me!”) instead of raising theirhands. Edith and I looked at each otherin amazement. ‘What is going on here?’I thought. Later we learned that Broth-er Vaca is blind but he recognizes the voicesof the members of the congregation asthey call out. He is a shepherd who reallyknows his sheep! This called to mind Je-sus’ comments at John 10:3, 4, 14 aboutthe Fine Shepherd and the sheep knowingone another very well. Today, Ibarra hassix Spanish-speaking congregations, oneQuichua-speaking congregation, and onesign-language congregation. Brother Vacacontinues to serve faithfully as an elder anda special pioneer.�

Grateful for Jehovah’s GoodnessIn 1974 we received another expression

of Jehovah’s goodness when we were invit-ed to return to Bethel, where I was again as-signed to do administrative work and laterwas appointed to the Branch Committee.Edith at first worked in the kitchen, and lat-er she began working in the office, whereshe serves to this day as a mail clerk.

Through the years, we have had the joyof welcoming hundreds of Gilead-trainedmissionaries, who bring maturity and zealto the congregations they serve.We are alsoencouraged by the thousands of brothersand sisters who have come from over 30countries to serve in this land. How theirself-sacrificing spirit impresses us! Somesold homes and businesses in order tocome here to serve in areas where there is a

� The life story of Brother Vaca appeared in the Sep-tember 8, 1985, issue of Awake!

great need for Kingdom preachers. Theybought vehicles to preach in outlying re-gions, established new congregations, andhelped build Kingdom Halls. Numeroussingle sisters have come fromabroad to pio-neer here—and what zealous and capableworkers they are!

Indeed, I have found many good thingsin my years of serving God. Foremostamong these is my relationship with Jeho-vah. Also, I am grateful that Jehovah provid-ed “a helper” for me. (Gen. 2:18) WhenI lookbackoverour 69 years together as hus-band and wife, I think of Proverbs 18:22,which states: “Has one found a good wife?One has found a good thing.” It has been apleasure to be in Edith’s company. She hashelped me in so manyways. She also provedto be a loving daughter to her mother. Fromthe timewe arrived in Ecuador, mywife senther mother a letter every week until 1990,when her mompassed away at age 97.

I am now 90 years of age and Edith is 89.We treasure the joy we have had in helpingsome 70 people come to know Jehovah. Wesurely are glad that we filled out those ap-plications for Gilead School 60 years ago.That decision led to a life filled with manygood things.

At the branch in Ecuador, 2002


June 27–July 3Christian Families—“Stay Awake”PAGE 7 SONGS TO BE USED: 69, 57

July 4-10Christian Families—“Keep Ready”PAGE 11 SONGS TO BE USED: 32, 63

July 11-17Who Is the Most ImportantPerson in Your Life?


July 18-24‘O the Depth of God’s Wisdom!’PAGE 21 SONGS TO BE USED: 95, 116

July 25-31Complete Trust in JehovahInspires Confidence


34567MAY 15, 2011


34567�



MAY 15, 2011



The first article discusses the responsibilitythat each member of the Christian family hasin keeping spiritually awake. The second arti-cle considers how keeping a simple eye, pur-suing spiritual goals, and maintaining a Fam-ily Worship evening are essential to the entirefamily’s spiritual well-being.


Jehovah should be the most important Per-son in the life of his servants. This article high-lights the lessons we learn about this fromwhat happened to the first woman, Eve; thefaithful man Job; and the perfect Son of God,Jesus Christ.


In Romans chapter 11, the apostle Paulspeaks of a symbolic olive tree. What do thevarious features of that tree represent? As weexamine their meaning in this article, notonly will we learn more about Jehovah’s pur-pose but we will also be amazed by thedepth of his wisdom.


This article discusses Psalms 3 and 4, com-posed by King David. These inspired songsshow that we can act with confidence if wepray for Jehovah’s help and we trust in himcompletely. That is what David did whenfaced with adversities, such as the treacheryof his son Absalom.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Do You ReallyDelight inGod’s Word?

6 “A WonderfulOverseerand a DearFriend” )

26 FollowingChrist,the PerfectLeader )

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MAY 15, 2011 3

“WHEN I began reading the Bible regu-larly, I found it to be more of a chore

thanadelight,” says Lorraine. “Itwashard tounderstand, so I often found myself day-dreaming.”

Others admit that they too started readingthe Bible without enjoying it. Yet, they per-severed because they knew that reading theHoly Scriptures is the right thing to do. Marcsays: “It is easy to allow distractions to get inthe way of Bible reading and personal study.It took a lot of prayer and effort to make dai-ly Bible reading a part of my routine.”

What can you do to cultivate greater ap-preciation for God’s written Word, the Bi-ble? How can you enjoy reading it? Consid-er the following suggestions.

Goals and MethodsApproach your Bible reading session in a

prayerful and focused frame of mind. Ask Je-hovah to help you develop an eagerness tostudy his Word. Petition him to open yourmind and heart to grasp his wisdom morefully. (Ps. 119:34) Without this kind of ap-proach, Bible study can quickly become me-chanical, and youmay lose the desire to con-tinue. Lynn says: “I sometimes read too fastand completely miss interesting side points.Often, I don’t fully grasp the main ideas. Ipray for self-control, though, and this helpsto keep my mind fromwandering.”

Value what you learn. Remember thatunderstanding and applying Bible truths

means your life. Therefore, make a consci-entious effort to find practical points andapply them. “I look for things that help meto identify wrong attitudes and motives inmyself,” says Chris. “It’s refreshing to seehow the Bible andmanyofour publicationscontain information that benefits me per-sonally, even though the writers have nevermet me.”

Set attainable goals for yourself. Try tolearn something new about Bible charac-ters. You can find fascinating facts aboutmany of them by consulting Insight on theScriptures or the Watch Tower PublicationsIndex. As you get to know men and womenof the Bible as real peoplewith personalitiesand feelings, they will come alive in yourmind.

Look for new ways to reason on the Scrip-tures. (Acts 17:2, 3) Sophia studies with thatin mind. “My desire is to learn and developfresh lines of reasoning to use in my minis-try and at other times, so that I can ex-press myself clearly about Bible truths. TheWatchtower is an excellent tool for accom-plishing this,” she says.—2 Tim. 2:15.

Visualize Bible accounts. “The word ofGod is alive,” states Hebrews 4:12. As youread the Scriptures, let God’smessage live inyour mind by imagining what the Biblecharacters were seeing. Try to hear whatthey were hearing and feel what they werefeeling. Associate their experiences withspecific circumstances in your life. Learn

Do YouReally Delightin God’s Word?

from the way they handled situations. Thiswill enhance your understanding and reten-tion of Bible accounts.

Devote time to difficult scriptures and to ex-planations of them so that you understandthem clearly. Allow yourself plenty of timefor each study session. You may well comeacross very interesting questions that re-quire extra research. Look up unfamiliarwords, consider footnotes, and check cross-references in the Bible. The more you un-derstand and apply what you read, the moreyou will find delight in God’s written Word.You will then be able to say, as did thepsalmist: “I have taken your [Jehovah’s] re-minders as a possession to time indefinite,for they are the exultation of my heart.”—Ps.119:111.

Avoid rushing through the material.Be rea-sonable in the amount of time you sched-ule for personal study. Balance this withthe time you devote to preparing for con-gregation meetings. “Many times I feel sotense that I can’t concentrate,” says Raquel.“So I find short study periods beneficial.

These help me to derive the greatest benefitfrom my study.” Chris admits: “When Ifeel rushed, my conscience bothers me be-cause I retain so little. The material usuallydoesn’t reach my heart.” Therefore, takeyour time.

Develop a greater longing for God’s word.The apostle Peter said: “As newborn infants,form a longing for the unadulterated milkbelonging to the word, that through it youmay grow to salvation.” (1 Pet. 2:2) Babiesdo not have to cultivate a longing for milk.The feeling comes naturally. But the Scrip-tures acknowledge that we do have to form alonging for God’s word. If you read just onepageof theBible everyday, that longingwillsoon come. What may at first have seemeddifficult will soon become pleasurable.

Meditate on Scriptural passages.Great ben-efit also comes from meditating on whatyou read. This will help you to link togetherspiritual topics that you have investigated.Soon you will acquire a string of spiritualpearls of wisdom—a delightful possession.—Ps.19:14; Prov. 3:3.

When reading a Bibleaccount, picture yourselfin a similar situation


Time Well SpentSticking with good study habits takes ef-

fort, but the blessings are immeasurable.Your spiritual comprehension will thusimprove. (Heb. 5:12-14) The discernmentand wisdom you acquire from the inspiredScriptures bring happiness, pleasantness,and peace. The wisdom found in God’s in-spired Word is “a tree of life” for those whoseize and apply it.—Prov. 3:13-18.

An in-depth study of God’s Word canproduce in you an understanding heart.(Prov. 15:14) That will help you to offerheartfelt counsel that is solidly based on theBible. If you allow your decisions to be guid-ed by what you read in the Scriptures and inpublications of “the faithful and discreetslave,” you will experience the refreshingand stabilizing influence of Jehovah’s in-spired Word. (Matt. 24:45) You will be morepositive, optimistic, and spiritually orient-

ed. Moreover, everything that involves yourrelationship with God will succeed.—Ps. 1:2, 3.

A heart full of love for God will move youto share your faith. This too can be most re-warding. Sophia is working on remember-ing and using a variety of scriptures tocapture the attention of householders andmake her Christian ministry effective andexciting. “Seeing people’s reaction to ex-pressions from the Bible is exhilarating,”she says.

The most outstanding benefit of takingdelight in God’s Word, though, is a close re-lationship with Jehovah. Bible study en-ables you to know his standards and appre-ciate his love, generosity, and justice. Noother pursuit is more important or more re-warding. Immerse yourself in the study ofGod’s Word. Doing so is truly time wellspent.—Ps.19:7-11.

READING GOD’S WORD: GOALS AND METHODSˇ Approach your Bible reading session in

a prayerful and focused frame of mind.ˇ Value what you learn.ˇ Set attainable goals for yourself.ˇ Look for new ways to reason on

the Scriptures.ˇ Visualize Bible accounts.

ˇ Devote time to difficult scriptures andto explanations of them so that youunderstand them clearly.

ˇ Avoid rushing through the material.ˇ Develop a greater longing for God’s

word.ˇ Meditate on Scriptural passages.

6 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MAY 15, 2011

JOHN (JACK) BARR, whoserved as a member of

the Governing Body of Je-hovah’s Witnesses, finishedhis earthly course on Satur-day morning, December 4,2010. He was 97 years of age.He has been described as“a wonderful overseer and adear friend.”

Brother Jack Barr wasborn in Aberdeen, Scotland,the youngest of three chil-dren. Both of his parentswere of the anoint-ed. Brother Barr often spoke with affectionabout his early family life; he was gratefulfor the sterling example that his beloved fa-ther and mother set forhim.

As he entered his teenage years, youngJack began to find it extremely difficult tospeak to strangers.However, heworked hardto overcome the problem, and on one Sun-day afternoon in 1927, at the age of 14,he announced to his father that he wasready to accompany him in the door-to-door preaching activity. That was the begin-ning. From that day until his death, Broth-er Barr remained a zealous preacher of thegood news.

A tragic accident that almost cost his dearmother her life caused young Jack to thinkseriously about the purpose of life, and in1929 he dedicated himself to Jehovah, sym-bolizing his dedication at the first opportu-nity, in 1934. Then in 1939, he became

a member of the Bethelfamily in London, England.Thus began a career of full-time service that spanned 71years.

On October 29, 1960,Brother Barr entered whathe called “an especially pre-cious relationship” whenhe married Mildred Willett,a longtime zealous pioneerand missionary. Brother andSister Barr were known as an

exemplary, devoted married couple, andthey remained such until Mildred finishedher earthly course in October of 2004.Brother and Sister Barr read a portion of theBible together every day of their marriedlife.

For those who knew him, the name JackBarr will bring to mind a man who gavethoughtful advice—always balanced, alwayskind, and rooted in Scripture. He was a hardworker and a considerate and loving over-seer as well as a loyal friend. His comments,his talks, and his prayers revealed the depthof his spirituality and the closeness of his re-lationship with Jehovah.

While we will miss our dear Brother Barr,we rejoice with him in his receiving the giftof immortality—a privilege he looked for-ward to and often spoke about. It was all heever wanted.—1 Cor.15:53, 54.�

� For the life story of John E. Barr, see The Watchtowerof July 1, 1987, pages 26 to 31.

“A Wonderful Overseerand a Dear Friend”


REFERRING to “the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah,” the apostle

Paul wrote to the Christians inThessalonica:“Brothers, you are not in darkness, so thatthat day should overtake you as it wouldthieves, for you are all sons of light and sonsof day. We belong neither to night nor todarkness.” Paul added: “So, then, let us notsleep on as the rest do, but let us stay awakeand keep our senses.”—Joel 2:31; 1 Thess. 5:4-6.

2 Paul’s counsel to the Thessalonians is es-pecially fitting for Christians living in “thetime of the end.” (Dan. 12:4) As the end ofhis wicked system of things nears, Satan isbenton turning asmany trueworshippers ashe can away from servingGod.We are there-fore wise to take to heart Paul’s admonitionto remain spiritually vigilant. If a Christianfamily is to succeed in staying awake, itis important that each member shoulderhis or her Scriptural responsibility. Whatrole, then, do husbands, wives, and youngones play in helping their families to “stayawake”?

Husbands—Imitate “the Fine Shepherd”3 “The head of a woman is the man,”

states the Bible. (1 Cor. 11:3) What does aman’s responsibility as the head of a house-hold involve? Outlining one aspect of head-ship, the Scriptures say: “If anyone does not

1, 2. What is required if a family is to succeed instaying awake spiritually?3. According to 1 Timothy 5:8, what does a man’sresponsibility as the head of a household include?

provide for thosewho are his own, and espe-cially for those who are members of hishousehold, he has disowned the faith and isworse than a person without faith.” (1 Tim.5:8) Indeed, a man should provide material-ly for his family. If he is to help his familyto stay awake spiritually, though, he mustprove to be more than just a breadwinner.He needs to build up his household spiritu-ally, helping all in the family to strengthentheir relationship with God. (Prov. 24:3, 4)Howcan he do so?

4 Since “a husband is head of his wife asthe Christ also is head of the congregation,”a married man should examine and imitatethe type of headship that Jesus provides forthe congregation. (Eph. 5:23) Consider howJesus described his relationship with his fol-lowers. (Read John 10:14, 15.) What is thekey to success for a man who wants tobuild up his household spiritually? It is this:Study what Jesus said and did as “the fineshepherd,” and “follow his steps closely.”—1 Pet. 2:21.

5 Figuratively speaking, the relationshipbetween a shepherd and his sheep is basedon knowledge and trust. The shepherdknows all about his sheep, and the sheepknow and trust the shepherd. They rec-ognize and obey his voice. “I know mysheep and my sheep know me,” said Jesus.

4. What can help a man to succeed in building uphis household spiritually?5. What knowledge does the Fine Shepherd have ofthe congregation?

CHRISTIAN FAMILIES—“STAY AWAKE”

“Let us stay awake and keep our senses.”—1 THESS. 5:6.


He does not have mere surface knowledge ofthe congregation. The Greek word here ren-dered “know” denotes “personal, intimateknowledge.” Yes, the Fine Shepherd knowshis sheep personally. He knows their indi-vidual needs, their weaknesses, and theirstrengths. Nothing about his sheep escapesthe notice of our Exemplar. And the sheepfully know the shepherd and trust his lead-ership.

6 To exercise his headship in imitation ofChrist, a husband must learn to think ofhimself as a shepherd and of those underhiscare as sheep. He should strive to have an in-timate knowledge of his family. Can a hus-band really have such knowledge? Yes, if hecommunicates well with all members of hisfamily, listens to their concerns, takes thelead in family activities, and is conscien-tious about making good decisions involv-ing such matters as family worship, meet-ing attendance, field service, recreation, andentertainment. When a Christian husbandtakes the lead with knowledge not only ofGod’s Word but also of those entrusted tohim, it is more likely that his family mem-bers will have confidence in his headshipand that he will have the satisfaction of see-ing them remain united in true worship.

7 A good shepherd also has affection forhis sheep. When we study the Gospel ac-counts of Jesus’ life andministry, ourheart ismoved with appreciation for the affectionJesus showed for his disciples. He even ‘sur-rendered his soul in behalf of the sheep.’Husbands should imitate Jesus in showingaffection for those under their care. Ratherthan harshly dominating his wife, a hus-band who desires God’s approval continuesloving her “just as the Christ also loved the

6. How can husbands imitate the Fine Shepherd?7, 8. Howcan a husband imitate the Fine Shepherdin showing affection for those under his care?

congregation.” (Eph. 5:25) His words shouldbe kind and considerate, for she is worthy ofhonor.—1 Pet. 3:7.

8 In training young ones, the family headshouldfirmlyupholdgodly principles.How-ever, he must not fail to show affection forhis children. Needed discipline should beadministered lovingly. Some young onesmay take longer than others to get the senseof what is expected of them. In that case, afather should show them greater patience.When men consistently follow the exampleof Jesus, they create a home environmentthat is safe and secure. Their families enjoythe type of spiritual security that the psalm-ist sang about.—Read Psalm 23:1-6.

9 The patriarch Noah lived in the time ofthe end of the world of his day. But Jehovahkept him “safe with seven others when hebrought a deluge upon a world of ungodlypeople.” (2 Pet. 2:5) Noah had the responsi-bility of helping his family to survive theFlood.Christian family heads are in a similarposition in these last days. (Matt. 24:37)Howvital it is that they study the example of“the fine shepherd” and strive to imitatehim!

Wives—‘Build Up Your Household’10 “Let wives be in subjection to their hus-

bands as to the Lord,”wrote the apostle Paul.(Eph. 5:22) This statement in no way sug-gests an undignified position. Prior to creat-ing the first woman, Eve, the true Goddeclared: “It is not good for the man to con-tinue by himself. I am going to make a help-er for him, as a complement of him.” (Gen.2:18) The role of “helper” and “comple-

9. Like the patriarch Noah, Christian husbandshave what responsibility, and what will help themto shoulder it?10. Subjection to her husband means what for awife?


ment”—that of being sup-portive of her husband as hecares for his family responsi-bilities—is an honorable oneindeed.

11 An exemplary wife worksfor the good of her house-hold. (Read Proverbs 14:1.)In contrast with a fool-ish woman, who shows dis-respect for the headship ar-rangement, a wise womanhas deep respect for this pro-vision. Rather than manifest-ing the attitude of disobedi-ence and independence thatcharacterizes the world, she isin submission to her mate.(Eph. 2:2) A wife who is foolish does not hes-itate to speak unfavorably of her husband,whereas a wise woman works to increase therespect that her children and others have forhim. Such a wife is careful not to undermineher husband’s headship by nagging him orarguing with him. There is also the matter ofbeing economical. A foolish woman like-ly squanders her family’s hard-earned re-sources. A supportivewife is not like that. Shecooperates with her husband in financialmatters. Her way of doing things is markedby prudence and economy. She does notpressure herhusband toworkovertime.

12 An exemplary wife helps the fami-ly to “stay awake” by assisting her hus-band in the spiritual education of the chil-dren. (Prov. 1:8) She actively supports theFamily Worship program. Moreover, she issupportive of her husband when he givescounsel and discipline to their children.How different she is from an uncooperative

11. How does an exemplary wife ‘build up herhousehold’?12. What can a wife do to help her family to “stayawake”?

wife, whose children suffer physically andspiritually!

13 How does a supportive wife feel aboutseeing herhusband play an active role in theChristian congregation? Why, she is joyful!Whether her husband is a ministerial ser-vant, an elder, or perhaps a member of aHospital Liaison Committee or a RegionalBuilding Committee, she is happy about hisprivilege. Actively supporting her husbandwith words and actions will surely involvesacrifices on her part. But she is aware thather husband’s involvement in theocratic ac-tivities helps the entire family to keep awakespiritually.

14 Being exemplary in a supportive rolemay be a challenge for a wife when her hus-band makes a decision she disagrees with.Even then, she manifests a “quiet and mild

13. Why is it important for a wife to support herhusband in his active involvement in theocratic ac-tivities?14. (a) What may be a challenge for a supportivewife, and how can she meet the challenge? (b) Howdoes awife contribute to the well-being of the entirefamily?

A supportive wife is priceless to a spiritual man


spirit” and cooperates with him to make hisdecision work. (1 Pet. 3:4) A good wife triesto follow the fine examples of godly womenof former times, such as Sarah, Ruth, Abi-gail, and Jesus’ mother, Mary. (1 Pet. 3:5, 6)She also imitates present-day older womenwhoare “reverent in behavior.” (Titus 2:3, 4)By showing love and respect for her hus-band, an exemplary wife contributes muchto the marital partnership and to the well-being of the entire family. Her home is aplace of comfort and safety. To a spiri-tual man, a supportive wife is priceless!—Prov.18:22.

Youths—‘Keep Your Eyeson the Things Unseen’

15 How can you young ones work alongwith your parents so that your family will“stay awake” spiritually? Consider the prizethat Jehovah has set before you. Perhapsfrom your childhood, your parents showedyou illustrations depicting life inParadise. Asyou grew older, they likely used the Bibleand Christian publications to help you visu-alize what everlasting life would be likein the new world. Keeping your eyes fo-cused on service to Jehovah and planningyour life accordingly will help you to “stayawake.”

16 Take to heart the apostle Paul’s wordsfound at 1 Corinthians 9:24. (Read.) Runthe race for life with the full intention ofwinning. Choose a course that will result inattaining the prize of everlasting life. Manyhave allowed the pursuit of material thingsto distract them from keeping their eyes onthe prize. How foolish that is! Planning alife around gaining riches does not leadto true happiness. The things money can

15. Howcan young ones work along with their par-ents so that the family will “stay awake”?16, 17. What can youths do to run the race for lifesuccessfully?

buy are temporary. You, though, keep youreyes on “the things unseen.” Why? Because“the things unseen are everlasting.”—2 Cor.4:18.

17 “The things unseen” include Kingdomblessings. Plan to live your life in such a wayas to attain them. Real happiness comesfrom using your life in Jehovah’s service.Serving the true God provides opportunitiesto reach out for short-range as well as long-range goals.� Setting realistic spiritual goalscan help you to stay focused on serving Godwith a view to attaining the prize of everlast-ing life.—1 John 2:17.

18 Young ones, the first step on the road tolife is to make the truth your own. Have youtaken that step? Ask yourself: ‘Am I a spiritu-al person, or is my participation in spiritualactivities dependent on my parents? Do Icultivate qualities that make me pleasing toGod? Do I make an effort to maintain a con-sistent routine of sharing in activities relat-ed to true worship, such as regular prayer,study, meeting attendance, and field ser-vice? Am I drawing close to God by nurtur-ing a personal relationship with him?’—Jas.4:8.

� See The Watchtower, November 15, 2010, pages 12-16; July 15, 2004, pages 21-23.

18, 19. How can a young person determine if hehas made the truth his own?

What Did You Learn?˙ Why is it essential for Christian fami-

lies to “stay awake”?˙ How can a husband imitate the Fine

Shepherd?˙ What can an exemplary wife do to be

supportive of her husband?˙ How can young ones help keep their

families spiritually awake?


19 Reflect onMoses’ example.Despite hav-ing been subjected to a foreign culture, hechose to be identified as a worshipper of Je-hovah rather than a son of the daughter ofPharaoh. (Read Hebrews 11:24-27.) Chris-tian youths, you too need to be determinedto serve Jehovah faithfully. By doing that,youwill gain truehappiness, the best qualityof life now, and the hope of getting “a firmhold on the real life.”—1 Tim. 6:19.

20 In the ancient games, only one runnerwon the race. That is not so in the race forlife. It is God’s will “that all sorts of menshould be saved and come to an accurateknowledge of truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) Many

20. In the race for life, who receive the prize?

have run successfully before you, and manyare running alongside you. (Heb. 12:1, 2)The prizewill go to all thosewhodonot giveup. So be determined towin!

21 “The coming of the great and fear-inspiring dayof Jehovah” is inevitable. (Mal.4:5) That day should not catch Christianfamilies unawares. It is vital for all in thefamily to shoulder their Scriptural responsi-bility. What else can you do to remain spiri-tually alert and strengthenyour relationshipwith God? The following article will discussthree factors that affect the spiritual well-being of the entire family.

21. What will be considered in the following arti-cle?

“WHEN the Son of man arrives in hisglory” and separates “people one

from another,” how will you and your fami-ly fare? (Matt. 25:31, 32) Since this is to takeplace at an hour that we do not think likely,how vital that we take to heart Jesus’ admo-nition to “keep ready”!—Luke 12:40.

2 The preceding article discussed howeach member of the family can help the en-tire family to keep spiritually awake by tak-ing his or her responsibility seriously. Let us

1, 2. Why should we take to heart Jesus’ admoni-tion to “keep ready”?

consider other ways that we can contributeto the spiritual well-being of our family.

Keep Your Eye “Simple”3 To be in a state of readiness for Christ’s

coming, families must be careful not to getsidetracked from matters pertaining to trueworship. They need to be on guard againstbeing turned aside by distractions. Sincema-terialism is a snare that has entrapped not afew families, consider what Jesus said about

3, 4. (a) Christian families should be on guardagainst what? (b) What does it mean to keep our eye“simple”?

CHRISTIAN FAMILIES—“KEEP READY”

“Keep ready, because at an hour that you do not think likelythe Son of man is coming.”—LUKE 12:40.


keeping our eye “simple.” (Read Matthew6:22, 23.) Just as a lamp can illuminate ourpath and allow us to walk without falling,what we take in through our figurative ‘eyesof the heart’ can enlighten us, helping usto conduct ourselves without stumbling.—Eph.1:18.

4 For a literal eye to see clearly, it mustfunction properly and be able to focus onwhat it is looking at. It is no different withthe eyes of theheart.Having a simple figura-tive eye means that we are single-minded inpurpose. Rather than leading a life that iscentered on material things and being con-sumed with taking care of only the physicalneeds of the family, we keep our eye focusedon spiritualmatters. (Matt. 6:33) This meansthat we remain content with our materialprovisions and give God’s service the firstplace in our life.—Heb.13:5.

5 What good results there can be whenchildren are trained to keep a simple eye!Consider the example of a teenage girl in thecountry of Ethiopia. She did so well in herschoolwork that upon completing her basiceducation, she was offered a scholarship forfurther education. Having her eye focusedon serving Jehovah, however, she turneddown the scholarship. Soon thereafter, shereceived a job offer that would pay her 3,000euros a month—a high amount in compari-son with the average wages in her country.But the girl’s “eye” was set on pioneer ser-vice. She did not need to consult her parentsto turn down the job. How did her parentsfeel on learning what their daughter haddone? Why, they rejoiced with her and toldherhow proud they were of her!

6 Implicit in the words of Jesus recorded at

5. How did a certain teenage girl demonstrate thather “eye” was set on serving God?6, 7. To what danger should we ‘keep our eyesopen’?

Matthew 6:22, 23 is a warning about greed.Jesus did not contrast “simple” with its anto-nym“complex” butwith the term“wicked.”A ‘wicked eye’ is “bad; envious,” that is, cov-etous or greedy. (Matt. 6:23; ftn.) How doesJehovah feel about covetousness or greed?“Let fornication and uncleanness of everysort or greediness [or, “covetousness”] noteven be mentioned among you,” states theBible.—Eph. 5:3; ftn.

7 While greed may be easy to detect inothers, it is not so easy to detect in ourselves.Hence, we are wise to heed Jesus’ advice:“Keep your eyes open and guard againstevery sort of covetousness.” (Luke 12:15)Doing so calls for examining ourselves to seewhat we have set our hearts on. Christianfamilies should think seriously about thetime and money they spend on entertain-ment, recreation, and the acquisition of ma-terial things.

8 Making a purchase is more involvedthan simply deciding whether an item is af-fordable or not. Take into consideration fac-tors such as these: ‘Will I have the time touse the item regularly and care for its up-keep? How long will it take to learn to oper-ate it properly?’ You young ones, do notbelieve all theworld’s advertising about con-sumer goods and thus make unreasonabledemands for expensive brands of clothingor for other items. Exercise restraint. Also,thinkofhowacquiring somethingwill affectyour family’s preparedness for the comingof the Son of man. Have faith in Jehovah’spromise: “I will by no means leave you norby any means forsake you.”—Heb.13:5.

Pursue Spiritual Goals9 Another way for family members to

8. When it comes to making purchases, howcanwe‘keep our eyes open’?9. What can the pursuit of spiritual goals do for afamily?


strengthen their faith and contribute to thespiritual well-being of the entire family isfor them to set spiritual goals and pursuethem.Doing so canhelp families gaugehowwell they are progressing in their objectiveof pleasing Jehovah and can enable them toevaluate the relative importance of any ac-tivity.—Read Philippians 1:10.

10 Even setting small realistic goals thatare within reach of nearly every familymember can yield rich dividends. Take, forexample, the goal of discussing the day’stext every day. The comments given byfamily members can help the head of thehousehold to discern the degree of theirspirituality. The goal of regularly reading

10, 11. As a family, what spiritual goals are you pur-suing, and what goals would you like to set for thefuture?

theBible together as a familyprovides an ex-cellent opportunity for children to improvetheir reading skills as well as their compre-hension of the Bible’s message. (Ps. 1:1, 2)And should we not want to make it our goalto improve the quality of our prayers? Culti-vating aspects of the fruitage of the spirit toa greaterdegree can alsobe an excellent goalto pursue. (Gal. 5:22, 23) Or what aboutlooking for ways to show fellow feeling forpeople we meet in the ministry? Striving todo that as a familycanhelp children learn tobe compassionate, and they will be morelikely to develop a desire to serve as regularpioneers or missionaries.

11 Why not consider some goals that youand your family can pursue? Can yourfamily set a goal of spending more timein the ministry? Could you work toward

A “simple” eye will move us toresist worldly distractions


overcoming apprehension about witness-ing over the telephone, on the street, or atplaces of business? What about workingwhere there is a greater need for Kingdompublishers? Could a family member learn anew language in order to share the goodnews with those of other nationalities?

12 As a family head, identify areas inwhich your family could grow spiritually.Then set specific goals to achieve that aim.The goals you set as a family should be real-istic and within reach according to your cir-cumstances and abilities. (Prov. 13:12) Ofcourse, working to attain a worthwhile goaltakes time. So buy out time spent watchingtelevision and use it for spiritual pursuits.(Eph. 5:15, 16) Work hard to reach the goalsyou set for your family. (Gal. 6:9) A fami-ly that pursues spiritual goals will makeits advancement “manifest to all persons.”—1 Tim. 4:15.

Maintain a Family Worship Evening13 An excellent aid in helping families to

“keep ready” for the coming of the Son ofman is the significant change in the weeklymeeting schedule that went into effect onJanuary 1, 2009. The need to meet togetheron a separate day for what was then calledthe Congregation Book Study was elim-inated by combining that meeting withthe Theocratic Ministry School and ServiceMeeting. This adjustment was made to pro-vide Christian families an opportunity tofortify their spirituality by scheduling a spe-cific evening each week for family worship.Now that some time has elapsed since thatchange was introduced, we can ask our-

12. What can family heads do to help their familiesgrow spiritually?13. What change was introduced in the weeklyschedule of congregation meetings, and what ques-tions should we reflect on?

selves: ‘Am I using the time made availableto have a Family Worship evening or to en-gage in personal study? Have I been success-ful in meeting the objective of that arrange-ment?’

14 The primary purpose of maintaining aFamily Worship evening or a time for per-sonal study is to draw closer to God. (Jas.4:8)Whenwe spend time studying theBibleon a regular basis and grow in knowledge ofthe Creator, our relationship with him isstrengthened. The closer we draw to Jeho-vah, the greater our motivation is to lovehim ‘with our whole heart, our whole soul,our whole mind, and our whole strength.’(Mark 12:30) Surely, we are eager to obeyGod and become imitators of him. (Eph.5:1) Maintaining a regular Family Worshipevening, then, is a key ingredient to help allthe members of our family “keep ready”spiritually as we await the foretold “greattribulation.” (Matt. 24:21) It is vital to sur-vival.

15 The Family Worship arrangement alsohas another objective—that of helping fami-ly members draw closer to one another.Spending time together discussing spiritualmatters every week has a marked effect onhow family members feel toward one an-other. What closeness marriage mates expe-rience when they hear each other expressjoy over a spiritual gem they discover to-gether! (Read Ecclesiastes 4:12.) Parentsand children who worship together are like-ly to become united in love, the “perfectbond of union.”—Col. 3:14.

14. (a) What is the primary purpose of maintain-ing an evening for Family Worship or personalstudy? (b) Why is setting aside an evening for studyessential?15. What effect can the Family Worship eveninghave on how family members feel toward one an-other?


16 Consider how three spiritual sistershave benefited from the arrangement ofsetting aside an evening for Bible study.Though not related to one another, thesethree elderly widows live in the same cityand have been good friends for severalyears. Desiring to have more association to-gether and at the same time wanting it to beof spiritual value rather thanonlyof a socialnature, they decided to set aside an eveningto meet and study the Bible. They starteddoing this using the book “Bearing Thor-ough Witness” About God’s Kingdom. “Weenjoy our time so much that our study usu-ally lasts longer than an hour,” says one ofthem. “We try to visualize the situationsthat our first-century brothers were in anddiscuss what we would do under similarcircumstances. Then we try to apply inthe ministry the points learned from ourdiscussion. This has made our Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work moreenjoyable and productive than ever before.”In addition to edifying them spiritually, thearrangement has brought these three goodfriends even closer to one another. “Wecherish this arrangement,” they say.

17 What about you? How are you benefit-ing from an evening set aside for familyworship or personal study? If done on a hit-or-miss basis, the arrangement is not goingto achieve its desired objectives. Each mem-ber of the family should be ready to study atthe designated time. Minor matters shouldnotbe allowed to interferewith the evening.Moreover, the study material should be se-lected in such a way that the sessions arepractical for your family. What can youdo to make these study periods enjoyable?

16. Relate how three spiritual sisters are benefitingfrom an evening set aside for Bible study.17. What factors contribute to the success of theFamily Worship evening?

Employ effective teaching methods, andkeep the atmosphere respectful and tran-quil.—Jas. 3:18.�

“Stay Awake” and “Keep Ready”18 The deteriorating world conditions that

markour day leave no doubt that since 1914,Satan’s wicked world has entered its lastdays. The storm clouds of Armageddon can-not be far-off. Soon it will be time for theSon of man to come to execute Jehovah’sjudgment on the ungodly. (Ps. 37:10; Prov. 2:21, 22) Should not that awareness affect youand your family?

19 Are you heeding Jesus’ advice to keepyour eye “simple”? While the people ofthis world may reach out for riches, fame,or power, is your family pursuing spiritualgoals? Is the arrangement for a Family Wor-ship evening or a time for personal studyworking for you? Are you achieving the in-tended objectives? As discussed in the pre-ceding article, are you shouldering yourScriptural responsibility as a husband, awife, or a child, thus helping the entire fami-ly to “stay awake”? (1 Thess. 5:6) If so, youwill “keep ready” for the coming of the Sonof man.

� For ideas on what to study and how to make Fami-ly Worship evenings practical and enjoyable, see the Oc-tober 15, 2009, issue of The Watchtower, pages 29-31.

18, 19. How should knowing that the coming ofthe Son of man is near affect you and your family?

What Did You Learn?˙ Explain how Christian families can

“keep ready” by . . .having a “simple” eye.setting and pursuing spiritualgoals.maintaining a Family Worshipevening.


PERHAPS the first time you saw Jehovah’sname was when it was shown to you at

Psalm 83:18. You may have been surprisedto read thosewords: “That people may knowthat you, whose name is Jehovah, you aloneare the Most High over all the earth.” Sincethen, you no doubt have used this samescripture to help others come to know ourloving God, Jehovah.—Rom.10:12,13.

2 Although it is important for people toknow Jehovah’s name, such knowledge initself is not enough. Notice how the psalm-ist highlights yet another truth essential toour salvation when he says: “You alone arethe Most High over all the earth.” Yes, Jeho-vah is the most important Person in thewhole universe. As the Creator of all things,he has the right to expect full submissionfrom all his creatures. (Rev. 4:11) For goodreason, then, we need to ask ourselves,‘Who is the most important person in mylife?’ It is vital that we carefully analyze ouranswer to that question!

The Issue in the Garden of Eden3 The seriousness of this question can be

clearly seen in the events that developedback in the garden of Eden. There the rebel-lious angel who later became known as Sa-tan the Devil enticed the first woman, Eve,to put her own desires ahead of Jehovah’scommand not to eat the fruit of a certain

1, 2. With regard to our personal salvation, why isit not enough just to know Jehovah’s name?3, 4. How was Satan able to deceive Eve, and withwhat result?

tree. (Gen. 2:17; 2 Cor. 11:3) She succumbedto this enticement and thereby showed alackof respect for Jehovah’s sovereignty. Evedid not acknowledge Jehovah as the mostimportant Person inher life. But howwas Sa-tan able to deceive Eve?

4 Satan used several subtle tactics in hisconversation with Eve. (Read Genesis 3:1-5.) First, Satan did not use Jehovah’s per-sonal name. He simply spoke of “God.” Bycontrast, the writer of Genesis used Jeho-vah’s personal name in the first verse ofthat chapter. Second, instead of speakingof God’s “command,” Satan merely askedabout what God had “said.” (Gen. 2:16)In this subtle way, Satan may have triedto minimize the importance of that com-mand. Third, although speaking only toEve, he used the plural form of the pronoun“you.” In so doing, he may have tried to ap-peal to her pride, endeavoring to make herfeel important—as if she were the spokes-person for herself and her husband. The re-sult? Eve evidently took it upon herself tospeak for both of them by saying to the ser-pent: “Of the fruit of the trees of the gardenwe mayeat.”

5 Satan also distorted the facts. He im-plied that God was unfair in demandingthat Adam and Eve “must not eat from everytree of the garden.” Next, Satan got Eve tothink about herself and how she could sup-

5. (a) Onwhat did Satan get Eve to focus her atten-tion? (b) What did Eve show by eating of the forbid-den fruit?

WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANTPERSON IN YOUR LIFE?“You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”—PS. 83:18.


posedly improve her lot in life, becoming“like God.” Eventually, he got her to focuson the tree and its fruit rather than on herrelationship with the One who had givenher everything. (Read Genesis 3:6.) Sadly,by eating of the fruit, Eve showed that Jeho-vah was not the most important Person inher life.

The Issue in Job’s Day6 Centuries later, the faithful man Job had

an opportunity to show who was the mostimportant Person in his life. When Jehovahconfronted Satan with Job’s record of integ-rity, Satan retorted: “Is it for nothing thatJob has feared God?” (Read Job 1:7-10.) Sa-tan did not deny that Job was obedient toGod. Instead, he questioned Job’s motives.He slyly accused Job of serving Jehovah, notout of love, but out of selfish interest. OnlyJob could answer that charge, and he wasgiven the opportunity to do so.

7 Jehovah allowed Satan to bring a seriesof disasters upon Job, one after the other.(Job 1:12-19) How did Job react to this rever-sal of circumstances? We are told that he“did not sin or ascribe anything improper toGod.” (Job 1:22) But Satan was still not si-lenced. He further complained: “Skin in be-half of skin, and everything that a man hashe will give in behalf of his soul.”� (Job 2:4)

� Some Bible scholars feel that the expression “skin inbehalf of skin” may imply that Job would selfishly bewilling to allow his children and animals to lose theirskins, or lives, as long as he could keep his own skin, orlife. Others feel that the expression emphasizes that aperson would be willing to lose some skin if it meantsaving his life. For example, a person may hold up hisarm to avert a blow to his head, thus losing some skinto save his skin. Whatever the idiom meant, it obvious-ly implied that Job would gladly give up everything aslong as he could keep his life.

6. How did Satan challenge Job’s record of integri-ty, and what opportunity was thereby given to Job?7, 8. What trials did Job have to deal with, andwhat did he show by his faithful endurance?

Satan alleged that if Job personally suffered,he would decide that Jehovah was not themost important Person in his life.

8 Job was disfigured by a disgusting dis-ease and then pressured by his wife to curseGod and die. Later, three false comforters ac-cused him of misconduct. (Job 2:11-13; 8:2-6; 22:2, 3)However, throughall this suffer-ing, Job refused to give up his integrity.(Read Job 2:9,10.) He showedbyhis faithfulendurance that Jehovah was the most im-portant Person in his life. Job also demon-strated that it is possible for an imperfect hu-man to answer, although in a limited way,the false accusations of the Devil.—CompareProverbs 27:11.

Jesus’ Perfect Answer9 Shortly after Jesus’ baptism, Satan tried

to entice Jesus to pursue selfish desiresrather than to keep Jehovah as the most

9. (a) How did Satan try to tempt Jesus with regardto personal desire? (b) What was Jesus’ reaction tothis temptation?

Eve failed to focus onher relationship with Jehovah

important Person in his life. The Devil pre-sented Jesuswith three temptations. First, hetried to appeal to fleshly desire, tempting Je-sus to turn stones into bread. (Matt. 4:2, 3)Jesus had just fasted for 40 days and was veryhungry. So the Devil urged him to misusehis miraculous powers to satisfy his hun-ger. How did Jesus react? Unlike Eve, Jesusfocused on Jehovah’s Word and immedi-ately rejected the temptation.—Read Mat-thew 4:4.

10 Satan also tried to goad Jesus into react-ing selfishly. He dared Jesus to hurl himselfoff the battlement of the temple. (Matt. 4:5, 6) What was Satan hoping to accomplish?Satan alleged that if Jesus was not injured bythe fall, it would prove that he was “a son ofGod.” Obviously, the Devil wanted Jesus tobe overly concerned about his own reputa-tion, even to the point of making a showydisplay. Satan knew that a person might ac-cept a dangerous dare because of pride and adesire not to lose face in front of others. Sa-tan misapplied a scripture, but Jesus showed

10. Why did Satan dare Jesus to hurl himself off thebattlement of the temple?

that He had a complete understanding of Je-hovah’s Word. (Read Matthew 4:7.) By re-jecting that dare, Jesus again proved that Je-hovah was the most important Person in hislife.

11 In his last desperate attempt, Satan of-fered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.(Matt. 4:8, 9) Jesus immediately refused theoffer. He realized that accepting it would betantamount to rejecting Jehovah’s sover-eignty—God’s very right to be the MostHigh. (Read Matthew 4:10.) In eachcase, Je-sus answered Satan by quoting scripturesthat contained Jehovah’s personal name.

12 As Jesus neared the end of his earthlycourse, he was confronted with a very dif-

11. Why did Jesus refuse the Devil’s offer of all thekingdoms of the world?12. What difficult decision did Jesus face as heneared the end of his earthly course, and what dowe learn from the way he reacted to that decision?

Jesus rejected Satan’s temptationsand focused on doing

Jehovah’s will


ficult decision. Throughout his ministry, hehad expressed his willingness to offer his lifeas a sacrifice. (Matt. 20:17-19, 28; Luke12:50;John 16:28) However, Jesus realized that hewas also going to be falsely charged and con-victed under the Jewish legal system and beexecuted as a blasphemer. This aspect of hisdeath troubled him deeply. He prayed: “MyFather, if it is possible, let this cup pass awayfrom me.” But he continued: “Yet, not as Iwill, but as you will.” (Matt. 26:39) Yes, Je-sus’ faithfulness right up until his deathproved beyond a doubt who was the mostimportant Person in his life!

Our Answer to the Question13 What havewe learned so far? In the case

of Eve, we learn that those who cave in toselfish desires or feelings of self-importancereveal that Jehovah is not the most impor-tant Person in their life. By contrast, fromJob’s integrity-keeping course, we learn thateven imperfect humans can show that theyput Jehovah first by faithfully enduring ad-versities—even when the cause of such trou-bles is not fully understood by them. (Jas. 5:11) Finally, Jesus’ example teaches us to bewilling to suffer shame and not to put toomuch importance on our personal reputa-tion. (Heb.12:2) But howcanwe apply theselessons?

14 Never allow temptations to make you for-get Jehovah. Eve allowed her attention to bedirected to the temptation immediately infrontof her. She saw that the fruit “was goodfor food and that it was something to belonged for to the eyes, yes, the tree wasdesirable to look upon.” (Gen. 3:6) Whata contrast to Jesus’ reaction to the three

13. What lessons have we learned so far from theexamples of Eve, Job, and Jesus Christ?14, 15. How did Jesus’ reaction to temptation differfrom that of Eve, and how can we imitate Jesus?(Comment on illustration on page 18.)

temptations! Each time, he saw beyond theimmediate temptation and considered theconsequences of his actions. He relied onGod’s Word and also used Jehovah’s name.

15 Whenwe are faced with temptations todo things that are displeasing to Jehovah,on what do we focus our attention? Themorewe focus on the temptation, the stron-ger that wrong desire will be. (Jas. 1:14, 15)We need to take quick action to root out thedesire, even if that action may seem as dras-tic as, in effect, removing a part of our body.(Matt. 5:29, 30) Like Jesus, we need to focuson the consequences of our actions—howthey will affect our relationship with Jeho-vah. We must recall what his Word, the Bi-ble, says. Only in this way canwe prove thatJehovah is the most important Person inour life.

16 Neverallow personal tragedies to embitteryou against Jehovah. (Prov. 19:3) As we drawever closer to the end of this wicked world,more and more of Jehovah’s people are be-ing affected by disasters and tragedies. Wedo not expect miraculous protection at thistime. Even so, like Job, we may find that ourhearts areweigheddownwhenwe lose lovedones or suffer personal difficulties.

17 Job did not understand why Jehovah al-lowed certain things to happen, and at timeswe may not understand why bad thingshappen. Perhaps we have heard of faithfulbrothers who were killed by an earthquake,such as those in Haiti, or by some other nat-ural disaster.Or wemay knowof an integritykeeper who has become a victim of an act ofviolence orhas died in a terrible accident.Orwe might even find ourselves plagued bysome distressing circumstances or perceivedinjustices. Our anguished hearts may cry

16-18. (a) What may cause our hearts to becomeweighed down? (b) What will help us to cope withdistressing circumstances?


out: ‘Why, Jehovah. Why me? What did I dowrong?’ (Hab.1:2, 3) What will help us copeat times like that?

18 We need to be careful not to assumethat such events are an indication of Jeho-vah’s disapproval. Jesus highlighted this factwhen referring to two tragedies that oc-curred in his day. (Read Luke 13:1-5.) Manycalamities are the result of “time and unfore-seen occurrence.” (Eccl. 9:11) But no matterwhat the cause of our distress, we can cope ifwe focus our attention on “the God of allcomfort.” He will give us the strength re-quired to continue on faithfully.—2 Cor. 1:3-6.

19 Never allow pride or fear of shame to be-come your prime focus. Jesus’ humility en-abled him to ‘empty himself and take aslave’s form.’ (Phil. 2:5-8) He was able to en-

19, 20. What helped Jesus to endure humiliatingsituations, and what can help us to do the same?

dure many humiliating situations becauseof his reliance on Jehovah. (1 Pet. 2:23, 24)By so doing, Jesus put Jehovah’s will first,and this resulted in his being exalted to asuperior position. (Phil. 2:9) Jesus recom-mended the same life course to his disciples.—Matt. 23:11,12; Luke 9:26.

20 At times, certain tests of our faith maybe embarrassing. Still, we should have con-fidence like that of the apostle Paul, whosaid: “For this very cause I am also sufferingthese things, but I am not ashamed. For Iknow the one whom I have believed, and Iamconfident he is able to guard what I havelaid up in trust with him until that day.”—2 Tim.1:12.

21 The Bible foretold that during our timepeople would be “lovers of themselves.”(2 Tim. 3:2) No wonder, then, that we aresurrounded by a me-first generation. Maywe never be tainted by such a selfish atti-tude! Rather, whether we are faced withtemptation, beset by tragedies, or confront-ed with efforts to shame us, let each one ofusbe determined toprove that Jehovah is in-deed the most important Person in our life!

21. In spite of the world’s selfish attitude, what isyour determination?

Witnessing from tent to tent afterthe earthquake in Haiti

During times of distress, we canfocus on “the God of all comfort”

What Can We Learn From . . .˙ the way Satan deceived Eve?˙ Job’s reaction to personal tragedies?˙ the main focus of Jesus’ attention?


WHAT is the greatest privilege you haveever been granted? Initially, you

might think of some assignment you havereceived or an honor that has been be-stowed upon you. However, for baptizedChristians, the greatest privilege is our be-ingallowed tohave a close relationshipwiththe only true God, Jehovah. This has re-sulted in our becoming “known by him.”—1 Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:9.

2 Why is knowing Jehovah and becomingknown by him such a great privilege? Be-cause not only is he the greatest Personagein all the universe but he also serves asthe Protector of those whom he loves. Theprophet Nahum was inspired to write: “Je-hovah is good, a stronghold in the dayof distress. And he is cognizant of thoseseeking refuge in him.” (Nah. 1:7; Ps. 1:6)In fact, our very prospects for eternal lifeare dependent on our coming to knowthe true God and his Son, Jesus Christ.—John 17:3.

3 Coming to know God means more thansimply knowing his literal name. We mustget to know him as a Friend, understandinghis likes and dislikes.Our living in harmonywith that knowledge also plays avital part in

1. What is the greatest privilege for baptized Chris-tians?2. Why is knowing Jehovah and being known byhim such a great privilege?3. What is involved in coming to know God?

our showing that we have come to knowGod intimately. (1 John 2:4) But somethingelse is required if we truly wish to know Je-hovah. We need to know not only what hehas done but also howand why hehas actedthat way. The more we understand Jeho-vah’s purposes, the more we are compelledto marvel at ‘the depth of God’s wisdom.’—Rom.11:33.

A God of Purpose4 Jehovah is a God of purpose, and the Bi-

ble speaks of his “eternal purpose.” (Eph. 3:10, 11) What does this expression reallymean? As used in the Bible, the word “pur-pose” refers to a specific goal, or aim, thatcan be achieved in more than oneway.

5 To illustrate: A person may desire to trav-el to a specific destination. Getting to thatdestination then becomes his goal, or pur-pose.Hemayhave differentoptionswith re-gard to the means of transportation and theroutes he can take. As he travels alonghis chosen route, he may be confrontedwith unexpected weather conditions, trafficcongestion, and road closures, requiringhim to take an alternate route. Yet, no mat-ter what adjustments he needs to make, hewill still have accomplished his goal whenhe arrives at his destination.

4, 5. (a) As used in the Bible, what does the word“purpose” refer to? (b) Illustrate how a purpose canbe achieved in more than one way.

‘O THE DEPTHOF GOD’S WISDOM!’

“O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge!How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are!”

—ROM. 11:33.


6 Jehovah has likewise shown consider-able flexibility in working out his eternalpurpose. Taking into consideration the freewill of his intelligent creation, he readily ad-justs the way he achieves his purpose. Forexample, let us consider how Jehovah ac-complisheshispurpose regarding theprom-ised Seed. Originally, Jehovah told the firsthuman pair: “Be fruitful and become manyand fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen.1:28)Was that stated purpose foiled by the rebel-lion in the garden of Eden? Absolutely not!Jehovah immediately reacted to that newsituation by using an alternate “route” toachieve his purpose.He foretold the appear-ance of a “seed” who would undo the dam-age done by the rebels.—Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14-17; 1 John 3:8.

7 Jehovah’s ability to adapt to new cir-cumstanceswhile in the process of bringinghis purpose to completion is in harmonywith a descriptionhe gave of himself.WhenMoses presented Jehovahwith potential im-pediments to the assignment he had beengiven, Jehovah assured him by saying: “ ‘Ishall prove to be what I shall prove to be.’And he added: ‘This is what you are to say tothe sons of Israel, “I shall prove to be hassent me to you.” ’” (Ex. 3:14) Yes, Jehovah isable to become whatever he needs to be-come in order to accomplish his purposefully! This is beautifully illustrated by theapostle Paul in chapter 11 of the bookof Ro-mans. There he speaks of a symbolic olivetree. An examination of this illustrationwillenhance our appreciation for the depth ofJehovah’s wisdom, whether our hope is togo to heaven or to gain everlasting life hereon earth.

6. How has Jehovah shown flexibility in fulfillinghis purpose?7. What do we learn from Jehovah’s description ofhimself as recorded at Exodus 3:14?

Jehovah’s PurposeConcerning the Foretold Seed

8 Before we can understand the illustra-tion of the olive tree, we need to know fourfacts concerning the development of Jeho-vah’s purpose with regard to the foretoldseed. First, Jehovah promised Abraham that“all nations of the earth [would] certainlybless themselves” by means of his seed, ordescendants. (Gen. 22:17, 18) Second, thenation of Israel that sprang from Abra-ham was offered the prospect of produc-ing “a kingdom of priests.” (Ex. 19:5, 6)Third, when the majority of natural Israel-ites did not accept the Messiah, Jehovahtook other steps to produce “a kingdom ofpriests.” (Matt. 21:43; Rom. 9:27-29) Final-ly, although Jesus is the primary part ofAbraham’s seed, others are given the privi-lege to become part of that seed.—Gal. 3:16, 29.

9 Building on these four basic facts, welearn in the book of Revelation that a totalof 144,000 individualswill rulewith Jesus askings and priests in heaven. (Rev. 14:1-4)These are also spoken of as “the sons of Isra-el.” (Rev. 7:4-8) But are all of the 144,000natural Israelites, or Jews? The answer tothat question reveals Jehovah’s flexibility infulfilling his purpose. Let us now see howthe apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans helpsus to find the answer.

“A Kingdom of Priests”10 Asmentioned earlier, thenationof Isra-

el exclusively had the prospect of supplyingmembers to make up “a kingdom of priests

8, 9. (a) What four basic facts will help us under-stand the illustration of the olive tree? (b) The an-swer towhat question reveals Jehovah’s flexibility infulfilling his purpose?10. What exclusive prospect did the nation of Israelhave?


and a holy nation.” (Read Romans 9:4, 5.)But what would happenwhen the promisedSeed arrived? Would the nation of naturalIsrael produce the full number of 144,000spiritual Israelites who would become thesecondary part of Abraham’s seed?

11 Read Romans 11:7-10. As a nation,the first-century Jews rejected Jesus. So theopportunity to produce Abraham’s seedceased to be exclusively theirs. However,when the selection of those who wouldform the heavenly “kingdom of priests”started at Pentecost 33 C.E., therewere some

11, 12. (a) When did the selection begin of thosewho would form the heavenly Kingdom, and whatwas the reaction of the majority of Jews living atthat time? (b) How did Jehovah complete “the fullnumber” of those who were to become Abraham’sseed?

righthearted Jews who accepted the invita-tion. Numbering a few thousand, thesewere just like “a remnant” in comparisonwith thewhole Jewish nation.—Rom.11:5.

12 How, though, would Jehovah complete“the full number” of those who were to be-come Abraham’s seed? (Rom.11:12, 25) No-tice the answer given by the apostle Paul: “Itis not as though the word of God had failed.For not all who spring from [natural] Israelare really ‘Israel.’ Neither because they areAbraham’s seed [offspring] are they all chil-dren [partof theAbrahamic seed] . . . That is,the children in the flesh are not really thechildren of God, but the children by thepromise are counted as the seed.” (Rom. 9:6-8) So physical descent from Abraham wasnot a rigid requirement for the fulfillmentof Jehovah’s purpose regarding the seed.

The Symbolic Olive Tree13 The apostle Paul goes on to compare

those who become part of Abraham’s seedto branches ona symbolic olive tree.� (Rom.11:21) This cultivated olive tree representsthe fulfillment of God’s purpose with re-gard to the Abrahamic covenant. The root ofthe tree is holy and represents Jehovah astheonewhogives life to spiritual Israel. (Isa.10:20; Rom. 11:16) The trunk represents Je-sus as the primary part of Abraham’s seed.Thebranches collectively represent “the fullnumber” of those included in the second-ary part of Abraham’s seed.

� Evidently, there is no typical or antitypical olive tree.Although natural Israel did produce kings and priests,the nation did not become a kingdom of priests. Kingsin Israel were prevented by law from becoming priests.Therefore, natural Israel did not serve as a typical olivetree. Paul is illustrating how God’s purpose to produce“a kingdom of priests” is fulfilled in connection withspiritual Israel. This updates what was published in theAugust 15, 1983, Watchtower, pages 14-19.

13. What is represented by (a) the olive tree, (b) itsroot, (c) its trunk, and (d) its branches?

Do you understandthe illustration of thesymbolic olive tree?


14 In the illustration of the olive tree, thenatural Jews who rejected Jesus are likenedto olive branches that were “broken off.”(Rom.11:17) They thereby lost the opportu-nity to become part of Abraham’s seed. Butwho would replace them? From the stand-point of the natural Jews, who prided them-selves on their fleshly descent from Abra-ham, the answer would be unthinkable. ButJohn the Baptizer had already forewarnedthem that if Jehovah wished to do so, hecould raise up children to Abraham fromthe very stones.—Luke 3:8.

15 What, then, did Jehovahdoto fulfill hispurpose? Paul explains that branches fromawild olive tree were grafted onto the culti-vated olive tree to replace those brokenoff. (Read Romans 11:17, 18.) Thus, spirit-anointed Christians of the nations, such assome in the congregation inRome,werefig-uratively grafted onto this symbolic olivetree. In this way they became part of Abra-ham’s seed. Originally, they were like wildolive branches, not having any opportunityto be a part of this special covenant. But Je-hovah opened the way for them to becomespiritual Jews.—Rom. 2:28, 29.

16 The apostle Peter explains the situationthis way: “It is to you [spiritual Israelites, in-cluding Gentile Christians], therefore, thathe [JesusChrist] is precious, because you arebelievers; but to those not believing, ‘theidentical stone that the builders rejected hasbecome theheadof the corner,’ and ‘a stoneof stumbling and a rock-mass of offense.’ . . .But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood,a holy nation, a people for special posses-sion, that you should declare abroad the ex-cellencies’ of the one that called you out of

14, 15. Who were “broken off” the cultivated olivetree, and who were grafted onto it?16. Howdid the apostle Peter explain the formationof the new spiritual nation?

Grafting Wild OliveBranches—Why?ˇ Lucius Junius Moderatus Colu-mella was a Roman soldier andfarmer who lived in the first centu-ry C.E. He is best known for the 12books that he wrote on country lifeand farming.

In his fifth book, he quotes thisancient proverb: “He who ploughsthe olive-grove, asks it for fruit; hewho manures it, begs for fruit; hewho lops it, forces it to yield fruit.”

After describing trees that arethriving and yet fail to bear fruit, herecommends the following proce-dure: “It is a good plan to bore themwith a Gallic auger and to put tight-ly into the hole a green slip takenfrom a wild olive-tree; the result isthat the tree, being as it were im-pregnated with fruitful offspring,becomes more productive.”


darkness into his wonderful light. For youwere once not a people, but are nowGod’s peo-ple; you were those who had not beenshown mercy, but are now those who havebeen shown mercy.”—1 Pet. 2:7-10.

17 Jehovah did something that manywould view as totally unexpected. Paul de-scribes what happened as “contrary to na-ture.” (Rom.11:24) How was this so? Well, itwould seem unusual, even unnatural, tograft a wild branch onto a cultivated tree;yet, that is what some farmers did in thefirst century.� In a similar way, Jehovahdid something extraordinary. From a Jew-ish viewpoint, Gentiles were incapable ofproducing acceptable fruitage. However, Je-hovah made these very ones part of “anation” that produced Kingdom fruitage.(Matt. 21:43) Starting with the anointing ofCornelius—the first uncircumcised Gentileconvert—in 36 C.E., the opportunity wasopened up to uncircumcised non-Jews to begrafted onto this symbolic olive tree.—Acts10:44-48.�

18 Does this mean that after 36 C.E., therewas no longer any opportunity for naturalJews to become part of Abraham’s seed? No.Paul explains: “They [natural Jews] also, iftheydonot remain in their lackof faith,willbe grafted in; forGod is able to graft them inagain. For if you were cut out of the olivetree that is wild by nature and were graftedcontrary tonature into the gardenolive tree,

� See the box “Grafting Wild Olive Branches—Why?”� This was at the end of the three-and-a-half-year op-

portunity that was given to the natural Jews to becomepart of the new spiritual nation. The prophecy concern-ing the 70 weeks of years foretold this development.—Dan. 9:27.

17. How was what Jehovah did “contrary to na-ture”?18. What opportunity did natural Jews have after36 C.E.?

how much rather will these who are natu-ral be grafted into their own olive tree!”�—Rom.11:23, 24.

“All Israel Will Be Saved”19 Yes, Jehovah’s purpose with regard to

“the Israel ofGod” is being fulfilled inamar-velous way. (Gal. 6:16) As Paul said, “all Isra-el will be saved.” (Rom. 11:26) In Jehovah’sdue time, “all Israel”—that is, the completenumber of spiritual Israelites—will serve askings and priests in heaven. Nothing cancause Jehovah’s purpose to fail!

20 As foretold, Abraham’s seed—JesusChrist along with the 144,000—will bringblessings to “people of the nations.” (Rom.11:12; Gen. 22:18) In this way, all ofGod’s people benefit from this arrange-ment. Truly, as we contemplate the out-working of Jehovah’s eternal purpose, wecannot help but be amazed at “the depth ofGod’s riches and wisdom and knowledge.”—Rom.11:33.

� The Greek prefix translated “garden” at Romans 11:24 comes from a word meaning “good, excellent” or“well adapted to its ends.” It is used especially of thingsthat fulfill the purpose for which they were made.

19, 20. What does Jehovah accomplish as illustrat-ed by the symbolic olive tree?

Do You Remember?˙ What do we learn about Jehovah

from the way he fulfills his purpose?˙ In Romans chapter 11, what is repre-

sented by . . .the olive tree?its root?its trunk?its branches?

˙ Why was the grafting process “con-trary to nature”?


THOSE who follow human rulers oftenexperience disappointment. However,

the effect of Christ’s leadership on thosewho submit to it is quite different. Jesus said:“Come to me, all you who are toiling andloaded down, and I will refreshyou. Take myyoke upon you and learn from me, for I ammild-tempered and lowly in heart, and youwill find refreshment for your souls.” (Matt.11:28, 29) Jesus’ leadership is refreshing anduplifting.He is keenly interested in the lowlyand downtrodden, inviting them to get un-der his kindly yoke. What, though, is in-volved in following Jesus’ leadership?

“Christ suffered for you,” wrote the apos-tle Peter, “leaving you a model for you to fol-low his steps closely.” (1 Pet. 2:21) How im-portant is it for us to follow Jesus’ footsteps?Imagine you were in a group that had tocross a minefield and only one of your num-ber knew how to make it through safely.Would you not follow his steps closely, per-haps even stepping in his tracks? Similarly,our future security depends uponpatterningour life after Jesus’ example. Doing so in-cludes listening to and obeying him and co-operating with those who represent him.

Hear and ObeyNear the end of his Sermon on the

Mount, Jesus stated: “Everyone that hearsthese sayings of mine and does themwill belikened to a discreet man, who built hishouse upon the rock-mass. And the rainpoured down and the floods came and thewinds blew and lashed against that house,

but it did not cave in, for it had been found-ed upon the rock-mass.”—Matt. 7:24, 25.

Jesus thus referred to a manwho listens toand obeys his words as “discreet.” Do wedemonstrate by our heartfelt obedience thatwe respect and appreciate Christ’s example,or are we inclined to choose from among Je-sus’ commands only those that are easy orconvenient to obey? Jesus said: “I always dothe things pleasing to [God].” (John 8:29)Let us strive to imitate that example.

In the first century, the apostles set a fineexample of submitting to Christ’s leader-ship. On one occasion, Peter said to Jesus:“Look! We left all things and have been fol-lowing you.” (Mark 10:28) Indeed, the apos-tles considered Jesus’ leadership to be ofsuch high value that they willingly left be-hind other things in order to follow him.—Matt. 4:18-22.

Cooperate WithChrist’s Representatives

Shortly before his death, Jesus mentionedanother way inwhichwe can followhis lead-ership. He said: “He that receives anyone Isend receives me also.” (John 13:20) In fact,Jesus spoke of his anointed representativesas his “brothers.” (Matt. 25:40) After Je-sus had been resurrected to the heavens,his “brothers” were appointed to act in hisplace, “substituting for Christ” as ambassa-dors inviting others to become reconciled toJehovah God. (2 Cor. 5:18-20) Our recogniz-ing Christ’s leadership involves submissionto his “brothers.”

Following Christ,the Perfect Leader

We do well to examine how we respondto timely Scriptural counsel presented inour Bible-based publications. By studyingthe Scriptures and attending congregationmeetings, we are reminded of the sayings ofChrist. (2 Pet. 3:1, 2) We show our heartfeltappreciation for this supply of spiritual foodby regularly partaking of it. What, though,should be our reaction if certain counsel isrepeated occasionally? For example, God’sWord counsels Christians to marry “only inthe Lord.” (1 Cor. 7:39) For over a century,this subject has periodically been discussedin The Watchtower. Christ’s brothers surelydemonstrate their loving concern for ourspiritual welfare by publishing articles onthis and other inspired counsel. Paying at-tention to these reminders is one way toshow that we are following our perfect Lead-er, Jesus Christ.

“The path of the righteous ones is like thebright light that is getting lighter and lighteruntil the day is firmly established,” statesProverbs 4:18. Yes, Jesus’ leadership is pro-gressive, not stagnant. Another way to co-operate with Christ’s “brothers” is to have a

positive attitude toward any refinementsin our understanding of Scriptural truthsas published by “the faithful and discreetslave.”—Matt. 24:45.

We also demonstrate our submission toChrist’s “brothers” by cooperating with theappointed overseers in the Christian con-gregation. The apostle Paul said: “Be obedi-ent to those who are taking the lead amongyou and be submissive, for they are keepingwatch over your souls.” (Heb. 13:17) For ex-ample, an elder may give us encouragementrelated to the importance of having a regu-lar Family Worship evening or may offersuggestions concerning some aspect of ourfield ministry. A traveling overseer may giveus some helpful Scriptural counsel on a par-ticular aspect of Christian living. Our will-ingly applying such counsel shows that wefollow Jesus as our Leader.

The world is sadly lacking in effectiveleadership. But how refreshing it is to followChrist’s loving leadership! By all means, letus obey our Leader and cooperate withthose he is using today.

Do you accept Scripturalcounsel not to yoke yourselfwith an unbeliever?


KING DAVID has ruled Israel for sometime, but he now faces a perilous situa-

tion. His scheming son Absalom has hadhimself declared king, and David has beenforced to leave Jerusalem. He has also beenbetrayed by a confidant, and now, accompa-nied by a few loyal ones, he walks weepingand barefoot over the Mount of Olives.Moreover, Shimei, who belongs to a familyin King Saul’s house, is throwing stones anddust atDavidwhile cursinghim.—2Sam.15:30, 31; 16:5-14.

2 Will this ordeal bring David down toSheol in grief and disgrace? No, forhe trustsin Jehovah. This is evident in the 3rd Psalm,composed by David regarding his flight. Healsowrote the4thPsalm.Bothof these com-positions express the conviction that Godhears and answers prayers. (Ps. 3:4; 4:3)These psalms assure us that Jehovah is withhis faithful servants day and night, blessingthemwith his support aswell as peace and asense of security. (Ps. 3:5; 4:8) Let us, there-fore, consider these psalms and see howthey inspire confidence and promote trustin God.

When ‘Many Rise Up Against Us’3 “Theheartof themenof Israel has come

to be behind Absalom,” says a messenger.(2 Sam.15:13)WonderinghowAbsalomhas

1, 2. (a) What perilous situation did David face?(b) We will discuss which psalms?3. As shown at Psalm 3:1, 2, what was David’s situa-tion?

been able to marshal such support, Davidasks: “O Jehovah, why have my adversariesbecome many? Why are many rising upagainst me? Many are saying of my soul:‘There is no salvation forhim byGod.’” (Ps. 3:1, 2) Many Israelites think that Jehovahwill not deliver David from calamity at thehands of Absalom and his cohorts.

4 But David is confident because he hasimplicit trust in God. He sings: “Yet you,O Jehovah, are a shield about me, my gloryand the One lifting upmy head.” (Ps. 3:3) Da-vid is sure that Jehovah will protect him justas a shield protects a soldier. Yes, the agingking is fleeing, his head covered and bentdown in humiliation. But the Most Highwill change David’s condition to one of glo-ry. Jehovahwill enablehimto standerect, toraise his head and hold it high once again.David calls out with confidence that Godwill answer him. Do you display such trustin Jehovah?

5 By the words “the One lifting up myhead,” David ascribes to Jehovah the helphe expects to receive.Today’s English Versionreads: “But you, O LORD, are always myshield fromdanger; you give me victory andrestore my courage.” With regard to the ex-pression “the One lifting up my head,” onereference work says: “When God lifts up . . .one’s ‘head,’ He fills one with hope andconfidence.” Forced from Israel’s throne,

4, 5. (a) David was sure of what? (b) What is thesignificance of the words “the One lifting up myhead”?

COMPLETE TRUST IN JEHOVAHINSPIRES CONFIDENCE“Jehovah himself will hear when I call to him.”—PS. 4:3.

David has reason to be despondent. How-ever, ‘the lifting up of his head’will result inrenewed courage, confidence, and completetrust in God.

‘Jehovah Will Answer!’6 Trusting in Jehovah and filled with con-

fidence, David continues: “With my voice Ishall call to Jehovah himself, and he will an-swer me from his holy mountain.” (Ps. 3:4) Inkeeping with David’s orders, the ark of thecovenant, symbolizing God’s presence, hasbeen taken to Mount Zion. (Read 2 Samuel15:23-25.) Fittingly, then, David refers tohaving his prayer answered from Jehovah’sholy mountain.

7 Certain that prayer to God will not be invain, David experiences no dread. Instead,he sings: “As for me, I will lie down that I maysleep; I shall certainly awake, for Jehovah him-

6. Why did David refer to having his prayer an-swered from Jehovah’s holy mountain?7. Why did David experience no dread?

self keeps supporting me.” (Ps. 3:5) Even atnight, when the danger of surprise attack isthe greatest, David is not afraid to go tosleep. He is sure that he will awake, for hispast experiences have made him absolutelyconfident that he can trust in God’s unfail-ing support. So can we if we adhere to “theways of Jehovah” and never depart fromhim.—Read 2 Samuel 22:21, 22.

8 David’s confidence and complete trustin God are evident in another of his psalms,one containing these inspired words: “Jeho-vah is my light and my salvation. Of whomshall I be in fear? Jehovah is the strongholdof my life. Of whom shall I be in dread? . . .Though against me an encampment shouldpitch tent, my heart will not fear. . . . Onething I have asked from Jehovah—it is what Ishall look for, that I may dwell in the houseof Jehovah all the days of my life, to beholdthe pleasantness of Jehovah and to look

8. How does Psalm 27:1-4 show that David trustedin God?

Even when he fled because of Absalom, David had confidence in Jehovah


with appreciation upon his temple.” (Ps.27:1-4) If you share those sentiments andyour circumstances permit, you will regular-ly meet with fellow worshippers of Jehovah.—Heb.10:23-25.

9 Although David is faced with Absalom’streachery and the disloyalty of so manyoth-ers, he sings: “I shall not be afraid of tenthousands of people who have set themselvesin array against me round about. Do arise,O Jehovah! Save me, O my God! For you willhave to strike all my enemies on the jaw. Theteeth of wicked ones you will have to break.”—Ps. 3:6, 7.

10 David does not have a vindictive spirit.If his enemies were to be ‘struckon the jaw,’God would do it. King David has written apersonal copy of the Law and knows that init Jehovah declares: “Vengeance is mine,and retribution.” (Deut. 17:14, 15, 18; 32:35)It is also up to God to ‘break the teeth of thewicked ones.’ Breaking their teeth meansrendering thempowerless to do harm. Jeho-vah knows who the wicked are because “hesees what the heart is.” (1 Sam. 16:7) Howgrateful we are that God gives us faith andstrength to stand firm against the chiefwickedone, Satan,whowill soonbeabyssedlike a roaring but toothless lion fit only fordestruction!—1 Pet. 5:8, 9; Rev. 20:1, 2, 7-10.

“Salvation Belongs to Jehovah”11 David realizes that Jehovah alone can

bring about the deliverance that he so des-peratelyneeds.But the psalmist isnot think-ing only of himself. What about Jehovah’sfavored people as a whole? Appropriately,David concludes his inspired compositionwith the words: “Salvation belongs to Jeho-vah. Your blessing is upon your people.” (Ps.

9, 10. Despite the words of Psalm 3:6, 7, why wouldyou say that David did not have a vindictive spirit?11. Why should we pray for fellow believers?

3:8) True, David has monumental prob-lems, but hebears inmind Jehovah’s peoplein general and is confident that God willbless them. Should we not also keep our fel-low believers in mind? Let us rememberthem in our prayers, asking Jehovah to givethem his holy spirit so that they can musterup courage and can act with confidence indeclaring the good news.—Eph. 6:17-20.

12 Absalom’s life ends ingloriously—awarning to all who would abuse others, es-pecially God’s anointed ones, such as Da-vid. (Read Proverbs 3:31-35.) A battle takesplace, and Absalom’s forces are defeated.Absalom himself is riding away on a mulewhenhis luxuriant hair becomes enmeshedin the fork of a low branch of a large tree.There he hangs—alive but helpless—untilJoab kills him by driving three shafts intohis heart.—2 Sam.18:6-17.

13 Does David rejoice when he learnswhat has befallen his son? No. Instead, hepaces the floor, weeps, and cries out: “Myson Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!O that I might have died, I myself, in-stead of you, Absalom my son, my son!”(2 Sam. 18:24-33) Only Joab’s words bringDavid out of his nearly overwhelming grief.What a tragic end for Absalom, whose blindambition prompted him to fight againsthis own father—Jehovah’s anointed—andbringdisaster uponhimself!—2 Sam.19:1-8;Prov.12:21; 24:21, 22.

David Again Expresses Trust in God14 Like the 3rd Psalm, the 4th is an earnest

prayer of David that gives evidence of hiscomplete trust in Jehovah. (Ps. 3:4; 4:3) Per-haps David composed this song to express

12, 13. What happened to Absalom, and how didDavid react?14. What can be said about the composition ofPsalm 4?


relief and gratitude to God after the failureof Absalom’s coup. Or it may have beenwritten with Levite singers in mind. In ei-ther case, meditating on it can strengthenour trust in Jehovah.

15 David againmanifests complete trust inGod and displays confidence in the effec-tiveness of prayer. He sings: “When I call,answer me, O my righteous God. In the dis-tress you must make broad space for me.Show me favor and hear my prayer.” (Ps.4:1) We can have similar confidence if wepractice righteousness. Aware that Jehovah,the “righteous God,” blesses his uprightpeople, we can confidently pray to himthrough his Son with faith in Jesus’ ransomsacrifice. (John 3:16, 36) What peace thisgives us!

16 At times, we may face a discouragingsituation that robsus of confidence. Tempo-rarily, this may have been true of David, forhe sings: “You sons of men, how long mustmy glory be for insult, while you keep lovingempty things, while you keep seeking to find alie?” (Ps. 4:2) The expression “sons of men”evidently refers to mankind in an unfavor-able sense. David’s enemies ‘loved emptythings.’ The New International Version of-

15. Why can we confidently pray to Jehovahthrough his Son?16. Why may David have become discouraged?

fers this rendering: “How long will you lovedelusions and seek false gods?” Even if webecome discouraged because of what othersdo, let us continue to pray earnestly andmanifest complete trust in the only trueGod.

17 David’s trust in God is clear from thewords: “So take knowledge that Jehovah willcertainly distinguish his loyal one; Jehovahhimself will hear when I call to him.” (Ps. 4:3)Courage and complete trust in Jehovah arerequired inorder to remain loyal tohim. Forinstance, these qualities are needed by aChristian family when an unrepentant rela-tive is disfellowshipped. God honors thoseloyal to him and his ways. In turn, loyaltyand complete trust in Jehovah promote joyamong his people.—Ps. 84:11,12.

18 What if someone says or does thingsthat upset us? We can remain joyful if we dowhat David says: “Be agitated, but do not sin.Have your say in your heart, upon your bed,and keep silent.” (Ps. 4:4) If wehave been theobject of unkind words or actions, let us notsin by retaliating. (Rom. 12:17-19) We canhave our say in our heart while in bed. If wepray about the matter, we may see it in a dif-ferent light and be moved to forgive out oflove. (1 Pet. 4:8) Noteworthy in this regard isthe apostle Paul’s counsel, apparently basedon Psalm 4:4: “Be wrathful, and yet do notsin; let the sun not set with you in a pro-voked state, neither allow place for the Dev-il.”—Eph. 4:26, 27.

19 Stressing the need for trusting in God,David sings: “Sacrifice the sacrifices of

17. Explain how we might act in harmony withPsalm 4:3.18. In harmony with Psalm 4:4, what should we doif we have been the object of unkind words or ac-tions?19. How can Psalm 4:5 help us with regard to ourspiritual sacrifices?

How Would You Respond?˙ What problems did David face be-

cause of Absalom?˙ How does Psalm 3 inspire confi-

dence?˙ In what ways can Psalm 4 strengthen

our trust in Jehovah?˙ How can we benefit from complete

trust in God?


righteousness, and trust in Jehovah.” (Ps. 4:5)Sacrifices offered by the Israelites had valueonly if the people had proper motives. (Isa.1:11-17) For our spiritual sacrifices to be ac-ceptable to God, we too must have propermotives and must trust in him completely.—Read Proverbs 3:5, 6; Hebrews 13:15, 16.

20 David continues: “There are many say-ing: ‘Who will show us good?’ Lift up the lightof your face upon us, O Jehovah.” (Ps. 4:6)‘The light of Jehovah’s face’ signifies divinefavor. (Ps. 89:15) So when David prays: “Liftup the light of your face uponus,” hemeans‘showus favor.’ Becausewe trust in Jehovah,we have his favor and great joy as we confi-dently do his will.

20. What is signified by ‘the light of Jehovah’sface’?

21 Looking forward to God-givenjoys that surpass those of harvest-time, David sings to Jehovah: “Youwill certainly give a rejoicing in myheart greater than in the time whentheir grain and their new wine haveabounded.” (Ps. 4:7) We can be cer-tain of experiencing heartfelt joy ifwehave a full share in today’s spiritu-al harvest work. (Luke 10:2) With the‘populous nation’ of anointed onestaking the lead,we now rejoice as thenumber of ‘harvest workers’ keepsgrowing. (Isa. 9:3) Are you having atruly satisfyingpart in this joyful har-vest?

Confidently Press On WithComplete Trust in God

22 David concludes this psalm withthe words: “In peace I will both liedown and sleep, for you yourself alone,O Jehovah,make me dwell in security.”(Ps. 4:8) When the Israelites kept Je-hovah’s Law, they were at peace with

himand felt secure. For instance, ‘Judah andIsrael dwelt in security’ during Solomon’sreign. (1 Ki. 4:25) Those trusting in God en-joyed peace evenwhen neighboring nationswere hostile. Like David, we sleep peacefullybecause God makes us feel secure.

23 Let us confidently press on in Jehovah’sservice. May we also pray in faith and thusexperience “the peace of God that excels allthought.” (Phil. 4:6, 7) What joy that bringsus! And we can surely face the future withconfidence if we maintain complete trust inJehovah.

21. Of what are we assured if we have a full share intoday’s spiritual harvest work?22. In keeping with Psalm 4:8, how did the Israel-ites fare when they kept God’s Law?23. What will we experience if we have completetrust in God?

Do you place completetrust in Jehovah?


August 1-7There Is Good News That All NeedPAGE 7 SONGS TO BE USED: 47, 101

August 8-14God Recommends His Love to UsPAGE 11 SONGS TO BE USED: 18, 91

August 15-21“Shepherd the Flock of God

in Your Care”PAGE 20 SONGS TO BE USED: 42, 84

August 22-28“Have Regard for Those Who

Are Working Hard Among You”PAGE 24 SONGS TO BE USED: 123, 53

34567JUNE 15, 2011


34567�



JUNE 15, 2011


STUDY ARTICLES 1, 2 PAGES 7-15 -

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul re-ferred to an aspect of “the good news” thatconcerns sinful mankind. What is it, and howcan you benefit from that aspect of “the goodnews”? These two articles will deepen yourunderstanding of and your gratitude for Je-sus’ sacrifice and for God’s love expressedthrough it.


These articles point out how elders can en-hance their appreciation for the privilege ofshepherding. Also considered are ways for thecongregation to show earnest regard for theelders.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Should Youths Get Baptized?

16 Did Abraham ReallyOwn Camels?

18 ‘Bring the Scrolls,Especially theParchments’ )

29 “Make YourWay Successful”—How?

“IAM so happy that my daughter is now aservant of Jehovah, and I know that she is

happy too,” said Carlos,� a Christian fatherin the Philippines. A father from Greecewrote: “My wife and I are delighted that ourthree children were baptized as Jehovah’sWitnesses during their adolescence. Theyare making spiritual progress and are happyabout serving Jehovah.”

Christian parents have reason to be over-joyed when their children get baptized, butsometimes the joy is accompanied by un-easiness. “I was very happy and very anx-ious,” said one mother. Why the mixedemotions? “I understood that my son wasnow fully accountable to Jehovah.”

Serving Jehovah as one of his baptizedWitnesses is a goal that all young onesshould have. Yet, godly parents may won-der, ‘I know that my child has made good


progress, but is he strong enough to resistimmoral pressures and remain clean beforeJehovah?’ Others may ask themselves, ‘Infacing the pull of materialism, will mychild continue serving God with joy andzeal?’ Accordingly, what Biblical guidancecan help parents determine whether theirchildren are ready for baptism?

Discipleship—The Prime Requirement

Instead of specifying an age to get bap-tized, God’s Word describes the spiritualcondition of those qualified to take thatstep. Jesus instructed his followers: “Makedisciples of people of all the nations, baptiz-ing them.” (Matt. 28:19) Hence, baptism isfor thosewho are alreadydisciples ofChrist.

What is a disciple? Insight on the Scrip-tures explains: “The principal application ofthe term is to all those who not only be-lieveChrist’s teachings but also follow themclosely.”Are relatively youngpeople capableof being genuine disciples of Christ? A sisterwho has served as a missionary in Lat-in America for over 40 years writes aboutherself and her two sisters: “We were old

Should Youths Get Baptized?

A youngster can giveevidence of discipleship

Preparation for and participation at meetings

enough to know that we wanted to serve Je-hovah and live in Paradise. Our dedicationhelped us to be strong when we faced thetemptations of youth.We do not regret hav-ing made our dedication to God at an earlyage.”

How do you know if your child has be-come a disciple of Christ? The Bible states:“Even by his practices a boy makes himselfrecognized as to whether his activity is pureand upright.” (Prov. 20:11) Consider somepractices that reveal that a youth is making‘his advancement manifest’ as a disciple.—1 Tim. 4:15.

Proof of DiscipleshipDoes your child obey you? (Col. 3:20)

Does he do his assigned chores around thehouse?TheBible states about 12-year-old Je-sus: “He continued subject to [his parents].”(Luke 2:51) Of course, no child today willobey his parents perfectly. But true Chris-tians are to “follow [Jesus’] steps closely.”So youths interested in baptism should beknown for their obedience to their parents.—1 Pet. 2:21.

Consider the following questions: Doesyour child ‘keep seeking first the Kingdom’in the ministry? (Matt. 6:33) Is he willing toshare the good news with others, or do youhave to give him strong encouragement to

go out in the field service and talk at thedoors? Is he mindful of his responsibility asan unbaptized publisher? Does he have adesire to call back on interested ones hemeets in the territory?Doeshemake knownto schoolmates and teachers that he is aWit-ness of Jehovah?

Is attending congregation meetings im-portant to him? (Ps. 122:1) Does he enjoycommenting at the Watchtower Study andthe Congregation Bible Study? Is he enthu-siastically participating in the TheocraticMinistry School?—Heb.10:24, 25.

Does your child strive to stay clean moral-ly by avoiding harmful associates in schooland elsewhere? (Prov. 13:20) What are hispreferences regarding music, movies, televi-sion programs, video games, and the use ofthe Internet? Do his words and actions giveevidence that hewants to complywithBiblestandards?

Howwell does your child know the Bible?Can he put in his ownwords what he learnsduring your Family Worship evening? Canhe explain basic Bible truths? (Prov. 2:6-9)Does reading the Bible and studying thepublications of the faithful and discreetslave class interest him? (Matt. 24:45) Doeshe ask questions about Bible teachings andverses?

Obedience to parents Participation in the ministry Personal prayer

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JUNE 15, 2011 5

Those questions may help you to gaugethe spiritual progress of your child. Afterconsidering them, you may conclude thathe should improve in some area before get-ting baptized. If, however, his life coursegives proof of discipleship and he has in-deed dedicated his life to God, you may feelthat you can allow him to get baptized.

Young People Can Praise JehovahMany servants of God showed faithful-

ness and loyalty during adolescence or earli-er. Think of Joseph, Samuel, Josiah, andJesus. (Gen. 37:2; 39:1-3; 1 Sam. 1:24-28; 2:18-20; 2 Chron. 34:1-3; Luke 2:42-49) AndPhilip’s four daughters, who prophesied,must have been well-trained from an earlyage.—Acts 21:8, 9.

A Witness in Greece said: “I was baptizedwhen I was 12 years old. I have never regret-ted my decision. Since then, 24 years havepassed, 23 of which I have spent in the full-time service. My love for Jehovah alwayshelped me to face the difficulties of youth.At the age of 12, I did not have the Scripturalknowledge that I have now. But I knew that Iloved Jehovah and wanted to serve him for-

ever. I amglad that he has helped me to con-tinue in his service.”

Whether youngorold, a personwhogivesevidence of true discipleship should get bap-tized. The apostle Paul wrote: “With theheart one exercises faith for righteousness,but with the mouth one makes public decla-ration for salvation.” (Rom. 10:10) When ayoung disciple of Christ takes the importantstep of baptism, both he and his parentshave reached a milestone. May nothing de-prive you or your children of the joy thatawaits you.

The Proper View of BaptismSome parents consider their chil-

dren’s baptism as a beneficial stepthat involves risk—much like getting adriver’s license. But do baptism andsacred service ever threaten a person’sfuture success? The Bible answers no.Proverbs 10:22 states: “The blessing ofJehovah—that is what makes rich, andhe adds no pain with it.” And Paulwrote to young Timothy: “To be sure,it is a means of great gain, this godlydevotion along with self-sufficiency.”—1 Tim. 6:6.

True, serving Jehovah is not easy.Jeremiah faced many hardships in hiswork as God’s prophet. Yet, he wroteabout his worship of the true God:“Your word becomes to me the exulta-tion and the rejoicing of my heart; foryour name has been called upon me,O Jehovah God of armies.” (Jer. 15:16)Jeremiah knew that God’s service wasthe source of his joy. Satan’s world is asource of hardships. Parents need tohelp their children to recognize thatdistinction.—Jer. 1:19.

6 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JUNE 15, 2011

Occasionally, even when children qual-ify for baptism, their parents may decidethat it should be postponed. What maybe their reasons?

I fear that if my child gets baptized,he might later fall into serious sin and getdisfellowshipped. Is it reasonable to be-lieve that a young person who puts offbaptism will not be accountable to Godfor his conduct? Solomon directed the fol-lowing words to young ones: “Know thaton account of [your actions] the true Godwill bring you into judgment.” (Eccl. 11:9)And with no exception as to age, Paulgave this reminder: “Each of us will ren-der an account for himself to God.”—Rom. 14:12.

Both baptized and unbaptized wor-shippers are accountable to God. Do notforget, Jehovah protects his servants by‘not letting them be tempted beyondwhat they can bear.’ (1 Cor. 10:13) Aslong as they ‘keep their senses’ and fighttemptation, such ones can count onGod’s support. (1 Pet. 5:6-9) A Christianmother writes: “Children who are bap-tized have more reasons to stay awayfrom the bad things of the world. My son,baptized at 15, feels that baptism is a pro-tection. ‘You don’t think about doingsomething contrary to Jehovah’s law,’ hesaid. Baptism is a strong motivation forrighteousness.”

If you have trained your children byword and example to obey Jehovah, youcan be confident that they will continueto do so after they are baptized. Proverbs20:7 states: “The righteous is walking inhis integrity. Happy are his sons afterhim.”

I would like to see my child reachcertain goals first. Young people should

learn to work so that, in time, they can beself-sufficient. But there is danger in en-couraging them to take up a lifestyle cen-tered on education and financial securityinstead of true worship. Regarding a“seed,” or the word of the Kingdom, thatdoes not grow, Jesus said: “As for the onesown among the thorns, this is the onehearing the word, but the anxiety of thissystem of things and the deceptive powerof riches choke the word, and he becomesunfruitful.” (Matt. 13:22) Plans for a lifethat subordinates spirituality to worldlygoals can snuff out a young person’s de-sire to serve God.

Commenting on youths who qualify forbaptism but whose parents do not agree,an experienced elder said: “Preventing ayoung one from getting baptized canbreak his spiritual momentum and leadto discouragement.” And a traveling over-seer wrote: “A youth could begin feelingspiritually insecure or inferior. He mightlook to the world to gain a feeling of ac-complishment.”

Should My Child Put Off Baptism?

Should university come first?

‘I AM happy to share the good news eachday.’ Likely that sentiment has crossed

your mind or lips. As a devoted Witness ofJehovah, you know how important it is topreach “this good news of the kingdom.”You may be able to recite from memory Je-sus’ prophecy about our doing that.—Matt.24:14.

2 In preaching the “good news of thekingdom,” you are continuing what Jesusstarted. (Read Luke 4:43.) Doubtless, onepoint that you stress is thatGodwill soon in-tervene in human affairs. With the “greattribulation,” he will end false religion andclear the earth of wickedness. (Matt. 24:21) You probably also highlight that God’sKingdom will reestablish Paradise on earthso that peace and happiness can flourish. Infact, the “goodnewsof the kingdom” is partof “the good news [declared] beforehand toAbraham, namely: ‘By means of you all thenations will be blessed.’ ”—Gal. 3:8.

3 Could it be, though, that we might givelittle attention to a key aspect of the goodnews that people need? In the letter to theRomans, the apostle Paul used the word“kingdom” only once, but he used the ex-pression “good news” 12 times. (Read Ro-mans 14:17.) What aspect of the good newsdid Paul refer to so often in that book? Whyis that particular good news vital? And why

1, 2. Why do you preach the “good news of thekingdom,” and what aspects of it do you stress?3. Whycanwe say that the apostle Paul emphasizedgood news in the book of Romans?

should we keep it in mind as we preach “thegood news of God” to people in our territo-ry?—Mark 1:14; Rom.15:16; 1 Thess. 2:2.

What Those in Rome Needed4 It is instructive to note the topics that

Paul addressed when he was first impris-oned inRome.We read thatwhenanumberof Jews visited him, he bore ‘thorough wit-ness concerning (1) the kingdom of Godand used persuasion with them concern-ing (2) Jesus.’ The result? “Some beganto believe the things said; others would

4. During his first imprisonment in Rome, aboutwhat did Paul preach?

THERE IS GOOD NEWSTHAT ALL NEED

“The good news . . . is, in fact, God’s power for salvation.”—ROM. 1:16.


not believe.” Thereafter, Paul ‘would kind-ly receive all those who came in to him,preaching (1) the kingdom of God to themand teaching the things concerning (2) theLord Jesus Christ.’ (Acts 28:17, 23-31) Clearly,Paul gave attention to God’s Kingdom. Butwhat else did he stress? Something that iscentral to the Kingdom—Jesus’ role in God’spurpose.

5 All people need to knowabout Jesus andput faith in him. In the book of Romans,Paul addressed this need. Early on, he wrote

of “God, to whom I render sacred servicewith my spirit in connection with the goodnews about his Son.” He added: “I am notashamed of the good news; it is, in fact,God’s power for salvation to everyone hav-ing faith.” Later he referred to the time“when God through Christ Jesus judges thesecret things of mankind, according to thegood news I declare.”And he related: “FromJerusalem and in a circuit as far as IllyricumI have thoroughly preached the good newsabout the Christ.”� (Rom. 1:9, 16; 2:16; 15:19) Why, do you think, did Paul stress JesusChrist to the Romans?

6 We do not know how the Roman con-gregation started. Did Jews or proselyteswhowere present at Pentecost 33C.E. returnto Rome as Christians? (Acts 2:10) Or did

� Similar expressions appear in other inspired books.—Mark 1:1; Acts 5:42; 1 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 1:27.

5. What real need did Paul address in the book ofRomans?6, 7. What can we say about the start and makeupof the Roman congregation?

Christian merchants and travelers spreadthe truth in Rome? Whatever the case,by the time Paul wrote the book, about56 C.E., the congregation was long estab-lished. (Rom. 1:8) What type of peoplemade up that congregation?

7 Some had a Jewish background. Paulgreeted Andronicus and Junias as “my rela-tives,” likelymeaning relativeswhowere fel-low Jews. Tentmaker Aquila, in Rome withhis wife, Priscilla, was also Jewish. (Rom.4:1; 9:3, 4; 16:3, 7; Acts 18:2) But manybrothers and sisters to whom Paul sentgreetings were likely Gentiles. Some mayhave been “of the household of Caesar,”perhaps meaning Caesar’s slaves and minorofficials.—Phil. 4:22; Rom.1:6; 11:13.

8 EveryChristian inRome faced a predica-ment that also confronts each one of us.Paul put it thisway: “All have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)Clearly, all to whom Paul wrote needed torecognize that they were sinners and had toput faith in God’s means to meet that need.

Recognizing the Problem of Sin9 Early in the letter to the Romans, Paul

pointed to the wonderful result that couldcome from the good news he kept mention-ing: “I am not ashamed of the good news; itis, in fact,God’spower for salvation to every-one having faith, to the Jew first and alsoto the Greek.” Yes, salvation was possible.However, faith was necessary, in line with aprofound truth quoted from Habakkuk 2:4:“The righteous one—by means of faith hewill live.” (Rom. 1:16, 17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38) But how does that good news, whichcan lead to salvation, relate to the fact that“all have sinned”?

8. Those in Rome faced what predicament?9. Paul called attention to what possible result ofthe good news?

The good news highlightedin Romans involved Jesus’ vitalrole in God’s purpose


10 Before a person can develop lifesavingfaith, he must acknowledge that he is a sin-ner. The idea of being such would not bestrange for those who grow up believing inGod and having some familiarity with theBible. (Read Ecclesiastes 7:20.) Whetherthey agree or have doubts, at least they havean idea of what Paul meant when he said:“All have sinned.” (Rom. 3:23) Yet, in carry-ing out our ministry, we may meet manywho do not understand that statement.

11 In some lands, the average person is notraised thinking that he (or she) was born asinner, that he inherited sin. Granted, heprobably realizes that he makes mistakes,has undesirable traits, and may have donesome bad things. And he observes that oth-ers are in a similar situation. Still, given hisbackground, he does not really understandwhy he and others are like that. In fact, insome languages, if you say that a person is asinner, others may think that you are sayingthat he is a criminal or at least a personwhobroke some rules.Obviously, a person grow-ing up in such an environment may notreadily think of himself as a sinner in thesense that Paul meant.

12 Even in lands of Christendom, manydo not believe in the concept of being sin-ners.Why not? Even if they go to church onoccasion, theyconsider theBible accountofAdam and Eve to be merely a fable or amyth. Others grow up in an anti-God cli-mate. They doubt that God exists and there-fore do not understand that a Supreme Be-ing set moral standards forhumans and thatfailure to uphold those standards amountsto sin. In a sense, they are like those in thefirst centurywhomPaul described ashaving

10, 11. Why is the concept mentioned at Romans3:23 not strange for some people but is for others?12. Why do many not believe that all are sinners?

“no hope” and being “without God in theworld.”—Eph. 2:12.

13 In the letter to the Romans, Paul pre-sented two reasons why such a backgroundcannot be an excuse—not then, not today.The first reason is that creation itself bearswitness to the existence of a Creator. (ReadRomans 1:19, 20.) This accords with an ob-servation Paul made when writing fromRome to the Hebrews: “Every house is con-structed by someone, but he that construct-ed all things is God.” (Heb. 3:4) That line ofreasoning points to there being a Creatorwho constructed, or brought into existence,the entire universe.

14 So Paul was on solid ground in writingto the Romans that any—including the an-cient Israelites—who gave their devotion tolifeless images “are inexcusable.” The samecan be said for those who gave in to immor-al sexual practices contrary to the natu-ral use of the male and female bodies.(Rom. 1:22-27) Referring to such reasoning,Paul rightly concluded that “Jews as well asGreeks are all under sin.”—Rom. 3:9.

13, 14. (a) What is one reason why those who donot believe in God and in sin are inexcusable? (b) Towhat has disbelief led many?

We were all bornwith a fatal flaw—sin!


A ‘Witness Bearer’15 The book of Romans identifies another

reason why people should recognize thatthey are sinners and need a way out of thatpredicament. Regarding the code of lawsthat God gave to ancient Israel, Paul wrote:“All those who sinned under law will bejudged by law.” (Rom. 2:12) Continuing hisreasoning, he points out that people of na-tions or ethnic groups unacquainted withthat divine code often “do by nature thethings of the law.” Why do such ones com-monly forbid incest, murder, and stealing?Paul identified the reason: They have a con-science.—Read Romans 2:14,15.

16 Nonetheless, you have likely seen thathaving a conscience that functions like aninner witness bearer does not mean that aperson will follow its guidance. The case ofancient Israel shows that. Though the Israel-ites had both a God-given conscience andspecific laws from God against stealing andadultery, they often violated both their con-science and Jehovah’s Law. (Rom. 2:21-23)They were doubly culpable and thus certain-ly were sinners, falling short of God’s stan-dards and will. This seriously marred theirrelationship with their Maker.—Lev. 19:11;20:10; Rom. 3:20.

17 What we have considered from thebook of Romans might seem to paint a grimpicture of the human situation before theAlmighty, including ours. However, Paul didnot leave matters there. Quoting David’swords at Psalm 32:1, 2, the apostle wrote:“Happy are those whose lawless deeds havebeen pardoned and whose sins have beencovered; happy is the man whose sin Jeho-

15. Who have the faculty of conscience, with whateffect?16. Why does having a conscience not necessarilymean avoiding sin?17. We find what encouragement in the bookof Ro-mans?

vah will by no means take into account.”(Rom. 4:7, 8) Yes, God has arranged a legallyproper means for pardoning sins.

Good News Centered on Jesus18 You might well respond, “That is really

good news!” Indeed it is, which brings usback to the aspect of the goodnews that Paulhighlighted in the bookof Romans. As men-tioned, Paulwrote: “I amnot ashamedof thegood news; it is, in fact, God’s power for sal-vation.”—Rom.1:15,16.

19 That good news centered on Jesus’ rolein the outworking of God’s purpose. Paulcould look forward to “the day when GodthroughChrist Jesus judges the secret thingsof mankind, according to the good news.”(Rom. 2:16) In stating that, he was not mini-mizing “the kingdom of the Christ and ofGod” or what God will do by means of theKingdom. (Eph. 5:5) But he showed that forus to live and enjoy the blessings to prevailunder God’s Kingdom, we must recognize(1) our situation as sinners in God’s sightand (2) why we need to exercise faith in Je-sus Christ to have our sins forgiven. When aperson comes to understand and acceptthose parts of God’s purpose and sees the fu-ture that this opens to him, he can rightlyexclaim, “Yes, that truly is good news!”

18, 19. (a) On what aspect of the good news didPaul focus in Romans? (b) To get Kingdom bless-ings, we must recognize what?

Do You Recall?˙ The book of Romans highlights what

aspect of the good news?˙ What fact do we need to help others

to understand?˙ How can “the good news about the

Christ” mean blessings for us andothers?


20 We should definitely bear in mind thisaspect of the good news as we carry out ourChristian ministry. With reference to Je-sus, Paul quoted Isaiah’s words: “None thatrests his faith on him will be disappointed.”(Rom. 10:11; Isa. 28:16) The basic messageabout Jesus may not be strange to those whoare acquainted with what the Bible saysabout sin. For others, though, this messagewill be quite new, something not known orgenerally believed in their culture. As suchones come to believe in God and trust in the

20, 21. In our ministry, why should we bear inmind the good news that is stressed in the book ofRomans, and with what potential result?

Scriptures, we will need to explain Jesus’role. The following article will consider howRomans chapter 5develops this aspectof thegoodnews. Youwill probably find that studyto be useful in your ministry.

21 How rewarding it is to help honestheart-ed ones to understand the good news men-tioned repeatedly in the bookof Romans, thegood news that “is, in fact, God’s power forsalvation to everyone having faith.” (Rom.1:16) Beyond our being thus rewarded, we willsee others agreewith the sentiment that Paulquoted at Romans 10:15: “How comely arethe feet of those who declare good news ofgood things!”—Isa. 52:7.

“THERomans’ greatest . . . bequest to thosewho succeeded them [was] their law

and their sense that life should be lived ac-cording to law.” (Dr. David J.Williams of theUniversity of Melbourne, Australia) How-ever valid thatmight be, there is a bequest orgift of far greater value. This gift is a divinemeans to have an approved and righteousstandingwithGod and the prospect of salva-tion and everlasting life.

2 In a sense, there were legal aspects tohow God made this gift available. In Ro-

1, 2. What two gifts might be considered, andwhich is the greater?

mans chapter 5, the apostle Paul did not pre-sent these aspects as a dry, legalistic treatise.Rather, he began with this thrilling assur-ance: “We have been declared righteous as aresult of faith, [so] let us enjoy peace withGod through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thosewho receive God’s gift are moved to lovehim in return. Paul was one. He wrote: “Thelove of God has been poured out into ourhearts through the holy spirit.”—Rom. 5:1, 5.

3 Why, though, was this loving gift neces-sary? How could God offer it in a just,

3. What questions logically arise?

GOD RECOMMENDSHIS LOVE TO US

“Undeserved kindness [will] rule as king through righteousnesswith everlasting life in view.”—ROM. 5:21.


equitable way? And what are individualscalledupon todo toqualify for it? Let us findthe satisfying answers and see how they un-derscore God’s love.

God’s Love Versus Sin4 In an act of great love, Jehovah sent his

only-begotten Son to help humans. Paul ex-pressed it this way: “God recommends hisown love to us in that, while we were yet sin-ners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Thinkofone fact there mentioned: “We were yet sin-ners.” All need to know how that came tobe so.

5 Paul outlined the matter, starting withthis point: “Through one man sin enteredinto the world and death through sin, andthus death spread to all men because theyhadall sinned.” (Rom.5:12)We are in a posi-tion to understand this because God had arecordmade of howhuman life began. Jeho-vahcreated twohumans, AdamandEve.TheCreator is perfect, and so were those first hu-mans, our ancestors. God gave thembut onelimiting directive and informed them thatdisobeying that law would bring a deathsentence. (Gen. 2:17) However, they choseto act ruinously, violating God’s reasonabledirective, thus rejecting himas Lawgiver andSovereign.—Deut. 32:4, 5.

6 It was only after Adamhadbecome a sin-ner that he fathered children, passing on sinand its effects to all of them. Of course, theyhadnot violated the divine lawasAdamhad,so they were not charged with the same sin;nor had any law code yet been given. (Gen.2:17) Still, Adam’s descendants inherited

4, 5. (a) Inwhat great way did Jehovah express hislove? (b) Knowledge of what background enables usto understand Romans 5:12?6. (a) Why did Adam’s descendants die both be-fore God gave the Mosaic Law and thereafter?(b) What can be illustrated with a disease like he-mophilia?

sin. Thus, sin and death ruled down to thetime when God gave the Israelites a lawcode, which clearly showed that they weresinners. (Read Romans 5:13, 14.) The effectof inherited sin might be illustrated withcertain inherited diseases or defects, such asMediterranean anemia or hemophilia. Youmay have read that Alexis, son of RussianCzar Nicholas II and Alexandra, inheritedthe bleeding disorder hemophilia. Granted,even in such a family, some children do notsuffer from those diseases, but they still maybe carriers. Not so with sin. The defect of sinfrom Adam was inevitable. All are subject toit. It is always fatal. And it is passed on to allchildren. Could that predicament ever beovercome?

What God Provided ThroughJesus Christ

7 Lovingly, Jehovah made a provision forhumans to overcome inherited sinfulness.Paul explained that this was possible bymeans of another man, a later perfect man—in effect, a second Adam. (1 Cor. 15:45) Butthe course of eachof the twoperfectmenhasled to very different results. How so?—ReadRomans 5:15,16.

8 “It is not with the gift as it was with thetrespass,” Paul wrote. Adamwas guiltyof thattrespass, and he justly received an adversesentence—he died. Yet, he was not the onlyone to die. We read: “By [that] one man’strespass many died.” The just sentence onAdam demanded the same for all his imper-fect progeny, including us. Still, we can takecomfort in knowing that the perfect man, Je-sus, could produce an opposite result. Whatis the result? We see the answer in Paul’smention of “a declaring of [men of all kinds]righteous for life.”—Rom. 5:18.

7, 8. Howdid the course of two perfect men lead todifferent results?


9 What is the sense of the Greek words un-derlying the expressions “declarationof righ-teousness” and “declaring of them righ-teous”? One Bible translator wrote of theconcept: “It is a legal metaphor that makes aquasi-legal point. It speaks of a change in aperson’s status in relation to God, not of aninner change in the person . . . The metaphorpictures God as the judge who has reached adecision in favor of the accused, who hadbeenbrought beforeGod’s court, so to speak,on a charge of unrighteousness. But God ac-quits the accused.”

10 On what basis could the righteous“Judge of all the earth” acquit an un-righteous person? (Gen. 18:25) Laying thegroundwork, God lovingly sent his only-

9. God was doing what in declaring men righteous,as mentioned at Romans 5:16, 18?10. What did Jesus do that provided the basis forhumans to be declared righteous?

begotten Son to earth. Jesus did his Father’swill perfectly, despite temptations, extremeridicule, and abuse. He kept his integrityeven to the extent of dying on a torture stake.(Heb. 2:10) In sacrificing his perfect humanlife, Jesus offered a ransom that might re-lease, or redeem, Adam’s offspring from sinand death.—Matt. 20:28; Rom. 5:6-8.

11 Elsewhere, Paul termed this “a corre-sponding ransom.” (1 Tim. 2:6) What wasthe correspondence? Adam brought imper-fection and death to billions, his descen-dants. It is true that Jesus, as a perfect man,couldhave been the source of billions of per-fect descendants.� Hence, it was understoodthat a combination of Jesus’ life plus that ofall his potential perfect descendants formeda sacrifice equivalent to that of Adam and hisimperfect descendants. However, the Bibledoes not say that any potential offspring ofJesus formed part of the ransom. Romans 5:15-19 makes the point that the death of just“one man” provided the release. Yes, Jesus’perfect life corresponded to Adam’s. The fo-cus is, and shouldbe, on JesusChrist alone. Itbecame possible for men of all sorts to re-ceive the free gift and life because of Jesus’“one act of justification,” his course of obedi-ence and integrityeven todeath. (2Cor. 5:14,15; 1 Pet. 3:18) How did that result comeabout?

Acquittal Based on the Ransom12 Jehovah God accepted the ransom sac-

rifice that his Son offered. (Heb. 9:24; 10:10,12) Still, Jesus’ disciples on earth, includinghis faithful apostles, remained imperfect.Though they strove to avoid doing wrong,

� For example, that view involving descendants, orprogeny, was included in Insight on the Scriptures, Vol-ume 2, page 736, paragraphs 4 and 5.

11. The ransom is based on what correspondence?12, 13. Why do those who are declared righteousneed God’s mercy and love?

The perfect man Adam sinned.The perfect man Jesus offered

“a corresponding ransom”


they did not always succeed. Why? Becausethey had inherited sin. (Rom. 7:18-20) ButGod could anddiddo something about that.He accepted the “corresponding ransom”and was willing to apply it in behalf of hishuman servants.

13 It is not that God owed it to the apostlesandothers to apply the ransombecause theyhad performed certain good works. Instead,God applied the ransom in their behalf outof his mercy and great love. He chose to ac-quit the apostles and others of the judgmentagainst them, viewing them as absolved ofinherited guilt. Paul made that plain: “Bythis undeserved kindness, indeed, you havebeen saved through faith; and this not ow-ing to you, it is God’s gift.”—Eph. 2:8.

14 Think what a gift it is for the Almightyto forgive the sin a person inherited as wellas the wrongs he committed! You could notcount how many sins individuals commit-ted before becoming Christians; yet, on thebasis of the ransom, God can forgive thosesins. Paul wrote: “The gift resulted frommany trespasses in a declaration of righ-teousness.” (Rom. 5:16) The apostles andothers receiving this loving gift (being de-clared righteous) would have to continue toworship the true God in faith. With what fu-ture reward? “Those who receive the abun-dance of the undeserved kindness and ofthe free gift of righteousness [will] rule askings in life through the one person, JesusChrist.” Indeed, the gift of righteousnessworks in the opposite direction. The gifthas life as its outcome.—Rom. 5:17; readLuke 22:28-30.

15 Those receiving that gift, being de-clared righteous, become God’s spiritualsons. As joint heirs with Christ, they have

14, 15. What reward was placed before thosewhom God declared righteous, but what did theystill need to do?

the prospect of being resurrected to heavenas actual spirit sons to “rule as kings” withJesus Christ.—Read Romans 8:15-17, 23.

God’s Love Manifest to Others16 Not allwho exercise faith and serve God

as loyal Christians expect to “rule as kings”with Christ in heaven. Many have a Bible-based hope similar to that of God’s pre-Christian servants. They hope to live foreveron a paradise earth. Can they even now re-ceive a loving gift from God and be viewedas righteous with earthly life in view? Basedon what Paul wrote to the Romans, the re-assuring answer is yes!

17 Paul discussed a prime example, Abra-ham, a man of faith who lived before Jeho-vah provided a law code to Israel and longbefore Christ opened the way to heavenlylife. (Heb. 10:19, 20) We read: “It was notthrough law that Abraham or his seed hadthe promise that he should be heir of aworld, but it was through the righteous-ness by faith.” (Rom. 4:13; Jas. 2:23, 24) SoGod counted faithful Abraham as righteous.—Read Romans 4:20-22.

18 That cannot mean that Abraham wassinless while serving Jehovah over the de-cades. No, he was not righteous in thatsense. (Rom. 3:10, 23) However, in his limit-less wisdom, Jehovah took into accountAbraham’s exceptional faith and his worksresulting therefrom. In particular, Abrahamexercised faith in the promised “seed” tocome in his line. That Seed proved to be theMessiah, or Christ. (Gen. 15:6; 22:15-18) Ac-cordingly, on the basis of “the ransom paidby Christ Jesus,” the divine Judge is able to

16. How might ones with an earthly hope receive agift?17, 18. (a) In view of Abraham’s faith, how didGod consider him? (b) How was it that Jehovahcould view Abraham as righteous?


forgive sins that occurred inthe past. Thus, Abraham andother men of faith in pre-Christian times are in linefor a resurrection.—Read Ro-mans 3:24, 25; Ps. 32:1, 2.

Enjoy a RighteousStanding Now

19 The fact that the Godof love counted Abraham asrighteous should be hearten-ing for true Christians today. Jehovah didnot declare him righteous in the sense thathe does those whom he anoints with spiritto be “joint heirs with Christ.” The limitednumber of that group are “called to be holyones” and are accepted as “God’s sons.”(Rom.1:7; 8:14, 17, 33) In contrast, Abrahamcame to be “Jehovah’s friend”—and that be-fore the ransom sacrifice was offered. (Jas. 2:23; Isa. 41:8) What, then, about true Chris-tianswhohope to live in the restored earthlyParadise?

20 These have not received “the free gift ofrighteousness” with heavenly life in view“through the release by the ransom paid byChrist Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24; 5:15,17) Neverthe-less, they exercise deep faith in God and hisprovisions, and they manifest their faithby good works. One such work is that of“preaching the kingdom of God . . . andteaching the things concerning the Lord Je-sus Christ.” (Acts 28:31) Thus, Jehovah canview these as righteous in the sense that hedid Abraham. The gift such ones receive

19. Why should God’s view of Abraham be heart-ening to many today?20. God expects what of those whom he todayviews as righteous, as he did Abraham?

—friendshipwith God—differs from “the freegift” the anointed receive. Yet, it certainly is agift that they accept with deep gratitude.

21 If you hope to enjoy everlasting life onearth, you should realize that this opportu-nity has not come to you because of a capri-cious act by a human ruler. Rather, it reflectsthe wise purpose of the Universal Sovereign.Jehovah has taken progressive steps to ac-complishhis purpose. These stepshave beenin line with true justice. More than that,they have reflected God’s great love. Wellcould Paul say: “God recommends his ownlove to us in that, while we were yet sinners,Christ died for us.”—Rom. 5:8.

21. What benefits are available because of Jeho-vah’s love and justice?

What good news—by means of Jesus we can

be declared righteous!

Do You Recall?˙ Adam’s progeny received what

inheritance, and with what result?˙ How was a corresponding ransom

provided, and in what sense wasthere a correspondence?

˙ The gift of being declared righteousbrought what prospect to you?

CAMELS were among the domestic animals that Abrahamreceived from Pharaoh, says the Bible. (Gen.12:16) When

Abraham’s servant went on a long journey to Mesopotamia,he “took ten camels from the camels of his master.” Sothe Bibleclearly states that Abraham owned camels about the begin-ning of the second millennium B.C.E.—Gen. 24:10.

Some do not accept this. The New International Version Ar-chaeological Study Bible reports: “Scholars have debated the his-toricity of these references to camels because most believe that

Did Abraham ReallyOwn Camels?


these animals were not widely domesticated until approxi-mately 1200 B.C., long after the time of Abraham.”Any earlierBiblical reference to camels would therefore be considered ananachronism, or a chronological misplacing.

Other scholars, however, argue that although the domesti-cation of camels became a factor of importance about the endof the second millennium, this does not mean that camelswere not used earlier. The book Civilizations of the Ancient NearEast states: “Recent research has suggested that the domestica-tion of the camel took place in southeastern Arabia some timein the third millennium [B.C.E.]. Originally, it was probablybred for its milk, hair, leather, and meat, but it cannot havebeen long before its usefulness as a beastof burden became ap-parent.” This dating to before Abraham’s time seems to be sup-ported by bone fragments and other archaeological remains.

Written evidence also exists. The same reference work says:“In Mesopotamia, cuneiform lists mention the creature [thecamel] and several seals depict it, indicating that the animalmay have reached Mesopotamia by the beginning of the sec-ond millennium,” that is, by Abraham’s time.

Some scholars believe that South Arabian merchants in-volved in the incense trade used camels to transport theirgoods northward through the desert, heading to such areas asEgypt and Syria and thereby introducing camels to theseareas. This trade was probably common as early as 2000 B.C.E.Interestingly, Genesis 37:25-28 mentions Ishmaelite merchantswho used camels to transport incense to Egypt about a hun-dred years after the time of Abraham.

Perhaps camels were not widely used in the ancient NearEast at the beginning of the second millennium B.C.E., but evi-dence seems to confirm that they were not completely un-known. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia thereforeconcludes: “It is no longer necessary to regard the mention ofcamels in the patriarchal narratives as anachronisms, sincethere is ample archeological evidence for the domestication ofthe camel before the time of the patriarchs.”


WITH the above words, the apostle Paulurged his fellow missionary Timothy

to bring him some written material. Towhatkinds of scrolls and parchments was Paul re-ferring? What led him to say this? And whatcanwe learn from this request?

By the middle of the first century C.E.when Paul wrote these words, the 39 booksof the Hebrew Scriptures had been dividedinto either 22 or 24 books, most of whichwere likely in separate scrolls. Professor AlanMillard noted that these scrolls, though ex-pensive, were “not . . . out of the reachof thereasonably well-to-do.” Some had access toat least one of them. For example, the Ethio-pian eunuch had a scroll in his chariot andwas “reading aloud the prophet Isaiah.” Hewas ‘in power under Candace queen of theEthiopians and was over all her treasure.’ Hemust have beenwealthy enough to ownpor-tions of the Scriptures.—Acts 8:27, 28.

In his request to Timothy, Paul wrote:“When you come, bring the cloak I left atTroaswithCarpus, and the scrolls, especiallythe parchments.” (2 Tim. 4:13) This suggeststhat Paul owned a number of books. Whatwould have had a higher place in his librarythan the Word of God? Regarding the word

“parchments” in this verse, Bible scholarA. T. Robertson observed: “These in particu-lar would likely be copies of Old Testamentbooks, parchment being more expensivethan papyrus.” From youth on, Paul was“educated . . . at the feet of Gamaliel,” whotaught the Mosaic Law and was esteemed byall the people. So it is understandable thatPaulwould have obtainedpersonal copies ofthe scrolls of God’s Word.—Acts 5:34; 22:3.

Christians’ Use of ScrollsStill, those who owned scrolls of the Holy

Scriptures were privileged. How, then, didmost of the Christians in those days gain ac-cess to the Word of God? Paul’s earlier lettertoTimothy gives us a hint. He wrote: “WhileI am coming, continue applying yourself topublic reading.” (1 Tim. 4:13) Public readingwas a part of the meeting program of Chris-tian congregations, a traditional practiceamong God’s people since the time of Mo-ses.—Acts 13:15; 15:21; 2 Cor. 3:15.

As an elder, Timothy had to ‘apply him-self’ to reading out loud, which would bene-fit those who did not own copies of theScriptures. Surely, during the public readingof the Word of God, all listened attentively

‘Bring the Scrolls,Especially the Parchments’

Rome

Troas

Ephesus

so as not to miss a word, and parents andchildren must have discussed at home whatwas read at the meetings.

The well-known Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiahis almost 24 feet (7.3 m) in length. With arod at each end and often with a cover forprotection, a scrollwouldbeheavy. Probablymost Christians could not carry many withthem for preaching. Even if Paul possessedsome scrolls of the Scriptures for his person-al use, he likely could not take on his travelsall the scrolls he owned. Evidently he leftsome with his friend Carpus inTroas.

What Can We Learn FromPaul’s Example?

Just before making his request, Paul, im-prisoned in Rome for a second time, wrote:“I have fought the fine fight, I have run thecourse to the finish . . . From this time onthere is reserved for me the crown of righ-teousness.” (2 Tim. 4:7, 8) He likely wrotethese words about 65 C.E. during the perse-cution by Nero. This time the imprison-ment was very severe. In fact, he sensedthat his execution was imminent. (2 Tim.1:16; 4:6) Understandably, Paul expressedhis heartfelt desire to have his scrolls onhand. Though hewas confident that he hadfought the finefight to the finish, he longedto continue strengtheninghimself by study-ing the Word of God.

Timothy was probably still in Ephesuswhenhe received Paul’s request. (1Tim.1:3)From Ephesus to Rome via Troas is roughly1,000 miles (1,600 km). In the same letter,Paul urged Timothy: “Do your utmost to ar-rive before winter.” (2 Tim. 4:21) The Bibledoes not reveal whether Timothy found aboat to get him toRomeby the timePaul de-sired.

What canwe learn from Paul’s request for“the scrolls, especially the parchments”? He

maintained a longing for God’s Word dur-ing this most distressing period of his life.Do you not see this as a secret to his alwaysbeing spiritually alive and active as well ashis being a source of encouragement tomany?

Today,howblessedweare ifweownaper-sonal copy of the complete Bible! Some ofus even have several copies and editions.Like Paul, we need to cultivate eagerness togain a deeper understanding of the Scrip-tures. Of the 14 inspired letters Paul wasprivileged to write, his second to Timothywas the last.His personal request appears to-ward the end of the book. In fact, Paul’s en-treaty toTimothy ‘to bring the scrolls, espe-cially the parchments,’ was one of his finalwishes on record.

Is it your ardent desire to fight the finefight of the faith to the finish, just as Pauldid? Do you want to keep yourself spiritual-ly stimulated and prepared to engage in thewitnessing work for as long as the Lordwants us to continue? Then why not doas Paul encouraged Christians to do? “Payconstant attention to yourself and to yourteaching” by eager and constant study ofthe Bible, which is now available to morepeople than ever in forms more convenientthan the scrolls.—1 Tim. 4:16.


SOMETIME before Nero launched his per-secution against Christians in Rome, the

apostle Peter wrote his first letter. He wantedto strengthen his fellow believers. The Dev-il was ‘walking about,’ seeking to devourChristians. To stand firm against him, theyneeded to ‘keep their senses’ and to ‘humblethemselves under the mighty hand of God.’(1 Pet. 5:6, 8) They also needed to stay unit-ed. They could not afford to be “biting anddevouring one another,” for that could re-sult in their being “annihilated by one an-other.”—Gal. 5:15.

2 Today, we face a similar situation. TheDevil is looking for opportunities to devourus. (Rev. 12:12) And ahead of us looms a“great tribulation such as has not occurredsince the world’s beginning.” (Matt. 24:21)Just as first-century Christians had to guardagainst squabbling among themselves, somust we. To accomplish this, at times weneed help from qualified older men.

3 Let us consider how elders can enhancetheir appreciation for the privilege of shep-herding ‘the flock of God in their care.’(1 Pet. 5:2) Thereafter, we will reflect on theproper way of carrying out the shepherdingwork. In the next article, we will examinehow the congregation can ‘have regard forthose who are working hard and presiding

1. What circumstances were Christians facingwhen Peter wrote his first letter?2, 3. Against whom should we be fighting, andwhat are we going to consider in this series?

over’ the flock. (1 Thess. 5:12) A consider-ation of these matters will help us to take afirm stand against our chief Adversary, rec-ognizing that he is the one with whom wehave awrestling.—Eph. 6:12.

Shepherd the Flock of God4 Peter encouraged the older men among

the first-century Christians to have a godlyview of the flock entrusted to them. (Read1 Peter 5:1, 2.)Althoughhewas considered apillar in the congregation, Peter did not talkcondescendingly to the elders. Rather, headmonished themas fellowelders. (Gal. 2:9)With a spirit like Peter’s, the GoverningBody today exhorts congregation elders tostrive to fulfill the heavy responsibility ofshepherding God’s flock.

5 The apostle wrote that the older menwere to ‘shepherd the flock of God in theircare.’ It was most important for them to rec-ognize that theflockbelongs to Jehovah andJesus Christ. The elders had to render an ac-count about how they keptwatchoverGod’ssheep. Suppose that a close friend of yoursasked you to look after his childrenwhile hewas away. Would you not take good care ofthem and feed them? If one child got sick,would you not make sure that he receivedany needed medical help? Similarly, the el-ders in the congregation are “to shepherdthe congregation of God, which he pur-

4, 5. How should the older men view the flock? Il-lustrate.

“SHEPHERD THE FLOCK OF GODIN YOUR CARE”

“Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not undercompulsion, but willingly.”—1 PET. 5:2.


chased with the blood of his own Son.”(Acts 20:28) They keep in mind that eachsheepwasboughtwith thepreciousbloodofChrist Jesus. Being accountable, the eldersfeed, protect, and care for the flock.

6 Think of the responsibilities that literalshepherds had in Bible times. They had toput up with the heat of the day and the coldof the night in order to tend the flock. (Gen.31:40) They even risked their life for thesheep. The shepherd boy David rescued hisflock fromwild beasts, including a lion and abear. With regard to each one, David saidthat he “grabbedholdof its beard and struckit down and put it to death.” (1 Sam. 17:34,35) What bravery! How close he must havecome to the beast’s jaws! Still, he did nothold back from saving the sheep.

7 Today, elders need to be on guard

6. What was the responsibility of ancient shep-herds?7. How may elders snatch the sheep from Satan’sjaws, figuratively speaking?

against the lionlike attacksof theDevil. Thismay involve a courageous act of figura-tively snatching the sheep from the Dev-il’s jaws. By taking hold of the wild beastby the beard, so to speak, elders can res-cue the sheep. They may reason with un-wary brothers who are tempted by Satan’ssnares. (Read Jude 22, 23.)Elders, of course,do not accomplish this without Jehovah’shelp. They handle an injured sheep tender-ly, bandaging him and applying the sooth-ing balm of God’s Word.

8 A literal shepherd also guided the flockto an appropriate pasture and a wateringplace. Likewise, elders direct the flock to thecongregation, encouraging regular meetingattendance so that the flock can be well-fedand receive “their food at the proper time.”(Matt. 24:45) The elders may need to spendextra time helping those who are spiritual-ly sick to accept nourishment from God’sWord. A stray sheep may be trying to return

8. To where do elders guide the flock, and how?

Like shepherds in ancient times, elders today must protect the “sheep” in their care


to the flock. Instead of intimidating theirbrother, the elders tenderly explain Scriptur-al principles and show him how he can ap-ply these in his life.

9 When you are sick, what kind of doctordo you prefer? One who spends little timelistening to you and then quickly prescribesmedication so as to be free to see thenext pa-tient? Or would you rather consult a doctorwho hears you out, explains what might bewrong with you, and outlines possible treat-ments?

10 Likewise, the elders can listen to thespiritually sick person and help to heal thewound, thus figuratively “greasing himwithoil in the name of Jehovah.” (Read James 5:14, 15.) Like the balsam from Gilead, God’sWord can soothe the ailing one. (Jer. 8:22;Ezek. 34:16) When applied, Bible principlescan help the faltering one to regain spiritualbalance. Yes, the elders do much good oncethey hear the ailing sheep’s concerns andpray with him.

Not Under Compulsion but Willingly11 Peter next reminded the older menhow

the shepherding work should and shouldnot be done. Elders are to shepherd the flockof God, “not under compulsion, but willing-ly.” What moves elders to serve their broth-ers willingly? Well, what moved Peter toshepherd and feed Jesus’ sheep? A key washis love and affection for the Lord. (John21:15-17) Because of love, elders “live nolonger for themselves, but for himwho diedfor them.” (2 Cor. 5:14, 15) This love, com-bined with their love for God and theirbrothers, compels elders to serve the flock,devoting their efforts, resources, and time to

9, 10. How should elders care for spiritually ailingones?11. What moves elders to shepherd the flockof Godwillingly?

doing so. (Matt. 22:37-39) They give ofthemselves, not grudgingly, but willingly.

12 Towhat extent should the elders give ofthemselves? In caring for the sheep, theyimitate the apostle Paul, even as he imitatedJesus. (1 Cor. 11:1) Having tender affectionfor the Thessalonian brothers, Paul and hiscompanions were well-pleased to impart tothem ‘not only the good news of God butalso their own souls.’ When doing so, theybecame gentle, “as when a nursing mothercherishes herown children.” (1 Thess. 2:7, 8)Paul understood how a nursing mother feltabout her children. She would do anythingfor them, including getting up in the middleof the night to feed them.

13 The elders need to take care to maintainbalance between shepherding responsibili-ties and obligations to their own family.(1 Tim. 5:8) The time that elders spend withthe congregation is precious time away fromtheir family. One way to balance the two re-sponsibilities is to invite others to their Fam-ily Worship evening on occasion. Over theyears, Masanao, an elder in Japan, invitedsingle ones and spiritually fatherless fami-lies to his family’s study. In time, some whowere helped became elders themselves andimitated Masanao’s fine example.

Shun Dishonest Gain—Shepherd the Flock Eagerly

14 Peter also encouraged elders to shep-herd the flock, “neither for love of dishonestgain, but eagerly.” The work of the elderstakes up a considerable amount of time, yetthey do not expect any financial compensa-tion. Peter saw the need to warn his fellow

12. To what extent did the apostle Paul give of him-self?13. Elders need to maintain what balance?14, 15. Why should elders guard against the “loveof dishonest gain,” and howcan they imitate Paul inthis regard?


older men about the danger of shepherdingthe flock out of “love of dishonest gain.”That danger is evident in the life of luxuryled by religious leaders of “Babylon theGreat” while many people are forced to leada life of poverty. (Rev. 18:2, 3) The elders to-day have good reason to be on guard againstany tendency in that direction.

15 Paul set a fine example for Christian el-ders. Though he was an apostle and couldhave been “an expensive burden” on Chris-tians in Thessalonica, he did not “eat foodfrom anyone free.” Rather, he ‘labored andtoiled night and day.’ (2 Thess. 3:8) Manypresent-day elders, including those who arein the traveling work, set a fine example inthis regard. Although they accept hospitalityfrom fellowbelievers, they donot “put an ex-pensive burden”upon anyone.—1Thess. 2:9.

16 The elders shepherd the flock “eager-ly.” Their eagerness is evident in their self-sacrificing attitude in helping the flock.However, that does not mean that they forcethe flock to serve Jehovah; nor do loving el-ders encourage others to serve God out of acompetitive spirit. (Gal. 5:26) Elders appreci-ate that each sheep is unique. They are ea-ger to help their brothers to serve Jehovahhappily.

Not Lording It Over the Flockbut Being Examples

17 As we have discussed, the elders shouldkeep in mind that the flock they are shep-herding is God’s, not their own. They arecareful not ‘to lord it over those who areGod’s inheritance.’ (Read 1 Peter 5:3.) Attimes, Jesus’ apostles reached out with thewrong motive. Like those who were ruling

16. What does it mean to shepherd the flock “ea-gerly”?17, 18. (a) Why did the apostles at times have dif-ficulty grasping Jesus’ teaching on humility? (b) Inwhat similar situation might we find ourselves?

the nations, they wanted to have a promi-nent position.—Read Mark 10:42-45.

18 Today, brothers who are “reaching outfor an office of overseer” do well to examinethemselves as to why they are reaching out.(1 Tim. 3:1) Those who are now elders maywant to ask themselves franklywhether theyhave a desire for authority or prominence assome of the apostles did. If the apostles haddifficulty in this area, then elders can appre-ciate that they need to work hard to avoidany worldly tendency to enjoy having au-thority over others.

19 Granted, there are times when the el-ders need to be firm, such as when protect-ing theflock from“oppressivewolves.” (Acts20:28-30) Paul told Titus to keep “exhortingand reproving with full authority.” (Titus 2:15) Yet, even when having to take such ac-tion, the elders try to dignify the ones whoare involved. They appreciate that ratherthan harsh criticism, gentle persuasion isusually more effective in reaching heartsand in moving someone to follow a rightcourse.

20 Christ’s fine example motivates eldersto love the flock. (John 13:12-15) Ourhearts are warmed as we read how hetaught his disciples in the preaching

19. What should elders remember when taking ac-tion to protect the flock?20. Howcan elders imitate Jesus in setting a fine ex-ample?

By Way of Review˙ Why was it appropriate for Peter to

admonish fellow elders to shepherdthe flock of God in their care?

˙ How should elders shepherd spiritu-ally ailing ones?

˙ What moves elders to shepherd theflock of God in their care?


anddisciple-makingwork.His patternof hu-mility touched the hearts of his disciples,motivating them to follow a course reflect-ing ‘lowliness of mind considering that theothers were superior to them.’ (Phil. 2:3) El-ders today are likewise moved to follow Je-sus’ example, and they, in turn, want to be“examples to the flock.”

21 Peter concluded his admonition to the

21. To what reward can elders look forward?

older men by referring to a promise for thefuture. (Read 1 Peter 5:4.) The anointedoverseers “will receive the unfadable crownof glory” with Christ in heaven. The under-shepherds of the “other sheep” will have theprivilege of shepherding the flockof God onearthunder the rulership of “the chief shep-herd.” (John 10:16) The next article will dis-cuss ways in which congregation memberscan support those appointed to take thelead.

IMAGINE yourself as a member of the first-century Thessalonian congregation, one

of the earliest to be established in Europe.The apostle Paul had spent considerabletime building up the brothers there. Hemay have appointed older men to take thelead, as was the case in other congregations.(Acts 14:23) But after the congregation wasformed, the Jews organized a mob to rid thecity of Paul and Silas. The Christians who re-mained might have felt deserted, perhapseven fearful.

1, 2. (a) What was the situation of the Thessalo-nian congregation when Paul wrote his first letter tothem? (b) What did Paul encourage the Thessalo-nians to do?

2 Understandably, after leaving Thessalo-nica, Paulwas concernedabout thefledglingcongregation. He tried to return, but “Satancut across” his path. So he sent Timothy toencourage the congregation. (1 Thess. 2:18;3:2) WhenTimothy brought back a good re-port, Paul was moved to write the Thessalo-nians a letter. Among other things, Paul en-couraged themto ‘have regard for thosewhowere presiding over them.’—Read 1 Thessa-lonians 5:12,13.

3 The brothers who were taking the leadamong the Thessalonian Christians were

3. What reasons did Thessalonian Christians havefor giving extraordinary consideration to the oldermen?

“HAVE REGARD FORTHOSE WHO ARE WORKING

HARD AMONG YOU”“Have regard for those who are working hard among you

and presiding over you in the Lord and admonishing you.”—1 THESS. 5:12.


not as experienced as Paul and his travelingcompanions; nor did they have the rich spir-itual heritage of the elders in Jerusalem. Af-ter all, the congregation had existed for lessthan a year! Still, those in the congregationhad reason to be grateful for their oldermen, who were “working hard” and “presid-ing over” the congregation and “admonish-ing” the brothers. Indeed, they had goodreason to “give [the elders] more than ex-traordinary consideration in love.” This re-quest was followed by Paul’s counsel to “bepeaceable with one another.” If you hadbeen there in Thessalonica, would you haveshown deep appreciation for the elders’work? How do you view the “gifts in men”whom God through Christ has provided inyour congregation?—Eph. 4:8.

“Working Hard”4 After sending Paul and Silas to Beroea,

how were the older men in Thessalonica“working hard”? Imitating Paul, they nodoubt taught the congregation, using theScriptures. ‘Did the Thessalonian Christianshave appreciation forGod’s Word?’ you maywonder. After all, the Bible says that theBeroeans were “more noble-minded thanthose in Thessalonica, . . . carefully examin-ing the Scriptures daily.” (Acts 17:11) Thecomparison, however, was with the Thessa-lonian Jews in general, not with the Chris-tians. Thosewho became believers ‘acceptedGod’s word, not as the word of men, but asthe word of God.’ (1 Thess. 2:13) The oldermen must have worked hard to feed suchones spiritually.

5 Today, the faithful and discreet slaveclass is providing God’s flock with “food atthe proper time.” (Matt. 24:45) Under the

4, 5. Why was it hard work for the older men inPaul’s day to teach the congregation, and why is itthat way today?

slave’s direction, the local elders work hardto feed their brothers spiritually. Those inthe congregationmayhave Bible-based liter-ature in abundance, and in some languagessuch tools as the Watch Tower PublicationsIndex and Watchtower Library on CD-ROMare available. To satisfy the congregation’sspiritual needs, the elders spend hours pre-paring meeting parts so that they can pre-sent the assigned information in a meaning-ful way. Have you thought about how muchtime the elders spend preparing their partsfor meetings, assemblies, and conventions?

6 The older men in Thessalonica remem-bered the fine example that Paul set in shep-herding the flock. It was not a matter of hismaking calls in a mechanical or perfunctoryway. As discussed in the preceding article,Paul “became gentle . . . , as when a nursingmother cherishes her own children.” (Read1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8.) Hewas evenwilling‘to impart his own soul’! When shepherd-ing, the older menwere to be like him.

7 Christian shepherds today imitate Paulby cherishing the flock. By nature, somesheep may not be warm and companion-able. Still, the elders try to show insight and“find good” in them. (Prov. 16:20) True, be-ing imperfect, an elder may struggle to havea positive view of each one. Yet, as he trieshis best to be gentle toward all, should henot be commended for his effort to be agood shepherd under Christ?

8 We all have reason to “be submissive” tothe elders. As Paul wrote, ‘they are keepingwatch over our souls.’ (Heb. 13:17) That ex-pression reminds us of the literal shepherdwho forgoes sleep in order to protect his

6, 7. (a) What example did the older men inThes-salonica have in Paul? (b) Why might it be challeng-ing for elders today to imitate Paul?8, 9. What are some ways that present-day elders‘keep watch over our souls’?


flock. Likewise, the elders today may sacri-fice some sleepwhile tending to theneeds ofthose who have poor health or emotional orspiritual problems. For example, brotherson Hospital Liaison Committees have beenawakened from sleep to respond to a medi-cal crisis. Yet, when we face such a situation,how appreciative we are of their service!

9 Elders onRegional BuildingCommitteesand relief committees work hard to help thebrothers. They deserve our wholeheartedsupport! Consider the relief effort after Cy-clone Nargis hit Myanmar in 2008. To reachthe Bothingone Congregation in the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta region, the relief teamtraveled through devastated terrain strewnwith corpses. When the local brothers sawthat thefirst relief team to reachBothingoneincluded their former circuit overseer, theycried out: “Look! It’s our circuit overseer! Je-hovah has saved us!” Do you appreciate thehard work that the elders render day andnight? Some elders are appointed to serveon special committees to handle difficult ju-dicial problems. These elders do not bragabout what they have accomplished; yetthosewhobenefit fromtheir service are real-ly grateful.—Matt. 6:2-4.

10 Many elders today also have paper-work to do. For example, the coordinator ofthe body of elders prepares the schedulesfor weekly meetings. The congregation sec-retary compiles the monthly and annualfield service reports. The school overseergives careful thought to the school schedule.Every three months, congregation accountrecords are audited. The elders read lettersfrom the branch office and apply the direc-tion that helps maintain “the oneness in thefaith.” (Eph. 4:3, 13) Through the efforts ofsuch hardworking elders, “all things take

10. What lesser-known work do elders do?

place decently andby arrangement.”—1Cor.14:40.

“Presiding Over You”11 Paul described the hardworking older

men of Thessalonica as “presiding over”the congregation. The word in the origi-nal language implies “standing before” andcan be rendered “directing; taking the leadamong.” (1 Thess. 5:12; ftn.) Paul referred tothe same elders as “working hard.” He wastalking, not about one “presiding overseer,”but about all the older men in the congrega-tion. Today, most elders stand before thecongregation and conduct meetings. The re-cent adjustment to employ the designation“coordinator of the body of elders” helps ustoviewall the elders asmembers of a unifiedbody.

12 “Presiding over” the congregation in-volvesmore than just teaching.The same ex-pression is used at 1 Timothy 3:4. Paul saidthat an overseer should be “a man presidingover his own household in a fine manner,having children in subjection with all seri-ousness.” Here the expression “presidingover” obviously includes not only teachinghis children but also taking the lead in thefamily and “having children in subjection.”Yes, elders take the lead in the congregation,helping all to be in subjection to Jehovah.—1 Tim. 3:5.

13 In order to preside well over the flock,the elders discuss among themselves how toaddress the needs of the congregation. Itmight be more efficient if one elder made allthe decisions. Yet, following the example ofthe first-century governing body, modern-day bodies of elders discuss matters freely,

11, 12. Who preside over the congregation, andwhat does doing so involve?13. Why might it take time to reach a decision at anelders’ meeting?

seeking guidance from the Scriptures. Theirgoal is to apply Scriptural principles to theneeds of the local congregation. This is mosteffectivewhen eachelder prepares for the el-ders’ meetings, considering the Scripturesand the guidelines from the faithful and dis-creet slave class. Of course, this takes time.When there is a difference of opinion, asoccurred when the first-century governingbody considered the matter of circumcision,extra time and research might be needed toreach a consensus based on the Scriptures.—Acts 15:2, 6, 7,12-14, 28.

14 What might happen if one elder insistson having his way or tries to promote hisown ideas? Or what if someone—like Diotre-phes in the first century—sows seeds of dis-

14. Do you appreciate that the body of elders worktogether in unity? Why do you feel that way?

cord? (3 John9,10) Thewhole congregationwill surely suffer. If Satan tried to upset thefirst-century congregation, we can be surethat he wants to disrupt the peace of thecongregation today. He might appeal to self-ish human tendencies, such as the desire forprominence. Thus, elders need to cultivatehumility and work together as a unifiedbody.How we appreciate the humilityof theelders who do cooperate as a body!

“Admonishing You”15 Paul then highlighted a difficult yet im-

portant task of the older men: admonishingthe flock. In the Christian Greek Scriptures,only Paul used the Greek term translated“admonish.” It can refer to strong counsel

15. What motive do elders have when admonish-ing a brother or a sister?

Do you appreciatethe many ways in which

the elders shepherdthe congregation?


but does not indicate hostility. (Acts 20:31;2 Thess. 3:15) For instance, Paul wrote to theCorinthians: “I am writing these things, notto shame you, but to admonish you as mybeloved children.” (1 Cor. 4:14) His motivebehind the admonition was loving concernfor others.

16 The elders bear in mind the importanceof the manner inwhich they admonish oth-ers. They strive to imitate Paul by beingkind, loving, and helpful. (Read 1 Thessalo-nians 2:11, 12.) Of course, the elders ‘holdfirmly to the faithful word so that they maybe able to exhort by teaching that is health-ful.’—Titus 1:5-9.

17 Of course, elders are imperfect and maysay things that they later regret. (1 Ki. 8:46;Jas. 3:8) Also, elders know that for spiritualbrothers and sisters, receiving counsel is nor-mally not ‘joyous but grievous.’ (Heb. 12:11)So when an elder approaches someone withwords of admonition, he likely does so aftergiving the matter much consideration andpraying over it. If you have been admon-ished, do you appreciate that elder’s lovingconcern?

18 Suppose you had a health problem that

16. Elders do well to keep what in mind when ad-monishing others?17, 18. What should you keep in mind if you re-ceive admonition from an elder?

seemed medically inexplicable. Then a phy-sician correctly identified the problem, butthe diagnosis was rather hard to accept.Would you hold a grudge against that doc-tor? No! Even if he recommended an opera-tion, you would likely agree to the treatment,believing it to be for your benefit. The waythe doctor conveyed the information mayhave a bearing on your feelings, but wouldyou let that determine your decision? Prob-ably not. Likewise, do not allow the way youare admonished to prevent you from listen-ing to thosewhomJehovah and Jesusmaybeusing to let you know how you can help orprotect yourself spiritually.

Appreciate Jehovah’sProvision of the Elders

19 What would you do if you received agift especially made for you? Would youshow your appreciation by using it? The“gifts in men” are what Jehovah through Je-sus Christ has provided for you. One wayyou can showyour gratitude for these gifts isby listening intently to talks given by the el-ders and by trying to apply the points theybring out. You can also show your apprecia-tion by making meaningful comments atmeetings. Support the work in which the el-ders are taking the lead, such as the fieldministry. If you have benefited from counselyou received from a certain elder, why nottell him so? In addition, why not show yourappreciation for the elders’ families? Re-member, for an elder to work hard in thecongregation, his family is sacrificing timespent with him.

20 Yes, we have ample reason to show grat-itude for the elders, who are working hardamong us, presiding over us, and admonish-ing us. These “gifts in men” are truly a lov-ing provision from Jehovah!

19, 20. How may you show appreciation for the“gifts in men”?

Do You Recall?˙ What reasons did the Thessalonian

Christians have to appreciate thosetaking the lead among them?

˙ How do the elders in your congrega-tion work hard for you?

˙ How do you benefit from the elders’presiding over you?

˙ If given admonition by an elder, whatshould you keep in mind?


“SUCCESS”—an eye-catching word! Somehave climbed the corporate ladder and

have achieved great success in getting richand making a name for themselves. Othershave dreamed of success but have met withutter failure.

To a large extent, success depends onwhat you make the focus of your life. Twoother important factors are how you useyour time and energy and whether youshow initiative.

Many Christians have found that havinga full share in the ministry has broughtthem great satisfaction. Having the full-time service as a career has helped youngandold alike to be successful. Yet, somemayfeel that the ministry is somewhat boringand give it a secondary place in their lives asthey pursue other goals. Why might thishappen? What can you do to avoid losingsight of what is truly valuable? And howcanyou “make your way successful”?—Josh.1:8.

Extracurricular Activities and HobbiesChristian youths need to maintain the

proper balance between serving the trueGod and participating in other activities.Those who do so are heading for success inlife and deservewarm commendation.

Some young Christians, though, becomeheavily involved in extracurricular ac-tivities and hobbies. Such activities maynot in themselves be objectionable. How-

ever, young Christians shouldask themselves: ‘How much ofmy time might those activi-ties demand? What about as-sociations? What kind of spiritam I exposed to when engagingin those activities? And whatmight become the focus of mylife?’ You likely realize that onecould become so obsessed with

such activities that little time or energywould be left for maintaining a relationshipwith God. You can see, then, why settingpriorities is important.—Eph. 5:15-17.

Consider the case of Wiktor.� He relates:“When I was 12, I joined a volleyball club.In time, Iwonmanyprizes andawards. I hadan opportunity to become a star.” In time,Wiktor became disturbed about the effectthat his pursuit of the sport was having onhis spirituality. One day, he fell asleep whiletrying to read the Bible. Also, he recognizedthat he derived little joy from the field min-istry. “The sport robbed me of my energy,and soon I realized that it was also robbingme of my spiritual zeal. I knew I was not do-ing all that I could.”

Higher Education?A Christian has a Scriptural obligation to

care forhis family, and that includes provid-ing for their material needs. (1 Tim. 5:8)Still, does this really require a college or auniversity degree?

It would be good to consider what effectpursuing higher education could have onone’s relationship with Jehovah. Let us il-lustrate this by considering a Scriptural ex-ample.

Baruch was the secretary to the prophetJeremiah.Atonepoint, rather than focusingon the privileges he had in serving Jehovah,


“Make YourWay Successful”

How?


Baruch became ambitious. Jehovah noticedthis and through Jeremiah warned him:“You keep seeking great things for yourself.Do not keep on seeking.”—Jer. 45:5.

What were the “great things” that Baruchkept seeking? He may have been tempted tomake a name for himself in the Jewish sys-tem of things. Or the great things couldhave been material prosperity. In any case,he had lost sight of the more importantthings, those having spiritual value. (Phil.1:10) Yet, Baruch obviously listened to Jeho-vah’s warning through Jeremiah and thusgained his soul as a spoil.—Jer. 43:6.

What can we draw from this account?The counsel Baruch received indicates thatsomething was amiss. He was seeking greatthings for himself. If you have a means ofsupporting yourself, do you really need tospend time,money, andefforton further ed-ucation just to realize personal aspirations orthose of your parents or other relatives?

ConsiderGrzegorz, a comput-er programmer. Persuaded byhis colleagues, he took up an in-tensive course of additional spe-cialized training. Soon he hadno time left for spiritual pur-suits. He recalls: “I constant-ly felt on edge. My consciencetroubledmebecause I could notreach the spiritual goals I hadset for myself.”

Engrossed inOne’s Employment

God’s Word encourages trueChristians to be hardwork-ing and to be responsible em-ployees and employers. Theapostle Paul wrote: “Whateveryou are doing, work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to

men.” (Col. 3:22, 23) However, while hardwork is commendable, something more isneeded—a good relationship with our Cre-ator. (Eccl. 12:13) If a Christian became en-grossed in his secular work, spiritual pur-suits could easily be pushed into secondplace.

Becoming absorbed in a secular job canrob a Christian of the energy needed tomaintain his own spiritual balance and toassist his family. King Solomon observedthat “a double handful of hard work” isoften accompanied by “striving after thewind.” If a Christian is overly involved in asecular career, he can end up having pro-longed, severe stress. Such aperson canevenbecome enslaved to a career to the extent ofexperiencing burnout. If so, can he really“rejoice . . . and see good for all his hardwork”? (Eccl. 3:12, 13; 4:6) More important,would he have enough physical and emo-tional strength left to carry out his duties

Jehovah warned Baruch about ambition

in the family and to engage in spiritual ac-tivities?

Janusz, who lives in Eastern Europe, be-came engrossed in his gardening business.He recalls: “Worldly people admired me be-cause I was full of initiative and was able tocomplete each assigned task. But my spiritu-ality suffered, and I stopped sharing in thefield ministry. Soon I stopped attending

meetings. I became so proud that I dis-missed the counsel from the elders anddrewaway from the congregation.”

You Can Make Your Life a SuccessWehave considered three areas inwhich a

Christian might become very involved atthe cost of his spirituality. Are you in-volved in any of these? If so, the following

EXTRACURRICULARACTIVITIES AND HOBBIESˇ What kinds of attitudes

are you exposed to whenyou engage in those activ-ities?

ˇ How much time do thesedemand?

ˇ Could these become thefocus of your life?

ˇ Are these consuming timeyou previously devoted tospiritual pursuits?

ˇ What about associations?ˇ Do you find these as-

sociates more appealingthan fellow believers?

HIGHER EDUCATIONˇ If you have a means

of supporting yourself, doyou really need to spendtime, money, and efforton further education?

ˇ To support yourself, is it

really necessary to have acollege or a universitydegree?

ˇ What would be the effecton your meeting atten-dance?

ˇ Have you ‘made sureof the more importantthings’?

ˇ Do you need to strength-en your confidence in Je-hovah’s ability to providefor you?

EMPLOYMENTˇ Does your choice allow

you to ‘rejoice and seegood for all your hardwork’?

ˇ Do you have enoughphysical and emotionalstrength left to carry outyour duties in the familyand to engage in spiritualactivities?

ˇ Do you take enough timeto communicate withyour family?

ˇ Have you become so ab-sorbed in work that spiri-tual matters are beingpushed aside?

ˇ Has it affected the qualityof your talk assignments?

How Can You MakeYour Way Successful?With so many things vying for your attention, how canyou avoid losing sight of what is truly valuable? Take sometime to examine your motives and priorities by reflectingon the following questions:


questions, scriptures, and comments mayhelp you to determine whether you are real-ly on the way to success.

Extracurricular activities and hobbies:Howabsorbed are you in such activities? Arethese consuming time that you previouslydevoted to spiritual pursuits? Do you findassociation with your fellow believers tobe less appealing? If so, why not imitateKing David, who implored Jehovah: “Makeknown to me the way in which I shouldwalk.”—Ps.143:8.

A traveling overseer helped Wiktor, men-tioned earlier. The overseer commented tohim: “You speak passionately about yourcareer in volleyball.” “That shook me up,”says Wiktor. “I realized that I had gone toofar. Soon, I broke off associationwith world-ly friends at the club and sought out friendsin the congregation.” Today, Wiktor is serv-ing Jehovah zealously in his congregation.He recommends: “Ask your friends, yourparents, or the congregation elders if theyhave observed whether your school activi-ties draw you closer to Jehovah or awayfrom him.”

Why not indicate to the elders in yourcongregation that you would like to reachout for more privileges in serving God?Could you support the elderly who arein need of company or assistance, perhapshelping with their shopping or tasks in theirhome? Regardless of your age, you mightbe able to engage in the full-time minis-try, sharing with others the basis for yourjoy.

Higher education: Jesus warned against‘seeking your own glory.’ (John 7:18) What-ever youdecide as tohowmuch secular edu-cation you will obtain, have you ‘made sureof the more important things’?—Phil. 1:9,10.

Grzegorz, the computer programmer,made some changes in his life. He said:“Taking seriously the advice of the elders, Isimplified my life. I realized that I did notneed to further my secular education. Thatwould only rob me of time and energy.”Grzegorz gotmore involved incongregationactivities. In time, he graduated from whatis now called the Bible School for SingleBrothers. Yes, he ‘bought out the time’ tofurtherhis divine education.—Eph. 5:16.

Secular employment: Have you become soabsorbed in your work that spiritual inter-ests are being pushed aside? Do you takeenough time to communicate with yourfamily? And in the congregation, are youimproving the quality of your talk assign-ments? How about engaging in upbuildingconversation with others? “Fear the trueGod and keep his commandments,” andyou will receive Jehovah’s rich blessing and‘see good because of your hard work.’—Eccl.2:24; 12:13.

Janusz, mentioned earlier, did notachieve great success in his gardening busi-ness; rather, hemetwith failure.Withno in-come and deeply in debt, he turned to Jeho-vah. Janusz put his affairs in order and nowserves as a regular pioneer and a congrega-tion elder. He says: “When I am satisfiedwith the basics and at the same time give ofmyself spiritually, I have peace of mind anda calm heart.”—Phil. 4:6, 7.

Take some time to make an honest ap-praisal of your motives and priorities. Serv-ing Jehovah is a course to lifelong success.Make it the center of your life.

You may have to make some adjustments,even eliminating unnecessary things in or-der to prove to yourself “the good and ac-ceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom.12:2) But you can “make your way success-ful” by serving himwhole-souled.


August 29–September 4Will You FollowJehovah’s Loving Guidance?


September 5-11Will You HeedJehovah’s Clear Warnings?


September 12-18God’s Rest—What Is It?PAGE 24 SONGS TO BE USED: 19, 27

September 19-25God’s Rest—Have You Entered Into It?PAGE 28 SONGS TO BE USED: 134, 24

34567JULY 15, 2011



34567�

JULY 15, 2011



Jehovah lovingly warns us about negative in-fluences that could cause us to veer off the roadthat leads to everlasting life. These two articlesdiscuss six bad influences and how we canavoid them.


The Bible says that after man’s creation, Jeho-vah “rested” on the seventh day. (Heb. 4:4)The first article in this pair will explain the pur-pose of God’s rest day and why it is relevant tous. The second article will show some ways inwhich we can prove that we personally havejoined Jehovah in his rest.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Introducing theSimplified EnglishEdition

4 A Lengthy LegalStruggle Endsin Victory! )

20 I FearedDeath—Now IAwait ‘Life inAbundance’ )


WE ARE pleased to an-nounce that for a trial peri-od of one year, beginning

with this issue of the study edition of TheWatchtower, we will publish simultaneouslyeach month a simplified English edition. Itwill contain the study articles and, as spaceallows, selected secondary articles. We be-lieve that this will fill a vital spiritual need formanyof Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why so?

English is the common language spokenby our brothers in such lands as Fiji, Ghana,Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea,and Solomon Islands. Although our brothersin these countries may speak other local, orindigenous, languages, they often use En-glish for everydaycommunication at congre-gation meetings and in the field ministry.However, the English they use is simplerthan what we use in our publications. Also,there are others of Jehovah’s people whohave moved to countries where they mustuse English to communicate even thoughtheir knowledge of the language is quite lim-ited.Moreover, they cannot attend congrega-tion meetings conducted in their mothertongue.

The articles that we consider each weekat the Watchtower Study are the principalmeans to keep us well-supplied with timely

spiritual food. Therefore, to help all in atten-dance to benefit fully from this material, thesimplified English edition uses a smaller vo-cabulary with simplified grammar and syn-tax. This new edition will have a distinctivecover. The subheadings, paragraphs, reviewquestions, and artwork in the study articleswill coincide with those in the standard edi-tion. Thus, all can follow along in eitheredition and participate at the WatchtowerStudy. To show the difference in wording inthe two editions, see the example belowfrom paragraph 2 of the first study article inthis issue.

It is our hope that this new provision willanswer the prayers of many who have saidto Jehovah: “Make me understand, that Imay learn your commandments.” (Ps. 119:73) We are confident that those with a limit-ed knowledge of English, as well as someyounger English-speaking children, will thusbe able to prepare better for the WatchtowerStudy each week. We give all thanks to Jeho-vah that out of “love for the whole associa-tion of brothers,” he is using the “faithfuland discreet slave” to give spiritual food inabundance.—1 Pet. 2:17; Matt. 24:45.

Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Introducing theSimplified English Edition

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JULY 15, 2011

IT BEGAN in 1995 and lasted for 15 years.During all that time, true Christians in

Russiawere under attack byopposers of free-dom of religion. These opposers were deter-mined to have Jehovah’s Witnesses out-lawed in Moscow and beyond. Even so,Jehovah saw fit to reward the integrityof ourdear Russian brothers and sisters with a legalvictory. What, though, led up to this con-frontation?

FREEDOM—AT LAST!During the first half of the 1990’s, our

brothers in Russia regained the religiousfreedoms that they lost in 1917. In 1991 theywere registeredby the governmentof the So-viet Union as an official religion. After thebreakup of the Soviet Union, Jehovah’s Wit-nesses were registered in the Russian Federa-tion. Moreover, Witnesses who had sufferedreligious persecution decades earlier wereofficially recognized by the State as victimsof political oppression. In 1993, Moscow’sDepartment of Justice registered the Mos-cow Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses,as we are legally known there. That sameyear, Russia’s new constitution, which guar-antees freedomof religion, alsowent into ef-fect. Nowonder that one brother exclaimed,“We never even dreamed we would see suchfreedom!” He then continued, “For 50 yearswe had waited for this!”

The brothers and sisters in Russia usedthat “favorable season” well by quickly step-ping up their preaching activities, and manyresponded. (2 Tim. 4:2) “People were deeplyinterested in religion,” noted one observer.Before long, the number of publishers, pio-

neers, and congregations multiplied. In fact,from1990 to 1995, the numberof Witnessesin Moscow jumped from some 300 to over5,000! As the ranks of new servants of Jeho-vah inMoscow kept swelling, opposers of re-ligious freedom became alarmed. In themid-1990’s, they attacked by instigating a le-galwar. That strugglewould go through fourdrawn-out stages before it would finally beresolved.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONSEND WITH A TWIST

The first stage of the struggle began inJune 1995. A Moscow-based group that isopenly aligned with the Russian Ortho-dox Church filed a complaint accusing ourbrothers of engaging in criminal activities.The group claimed to be acting on behalf offamily members who resented that theirspouses or children had become Witnesses.In June 1996, investigators began searchingfor evidence of wrongdoing, but they foundnone. Still, the same group filed anothercomplaint—again accusing our brothers ofcriminal acts. Investigators conducted an-other inquiry, but all accusations were refut-ed. Even so, the opposers filed a third com-plaint, based on the same charges. Again,Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow were inves-tigated, but the prosecutor came to the sameconclusion—therewere no grounds for start-ing a criminal case. Then the opposers filedthe same complaint a fourth time, and onceagain, the prosecutor found no evidence. In-credibly, the same group requested anotherinvestigation. Finally, on April 13, 1998, thenew investigator closed the case.

A LENGTHY LEGAL STRUGGLEENDS IN VICTORY!

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JULY 15, 2011 5

“But then,” says a lawyer involved inthe case, “something bizarre happened.” Al-though the representative of the prosecu-tor’s office that conducted this fifth investi-gation admitted that there was no evidenceof criminal activity, she still advised that acivil suit be brought against our brothers.The representative alleged that the MoscowCommunityof Jehovah’sWitnesses violatednational and international law. The prosecu-torof theNorthernAdministrativeCircuit ofMoscow agreed and filed a civil complaint.�On September 29, 1998, hearings started inMoscow’s Golovinsky District Court. Thesecond stage had begun.

THE BIBLE IN COURTIn a cramped courtroom in northern

Moscow, Prosecutor Tatyana Kondratyevalaunched the attack, using a federal lawsigned in 1997 that describes OrthodoxChristianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhismas traditional religions.� The same law, inpractice, has made it difficult for other reli-gions to obtain legal recognition. It also al-lows courts to ban religions that promotehatred. Using this law, the prosecutor falselyalleged that Jehovah’s Witnesses promotehatred and destroy families and thereforeshould be banned.

A lawyer defending our brothers asked:“Who are the individuals in the MoscowCongregationwho are guiltyof violating thelaw?” The prosecutor could not supply onename. She claimed, though, that the litera-ture of Jehovah’s Witnesses incites religiousenmity. To prove her point, she read fromthe Watchtower and Awake! magazines and

� The complaint was filed on April 20, 1998. Twoweeks later, on May 5, Russia ratified the European Con-vention on Human Rights.� “The law was adopted under strong pressure from

the Russian Orthodox Church, which is jealously guard-ing its position in Russia and is eager to see a ban on Je-hovah’s Witnesses.”—Associated Press, June 25, 1999.

other publications (see above). When askedin what way these publications cause enmi-ty, she said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses teach thatthey have the true religion.”

A lawyer, one of our brothers, handed acopy of the Bible to the judge and a copy tothe prosecutor and read Ephesians 4:5: “OneLord, one faith, one baptism.” Before long,the judge, the prosecutor, and the lawyer—all with Bible in hand—were discussingsuch scriptures as John17:18 and James 1:27.The court asked: “Do these scriptures incitereligious enmity?” The prosecutor answeredthat she was not competent to comment ontheBible. The lawyer showedpublicationsofthe Russian Orthodox Church that severelycriticize Jehovah’s Witnesses and asked: “Dothese statements violate the law?” The pros-ecutor replied: “I am not competent to com-ment on clerical arguments.”

THE PROSECUTION FALTERSIn accusing the Witnesses of destroying

families, the prosecutor stated that they donot celebrate such holidays as Christmas.However, she later admitted that Russian lawdoes not require citizens to celebrate Christ-mas. Russians—including Russian Witnessesof Jehovah—have a choice. The prosecutoralso asserted that our organization ‘deprives

children of normal rest and emotional joys.’Still, when questioned, she admitted that shehadnever talked to any youths raised by Wit-ness parents. When a lawyer asked the prose-cutor if she had ever attended the meet-ings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, she answered:“There was no need.”

The prosecution presented a professor ofpsychiatry as an expert witness. He allegedthat reading our literature causes mentalproblems. When a defense lawyer notedthat the professor’s written statement to thecourt was identical to a document preparedby the Moscow Patriarchate, the professoradmitted that some parts were the same,word for word. “We work from one dis-kette,” he said. Further questioning revealedthat he had never treated one of Jehovah’sWitnesses. In contrast, another professor ofpsychiatry testified in court that he hadstudied more than 100 Witnesses in Mos-cow.He found that the group possessed nor-mal mental health, adding that the mem-bers of the group had grown more tolerantof other religions since they had becomeWitnesses.

VICTORY—BUT NOT FINALOn March 12, 1999, the judge appointed

five academics to study the literature of Je-hovah’s Witnesses, and she suspended thetrial. Unrelated to the Moscow trial, the Jus-tice Ministry of Russia’s federal governmenthad already ordered a panel of academics tostudy our literature. This panel commis-sioned by the Ministry reported on April 15,1999, that they had found nothing harmfulinour publications. SoonApril 29,1999, theJustice Ministry renewed the national regis-tration of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Even withthis new positive study inhand, the Moscowcourt insisted that a new panel examine ourliterature. This caused a strange situation

On February 28, 1996, Russia signedthe European Convention on HumanRights. (On May 5, 1998, Russia ratifiedthe Convention.) By signing that treaty,Russia’s government declared that itssubjects have

‘the right to freedom of religionand the right to practice their reli-gion at home and in public andto change their religion if theywant to do so.’—Article 9.

‘the right to say and write in aresponsible way what they thinkand to give information to others.’—Article 10.

‘the right to take part in peacefulmeetings.’—Article 11.

Individuals or organizations who are vic-tims of violations of the treaty and whohave exhausted all domestic legal ave-nues can bring their case to the Euro-pean Court of Human Rights in Stras-bourg, France (shown above). It is madeup of 47 judges—a number equal to thenumber of countries that signed the Eu-ropean Convention on Human Rights.The Court’s judgments are binding.Countries that signed the treaty mustcomply with the judgments.

Why a Russian VerdictIs Reviewed in France


—Jehovah’s Witnesses were recognized na-tionally by Russia’s Ministry of Justice as anapproved religion abiding by the law but, atthe same time, were being investigated byMoscow’s Department of Justice for alleged-ly breaking the law!

Nearly two years passed before the trial re-sumed, and on February 23, 2001, Judge Ye-lena Prokhorycheva reached a verdict. Afterconsidering the findings of the panel thatshe had appointed, she ruled: “There is nobasis for the liquidation and banning of theactivity of the religious community of Je-hovah’s Witnesses in Moscow.” Finally, itwas legally established that our brotherswere innocent of all accusations leveledagainst them! However, the prosecutor re-jected the verdict and appealed to the Mos-cow City Court. Three months later, onMay 30, 2001, that court annulled the deci-sion of Judge Prokhorycheva. It ordered a re-trial to be handled by the same prosecutorbut presided over by a different judge. Stagethree was about to begin.

DEFEAT—BUT NOT FINALOn October 30, 2001, Judge Vera Dubin-

skaya began the retrial.� Prosecutor Kondra-tyeva rehashed the charge that Jehovah’sWitnesses promote hatred, but then sheadded that banning the legal community ofJehovah’s Witnesses was a means to protectthe rights of theWitnesses inMoscow! In re-sponse to that outlandish claim, all 10,000Witnesses in Moscow immediately signed apetition asking the court to reject the prose-cutor’s offer of “protection.”

The prosecutor stated that there was noneed for her to provide evidence to provethat the Witnesses were guilty of wrong-

� Ironically, that same date marked the tenth anniver-sary of the passing of a law in Russia that recognized Je-hovah’s Witnesses as victims of religious oppression un-der Soviet rule.

doing. The trial, she said,was about the liter-ature and beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses,not their activities. She announced that shewould present a spokesman of the RussianOrthodox Church as an expert witness. Ofcourse, that announcement confirmed thatmembers of the clergy were indeed deeplyinvolved in the drive to ban the Witnesses.On May 22, 2003, the judge ordered that apanel of experts study the publications of Je-hovah’s Witnesses—again.

OnFebruary 17, 2004, the trial resumed toreview the results of the panel’s study. Theexperts found that our publications encour-age readers to “preserve the family and themarriage arrangement” and that the claimthat our literature promotes hatred was “un-supported.” Other scholars agreed. A profes-sor of religious history was asked: “Why doJehovah’s Witnesses preach?” He answeredthe court: “The preaching work is a must fora Christian. That is what the Gospel statesand that is what Christ commissioned hisdisciples to do—‘go andpreach in all lands.’”Nonetheless, on March 26, 2004, the judgebanned the activities of Jehovah’s Witnessesin Moscow. On June 16, 2004, the MoscowCity Court upheld the decision.� Comment-ing on the verdict, a longtime Witness ob-served: “In Soviet times, a Russian had to bean atheist. Today, a Russian must be Ortho-dox.”

How did the brothers react to the ban?Much like Nehemiah of old. In his day, whenenemies of God’s people opposed his effortsto rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, Nehemiah andhis people did not let themselves becomesidetracked by any form of opposition. In-stead, they “kept building” and “continued

� The ban liquidated the registered legal entity usedby the congregations in Moscow. The opposers hopedthat the liquidation would hamper our brothers in car-rying out their ministry.


to have a heart for working.” (Neh. 4:1-6)Similarly, our brothers in Moscow did not letopposers sidetrack them from the work thatis to be carried out today—the preaching ofthe good news. (1 Pet. 4:12, 16) They wereconfident that Jehovah would look afterthem, and they were ready to take on thefourth stage in this lengthy struggle.

INCREASE IN HOSTILITYOn August 25, 2004, our brothers deliv-

ered a petition to the Kremlin addressed toVladimir Putin, thenpresident of Russia. Thepetition, expressing deep concern about theban, consisted of 76 volumes and containedover315,000 signatures.Meanwhile, theRus-sian Orthodox clergy showed their true col-ors. A spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchydeclared: “We are very much against the ac-tivities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” A Muslimleader said that the ruling on the ban was “amilestone and positive event.”

Not surprisingly, deluded elements of Rus-sian society felt emboldened to attack Je-hovah’s Witnesses. Some Witnesses shar-ing in the preaching work in Moscow werepunched andkickedbyopposers. An enragedman chased a sister out of a building andkicked her so violently in the spine that shefell and hit her head. She required medicalhelp; yet, the police took no action againsther attacker. Other Witnesses were arrestedby the police, fingerprinted, photographed,and held in custody overnight. Managers ofmeeting places in Moscow were threatenedwith dismissal if they continued to rent theirhalls to the Witnesses. Before long, numer-ous congregations lost their rented meetingplaces. Fortycongregations havehad to sharethe same Kingdom Hall complex of fourhalls. One congregation using that facilityhad to hold the Public Meeting at half pastseven in the morning. “To attend, the pub-lishers had to get up at five o’clock,” related a

Here are three brief excerpts from theCourt’s judgment.��

One charge alleged that Jehovah’sWitnesses break up families. The Courtdecided otherwise. It stated:

“It is the resistance and unwill-ingness of non-religious familymembers to accept and to respecttheir religious relative’s freedomto manifest and practise his or herreligion that is the source ofconflict.”—Par. 111.��

The Court also found no evidence tosupport the charge of “mind control,”stating:

“The Court finds it remarkablethat the [Russian] courts did notcite the name of a single individu-al whose right to freedom ofconscience had allegedly beenviolated by means of those tech-niques.”—Par. 129.��

Another charge stated that by not ac-cepting blood transfusions, Jehovah’sWitnesses damage the health of believ-ers. The Court ruled to the contrary, stat-ing:

“The freedom to accept or refusespecific medical treatment, orto select an alternative form oftreatment, is vital to the principlesof self-determination and person-al autonomy. A competent adultpatient is free to decide, for instance,whether or not to undergo surgery ortreatment or, by the same token, tohave a blood transfusion.”—Par. 136.

The Court’s Judgment

traveling overseer, “but they did so willinglyfor more than a year.”

“FOR A WITNESS”To establish that the Moscow ban was

unlawful, in December 2004 our lawyerssought relief from the European Court ofHuman Rights. (See the box “Why a RussianVerdict Is Reviewed in France,” on page 6.)Six years later, on June 10, 2010, the Courthanded down a unanimous decision com-pletely exonerating Jehovah’s Witnesses!�The Court took note of all accusations madeagainst us and found them to be totallygroundless. It also stated that Russia had a le-gal obligation to “put an end to the violationfound by the Court and to redress as faras possible the effects.”—See the box “TheCourt’s Judgment,” onpage 8.

The Court’s well-articulated conclusionson how the European Convention on Hu-man Rights protects the practices of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses are binding not just on Rus-sia but also on the 46 other nations that aremembers of the Council of Europe. Evenmore than that, because of the breadth andscopeof the analysis of the lawand the facts,it will be read with interest by legal scholars,judges, legislators, and human rights spe-cialists around the world. Why is this? Inreaching its decision, the Court referred notonly to eight decisions it had previouslyhanded down in favor of Jehovah’s Witness-es but also to nine victories earlier wonby Jehovah’s Witnesses before the highestcourts of Argentina, Canada, Japan, Russia,South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom,and the United States. These references andthe Court’s robust refutations of the accusa-

� On November 22, 2010, a five-judge panel of theGrand Chamber of the European Court of HumanRights rejected Russia’s petition requesting that the casebe referred to the Court’s Grand Chamber. In doing so,the June 10, 2010, judgment became final and enforce-able.

tions made by the Moscow prosecutor pro-vide theworldwide communityof Jehovah’sWitnesses with a powerful tool to use in de-fense of their faith and practices.

Jesus told his followers: “You will be haledbefore governors andkings for my sake, for awitness to them and the nations.” (Matt. 10:18) The legal struggle that took place duringthe last decade and a half offered our broth-ers the opportunity to make Jehovah’s nameknown as never before in Moscow and be-yond. The attention focused on the Witness-es by the investigations, the court cases, andthe verdict of an international court has in-deed been “for awitness” and has contribut-ed to “the advancement of the good news.”(Phil. 1:12) In fact, when the Witnesses inMoscow share in the preaching work to-day, many householders react, saying, “Butdid they not ban you people?” That ques-tion often gives our brothers an oppor-tunity to provide the householders withmore information about our beliefs. Clearly,no opposing force can stop us from ourKingdom-preaching activity. We pray thatJehovah continues to bless and sustain ourbeloved and courageous brothers and sistersin Russia.

9


IMAGINE this: You need to travel to a cer-tain destination. For guidance, you turn

to a trusted friend who knows the way. As hegives you thorough directions, he might saysomething like this: “Be careful about thatnext turn. The sign is misleading. A lot ofpeople follow it and wind up getting lost.”Would you appreciate his concern and heedthe warning? In some ways, Jehovah is likethat friend. He gives us careful directionsabout how to reach our destination of ever-lasting life, but he also warns us about badinfluences that could cause us to go thewrong way.—Deut. 5:32; Isa. 30:21.

2 In this and the following article, we willdiscuss some influences about which ourFriend, Jehovah God, warns us. Let us keepin mind that Jehovah gives such warningsout of concern and love. He wants us toreach our destination. It pains him to seepeople giving in to bad influences and los-ing their way. (Ezek. 33:11) In this article, wewill discuss three negative influences. Thefirst is an external force, the second an inter-nal one. The third is not even real; nonethe-less, it is very dangerous. We need to knowwhat these influences are and howourheav-enly Father teaches us to resist them.One in-spired psalmist said to Jehovah: “Every falsepath I have hated.” (Ps. 119:128) Do you feelthe sameway? Let us see howwe can intensi-fy such feelings and act on them.

1, 2. (a) In seeking guidance to reach a destina-tion, what kind of warning might you appreciate,and why? (b) What kinds of warnings does Jehovahoffer those who serve him, and why?

Do Not Follow “After the Crowd”3 In taking a long journey, what would

you do if you felt unsure about which way togo? You might feel tempted to follow othertravelers—especially if you saw a great manymaking the same choice. Such a course isrisky. After all, those travelers may not beheading toward your destination, or theytoo may be lost. In this connection, considera principle that underlies one of the lawsgiven to ancient Israel. Those who served asjudges or as witnesses in judicial matterswere warned of the danger of ‘following af-ter the crowd.’ (Read Exodus 23:2.) With-out doubt, it is all too easy for imperfect hu-mans to bow to peer pressure, pervertingjustice. However, is the principle about notfollowing the crowd restricted to judicialmatters? Not at all.

4 In truth, the pressure to “followafter thecrowd” can affect us at almost any time. Itmay arise suddenly, and it can be very dif-ficult to resist. Think, for example, of thepeer pressure that Joshua and Caleb oncefaced. They were part of a group of 12 menwho went into the Promised Land to spy itout. Upon their return, ten of those mengave a very negative and discouraging re-port. They even claimed that some of theland’s inhabitants were giants descended

3. (a) Why might it be dangerous to follow othertravelers when we are unsure about which way togo? (b) What important principle do we find at Ex-odus 23:2?4, 5. How were Joshua and Caleb pressured to fol-low the crowd, but what enabled them to resist?

WILL YOU FOLLOW JEHOVAH’SLOVING GUIDANCE?

“Every false path I have hated.”—PS. 119:128.


from the Nephilim, the offspring of rebelangels and women. (Gen. 6:4) Now, thatclaimwas absurd. Those wicked hybrids hadbeen wiped out in the Deluge many centu-ries earlier, leaving not a single descendantbehind. But even the most baseless ideas canexert power over those weak in faith. Thenegative reports fromthose ten spies quicklyspread fear and panic among the people. Be-fore long, most were sure that it would be amistake to enter the Promised Land as Je-hovah had directed. In that volatile situa-tion, what did Joshua and Caleb do?—Num.13:25-33.

5 They did not go following after thecrowd. Although the crowd hated to hear it,those two men told the truth and stuck to it—evenwhen threatened with death by ston-ing! Where did they get the courage? Nodoubt, a good part of it came from theirfaith. People with faith see clearly the differ-ence between the baseless claims of menand the sacred promises of Jehovah God.Both men later expressed how they feltabout Jehovah’s record in fulfilling his everypromise. (Read Joshua 14:6, 8; 23:2, 14.)Joshua and Caleb were attached to theirfaithful God, and they could not imagine

hurtinghim for the sake of following a faith-less crowd. So they stood firm, setting a ster-ling example for us today.—Num.14:1-10.

6 Doyou ever feel pressured to followafterthe crowd? People who are alienated fromJehovah and who scoff at his moral stan-dards certainly form a vast crowd today.When it comes to entertainment and rec-reation, that crowd often promote base-less ideas. They may insist that the immo-rality, violence, and spiritism so prevalentin television programs, movies, and videogames are harmless. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Whenyou choose entertainment and recreationfor yourself or your family, do you allow thelax consciences of others to influence yourdecisions and to mold your conscience?Would that not, in effect, amount to follow-ing after the crowd?

7 Jehovah has given us a precious giftto help us make decisions—our “percep-tive powers.” However, these powers needto be trained “through use.” (Heb. 5:14)

6. In what ways might we feel pressured to followthe crowd?7, 8. (a) How are our “perceptive powers” trained,and why is such training more useful than follow-ing a host of rigid rules? (b) Why doyou find the ex-ample of many Christian youths heartwarming?

Are you ever tempted to follow the crowd?


Following the crowd would not train ourperceptive powers; nor, on the other hand,would a host of rigid rules in matters of con-science. That is why, for example, Jehovah’speople are not given a list of films, books,and Internet sites to avoid. Because thisworld changes so fast, such a list would beoutdated soon after it was made. (1 Cor. 7:31) Worse, it would deprive us of the vitalwork of weighing Bible principles carefullyand prayerfully and then making decisionson the basis of those principles.—Eph. 5:10.

8 Of course, our Bible-based decisionsmay at times make us unpopular. Christianyouths in school may face strong pressurefrom the crowd to see and dowhat everyoneelse is seeing and doing. (1 Pet. 4:4) There-fore, it is beautiful to see Christians youngandold imitating the faithof Joshua andCa-leb, refusing to follow after the crowd.

Do Not Follow“Your Hearts and Your Eyes”

9 The second dangerous influence we willdiscuss is an internal one. We might illus-trate it this way: If you were taking a journeyto a particular destination, can you imaginedeciding to cast aside your map and simplyfollow your impulses—perhaps turning ontoevery road that seemed tooffer pretty views?Clearly, giving in to such impulses wouldkeep you from reaching your goal. In this re-gard, consider another of Jehovah’s laws toancient Israel. Many today might find a lawabout putting fringes and blue threads ontheir garments hard to understand. (ReadNumbers 15:37-39.) Do you see the rele-vance, though? Obeying such a law helpedGod’s people to keep themselves distinct

9. (a) In the course of a journey, why might it bedangerous simply to follow our urges and impulses?(b) Why was the law found at Numbers 15:37-39 rel-evant to God’s ancient people?

and separate from the pagannations aroundthem. That was vital if they were to gain andmaintain Jehovah’s approval. (Lev. 18:24,25) However, that law also reveals a danger-ous internal influence that might lead usaway fromourdestinationof everlasting life.How so?

10 Note what Jehovah gave his people as areason behind this law: “You must not goabout following your hearts and your eyes,which you are following in immoral inter-course.” Jehovah has profound insight intohuman nature. He well knows how easilyour heart, or inner self, is seduced by whatwe take in through our eyes. The Bible thuswarns us: “The heart is more treacherousthan anything else and is desperate. Whocan know it?” (Jer. 17:9) Do you see, then,just how fitting was Jehovah’s warning tothe Israelites? He well knew that they wouldbe inclined to look at the pagan peoplesaround them and be seduced by what theysaw. They might be tempted to look likethose unbelievers and then to think, feel,and act like them.—Prov.13:20.

11 In our own day, it is even easier for ourtreacherousheart to be seducedbyour phys-ical senses. We live in a world that is gearedtoward appealing to fleshly inclinations. Sohow can we apply the principle behindNumbers 15:39? Consider: If those aroundyou at school, at the workplace, or in yourcommunity are dressing more and moreprovocatively, might you be affected? Mightyou be tempted to ‘follow your heart andeyes’ and be seduced by what you see? Thenmight you be tempted to lower your ownstandards by dressing in a similar manner?—Rom.12:1, 2.

10. How has Jehovah shown insight into humannature?11. In what way might we be seduced by our phys-ical senses?


12 We urgently need to cultivate self-control. If our eyes tend to wander wherethey should not, let us recall the firm resolveof faithful Job, who made a formal agree-ment with his own eyes—a firm decision notto give romantic attention to a woman nothis own wife. (Job 31:1) Similarly, King Da-vid resolved: “I shall not set in front ofmy eyes any good-for-nothing thing.” (Ps.101:3) Whatever might damage our cleanconscience and our relationship with Jeho-vah is for us a “good-for-nothing thing.”That would include any temptation that ap-peals to our eyes and threatens to seduce ourheart intowrongdoing.

13 On the other hand, we certainly wouldnever want to become, in a sense, a “good-for-nothing thing” to others by tempt-ing them to contemplate wrongdoing. We

12, 13. (a) What should we do if our eyes tend towander where they should not? (b) What can moveus to avoid becoming a source of temptation to oth-ers?

therefore take seriously the Bible’s inspiredcounsel to wear well-arranged and mod-est clothing. (1 Tim. 2:9) Modesty is notsomething we can simply define in a waythat suits us. We need to take into accountthe consciences and sensitivities of thosearound us, putting their peace of mindand welfare ahead of our own preferences.(Rom.15:1, 2) The Christian congregation isblessed with many thousands of young peo-ple who set sterling examples in this regard.How proud they make us as they refuse to‘follow their hearts and their eyes,’ choosinginstead to please Jehovah in all that they do—even in the way they dress!

Do Not Follow “Unrealities”14 Imagine that your journey took you

across a vast desert. What would happen ifyou veered off the road to pursue a mi-rage? Pursuing that illusion could cost youyour life! Jehovah well knows that danger.Consider an example. The Israelites wanted

to be like the nations aroundthem, who were ruled by hu-man kings. That desire was, infact, a grave sin, for it amount-ed to a rejection of Jehovah astheir King. Although Jehovahallowed them to have a hu-man king, he had his prophetSamuel deliver a pointed warn-ing about pursuing “unreali-ties.”—Read 1 Samuel 12:21.

15 Did those people thinkthat a human king would

14. What warning about pursuing“unrealities” did Samuel deliver?15. In what ways did the Israelitespursue unrealities?

Why is it dangerousto follow an impulse?


somehow be more real, more dependable,than Jehovah? If so, they were truly pursu-ing anunreality! And they were in danger ofpursuing many other satanic illusions. Hu-man kings would easily lead them into idol-atry. Idolaters make the mistake of thinkingthat physical objects—gods made of woodor stone—are somehow more real,more reli-able, than the invisible God, Jehovah, whocreated all things. But as the apostle Paulnoted, idols are “nothing.” (1Cor. 8:4) Theycannot see, hear, speak, or act. You might beable to see them and touch them, but if youwere to worship one, you would, indeed,be pursuing an unreality—an empty illu-sion that would bring only disaster.—Ps.115:4-8.

16 Satan is still adept at convincing peopleto pursue unrealities. For instance, he hasseduced innumerable people into lookingto material things to provide security. Mon-ey, possessions, and high-paying jobs mayseemtodeliver advantages.Whatdomateri-

16. (a) How does Satan lure many today into pur-suing unrealities? (b) Why can we say that materialthings are unrealities, especially in comparison withJehovah God?

al things deliver, though, when health fails,when the economy crumbles, or when anatural disaster strikes? What do they deliv-er whenpeople feel empty inside, inneed ofpurpose, direction, and answers to life’sdeeper questions? What relief can they de-liver in the face of death? If we look to ma-terial things to fill spiritual needs, wewill bedisappointed. Material possessions do notdeliver; they are unrealities. In the long run,they cannot even provide physical security,for theyhaveno lastingeffecton thepresentbrevity of human life or the likelihood ofsickness and death. (Prov. 23:4, 5) Howmuch more real, then, is our God, Jehovah!Only in a strong relationship with him canwe find genuine security. What a preciousblessing that is! Let us never forsake him inthe pursuit of unrealities.

17 Are we not blessed to have Jehovah asour Friend and Guide on life’s journey? Ifwe continue to heed his loving warningsagainst three bad influences—the crowd,our own hearts, and unrealities—we will bemuch more likely to reach our destinationof everlasting life. In the following article,let us consider three more warnings that Je-hovah provides to help us hate and avoidthe false paths that lead so many astray.—Ps.119:128.

17. What is your resolve regarding the negative in-fluences we have discussed?

Are you pursuingany unrealities?

What Do You Think?How can you make personal applicationof the principles revealed in the follow-ing scriptures?˙ Exodus 23:2˙ Numbers 15:37-39˙ 1 Samuel 12:21˙ Psalm 119:128


AROADsign that is pointing in thewrongdirection is not just misleading; it is po-

tentially dangerous. Imagine that a friendwarned you that an evil man had deliberate-ly changed a sign in order to cause harm tounwary travelers. Would you not heed thewarning?

2 To be sure, Satan is an evil foe who isbent on misdirecting us. (Rev. 12:9) All thebad influences discussed in the preceding ar-ticle originate with him and are aimed atcausing us to veer off the road that leads toeternal life. (Matt. 7:13, 14) Thankfully, ourbenevolent God warns us not to follow Sa-tan’s misleading ‘road signs.’ Let us now dis-cuss three more of Satan’s negative influ-ences. Aswe considerhow God’sWord helpsus to avoid being misled, we might imaginethat Jehovah is walking behind us and ispointing us in the right direction, saying:“This is theway.Walk in it, youpeople.” (Isa.30:21) Reflecting on Jehovah’s clear warn-ings will strengthen our resolve to heedthem.

Do Not Follow “False Teachers”3 Picture yourself on a journey in an arid

land. You spot a well in the distance andhead for it, hoping to get some water toquench your thirst. Upon arriving, however,you see that the well is dry. How disappoint-

1, 2. What is Satan bent on doing, and how doesGod’s Word help us?3, 4. (a) How are false teachers like dried-up wells?(b) From where do false teachers often come, andwhat do they want?

ed you are! False teachers are like dried-upwells. Anyone coming to them for waters oftruth will be bitterly disappointed. Jehovahthrough the apostles Paul andPeter warns usabout false teachers. (Read Acts 20:29, 30;2 Peter 2:1-3.) Who are such teachers? Theinspired words of these two apostles help usto identify where false teachers come fromand how theyoperate.

4 To elders of the Ephesus congregation,Paul said: “Fromamong you yourselves menwill rise and speak twisted things.” Address-ing fellow Christians, Peter wrote: “Therewill also be false teachers among you.” Sofrom where do false teachers come? Theymay arise from within the congregation.Such ones are apostates.� What do theywant? They are not content just to leave theorganization that they perhaps once loved.Their aim, Paul explained, is “to draw awaythe disciples after themselves.” Note the def-inite article in the expression “the disciples.”Rather than going out and making theirown disciples, apostates seek to take Christ’sdiscipleswith them. Like “ravenous wolves,”false teachers are out to devour trustingmembers of the congregation, destroyingtheir faith and leading them away from thetruth.—Matt. 7:15; 2 Tim. 2:18.

5 How do false teachers operate? Theirmethods reveal a cunning spirit. Apostates“quietly bring in” corruptive ideas. Like

� “Apostasy” is a standing away from true worship, afalling away, defection, rebellion, abandonment.

5. What methods do false teachers use?

WILL YOU HEED JEHOVAH’SCLEAR WARNINGS?

“This is the way. Walk in it, you people.”—ISA. 30:21.


smugglers, they operate in a clandestinemanner, subtly introducing apostate views.And just as a clever forger tries to pass phonydocuments, so apostates use “counterfeitwords,” or false arguments, trying to passtheir fabricated views as if they were true.They spread “deceptive teachings,” “twist-ing . . . the Scriptures” to fit their own ideas.(2 Pet. 2:1, 3, 13; 3:16) Clearly, apostates donot have our best interests at heart. Follow-ing themwould only divert us from the roadthat leads to eternal life.

6 How can we protect ourselves againstfalse teachers? The Bible’s counsel regardinghow to deal with them is clear. (Read Ro-mans 16:17; 2 John 9-11.) “Avoid them,”says God’s Word. Other translations renderthat phrase “turn away from them,” “keepaway from them,” and “stay away fromthem!” There is nothing ambiguous aboutthat inspired counsel. Suppose that a doctortold you to avoid contact with someonewhois infected with a contagious, deadly disease.You would know what the doctor means,and you would strictly heed his warning.

6. The Bible gives us what clear counsel regardingfalse teachers?

Well, apostates are “mentally dis-eased,” and they seek to infect oth-ers with their disloyal teachings.(1 Tim. 6:3, 4) Jehovah, the GreatPhysician, tells us to avoid con-tact with them. We know what hemeans, but are we determined toheed his warning in all respects?

7 What is involved in avoidingfalse teachers? We do not receivethem into ourhomes or greet them.We also refuse to read their litera-ture, watch TV programs that fea-

ture them, examine their Web sites, or addour comments to their blogs. Why do wetake such a firm stand? Because of love. Welove “the God of truth,” so we are not inter-ested in twisted teachings that contradict hisWord of truth. (Ps. 31:5; John 17:17) We alsolove Jehovah’s organization, through whichwe have been taught thrilling truths—in-cluding Jehovah’s name and its meaning,God’s purpose for the earth, the conditionof the dead, and the hope of the resurrec-tion. Can you recall how you felt whenyou first learned these and other precioustruths? Why, then, allow yourself to besoured by anyone who would denigrate theorganization through which you learnedthese truths?—John 6:66-69.

8 No matter what false teachers may say,we will not follow them! Why go to suchdried-up wells only to be deceived and dis-appointed? Instead, let us be determined toremain loyal to Jehovah and to the organiza-tion that has a long record of quenching ourthirst with the pure and refreshing waters of

7, 8. (a) What is involved in avoiding false teach-ers? (b) Why are you determined to take a firm standagainst false teachers?

How may some inviteapostates into their homes?


truth from God’s inspired Word.—Isa. 55:1-3; Matt. 24:45-47.

Do Not Follow “False Stories”9 At times, it may be easy to discern that a

road sign has been tampered with and ispointing the wrong way. At other times, itmay be difficult to detect the deception.It is similar with Satan’s negative influ-ences; some are more obvious than others.The apostle Paul warns us about one ofSatan’s insidious strategies—“false stories.”(Read 1 Timothy 1:3, 4.) Lest we becomesidetracked from the road leading to life,we need to know, What are false stories,and how can we avoid paying attention tothem?

10 Paul’s warning about false stories is partof hisfirst letter toTimothy, aChristianover-seer who was charged with preserving thepurity of the congregation and helping fel-low believers to remain faithful. (1 Tim. 1:18, 19) Paul uses a Greek word that can referto fiction, myth, or falsehood. According toThe International Standard Bible Encyclopae-dia, this word refers to “a (religious) storythat has no connection with reality.” Per-haps Paul had in mind religious lies promot-ed by sensational tales or fanciful legends.�Such stories only “furnish questions for re-search”—that is, raise frivolous questionsthat lead to pointless research. False storiesare a ploy of the archdeceiver, Satan, whouses religious lies and godless myths to side-track unsuspecting ones. Paul’s counsel isclear: Do not pay attention to false stories!

� For example, the apocryphal book of Tobit (Tobias),written about the third century B.C.E. and thus extantin Paul’s day, is full of superstition and absurd tales ofmagic and sorcery presented as truth.—See Insight on theScriptures, Volume 1, page 122.

9, 10. What warning did Paul give Timothy regard-ing “false stories,” and what may Paul have had inmind? (See also footnote.)

11 What are some false stories that couldlead astray the unwary? In principle, the ex-pression “false stories” can apply to any reli-gious lie or myth that could turn us “awayfrom the truth.” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Satan, whopretends to be “an angel of light,” has madeclever use of false religion in misleadingpeople. (2 Cor. 11:14) Under the guise ofChristianity, Christendom teaches doctrines—including the Trinity, hellfire, and im-mortality of the soul—that are awash inmyths and falsehoods. Christendom alsopromotes holidays, such as Christmas andEaster, whose seemingly innocent customsare actually rooted inmythology and pagan-ism. By heeding God’s warning to separateourselves and “quit touching the uncleanthing,” we will not be misled by false stories.—2 Cor. 6:14-17.

12 Satan has promoted other lies thatcould mislead us if we are not careful. Con-sider some examples. Anything goes—right orwrong. It is determined by how you feel. Thisidea is promoted in the media and in enter-tainment. Such a distorted view of God’sstandards exerts pressure on us to cast asideall moral restraint. The truth is that we havea desperate need for moral guidance thatonly God can fill. (Jer.10:23) God will not in-tervene in earth’s affairs.Being influenced bysuch a live-for-today spirit could cause us tobecome “inactive or unfruitful.” (2 Pet. 1:8)The truth is that Jehovah’s day is fast ap-proaching, and we must keep in expectationof it. (Matt. 24:44) God does not care aboutyou as an individual. Believing this sataniclie could cause us to give up, feeling that

11. How has Satan made clever use of false religionin misleading people, and heeding what warningwill help us to avoid being misled?12, 13. (a) What lies has Satan promoted, andwhat is the truth regarding each of those lies?(b) How can we avoid being misled by Satan’s falsestories?


we could never be worthy of God’s love.The truth is that Jehovah loves and val-ues his worshippers as individuals.—Matt.10:29-31.

13 We must keep up our guard, for thethinking and attitudes of Satan’s world mayseem plausible on the surface. Remember,though, that Satan is a master of deception.Only by heeding the counsel and remindersof God’s Word can we avoid being misledby Satan’s “artfully contrived false stories[“cleverly concoctedmyths,” The New Amer-ican Bible].”—2 Pet.1:16.

Do Not “Follow Satan”14 Imagine a road sign that says “This Way

to Follow Satan.” Who of us would heedsuch a sign? Yet, Paul warns us about severalways inwhichdedicatedChristiansmight be“turnedaside to followSatan.” (Read 1 Tim-othy 5:11-15.) Paul’s words are directed tocertain “younger widows,” but the princi-ples he mentions apply to all of us. Thosefirst-centuryChristianwomenmay not havethought that they were following Satan, buttheir actions amounted to just that.Howcanwe guard against evenunwittingly followingSatan? Let us examine Paul’s warning re-garding harmful gossip.

15 Satan’s aim is to silence the voice of ourfaith—to get us to stop preaching the goodnews. (Rev.12:17) To that end, he tries to getus to pursue activities that waste time orthat cause division among us. Notice howPaul identifies Satan’s tactics. “Unoccupied,gadding about.” In this age of technology, itis easy to waste our time and that of othersby, for example, forwarding nonessential oreven fallacious e-mails. “Gossipers.” Harm-

14. What warning did Paul give to certain youngerwidows, and why do all of us need to take to hearthis words?15. What is Satan’s aim, and how does Paul identi-fy Satan’s tactics?

ful gossip may lead to slander, which oftencauses contention. (Prov. 26:20) Whetherthey realize it or not, malicious slanderersimitate Satan the Devil.� “Meddlers in otherpeople’s affairs.” It is not our right to tell oth-ers how to run their personal affairs. Allsuch idle and troublesomebehavior candis-tract us from the God-assigned work ofKingdom preaching. If we stop actively sup-porting Jehovah’s work, then we start fol-lowing Satan. There is no middle ground.—Matt.12:30.

16 Heeding the Bible’s advice can help usto avoid being “turned aside to follow Sa-tan.” Consider some of Paul’s wise counsel.Have “plenty to do in the work of the Lord.”(1 Cor. 15:58) Keeping busy in Kingdom ac-tivities will protect us from the dangers ofidleness and time-wasting pursuits. (Matt. 6:33) Speak what is “good for building up.”(Eph. 4:29) Be determined not to listen toharmful gossip and not to spread it.� Culti-vate trust in and respect for fellow believers.We will thus be inclined to speak words thatbuild up rather than tear down. “Make ityour aim . . . to mind your own business.”(1 Thess. 4:11) Show personal interest in

� The Greek word for “devil” is di·a�bo·los, whichmeans “slanderer.” This word is used as another title ofSatan, the foremost slanderer.—John 8:44; Rev. 12:9, 10.� See the box “Scattering Feathers in the Wind.”

16. Heeding what advice can help us to avoid being“turned aside to follow Satan”?

What Is Your Answer?How can you make personal applicationof the warnings contained in the follow-ing scriptures?˙ 2 Peter 2:1-3˙ 1 Timothy 1:3, 4˙ 1 Timothy 5:11-15

others, but do so in ways that respect theirprivacy and that do not take away their dig-nity. Remember, too, that we should not im-pose our own views on others regardingmatters that they need to decide for them-selves.—Gal. 6:5.

17 How grateful we are that Jehovah clear-ly tells us what not to follow! Never forget,

17. (a) Why does Jehovah warn us about what notto follow? (b) What is your determination regardingthe path that Jehovah wants us to take?

though, that Jehovah’s warnings discussedin this and the preceding article are motivat-ed by his great love for us. He wants to spareus the misery and pain that result from fol-lowing Satan’s misleading ‘road signs.’ Thepath that Jehovah wants us to take may becramped, but it leads to the best possible des-tination—everlasting life. (Matt. 7:14) Maywe never waver in our determination toheed Jehovah’s admonition: “This is theway. Walk in it.”—Isa. 30:21.

Scattering Feathersin the Wind

An old Jewish tale well illustrates the con-sequences of spreading hurtful gossip. Toldin various forms, the gist of the story is asfollows.

A man went about town slanderingthe town’s wise man. Later, the maliciousgossiper realized his wrong and went to thewise man to ask for forgiveness, offering todo whatever was necessary to make amends.The wise man had one request: The gossip-er was told to go and take a feather pillowand cut it open, scattering the feathers to thewind. Though puzzled by the request, thegossiper did as he was instructed and then re-turned to the wise man.

“Am I now forgiven?” he asked.“First, go and gather all the feathers,” the

wise man responded.“But how can I? The wind has already scat-

tered them.”“It is as difficult to repair the damage done

by your words as it is to recover the feathers.”The lesson is clear. Once spoken, words

cannot be retrieved, and it may be impossibleto undo the hurt they cause. Before spread-ing a bit of gossip, we are wise to rememberthat we are, in effect, about to scatter feathersin the wind.


ALOWrumbling noise gradually becamelouder and louder. It was followed by

thewail of sirenswarningpeople to take cov-er. Then came the howl of bombs and de-struction and a roar that burst the eardrumsof the terror-struck.

That was Milan, Italy, in 1943/1944. As ayoung soldier stationed there, I was oftenor-dered to collect human remains buried inbombed-out air-raid shelters where peoplehadbeen trapped, their bodies torn to piecesand unrecognizable. And it was not only thedeath of others that I saw up close. Some-times I myself narrowly escaped death. Onthose occasions I prayed, promising Godthat if I survived the massacres, I would dohis will.

Dispelling My Fear of DeathI grew up in a village about six miles

(10 km) from Como, Italy, near the Swissborder. At an early age, I came face-to-facewith grief and the fear of death. The Spanishflu took two of my sisters. Then in 1930,when I was only six years old, my mother,Luigia, died. Growing up as a Catholic, I ob-served religious rules and attended weeklyMass. But it was years later in a barber-shop, not in a church, that my fear was dis-pelled.

In 1944, World War II was reaping a dead-ly harvest. I was one of tens of thousands ofItalian soldiers who had fled the war zone toneutral Switzerland. Upon arrival we weretaken to a number of refugee camps. I wassent to one near Steinach, in the northeastof the country. There we were granted a cer-tain amount of freedom. The barber inSteinachneeded temporary help inhis shop.I lived and worked with him for just amonth, but that was enough for me to makean acquaintance that changed my life.

One of the barber’s customers was AdolfoTellini, an Italian living in Switzerland. Hewas one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had neverheard of this group, which was hardly sur-prising considering that at the time therewere no more than150Witnesses in all of It-aly. Adolfo told me about wonderful Bibletruths, promises of peace and of ‘life inabundance.’ (John 10:10; Rev. 21:3, 4) I wasenthralled by the message of a future with-outwar anddeath. Back at the refugee camp,I shared this hope with another young Ital-ian, Giuseppe Tubini, and he too was im-pressed. Adolfo and other Witnesses wouldvisit us in the camp every now and again.

Adolfo took me to Arbon, about six miles(10 km) from Steinach, where a small groupof Witnesses held meetings in Italian. I was

I FEARED DEATH—NOW I AWAIT

‘LIFE IN ABUNDANCE’˘

AS TOLD BYPIERO GATTI

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙


so enthusiastic about what I heard that thenext week I walked there. Later, I attendedan assembly of the Witnesses at a conven-tion hall in Zurich. I was particularly struckby a slide presentation of exterminationcamps, showing piles of bodies. I learnedthat many German Witnesses had beenmartyred for their faith. At that assembly, Imet Maria Pizzato. Because of her activitiesas a Witness, she had been given an 11-yearsentence by the Italian Fascist authorities.

When the war was over, I returned to Italyand joined the small congregation in Como.I had not had a systematic Bible study, but Ihad the fundamental truths clearly in mind.Maria Pizzato also belonged to that congre-gation. She spoke to me about the need forChristian baptism and invited me to visitMarcello Martinelli, who lived in CastioneAndevenno, in the province of Sondrio.Marcello was a faithful anointed brotherwho had been sentenced to 11 years by thedictatorial regime. I had to cycle 50 miles(80 km) to visit him.

Marcello used the Bible to explain therequirements for baptism, after which weprayed and went to the river Adda, where Iwas baptized. It was September 1946. Thatwas sucha special day! Iwas so excited aboutmy decision to serve Jehovah and now tohave a solid hope for the future that whenevening came, I hardly realized I had ped-aled 100 miles (160 km) that day!

In May 1947, the first postwar assembly inItaly was held in Milan. About 700 attended,including many of those who had livedthrough the Fascist persecution. Somethingrather unusual took place at this assembly.Giuseppe Tubini, to whom I had witnessedin the refugee camp, gave the baptism talk—after which he himself got baptized!

At that assembly, I had the privilege ofmeeting Brother Nathan Knorr, from Brook-

lynBethel. He encouraged Giuseppe and meto use our lives in service to God. I decidedthat I would begin full-time service within amonth. On arriving home, I told my familyof my decision, and they all tried to dissuademe. Yet, I was determined. So a month later,I started my service at Bethel in Milan.Four missionaries served there: Giuseppe(Joseph) Romano and his wife, Angelina;Carlo Benanti and his wife, Costanza. Thefifth member of the family was GiuseppeTubini, who had just joined them, and I wasthe sixth.

After one month at Bethel, I was appoint-ed a circuit overseer—the first Italian-bornin the country. Brother George Fredianelli,thefirstmissionary to come to Italy from theUnited States in 1946, was already in thetraveling work. He trained me for a fewweeks, and then I set off for this adventureonmyown. I particularly remember the firstcongregation I visited—Faenza. Just think!Upuntil then Ihadnever evengivena talk toa congregation! Even so, I encouraged thosein attendance, including many young ones,to think about taking up the full-time minis-try. Later, some of those young ones re-ceived assignments of great responsibility inthe Italian field.

I had begun an exciting life as a travelingoverseer. It was a life of surprises, adjust-ments, challenges, and joys, and one inwhich I received great affection from dearbrothers and sisters.

The Religious Scene in Postwar ItalyLet me tell you something about the re-

ligious situation in Italy back then. TheCatholic Church reigned unchallenged. Al-though a new constitution became opera-tive in 1948, it was not until 1956 thatthe Fascist laws preventing Witnesses frompreaching freely were repealed. As a result of


pressure from the clergy, circuit assemblieswere often interrupted. But sometimes theclergy’s efforts failed miserably, which iswhat happened in 1948 at Sulmona, a smalltown in central Italy.

The assembly was being held in a theater.On Sunday morning, I was the chairman,and Giuseppe Romano gave the public talk.The audience was immense for those days.At a timewhen therewerenot even500pub-lishers in the whole country, 2,000 peo-ple packed the theater. At the end of thediscourse, a young man, coached by twopriests who were in the audience, jumpedonto the stage. Intent on creating confu-sion, he started yelling at the top of hisvoice. I immediately told him, “If you havesomething to say, rent a hall, and you cansay whatever you like.” The audience wasnot impressed with him and drowned outhis voicewith expressions of disapproval. Atthis, the young man jumped off the stageand disappeared.

In those days, traveling was quite an ad-venture. I sometimes walked from one con-gregation to the next, rode my bicycle, trav-eledonbattered, overcrowdedbuses, or tookthe train. On occasion, my accommoda-tions were a stable or a toolshed. The warhad only recently ended, and most Italians

were poor. Therewere fewbrothers, and they were oflittle means. Life in Jeho-vah’s service was wonder-ful just the same.

Training at GileadIn 1950, Giuseppe Tubi-

ni and I were invited to at-tend the 16th class of the mission-ary school of Gilead. Right from thestart, I realized that it would be dif-ficult for me to learn English. I triedmy very best, but it was a real chal-lenge. We had to read the whole Biblein English. To accomplish this, I some-times skipped lunch to practice reading outloud. Eventually, my turn came to give atalk. I remember the instructor’s commentas if it were yesterday, “Your gestures andyour enthusiasm are excellent, but your En-glish is totally incomprehensible!” Despitethis, I managed to complete the course suc-cessfully. Thereafter, Giuseppe and I werereassigned to Italy. With the extra training,we were both better equipped to serve thebrothers.

In 1955, I married Lidia, whose baptismtalk I had given seven years earlier. Her fa-ther,Domenico,was a dear brother who had

0 On our way to Gilead

WithGiuseppeat Gilead

I T A L Y

S W I T Z E R L AN D

BERN

ROME

Zurich Arbon

Steinach

Como

MilanCastioneAndevenno

Faenza

Sulmona

River

Adda

Ventotene


managed to help all seven of his children toembrace the truth, despite his being perse-cuted by the Fascist regime and being sen-tenced to exile for three years. Lidia toowas areal fighter for the truth. She faced threecourt cases before our legal right to preachfrom house to house was eventually recog-nized. When we had been married for sixyears, Beniamino, our first son, was born. In1972 we had another son, Marco. I am de-lighted that both of them as well as theirfamilies are serving Jehovah zealously.

Staying Active in Jehovah’s ServiceDuring my happy life serving others, I

have had many memorable experiences. Forexample, in the early 1980’s, my father-in-law wrote to the then president of Italy, San-dro Pertini. During the Fascist dictatorship,both of them had been exiled to the islandof Ventotene, where perceived enemies ofthe regime were held. My father-in-law re-quested an interview with the intention ofgiving the president a witness. When his re-quest was granted, I accompanied him, andwe were cordially received—something wewere not at all used to. The president warmlygreeted my father-in-law with a hug. Thenwe talked aboutour faithandgavehimsomeliterature.

In 1991, after 44 years as a traveling over-seer, I left the circuit work, having visit-ed congregations throughout Italy. For thenext four years, I served as an Assembly Halloverseer until I had to lightenmyactivity be-cause of a serious illness.However, thanks toJehovah’s undeserved kindness, I am still infull-time service. I try to do my best topreach and teach the good news, and I ampresently conducting some Bible studies.The brothers still say that when I give talks, Ihave an “explosive” enthusiasm. I thank Je-hovah that my vigor has not diminishedwith age.

As a youth, I was completely dominatedby the fear of death, but gaining accurate Bi-ble knowledge has given me a sure hope ofeverlasting life—life “in abundance,” as Jesuscalled it. (John 10:10) That is what I am nowlooking forward to—a full life in peace, secu-rity, and happiness, with copious blessingsfrom Jehovah. May all honor go to our lov-ing Creator, whose name we have the privi-lege of bearing.—Ps. 83:18.

On our wedding day -

My dear wife has beenby my side for over 55 years


FROM the first chapter of Genesis, welearn thatGodprepared the earth forhu-

man habitation during six figurative days.The end of each of these periods is markedby the words: “There came to be eveningand there came to bemorning.” (Gen.1:5, 8,13, 19, 23, 31) However, with respect to theseventh day, the Bible states: “God proceed-ed to bless the seventh day and make it sa-cred, because on it he has been resting fromall his work that God has created.”—Gen.2:3.

2 Notice the form of the verb “has beenresting.” That suggests that the seventh day—God’s “day” of rest—was under way in1513 B.C.E. when Moses wrote the book ofGenesis. Is God’s rest day still ongoing? If so,can we enter into it today? The answers tothese questions are of vital importance tous.

Is Jehovah Still “Resting”?3 Two lines of evidence lead us to the con-

clusion that the seventh day was still underway in the first century C.E. First, considerJesus’ words to opposers who criticized himfor healing on the Sabbath, which they con-strued as a form of work. The Lord said tothem: “My Father has kept working untilnow, and I keep working.” (John 5:16, 17)What was the point? Jesus was being ac-cused of working on the Sabbath. His reply:“My Fatherhas kept working” answered thatcharge. In effect, Jesus was saying to his crit-

1, 2. What can we conclude from an accurate ren-dering of Genesis 2:3, and what questions arise?3. How do Jesus’ words recorded at John 5:16,17 in-dicate that the seventh day was continuing in thefirst century?

ics: ‘My Father and I are engaged in the sametype of work. Since my Fatherhas kept work-ing during his millenniums-long Sabbath, itis quite permissible for me to keep working,even on the Sabbath.’ Thus, Jesus impliedthat as regards the earth, God’s great Sab-bath day of rest, the seventh day, had notended in his day.�

4 A second line of evidence is provided bythe apostle Paul. When quoting Genesis 2:2concerning God’s rest, Paul wrote under in-spiration: “We who have exercised faith doenter into the rest.” (Heb. 4:3, 4, 6, 9) So theseventh day was ongoing in Paul’s day. Howmuch longer was that day of rest to con-tinue?

5 In order to answer that question, wemust remember the purpose of the seventhday. Genesis 2:3 explains what it is: “Godproceeded tobless the seventhday andmakeit sacred.” That day was ‘made sacred’—sanc-tified, or set apart, by Jehovah—in order tobring his purpose to completion. That pur-pose is for the earth to be inhabitedby obedi-ent men and women who will take care of itand all life upon it. (Gen. 1:28) It is towardthe realization of that purpose that bothJehovah God and Jesus Christ, the “Lordof the sabbath,” have “kept working until

� The priests and Levites performed work on the Sab-bath in connectionwith the temple and ‘remained guilt-less.’ As the high priest of God’s great spiritual temple,Jesus could also carry out his spiritual assignment with-out fear of violating the Sabbath.—Matt. 12:5, 6.

4. What further evidence does Paul furnish that theseventh day was ongoing in his day?5. What was the purpose of the seventh day, andwhen will that purpose be fully realized?

GOD’S REST—WHAT IS IT?“There remains a sabbath resting for the people of God.”—HEB. 4:9.


now.” (Matt.12:8) God’s rest daywill contin-ue until his purpose in connection with ithas been fully realized at the end of Christ’sThousand Year Reign.

Do Not “Fall in the SamePattern of Disobedience”

6 God’s purpose was clearly explained toAdam and Eve, but they failed to cooperatewith it. Of course, Adam and Eve were onlythe first humans to pursue a course of dis-obedience. There have been millions of oth-ers since then. Even God’s chosen people,the nation of Israel, fell into a pattern of dis-obedience. And significantly, Paul warnedfirst-century Christians that even some ofthem could fall into the same trap as the an-cient Israelites. He wrote: “Let us thereforedo our utmost to enter into that rest, for fearanyone should fall in the same pattern ofdisobedience.” (Heb. 4:11) Notice that Paullinks disobedience with failure to enter intoGod’s rest. What does that mean for us? Ifwe were to rebel against God’s purpose insome way, might we run the risk of not en-tering into God’s rest? Clearly, the answer tothat question is of great importance to us,and we will consider it further. At this point,however, let us see what more we can learnabout entering into God’s rest by consider-ing the bad example of the Israelites.

“They Shall Not Enter Into My Rest”7 In 1513 B.C.E., Jehovah revealed his pur-

pose concerning the Israelites to his servantMoses. God said: “I am proceeding to godown to deliver them out of the hand of theEgyptians and to bring them up out of thatland [Egypt] to a land good and spacious, to

6. What examples serve as a warning to us, andwhat lesson can we learn from them?7. What did Jehovah have in mind when he deliv-ered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and whatwas expected of them?

a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Ex.3:8) Just as Jehovah had promised their fore-father, Abraham, God’s purpose in deliver-ing the Israelites “out of the hand of theEgyptians” was to raise them up as his peo-ple. (Gen. 22:17) God gave the Israelites acode of laws that would enable them to en-joy a peaceful relationship with him. (Isa.48:17, 18) He told the Israelites: “If you willstrictly obey my voice and will indeed keepmy covenant [as outlined in the Law code],then you will certainly become my specialproperty out of all other peoples, becausethe whole earth belongs to me.” (Ex.19:5, 6)Thus, the Israelites’ enjoying a privileged re-lationship withGod was contingent on theirobeying his voice.

8 Just think what life would have beenlike if the Israelites had only obeyed God’svoice! Jehovah would have blessed theirfields, their vineyards, their flocks, and theirherds. Their enemies would have had nopermanent hold on them. (Read 1 Kings10:23-27.) When the Messiah appeared, hewould likely have found Israel functioningwell as an independent nation, not cringingunder the Roman whip. Israel would havebeen a model kingdom for its neighbors,providing concrete proof that obedience tothe true God brings spiritual and materialblessings.

9 What a privilege Israel had—to workalong with Jehovah’s purpose, resultingin blessings not only for themselves but,eventually, for all families of the earth!(Gen. 22:18)However, as awhole, that rebel-lious generation showed little interest in set-ting up a model kingdom under theocratic

8. What lifestyle could the Israelites have enjoyed ifthey had been obedient to God?9, 10. (a) Why was Israel’s desire to return to Egypta serious matter? (b) How might a return to Egypthave affected the Israelites’ worship?


rule. Why, they even demanded to returnto Egypt! (Read Numbers 14:2-4.) Now,how would their returning to Egypt advanceGod’s purpose to make Israel into a modelkingdom? It would not do so. In fact, if theIsraelites returned to the custody of their pa-gan captors, they would never be able to fol-low the Mosaic Law and benefit from Jeho-vah’s arrangement for forgiveness of theirsins. How fleshly—how shortsighted—theywere! No wonder Jehovah said of those reb-els: “I becamedisgustedwith this generationand said, ‘They always go astray in theirhearts, and they themselves have not cometo know my ways.’ So I swore in my anger,‘They shall not enter intomy rest.’”—Heb. 3:10,11; Ps. 95:10,11.

10 By seeking to return to Egypt, thatwayward nation showed that it esteemedas of little value the spiritual blessings ithad received, preferring instead the leeks,onions, and garlic that were available inEgypt. (Num.11:5) Like ungrateful Esau, therebelswere ready to forfeit a precious spiritu-al heritage in exchange for a tasty meal.—Gen. 25:30-32; Heb.12:16.

11 Notwithstanding the faithlessness ofthe generation of Israelites that left Egypt,Jehovah “kept working” patiently towardthe fulfillment of his purpose, now focusing

11. How did the unfaithfulness of the Israelites inMoses’ day affect God’s purpose?

his attention on the next generation. Themembers of that new generation were moreobedient than their fathershadbeen. Inhar-mony with Jehovah’s command, they en-tered the Promised Land and began to con-quer it. At Joshua 24:31, we read: “Israelcontinued to serve Jehovah all the days ofJoshua and all the days of the older menwho extended their days after Joshua andwho had knownall theworkof Jehovah thathe did for Israel.”

12 However, that obedient generationgradually died out and was replaced by ageneration that “did not know Jehovah orthework that hehaddone for Israel.” Conse-quently, “the sonsof Israel fell to doingwhatwas bad in the eyes of Jehovah and servingthe Baals.” (Judg. 2:10, 11) The PromisedLanddidnot prove to be a real “place of rest”for them. Because of their disobedience,theydidnot enjoy lastingpeacewithGod. Inspeaking of a later time, Paul wrote: “If Josh-ua had led [the Israelites] into a place of rest,God would not afterward have spokenof an-otherday. So there remains a sabbath restingfor the people of God.” (Heb. 4:8, 9) “Thepeople of God” Paul was referring to wereChristians. Does that mean that Christianscould enter into God’s rest? Most assuredly—both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians!

12. How do we know that it is possible to enter intoGod’s rest today?

What continues to be necessary for God’s people to enter into his rest?


Some Fail to Enter Into God’s Rest13 When Paul wrote to Hebrew Christians,

he was concerned that some among themwere not cooperating with God’s advancingpurpose. (Read Hebrews 4:1.) Inwhat sense?Ironically, it had todowith theobservanceofthe Mosaic Law. For some 1,500 years, any Is-raelite who wished to live in harmony withGod’s purpose had to observe the Law. How-ever,with Jesus’death, theLawwas takenoutof the way. Certain Christians failed to recog-nize that, and they insisted on continuing toobserve certain aspects of the Law.�

14 To Christians who were bent on observ-ing the Law, Paul explained that the highpriesthood of Jesus, the new covenant, andthe spiritual templewere all superior to theirpre-Christian counterparts. (Heb. 7:26-28; 8:7-10; 9:11, 12) Thus, likely with the obser-vance of the weekly Sabbath under the Lawinmind, Paul wrote of the privilege of enter-ing into Jehovah’s rest day: “There remains asabbath resting for the people of God. Forthe man that has entered into God’s rest has

� Whether any Jewish Christian would have gone sofar as to support arrangements for the Day of Atonementafter Pentecost 33 C.E. is not known. To do so would cer-tainly show a lack of respect for Jesus’ sacrifice. How-ever, some Jewish Christians were clinging to other tra-ditions associated with the Law.—Gal. 4:9-11.

13, 14. What connection was there between ob-serving the Mosaic Law and entering into God’s rest(a) in Moses’ day? (b) in the first century?

also himself rested from his own works, justas God did from his own.” (Heb. 4:8-10)Those Hebrew Christians had to stop think-ing that they could earn Jehovah’s approvalby performing works based on the MosaicLaw. Since Pentecost 33 C.E., God’s favorhasgraciously been bestowed on those who ex-ercise faith in Jesus Christ.

15 What had prevented the Israelites inMoses’ day from entering the PromisedLand? Disobedience. What was preventingsome Christians in Paul’s day from enteringinto God’s rest? The same—disobedience.They failed to recognize that the Law hadserved its purpose and that Jehovah wasleading his people in a different direction.

15. Why is obedience essential if we are to enterinto God’s rest?

We can enter intoJehovah’s rest todayby obediently working inharmony with his advancingpurpose as it is revealed tous through his organization

Questions for Meditation˙ What was the purpose of God’s

seventh day of rest?˙ How do we know that the seventh

day is still under way today?˙ What prevented the Israelites in

Moses’ day as well as some first-century Christians from enteringinto God’s rest?

˙ What does it mean to enter intoGod’s rest today?


Entering Into God’s Rest Today16 Few Christians today would insist on ob-

serving some aspect of the Mosaic Law in or-der to obtain salvation. Paul’s inspired wordsto the Ephesians are perfectly clear: “By thisundeserved kindness, indeed, you have beensaved through faith; and this not owing toyou, it is God’s gift. No, it is not owing toworks, in order that no man should haveground for boasting.” (Eph. 2:8, 9) What,then, does it mean for Christians to enterinto God’s rest? Jehovah set aside the sev-enth day—his rest day—in order to bring hispurpose respecting the earth to a glorious

16, 17. (a) What does it mean to enter into God’srest today? (b) What will be discussed in the next ar-ticle?

fulfillment. We can enter into Jehovah’s rest—or join him in his rest—by obediently workingin harmony with his advancing purpose as it isrevealed to us through his organization.

17 On the otherhand, if we minimized theBible-based counsel that we receive throughthe faithful and discreet slave class, choos-ing to follow an independent course, wewould be placing ourselves at odds withGod’s unfolding purpose. This could endan-ger our peaceful relationship with Jehovah.In the next article, we will consider a fewcommon situations that can affect God’speople and discuss how the decisions wemake, whether to obey or to take an in-dependent course, can determine if we havetruly entered into God’s rest.

IN THE preceding article, we saw that wecan enter into God’s rest by obedient-

ly working along with his purposes. Thatmight be easier said than done. When welearn that Jehovah disapproves of some-thing that we enjoy, for example, our initialreaction might be to rebel. That indicatesthat we need to make progress in the realmof being “ready to obey.” (Jas. 3:17) In thisarticle, we will review a few areas in whichour willingness to fit in with God’s purpose

1. What is one way we can enter into God’s rest to-day, but why might that be easier said than done?

—to be obedient from the heart—could beput to the test.

2 How well do you do in the matter of ac-cepting Bible-based counsel? The Scripturestell us that it is God’s will to gather to him-self “the desirable things of all the nations.”(Hag. 2:7) Of course, most of us were farfrom desirable when we first learned thetruth. However, love for God and for hisdear Son impelled us to make significantchanges in our attitude and habits so as to

2, 3. What efforts must we continue to make in or-der to remain desirable from Jehovah’s standpoint?

GOD’S REST—HAVE YOU ENTERED INTO IT?

“The word of God is alive and exerts power.”—HEB. 4:12.


be fully pleasing to God. Finally, after muchprayer and effort on our part, the blessedday arrived when we were able to presentourselves for Christian baptism.—Read Co-lossians 1:9,10.

3 The battle against imperfection did notend with our baptism, however. The fightcontinued and will continue as long as weare imperfect. We are assured, though, thatif we keep up the struggle and are deter-mined to become ever more desirable inGod’s eyes, Jehovah will bless our efforts.

When Counsel Is Needed4 Before we can begin to address our im-

perfections, we have to know what they are.A heart-searching discourse at the KingdomHall or a thought-provoking article in oneof our publications may expose a seriousflaw.On theotherhand, ifwemiss the pointwhen it is presented in a talk or fail to makepersonal application of the written counsel,Jehovah may use a fellow Christian to drawour shortcoming to our attention.—ReadGalatians 6:1.

5 It is not easy to accept counsel from animperfect human, no matter how tactfullyand lovingly the counsel is presented. Yet,as Galatians 6:1 points out, Jehovah com-mands those with spiritual qualifications to“try” to adjust us, doing so “in a spirit ofmildness.” If we respond favorably, we willbecome even more desirable in God’s sight.Curiously, when we pray, we freely admitthatweare imperfect.However,when some-one draws a specific failing to our attention,the tendency is to try to justify ourselves,

4. In what three ways might we receive Scripturalcounsel?5. Name some undesirable ways inwhich we mightreact when we are given counsel, and explain whyChristian shepherds must persist in their efforts tohelp us.

minimize the problem, question themotiveof the counselor, or object to the way inwhich the counsel was delivered. (2Ki. 5:11)And if the counsel touches a particularlysensitive area—the actions of a family mem-ber, our dress and grooming, our personalhygiene, or a form of recreation that we en-joy but that Jehovah hates—we might reactquite negatively, to our own surprise and toour counselor’s dismay! But after we calmdown, we usually concede that the counselwas appropriate.

6 The caption text for this article remindsus that the word of God “exerts power.” Yes,God’s word exerts power to change lives. Itis just as effective inhelpingusmakeneededchanges after our baptism as it was prior toour taking that step. In his letter to the He-brews, Paul also writes that the word of God“pierces even to the dividing of soul andspirit, and of joints and their marrow, and isable to discern thoughts and intentions oftheheart.” (Heb.4:12) Inother words,whenwe clearly understand God’s purpose for us,the way we respond to it reveals what we aredeep inside. Is there sometimes a differencebetween what we appear to be (the “soul”)and who we really are (the “spirit”)? (ReadMatthew 23:27, 28.) Consider how youwould react in the following situations.

Keep Pace WithJehovah’s Organization

7 Many of us can quote Proverbs 4:18from memory: “The path of the righteousones is like the bright light that is gettinglighter and lighter until the day is firmly

6. How does God’s word reveal the “thoughts andintentions of the heart”?7, 8. (a) What might have motivated some JewishChristians to cling to certain practices of the MosaicLaw? (b) Howdid their efforts square with Jehovah’sadvancing purpose?


established.” That means that our conductand our understanding of God’s purposeswill improve over time.

8 As we discussed in the preceding article,after Jesus’ death it was difficult for manyJewishChristians to break free from the Mo-saic Law. (Acts 21:20) AlthoughPaul skillful-ly argued that Christians were no longer un-der the Law, some rejected his inspiredreasoning. (Col. 2:13-15) Perhaps they feltthat if they continued to observe at leastportionsof theLaw, theywould avoidperse-cution. In any case, Paul wrote to the He-brew Christians and plainly told them thatthey could not enter into God’s rest as longas they refused towork inharmonywithHisunfolding purpose.� (Heb. 4:1, 2, 6; readHebrews 4:11.) To gain Jehovah’s approval,they would have to face the fact that he wasleading his people in a different direction.

9 In modern times, there have been re-finements in our understanding of certainBible teachings. This should not trouble us;it shouldbolsterourconfidence in the faith-ful and discreet slave class. When repre-sentative members of the “slave” discernthat our viewpoint on some point of truthneeds to be clarified or corrected, they donot hold back from making the adjust-ment. The slave class is more interestedin cooperating with God’s unfolding pur-pose than in shielding itself from criticismover an adjusted understanding. How doyou react when an adjustment in our un-derstanding of the Scriptures is presented?—Read Luke 5:39.

� Many leaders among the Jews scrupulously observedthe Mosaic Law, but when the Messiah arrived, theyfailed to recognize him. They did not keep up with God’sadvancing purpose.

9. What attitude should we have when adjustmentsare made in our understanding of Scriptural mat-ters?

10 Let us consider another example. Inthe late 19th and early 20th centuries, cer-tain Bible Students who were excellent pub-lic speakers felt that they could best carryout the commission to preach by deliver-ing well-prepared talks to appreciative audi-ences. They enjoyed public speaking, andsomeof them fairly basked in thewarmadu-lation of their listeners. However, it laterbecame evident that Jehovah desires hispeople to get busy in a variety of formsof preaching, including the house-to-housework. Some accomplished public speakersflatly refused to try anything new. Outward-ly, they appeared to be spiritual men, fullydevoted to the Lord. However, when facedwith clear evidence of God’s purpose regard-ing the preaching work, their real thoughts,intentions, and motives became manifest.How did Jehovah feel about them? He didnot bless them. They left the organization.—Matt.10:1-6; Acts 5:42; 20:20.

11 That is not to say that it was easy for allwho remained loyal to the organization topreach publicly. Many found the work chal-lenging, especially at first. But they wereobedient. In time, theyovercame their anxi-ety, and Jehovah richly blessed them. Howdo you reactwhenyou are invited to share insome form of the preaching work that ispresentlyout of your comfort zone? Are youwilling to try something new?

When Someone We LoveLeaves Jehovah

12 No doubt we all agree with the prin-ciple that we must be physically, moral-

10, 11. What lessons can be learned from the re-action of somewhen newmethods of preaching thegood news were introduced?12, 13. (a) What is Jehovah’s purpose in hav-ing unrepentant wrongdoers disfellowshipped?(b) What test do some Christian parents face, andwhat makes the test so difficult?


ly, and spiritually clean in order toplease God. (Read Titus 2:14.) Theremay be occasions, though, when ourloyalty to this aspect of God’s pur-pose is sorely tested. Suppose, for ex-ample, that the only son of an ex-emplary Christian couple leaves thetruth. Preferring “the temporary en-joyment of sin” to a personal rela-tionship with Jehovah and with hisgodly parents, the young man is dis-fellowshipped.—Heb.11:25.

13 The parents are devastated! Onthe subject of disfellowshipping,they know, of course, that the Biblesays “to quit mixing in company with any-one called a brother that is a fornicator or agreedy person or an idolater or a reviler or adrunkard or an extortioner, not even eatingwith such aman.” (1Cor. 5:11,13) They alsorealize that the word “anyone” in this verseincludes family members not living undertheir roof. But they love their son so much!Strong emotions might cause them to rea-son: ‘How can we help our boy return to Je-hovah if we severely limit our associationwith him? Would we not accomplish moreby maintaining regular contact with him?’�

14 Ourhearts goout to thoseparents.Afterall, their son had a choice, and he chose topursue his unchristian lifestyle rather thanto continue to enjoy close association withhis parents and other fellow believers. Theparents, on the other hand, had no say inthe matter. Nowonder they feel helpless!

15 But what will those dear parents do?Will theyobey Jehovah’s clear direction? Or

� See “Keep Yourselves in God’s Love,” pages 207-209.

14, 15. What is the real decision that parents of dis-fellowshipped children must make?

will they rationalize that they can have reg-ular associationwith their disfellowshippedson and call it “necessary family business”?In making their decision, they must not failto consider how Jehovah feels about whatthey are doing.His purpose is to keep the or-ganization clean and, if possible, to incitewrongdoers to come to their senses. HowcanChristianparents support that purpose?

16 Moses’ brother, Aaron, faced a difficultsituation with regard to two of his sons.Think of how he must have felt when hissons Nadab and Abihu offered illegitimatefire to Jehovah and He struck them dead. Ofcourse, that ended any association thosemen could have had with their parents. Butthere ismore. Jehovah instructedAaron andhis faithful sons: “Do not let your heads goungroomed, and you must not tear yourgarments [in mourning], that you may notdie and that [Jehovah] may not become in-dignant against all the assembly.” (Lev. 10:1-6) The message is clear. Our love for

16, 17. What can we learn by meditating on Aar-on’s example?

The parents are devastated!

Jehovah must be stronger than our love forunfaithful family members.

17 Today, Jehovah does not immediatelyexecute those who violate his laws. He lov-ingly gives them an opportunity to repentfrom their unrighteous works. How wouldJehovah feel, though, if the parents of anunrepentant wrongdoer kept putting Himto the test by having unnecessary asso-ciation with their disfellowshipped son ordaughter?

18 Many who were once disfellowshippednow freely admit that the firm stand takenby their friends and familymembers helpedthem come to their senses. In recommend-ing the reinstatementof one young woman,the elders wrote that she had cleaned up herlife “partly because of her fleshly brother’srespect for the disfellowshipping arrange-ment.” She said that “his faithful adherenceto Scriptural guidelines helped her to wantto return.”

19 What conclusion shouldwedraw?Thatwe need to fight against the tendencyof ourimperfect hearts to rebel against Scripturalcounsel. We must be absolutely convinced

18, 19. What blessings can come to family mem-bers who work along with Jehovah’s instructions re-garding disfellowshipped ones?

that God’s way of dealing with our prob-lems is always best.

“The Word of God Is Alive”20 WhenPaulwrote that “thewordofGod

is alive,” he was not referring specifically toGod’swrittenWord, the Bible.� The contextshows that hewas referring toGod’swordofpromise. Paul’s point was that God does notmake a promise and then forget about it. Je-hovah established this through the prophetIsaiah: “My word . . . will not return to mewithout results, but it will . . . have certainsuccess in that for which I have sent it.” (Isa.55:11) Thus, there is no need for us to be-come impatient when things do not moveahead as quickly as we might wish. Jehovah‘keeps working’ with a view to bringing hispurpose to a successful conclusion.—John5:17.

21 Faithful older members of the “greatcrowd” have served Jehovah for decades.(Rev. 7:9) Many never expected to grow oldin this system of things. Still, they have notgiven in to discouragement. (Ps. 92:14) Theyrealize that God’s word of promise is not adead issue—it is alive, and Jehovah is work-ing toward its fulfillment. Since God’s pur-pose is dear to his heart, we bring joy to himwhen we keep it uppermost in our minds.During this seventh day, Jehovah has beenresting, secure in the knowledge that hispurpose will be fulfilled and that, as agroup, his people will support it. Whatabout you? Have you personally enteredinto God’s rest?

� Today, God speaks to us through his written Word,which has power to affect our lives. Thus, by extension,Paul’s words recorded at Hebrews 4:12 can properly beapplied to the Bible.

20. In what two ways can Hebrews 4:12 be applied?(See footnote.)21. How can Hebrews 4:12 be an encouragement tofaithful older members of the “great crowd”?

Do Not Miss the Purpose˙ What is needed in order for us to

enter into God’s rest today?˙ What connection is there between

God’s purpose and our willingnessto accept Scriptural counsel?

˙ In what areas might obedience toScriptural direction become difficult,but why is it essential that we obey?

˙ In what two ways can Hebrews 4:12be applied?


STUDY ARTICLES:

��

August 29–September 4 ˙ PAGE 4��

Will You FollowJehovah’s Loving Guidance?

SONGS TO BE USED: 26, 3

��

September 5-11 ˙ PAGE 10��

Will You Pay Attentionto Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?


��


What Is God’s Rest?


��


Have You Entered Into God’s Rest?


34567JULY 15, 2011

S IMPL I F I ED ENGL ISH ED I T ION

The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown,ON L7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower, 1000 Red MillsRoad, Wallkill, NY 12589-3299. � 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.

Vol. 132, No. 14 Semimonthly ENGLISH

34567�

JULY 15, 2011

The purpose of this magazine, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the SupremeRuler of the universe. Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person toobserve developments from afar, so this magazine shows us the significance of worldevents in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news thatGod’s Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bring an end toall wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise. It promotes faith in JesusChrist, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling asKing of God’s Kingdom. This magazine has been published by Jehovah’s Witnessescontinuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority.

This publication is not for sale.It is provided as part of a worldwideBible educational work supportedby voluntary donations.

Unless otherwise indicated,Scripture quotations are fromthe modern-language New WorldTranslation of the Holy Scriptures—With References.

“Some Words Explained” arecontextual explanations of wordsused within an article.



Because Jehovah loves us, he gives us the directions thatwe need to live forever. He also warns us about dangers thatcan make us disobey him. In these two articles, we will learnabout six of these dangers and what we must do to avoidthem.


The Bible says that after Jehovah created the first humans,he “rested” on the seventh day. (Hebrews 4:4) The thirdarticle in this magazine will explain why God rested on theseventh day and why his day of rest is important to us. Thenext article will talk about how we can show if we haveentered into Jehovah’s rest.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 The New Simplified English Watchtower

28 A Legal Victory for Jehovah’s People!

WE ARE happy to introduce the firstissue of The Watchtower in sim-

plified English. This new edition willbe tried for one year, and if it is help-ful, it will continue to be printed. Itwill be sent to the congregations at thesame time as the standard, or regular,edition.

It is very important that everyone un-derstands the information that we studyin The Watchtower each week. This is be-cause the Watchtower Study is the mainway that “the faithful and discreet slave”teaches God’s people today. (Matthew24:45) But why is a simplified Watch-tower needed?

Many of our brothers and sistersaround the world attend English meet-ings but do not always understand thekind of English used in The Watchtower.There are several reasons for this. Forexample, English is used in many coun-tries in Africa, Asia, and the South Pa-cific. Our brothers in those places useEnglish at meetings and in the preach-ing work, but they may speak other lan-guages at home. Also, the English thatis spoken in those countries may bedifferent from the English that is usedin the standard edition of The Watch-tower. Some of our brothers and sistersare refugees in countries where they at-tend meetings in English. But it is dif-

ficult for them to understand The Watch-tower because English is not their nativelanguage. Some young ones whose mainlanguage is English sometimes find TheWatchtower hard to understand. Thesimplified English magazine will makeit easier for more of our brothers and sis-ters around the world to benefit from theWatchtower Study.

Although this magazine uses sim-pler English than the standard maga-zine, both magazines will teach the sametruths from the Bible. Both will have thesame number of paragraphs, and bothwill have questions, pictures, and re-view questions. This means that eachperson can decide which magazine hewants to studyand use at the WatchtowerStudy.

We are sure that the simplified En-glish magazine will make it easier formany brothers and sisters, includingyoung ones, to prepare for the Watch-tower Study each week. Jehovah loves“the whole association of brothers,” andwe thank him that he is using “the faith-ful and discreet slave” to give us every-thing we need at the right time.—1 Pe-ter 2:17.

Governing Bodyof Jehovah’s Witnesses

The NewSimplified EnglishWatchtower

3

IMAGINE this: Youneed to travel some-

where, but you need helpbecause you are not sureof the way. You have afriend who knows how toget there. You trust him,

so you ask for his help. He gives you thedirections you need, and he also givesyou some advice to help you avoid dan-gers on the way. For example, he warnsyou that on the road there is a sign thatis not clear. A lot of people followed itand got lost. Will you be happy to gethis warning and pay attention to it? Ina way, we are on a journey. Our journeyis a journey to everlasting life. Jehovahis our friend, and he gives us the direc-tionswe need to live forever. And he alsowarns us about dangers that can causeus to disobey him.—Deuteronomy 5:32;Isaiah 30:21.

2 In this article and in the next one,we will talk about some of these dan-gers. Remember that our friend, Jeho-vah God, warns us about them becausehe loves us. He wants us to live forever.It makes him sad when people makebad decisions and stop serving him.(Ezekiel 33:11) In this article, we willtalk about three dangers. The first dan-ger comes from other people. The sec-ond comes from inside of us. The third

1, 2. (a) When you ask a friend for direc-tions, what warning are you happy to receive,and why? (b) What does Jehovah warn usabout, and why?

comes from something that is not real.We need to learn what these dangers areand how Jehovah helps us to avoid them.One Bible writer knew about these dan-gers and said: “Every false path I havehated.” (Psalm 119:128) He hated every-thing that could make him disobey Je-hovah. Do you feel that way? Let ustalk about how we can be determinedto avoid every “false path.”

DO NOT FOLLOW“AFTER THE CROWD”

3 Imagine that you are on a long jour-ney and suddenly do not know whichis the right way to go. You see that manychoose to go a certainway. It would be soeasy to follow them. But it is dangerousto go a certain way just because manyother people go that way. Maybe theyare not going where you want to go. Ormaybe they are lost just like you. This ex-ample helps us to understand the prin-ciple, or lesson, that Jehovah wanted toteach the Israelites in one of the lawshe gave them. Jehovah spoke to thosewhowere judges and witnesses in a legalcase. He warned them of the danger offollowing after the crowd and of makingbad decisions only to please other peo-ple. (Read Exodus 23:2.) It is very easyfor imperfect humans to do that. But theprinciple “you must not follow after the

3. (a) On a journey, why could it be danger-ous just to follow other people when we do notknow which is the right way to go? (b) Whatimportant principle do we find at Exodus 23:2?

Will You FollowJehovah’s Loving Guidance?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Every false path I havehated.”—PSALM 119:128.

4

crowd” was not only for judges and wit-nesses in a legal case.

4 We could be in danger of followingafter the crowd in almost any situationin life. These situations can happen sud-denly, and it can be very difficult notto do what other people do. For exam-ple, think about what happened to Josh-ua and Caleb. These two Israelites wentto spy out the Promised Land with tenother men. When they came back, theten men said things about the Prom-ised Land that made the other Israelitesafraid. For example, they said that thepeople there were giants from the fam-ily of the Nephilim. (Genesis 6:4) Thiswas impossible because all the Nephi-lim died in the Flood of Noah’s timehundreds of years earlier, and they didnot have any children. But the Israelitesbelieved what those ten men said be-cause their faith was weak. When some-one has weak faith, he stops trustingin God and he begins to believe falseideas of humans. Soon, most of the Is-raelites started to think that they should

4, 5. When were Joshua and Caleb in dangerof following after the crowd? What helpedthem to have courage?

not follow Jehovah’s direction to enterthe Promised Land. What did Joshuaand Caleb do in that difficult situation?—Numbers 13:25-33.

5 Joshua and Caleb did not follow af-ter the crowd. Although the Israelitesdid not want to hear the truth, thosetwo men were not afraid to tell it. Theydid what was right, even when the Is-raelites wanted to kill them! What gavethem this courage? Their faith in Jeho-vah. When someone has strong faith inJehovah, he believes what Jehovah Godsays and not what humans with falseideas say. When Joshua and Caleb lat-er talked about their faith in Jehovah,they told everyone that he always doeswhat he promises. (Read Joshua 14:6, 8;23:2, 14.) Joshua and Caleb loved theirGod and trusted in him. They did notwant to do anything that could make Je-hovah sad just to please other people. Sothey did not follow after the crowd, andthey are a very good example for us to-day.—Numbers 14:1-10.

6 Do you sometimes want to followafter the crowd? Most people do not

6. In what situations are we in danger offollowing after the crowd?

Do you everwant tofollow afterthe crowd?

5

respect Jehovah. Theythink that what he saysabout right and wrong isfoolish. They have theirown ideas about what isright and what is wrongand try to make us believethese false ideas. For ex-ample, they say that thereis nothing wrong withtelevision programs, mov-ies, and computer gamesthat show sexual immo-rality, violence, and spirit-ism. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)How do you decide whatyou and your family willdo to enjoy yourselves?Do you decide that some-thing is right or wrong be-cause of what other peo-ple say and do? If this ishow you make decisions,you are following after thecrowd.

7 Jehovah gave us a precious gift tohelp us make decisions. It is the abil-ity to think carefully about things andthen choose between right and wrong.The Bible calls this gift our “percep-tive powers” and says that we need totrain them “through use.” (Hebrews 5:14) We cannot train our perceptive pow-ers if we only do what other people door if we expect others to tell us whatto do. For many things, we need touse our conscience and make our owndecisions. For example, Jehovah’s peo-

7, 8. (a) How do we train our “perceptivepowers”? Why is this training better than justfollowing a list of rules? (b) Why are you hap-py to see the good example of many youngChristians?

ple should not expect someone else tomake decisions for them and give thema list of movies, books, and Internet sitesto avoid. If we followed a list, we wouldneed new lists all the time. (1 Corinthi-ans 7:31) But the most important reasonwhywe do not expect others tomake ourdecisions for us is that we want to usethe ability that Jehovah gave us to makedecisions. Jehovah wants us to thinkcarefully about what the Bible says, prayfor his guidance, and then make deci-sions that please him.—Ephesians 5:10.

8 When we make decisions that agreewith the Bible, some people will not likeit. For example, it is very difficult forour young people in school because oth-ers are always trying to make them dowhat everyone else is doing. (1 Peter 4:4)But manyof our young people do not fol-low after the crowd. It is beautiful to seeChristians young and old show faith asJoshua and Caleb did.

DO NOT FOLLOW“YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR EYES”

9 The second danger we will talkabout comes from inside of us. Imaginethis: You are on a journey to a certainplace, and you have a map to help youget there. What will happen if you de-cide not to use the map but just chooseevery road that you think has a beauti-ful view? You will never get where youwant to go. This example helps us tounderstand another principle that Jeho-vah wanted to teach the Israelites. It isin another law that he gave them. Wecan read about it at Numbers 15:37-39.

9. (a) When you are on a journey, why can itbe dangerous to choose a road just becauseyou like it? (b) Why was the law at Numbers15:37-39 important for the Israelites?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Nephilim(Genesis 6:4):The children fromwicked angels andwomen

ˇ Perceptive powers(Hebrews 5:14):The ability to thinkcarefully about thingsand then choosebetween right andwrong

ˇ Unrealities(1 Samuel 12:21):Things that peoplebelieve can help thembut that cannot reallymake them happyand safe

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JULY 15, 20116

(Read.) Many people today do not un-derstand the reasons for the law aboutfringes and blue threads. Do you un-derstand why this law was important?One reason is that it made God’s peo-ple different from all the other nationsaround them. And if they really want-ed to please Jehovah, they had to be dif-ferent from the other nations. (Leviticus18:24, 25) But there was another reasonfor this law. Let us talk about this reasonand learn more about the second dan-ger that could make us disobey Jehovah.

10 When Jehovah gave that law to hispeople, he gave them this reason for it:“You must not go about following yourhearts and your eyes.” Jehovah said thisbecause he knows humans very well.He knows that it is easy for our heart,the person we are inside, to desire thethings we see with our eyes. Because Je-hovah knows that ourheart is dangerous andcan make us do wrongthings, he warns us: “Theheart is more treacherousthan anything else and isdesperate. Who can knowit?” (Jeremiah 17:9) That iswhy Jehovah told the Is-raelites not to follow theirhearts and their eyes. Heknew that when the Is-raelites looked at the na-tions that did not wor-ship Jehovah, they mightwant to be like them.They might want tolook like them, and then

10. How did Jehovah showthat he knows humans verywell?

they might start to think and act likethem.—Proverbs 13:20.

11 Today, it is even easier for our heartto desire what we see with our eyes. Welive in a world that makes it easy for usto follow wrong desires. So in what sit-uation could the principle at Numbers15:39 help us? We could be in dangerof following our heart and eyes in theway we dress. People around us dress ina way that shows that they want othersto have immoral thoughts. We see peo-ple dress that way in school, in the work-place, and in the area where we live. Be-cause we see this all the time, our desireto look like them could become stron-ger. Then we might start to dress morelike them and less like a Christian.—Ro-mans 12:1, 2.

11. When could we be in danger of followingour heart and eyes?

Why is itdangerousto follow yourheart and eyes?


12 It is very important to control ourdesires. We need to stop our eyes fromlooking at what is bad. The example ofthe faithful man Job can help us. Hesaid that he made an agreement with hiseyes. He was determined never to lookin a romantic way at a woman who wasnot his wife. (Job 31:1) King David madea similar decision. He said: “I shall notset in front of my eyes any good-for-nothing thing.” (Psalm 101:3) Like Da-vid, we must decide not to look at any“good-for-nothing thing.” A “good-for-nothing thing” is anything that can endour friendship with Jehovah. It includesanything we look at that could put awrong desire in our heart and then makeus do what is wrong.

13 We can even become a “good-for-

12, 13. (a) What should we do if we some-times desire to look at what is bad? (b) Whatdoes the Bible say we should do so that otherswill not have wrong desires?

nothing thing” to others if we do thingsthat make them have wrong desires.Sometimes the way we dress can do this.That is why we want to obey what theBible says. It says that we should wear“well-arranged” clothing “with modes-ty.” (1 Timothy 2:9) If we dress “withmodesty,” we do not think only of whatwe like. We respect what others think.We want to please others more than wewant to please ourselves. (Romans 15:1, 2) There are many thousands of youngpeople in the Christian congregationwho are excellent examples in the waythey dress. It makes us so happy to seethat they do not follow their hearts andtheir eyes. They choose to please Jeho-vah in everything they do.

DO NOT FOLLOW “UNREALITIES”

14 Imagine now that on your journey,you travel through a big desert. At onepoint, you think you see water. But

it is not really water. Noth-ing is there! What can hap-pen if you leave the road toget what you think is water?You can get lost and die inthe desert. In the same way,Jehovah knows how danger-ous it is to trust in somethingthat is not real. At one time,he had to warn the Israelitesabout this danger. All the na-tions around them had a hu-man king, so the Israelitesalso wanted one. That desirewas a serious sin becauseit showed that they did notwant Jehovah to be their

14. What warning about“unrealities” did Samuel give?

Are you following“unrealities”?


King. In the end, Jehovah allowed themto have a human king, but he sent hisprophet Samuel to give them a warning.Samuel warned the Israelites about thedanger of following “unrealities,” thatis, the danger of trusting somethingthat could not really help them.—Read1 Samuel 12:21.

15 Maybe the Israelites thought thatthey could trust a human king morethan they could trust Jehovah. If this iswhat they thought, they were following“unrealities.” Because they believed oneunreality, it was easy to start believingmany other “unrealities” that come fromSatan. For example, a human king couldmake them worship idols. People whoworship idols think that they can trustin these gods made of wood or stone be-cause theycan see and touch these gods.They do not trust in the invisible God,Jehovah, who created all things. But theapostle Paul said that idols are “noth-ing.” (1 Corinthians 8:4) Idols cannotsee, hear, speak, or do anything. So it isfoolish to worship idols just because wecan see them and touch them. Idols can-not help anybody. They are “unrealities,”and those who trust in them “will be-come just like them.”—Psalm 115:4-8.

16 Satan is very clever, and he stillmakes people follow “unrealities” to-day. For example, he makes many be-lieve that if they have money, a good job,and nice things, they will be happy andsafe. They think that they can trust thesethings to help them solve all their prob-

15. In what ways did the Israelites follow“unrealities”?16. (a) How does Satan make people follow“unrealities” today? (b) Why can we say thatcompared with Jehovah, money and things are“unrealities”?

lems. But how much cansuch things help peoplewhen they get sick, orwhen the economy is bad,or when there is a natu-ral disaster? How canthese things help themwhen they feel that theirlife has no purpose? Canthese things answer theimportant questions theyhave about life? Do thingshelp people when deathis near? If we trust mon-ey and things, we will be disappointed.Money and things cannot give us whatwe need to be happy, and they cannotkeep us safe from sickness and death.They are “unrealities.” (Proverbs 23:4, 5)But Jehovah is not an unreality! He is thetrue God. So it is only when we have astrong friendship with Jehovah that wecan really be happy and safe. Only Je-hovah can help us with all our problems.We are so happy to be his friends. Wenever want to leave him and follow “un-realities.”

17 We are happy that Jehovah is ourfriend and that he guides us on our jour-ney to everlasting life. If we continue topay attention to his warnings, we canlive forever. In this article, we learnedabout three dangers that make manypeople go the wrong way: the crowd,our own hearts, and “unrealities.” In thenext article, we will learn about threemore warnings that Jehovah gives us tohelp us hate and avoid every “falsepath.”—Psalm 119:128.

17. What will you do about the warnings inthis article?

WHAT DO

YOU THINK?

How can you usethe principles inthese scriptures?

ˇ Exodus 23:2

ˇ Numbers 15:37-39

ˇ 1 Samuel 12:21

ˇ Psalm 119:128


WHEN you are trav-eling on a road, a

sign that points in thewrong direction can makeyou go the wrong way.This may be dangerous.Imagine that a friendwarns you that an evil

man changed a sign on the road becausehe wants people to get lost. You wouldcertainly pay attention to your friend’swarning.

2 The Bible talks about two roads. Oneleads to destruction and one leads toeverlasting life. It says that many are onthe road to destruction. Satan has de-ceived them like that evil man. He isdetermined to deceive us too. (Revela-tion 12:9) All the dangers that we talkedabout in the last article are things thatSatan uses to make us disobey Jehovahand leave the road to everlasting life.(Matthew 7:13, 14) But we also learnedthat our friend, Jehovah God, warns usabout Satan’s tricks. We will now talkabout three more things that Satan usesto fool us and how the Bible helps us toavoid them. When we read the Bible, wecan imagine that Jehovah is walking be-hind us and that he is saying: “This isthe way. Walk in it, you people.” (Isaiah30:21) As we study these clear warnings,we will become more determined to dowhat Jehovah says.

1, 2. What is Satan determined to do, andhow does the Bible help us?

DO NOT FOLLOW“FALSE TEACHERS”

3 Imagine that on your journey, you gothrough a desert and you get thirsty. Inthe distance, you see a well. You thinkthat you will find water in it, so youwalk toward it. But when you get to thewell, there is no water. You are very dis-appointed! We can say that the truth islike water and that false teachers are likewells with no water. People who thinkthat these teachers have the truth will bedisappointed. Through the apostles Pauland Peter, Jehovah warns us about falseteachers. (Read Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Peter2:1-3.)Whoare these false teachers? Thewords of Paul and Peter tell us wherefalse teachers come from and how theyfool people.

4 Paul said to the elders of the con-gregation in Ephesus: “From among youyourselves menwill rise and speak twist-ed things.” And Peter wrote in a let-ter to several congregations: “Therewill also be false teachers among you.”So false teachers may come from in-side the congregation. These false teach-ers are apostates.� (See footnote.) Whatdo they want? Paul said that whenthey leave Jehovah’s organization, theywant “to draw away the disciples after

� Apostasy is a rebellion against true worshipand an abandoning of it.

3, 4. (a) Why are false teachers like wellswith no water? (b) Where do false teacherscome from, and what do they want to do?

Will You Pay Attentionto Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“This is the way.Walk in it, you people.”—ISAIAH 30:21.

10


themselves.” The disciples Paul is talk-ing about are the disciples of JesusChrist. These false teachers do not gooutside the congregation to make dis-ciples. They try to take, or steal, disci-ples from inside the congregation. Jesussaid that apostates are like wolves thateat the sheep. Apostates want to destroythe faith of the members of the congre-gation and want them to leave the truth.—Matthew 7:15; 2 Timothy 2:18.

5 How do false teachers fool people?They do this in a very clever way. Apos-tates “quietly” bring their ideas into thecongregation, like criminals who secret-ly bring things into a country. Apostatesuse “counterfeit words.” This means thatthey say things that make their false

ideas sound true, like criminals whomake false documents look real. Theytry to get as many people as possible tobelieve their “deceptive teachings.” Pe-ter also said that they like twisting theScriptures. They explain Bible verses inthe wrong way to make others believetheir ideas. (2 Peter 2:1, 3, 13; 3:16) Apos-tates do not care about us. If we fol-low them, we will leave the road to ever-lasting life.

5. How do false teachers fool people?

6 How can we protectourselves against falseteachers? The Bible tellsus exactly what to do.(Read Romans 16:17;2 John 9-11.) The clear in-struction in the Bible is:“Avoid them.” That meansthat we have to stay awayfrom them. The warn-ing from the Bible is likea warning from a doctorwho tells you to avoid aperson who has a diseasethat may spread to others.The doctor knows that if you get this dis-ease, you will die. His warning is clear,and you will do what he says. The Bi-ble says that apostates are mentally dis-eased and that they use their teachingsto make others think like them. (1 Tim-othy 6:3, 4) Jehovah is like that good doc-tor. He clearly tells us to stay away fromfalse teachers. We must always be deter-mined to follow his warning.

7 What must we do to avoid falseteachers? We do not speak to them orinvite them into our houses. We alsodo not read their books, watch themon television, read what they write onthe Internet, or add our own com-ments about what they write on the In-ternet. Why are we so determined toavoid them? First of all, it is becausewe love “the God of truth.” So we donot want to listen to false teachingsthat go against the truth in God’s Word.(Psalm 31:5; John 17:17) We also love the

6. What clear warning does the Bible give usabout false teachers?7, 8. (a) What must we do to avoid falseteachers? (b) Why are you determined toavoid false teachers?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Christendom:Religions that callthemselves Christianbut that do not followthe teachings of Christ

ˇ False teachers,or apostates:People who rebelagainst true worshipand abandon it

We are determinedto avoid apostatesbecause we loveJehovah and hisorganization


organization that Jehovah uses to teachus wonderful truths. It was Jehovah’sorganization that taught us about Jeho-vah’s name and what it means, his pur-pose for the earth, what happens to uswhen we die, and the hope of the res-urrection. Do you remember how hap-py you were when you first learned theseand other truths? Then do not allowthe lies from false teachers to turn youagainst the organization that taught youthese truths.—John 6:66-69.

8 No matter what false teachers say,we will not follow them! We have noreason to listen to people who are likewells with no water. Those who listen tothem will be disappointed. We are de-termined to be loyal to Jehovah and to

his organization. This organization hasnever disappointed us and always givesus an abundance of pure waters of truthfrom God’s Word.—Isaiah 55:1-3; Mat-thew 24:45-47.

DO NOT “PAY ATTENTIONTO FALSE STORIES”

9 A sign on the road that someone hasturned to point the wrong way can foolus. Sometimes it is easy to see that thesign is pointing the wrong way, but atother times it is not easy. The same istrue with the lies that come from Sa-tan. If we are not careful, some of his

9, 10. What warning about false stories didPaul give toTimothy? What false stories wasPaul thinking about? (See also footnote.)

How may someinvite apostatesinto their home?


lies can easily fool us. The apostle Paulwarns us about these lies. He calls them“false stories.” (Read 1 Timothy 1:3, 4.)What are these false stories, and howcan we avoid paying attention to them?We need the answers to these questionsso that we can stay on the road to ever-lasting life.

10 Paul’s warning about false storiesis in the first letter he wrote to Timo-thy, a Christian elder. Paul told Timothyto keep the congregation clean and tohelp his brothers and sisters to stay loy-al to Jehovah. (1 Timothy 1:18, 19) TheGreek word that Paul used for “false sto-ries” means “a lie” or “a made-up sto-ry.” One book says that a false storyis a religious story that has no connec-tion with what is real. (The Internation-al Standard Bible Encyclopaedia) PerhapsPaul was thinking about the religiouslies that came from old stories that peo-ple made up and that made others cu-rious.� (See footnote.) Paul said thatthese stories were dangerous becausethey “furnish questions for research.”This means that people who pay atten-tion to these stories start having ques-tions about things that are not true andthen use their time trying to find the an-swers. Satan uses these made-up storiesand religious lies to make people forgetthe most important things. Paul’s wordsare clear: Do not pay attention to falsestories!

� The book of Tobit, or Tobias, which somepeople think is part of the Bible, is an exampleof the false stories that existed in Paul’s time.It was written about the third century beforeChrist. This book is full of false beliefs and sto-ries of magic. It tells impossible stories but saysthat they are true.—See Insight on the Scriptures,Volume 1, page 122.

11 What are some false stories thatcould fool us if we are not careful? Wecan say that a false story is any reli-gious teaching that turns our ears “awayfrom the truth,” that is, that makes usstop listening to the truth. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4) Satan is smart. He uses false reli-gion to fool people. That is why theBible says that he makes himself into

“an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) For example, the religions of Chris-tendom say that they follow Christ, butthey teach lies like the Trinity and hell-fire. They also teach that some part ofhumans lives on after the death of thebody. Many think that Christmas andEaster please God, but the things thatpeople do during these celebrations real-ly come from false worship. False sto-ries will not fool us if we pay attentionto God’s warning to separate ourselvesfrom false religion and “quit touchingthe unclean thing.”—2 Corinthians 6:14-17.

12 There are other lies from Satan that

11. How does Satan use false religion to foolpeople? What warning should we pay atten-tion to?12, 13. (a) What are three lies that comefrom Satan? What is the truth about each ofthese lies? (b) What must we do if we donot want Satan to fool us with false stories?

We must pay attentionto the warnings in the

Bible if we do not wantSatan to deceive us

with false stories


can fool us if we are not careful. Let ustalk about three of these lies. The first lieis: You can do whatever you want; youdecide what is right and what is wrong.We often hear this on television, in mov-ies, in magazines, in newspapers, andon the Internet. Because we hear this lieall the time, it is easy for us to start tothink that way and follow the immoralideas of the world. But the truth is thatwe need God to tell us what is right andwhat is wrong. (Jeremiah 10:23) The sec-ond lie is: God will never change any-thing on the earth. This idea makes peo-ple think only about today. They do notcare about the future or about pleasingGod. We might start to think like themand then become “inactive or unfruit-ful” in our service to God. (2 Peter

1:8) The truth is that Jehovah will soonchange things on the earth, and we mustshow by the way we live that we reallybelieve this. (Matthew 24:44) The thirdlie is: God does not care about you. Sa-tan wants us to believe that we are notgood enough for God to love us. If Sa-tan makes us believe this lie, we mightstop serving Jehovah. The truth is thatJehovah loves each one of his servants,and each one is very important to him.—Matthew 10:29-31.

13 We must always be careful not tothink like people in Satan’s world. Some-times it seems that what they say andthink is really true. But remember thatSatanwants to fool us, and no one knowsbetter how to fool people than he does.We must pay attention to the warnings

FEATHERS IN THE WIND


in the Bible if we do not want Satan tofool us with false stories.—2 Peter 1:16.

DO NOT “FOLLOW SATAN”

14 Imagine that a sign on the road says:“This Way to Follow Satan.” Of course,no Christian wants to follow a sign likethat. But even true Christians could startto “follow Satan.” Paul warns us abouthow this could happen. (Read 1 Timo-thy 5:11-15.)He wrote about some youn-ger widows in the congregation at thattime, but all of us can learn from whathe said. Those widows did not thinkthat they were following Satan, but whatthey did and what they talked about

14. What warning did Paul give to someyounger widows? Why do all of us need topay attention to this warning?

showed that they really were doing that.How can we avoid following Satan with-out knowing it? We will now talk aboutPaul’s warning against harmful gossip,that is, saying bad things about otherpeople.

15 Satan does not want us to talkabout what we believe in. He wants usto stop preaching the good news. (Rev-elation 12:17) He wants us to use ourtime to do things that are foolish orthat cause fights among Jehovah’s peo-ple. Paul mentioned some of the thingsthat Satan uses to make us do whathe wants. Paul said that the widowsin his time were “unoccupied, gadding

15. What does Satan want? According to Paul,what things does Satan use to make us dowhat he wants?

There is an old Jewish story that

shows what harmful gossip does.

A man told lies to many people

about the wisest man in his village.

Some time later, the man who lied

wanted the wise man to forgive him.

So he asked the wise man: “What can

I do to show you that I am sorry for

what I said about you?” The wise man

told him: “There is one thing you can

do. Take a pillow full of feathers. Cut it

open, and let the wind take the feath-

ers.” The man did not know the rea-

son for that, but he did what the wise

man asked him to do. Later, he re-

turned to the wise man and asked

him: “Do you forgive me now?” The

wise man said: “First, go and find all

the feathers.” The man said: “But that

is very difficult. The wind blew the

feathers everywhere. I cannot find

them anymore.” Then, the wise man

replied: “Just as the feathers went to

many places, your lies went to many

people. And just as you cannot find

the feathers, you cannot make people

forget what you said.”

The lesson is clear. We cannot

change what we say after we say it.

And sometimes we cannot change the

bad results of what we said. So before

we say something bad about others,

it is good to remember that our words

are like feathers in the wind.


about.” These widowsused most of their time tovisit their friends and talkabout things that were notimportant. We need tobe careful not to do thesame thing. For exam-ple, we could use a lotof our time and the timeof other people by readingand sending e-mails aboutthings that are not im-portant and sometimesnot true. Paul also said

that the widows were “gossipers.” Gos-sipers sometimes say bad things aboutother people. This is dangerous becausegossip can become slander, that is, liesabout others. These lies often cause peo-ple to fight. (Proverbs 26:20) Those whotell lies about others are like Satan theDevil, even if they do not know it.� (Seefootnote.) Next, Paul said that the wid-ows were “meddlers in other people’saffairs.” They tried to tell others how tolive their lives. No one has the right to dothat. All these dangers can make us stopthinking about the important work thatJehovah gave us to do. We should useour time to preach about God’s King-dom. If we stop preaching, we start fol-lowing Satan. And if we are on Satan’sside, we are against Jehovah. We all haveto choose which side we are on.—Mat-thew 12:30.

16 If we pay attention to what the Bible

� The Greek word for “devil” means “someonewho tells lies about others to harm them.” Thisword is used as another title of Satan, who wasthe first one to lie.—John 8:44; Revelation 12:9, 10.

16. What should we do if we do not want tofollow Satan?

says, we will not follow Satan. Paul men-tions some things that will help us. Hesays that we should have “plenty to doin the work of the Lord.” (1 Corinthi-ans 15:58) When we work hard for Je-hovah, we have no time for things thatare not important and that can be dan-gerous for us. (Matthew 6:33) Some-thing else that Paul tells us to do is tospeak what is “good for building up.”(Ephesians 4:29) Do not gossip, and donot listen to others who gossip. (Seethe box “Feathers in the Wind.”) Trustand respect your brothers and sisters. Ifyou do, you will always say good thingsabout them. Paul also tells us what ouraim should be. He says: “Mind your ownbusiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11) Showpeople that you care about them, butdo this with respect. Remember thatthere may be personal things that theydo not want to talk about and that theydo not want others to know about. Andremember that we should not make de-cisions for others about things that theyneed to decide for themselves.—Gala-tians 6:5.

17 We thank Jehovah for telling us soclearly what not to follow! We shouldalways remember that Jehovah gives usthe warnings that we talked about be-cause he loves us very much. He doesnot want Satan to deceive us and makeus suffer. The road that Jehovah wantsus to choose is difficult, but it is theonly road to everlasting life. (Matthew7:14) We must always be determined topay attention to Jehovah when he tellsus: “This is the way. Walk in it.”—Isaiah30:21.

17. (a) Why does Jehovah give us thewarnings that we talked about? (b) Whatmust we be determined to do?

WHAT IS

YOUR ANSWER?

How can you showthat you pay attentionto the warnings inthese scriptures?

ˇ 2 Peter 2:1-3

ˇ 1 Timothy 1:3, 4

ˇ 1 Timothy 5:11-15

17

FROM the first chapter of Genesis, welearn that during six days, God pre-

pared the earth for people to live on.These were not days of 24 hours eachbut much longer periods of time. The Bi-ble says about the end of each of theseperiods: “There came to be evening andthere came to be morning.” (Genesis 1:5,8, 13, 19, 23, 31) But the seventh day wasdifferent. The Bible says about that day:“God proceeded to bless the seventh dayand make it sacred, because on it he hasbeen resting from all his work that Godhas created.”—Genesis 2:3.

2 When the book of Genesis said thatGod has been resting, it meant that Godwas still resting at that time. So we cansay that when Moses wrote the book ofGenesis, in the year 1513 before Christ,God was still resting. Also, God said lat-er in the Bible that people can enter intohis rest, that is, have a part in his rest.Is God still resting today? If he is, howcan we enter into his rest? It is very im-portant for us to know the answers tothese questions.

IS JEHOVAH STILL RESTING?

3 There are two reasons why we cansay that it was still the seventh day dur-ing the time of Jesus and the first Chris-tians. We learn the first reason from

1, 2. What do we learn from Genesis 2:3?What questions will we answer?3. How do the words of Jesus at John 5:16, 17show that it was still the seventh day duringthe time of Jesus?

what Jesus said to someof his enemies. They wereangry at Jesus because hehealed people on the Sab-bath. They thought thatit was wrong to heal onthe Sabbath because theLaw of Moses said thatthe Sabbath was a day ofrest from work. To answer them, Jesussaid: “My Father has kept working un-til now, and I keep working.” (John 5:16,17) What did he mean? He meant: “MyFather and I are doing the same kind ofwork. My Father has worked during hisSabbath of thousands of years, and heis still working, so I canwork on the Sab-bath.” The words of Jesus show that asregards the earth, it was still the seventhday, that is, God’s dayof rest, in the timeof Jesus.�—See footnote.

4 There is a second reason why weknow that it was still the seventh dayduring the time of Jesus and the firstChristians. The apostle Paul wrote aboutGod’s rest in his letter to the Hebrews.In chapter 4 of his letter, before he re-peated the words from Genesis 2:2, Paul

� The priests and Levites worked at the templeon the Sabbath, and this was not against theLaw of Moses. God chose Jesus to be our highpriest. So it was not wrong for Jesus to do onthe Sabbath the work that Jehovah gave him todo.—Matthew 12:5, 6.

4. From what Paul said, how do we know thatit was still the seventh day during the time ofthe first Christians?

What Is God’s Rest?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“There remains asabbath resting forthe people of God.”—HEBREWS 4:9.

18

wrote: “We who have ex-ercised faith do enter intothe rest.” (Hebrews 4:3, 4,6, 9) This shows that itwas still the seventh dayin the time of Paul. Whendoes the seventh dayend?

5 To answer that ques-tion, we must remem-ber that Jehovah chosethe seventh day for some-thing special. Genesis 2:3tells us: “God proceed-ed to bless the seventhday and make it sacred.”Jehovah made that day sa-cred because he chose itto be the day that he com-pletes his purpose for the

earth. His purpose is for obedient menand women to live on the earth and takecare of it and everything on it. (Gene-sis 1:28) The reason that Jehovah Godand Jesus Christ, who is the “Lord of thesabbath,” “kept working until now” is tomake God’s purpose for the earth cometrue. (Matthew 12:8) SoGod’s dayof restwill continue until he completes his pur-pose. This will be at the end of the thou-sand years of Christ’s reign.

DO NOT “FALL IN THESAME PATTERN OF DISOBEDIENCE”

6 God clearly told Adam and Eve whathis purpose was for the earth, but theyacted against it. After Adam and Eve,millions of other people have also been

5. What did Jehovah choose to do on theseventh day? When will God complete hispurpose?6. What examples can be a warning tous? What lesson can we learn from theseexamples?

disobedient. Even God’s people, the Is-raelites, disobeyed him again and again.And Paul warned Christians in his timethat some of them could become dis-obedient like the Israelites. He wrote:“Let us therefore do our utmost to en-ter into that rest, for fear anyone shouldfall in the same pattern of disobedience.”(Hebrews 4:11) What Paul says showsthat disobedient people cannot enterinto God’s rest. What does that mean forus? Does it mean that if we act againstGod’s purpose in some way, we will notenter into God’s rest? It is very impor-tant for us to know the answer to thisquestion, and we will talk more about itin this article. But first we will talk aboutthe bad example of the Israelites andwhy they did not enter into God’s rest.

“THEY SHALL NOT ENTERINTO MY REST”

7 In the year 1513 before Christ, Je-hovah told his servant Moses what hispurpose was for the Israelites. God said:“I am proceeding to go down to deliverthem out of the hand of the Egyptiansand to bring them up out of that landto a land good and spacious, to a land

7. What was Jehovah’s purpose for theIsraelites when he freed them from Egypt?What did the Israelites have to do?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Sabbath:The seventh dayof the week anda day of rest fromregular work forthe Israelites

ˇ God’s day of rest:A period of thou-sands of yearsthat Jehovah usesto complete hispurpose for theearth and obedienthumans

flowing with milk and honey.” (Exodus3:8) Jehovah freed the Israelites fromEgypt to make them his people, just ashe promised Abraham. (Genesis 22:17)God gave the Israelites laws that couldhelp them to have peacewithGod and tobe his friends. (Isaiah 48:17, 18) He toldthe Israelites: “If you will strictly obeymy voice and will indeed keep my cove-nant, then you will certainly become myspecial property out of all other peoples,because the whole earth belongs to me.”(Exodus 19:5, 6) So the Israelites couldbe God’s people only if they obeyed hislaws.

8 Think of the opportunities the Isra-elites had! Jehovah promised that if theyobeyed him, he would bless their fields,their vineyards, and their animals. Healso promised to protect them from theirenemies. (Read 1 Kings 10:23-27.) Theyhad the opportunity to be free from therule of other nations, even during thetime of Jesus when the Romans ruledmany nations. Jehovah wanted the na-tion of Israel to be a good example forother nations. He wanted everyone tounderstand clearly that those who obeyhim, the true God, will receive blessingsfrom him.

8. What opportunities did the Israelites haveif they obeyed God?

9 The Israelites had the special oppor-tunity to allow Jehovah to use them tofulfill his purpose. They could receive Je-hovah’s blessings and also bring bless-ings to all the families of the earth. (Gen-esis 22:18) But most of the Israelites didnot consider important the opportunityto be God’s nation and to be an exam-ple for other nations. Theyeven said thatthey wanted to return to Egypt! (ReadNumbers 14:2-4.) But if they returnedto Egypt, they could not worship Jeho-vah the way he wanted them to and bean example for other nations. If they be-came slaves in Egypt again, they couldnot be free to obey God’s Law and re-ceive forgiveness of sins. When theysaid that they wanted to return to Egypt,they were thinking only of themselves.They were not thinking of God andhis purpose. That is why Jehovah saidabout them: “I became disgusted withthis generation and said, ‘They alwaysgo astray in their hearts, and they them-selves have not come to know my ways.’So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall notenter into my rest.’ ”—Hebrews 3:10, 11;Psalm 95:10, 11.

9, 10. (a) Why was it wrong for the Israelitesto want to return to Egypt? (b) Could the Isra-elites worship Jehovah the way he wantedthem to if they returned to Egypt?

What continuesto be necessaryfor God’s peopleto enter intohis rest?


10 Their desire to re-turn to Egypt showedthat they did not val-ue the blessings theyreceived from Jehovah.Instead, those disobedi-ent Israelites wanted thegood food they had inEgypt. (Numbers 11:5)They were like Esau, whodid not value his rightas firstborn and sold itfor a plate of food.—Gen-esis 25:30-32; Hebrews12:16.

11 Although those Isra-elites who left Egypt didnot show faith in Jehovah,he did not change his pur-pose for Israel. Their chil-

dren were more obedient than their par-ents. They obeyed Jehovah’s commandto enter the Promised Land and conquerit. Joshua 24:31 says: “Israel continuedto serve Jehovah all the days of Joshuaand all the days of the older menwho ex-tended their days after Joshua and whohad known all the work of Jehovah thathe did for Israel.”

12 But those obedient Israelites grewold and died. The Israelites who lived af-ter them “did not know Jehovah or thework that he had done for Israel.” Sothey started to do “what was bad in theeyes of Jehovah” and to serve false gods.(Judges 2:10, 11) Because these Israel-ites were disobedient, they were not atpeace with God anymore. So the Prom-

11. The Israelites who left Egypt did not showfaith. Did that change Jehovah’s purpose?

12. How do we know that Christians todaycan enter into God’s rest?

ised Land was not “a place of rest” forthem. Paul wrote about these Israelites:“If Joshua had led them into a place ofrest, God would not afterward have spo-ken of another day.” Then, he said: “Sothere remains a sabbath resting for thepeople of God.” (Hebrews 4:8, 9) “Thepeople of God” whom Paul talked aboutwere Christians. These included thosewho followed the Law of Moses beforethey became Christians and also thosewho never followed the Law of Moses.What Paul said means that Christians to-day can also enter into God’s rest.

SOME CHRISTIANS DID NOTENTER INTO GOD’S REST

13 Paul wrote to the Hebrew Chris-tians because some of them were actingagainst God’s purpose. (Read Hebrews4:1.) What were they doing? They werestill obeying some of the things in theLaw of Moses. It is true that for about1,500 years, God’s people had to obeythe Law of Moses to please God. Butafter Jesus died, they did not need theLawof Moses anymore. Some Christiansdid not understand that, and this is whythey believed that they still needed toobey some parts of the Law.�—See foot-note.

� We do not know if any of the Hebrew Chris-tians offered sacrifices on the Day of Atone-ment, or the Day of Forgiving of Sins, even af-ter Pentecost in the year 33. But if they did,they showed no respect for the sacrifice of Je-sus. We do know that some Hebrew Christianswere still following traditions that were part ofthe Law of Moses.—Galatians 4:9-11.

13, 14. (a) In the time of Moses, what did theIsraelites have to do to enter into God’s rest?(b) In the time of Paul, what did Christianshave to do to enter into God’s rest?

QUESTIONS

TO THINK ABOUT

ˇ What did Jehovahwant to do on theseventh day?

ˇ How do we know thatit is still the seventhday today?

ˇ Why did the Israelitesin the time of Mosesand some of theChristians in the timeof Paul not enter intoGod’s rest?

ˇ How can we enterinto God’s rest today?


14 Paul explained to these HebrewChristians that Jesus was a better highpriest than any imperfect high priest.He showed that the new covenant wasbetter than the covenant with Israel. Healso showed that Jehovah’s great templewas “greater and more perfect” than thetemple “made with hands.” (Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:7-10; 9:11, 12) Paul used the ex-ample of the Sabbath in the Law of Mo-ses to explain how Christians can en-ter into Jehovah’s day of rest. He wrote:

“There remains a sabbath resting for thepeople of God. For the man that hasentered into God’s rest has also him-self rested from his own works, just asGod did from his own.” (Hebrews 4:8-10) Those Hebrew Christians had to stopthinking that someone could have God’sapproval because of “his own works,”that is, because he obeyed the Law ofMoses. Since the day of Pentecost of theyear 33, Jehovah’s approval is a gift thathe generously gives to those who showfaith in Jesus Christ.

15 Why did the Israelites in the timeof Moses not enter the Promised Land?Because they did not obey Jehovah. Why

15. How do we know that we need to obeyJehovah to enter into his rest?

did some Christians in the time of Paulnot enter into God’s rest? Because of thesame thing. They did not obey Jehovah.They did not believe that Jehovah nowwanted his people to worship him in adifferent way and stop obeying the Lawof Moses.

HOW WE CAN ENTERINTO GOD’S REST TODAY

16 None of us today believe that Chris-tians have to obey the Law of Mo-ses to receive salvation. Paul’s words tothe Ephesians are very clear: “By thisundeserved kindness, indeed, you havebeen saved through faith; and this notowing to you, it is God’s gift. No, it isnot owing to works.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)So today, how can Christians enter intoGod’s rest, that is, have a part in his rest?Remember that Jehovah chose his dayof rest to be the day that he completeshis purpose for the earth and obedienthumans. Jehovah tells us through his or-ganization about his purpose and whathe wants from us. We can enter into Je-hovah’s rest if we obey him and workwith his organization.

17 But we are acting against Jehovah’spurpose if we do not obey the faithfuland discreet slave or if we choose to obeyonly what we think is important. Andif we act against Jehovah’s purpose, wecannot be his friends. In the next arti-cle, we will talk about some situationsthat give us the opportunity to show ifwe are obedient. The decisions we makein these situations will show if we haveentered into God’s rest.

16, 17. (a) How can Christians enter intoGod’s rest today? (b) What will we talk aboutin the next article?

We can enter intoJehovah’s rest if weobey him andwork with hisorganization

22

WE HAVE alreadylearned that we en-

ter into God’s rest to-day if we obey Jehovahand work with his or-ganization. Our obedi-ence shows Jehovah thatwe want his purpose to

come true. But sometimes it can be hardto obey. For example, whenwe learn thatJehovah wants us to stop doing some-thing that we like to do, it may be hardto obeyhim immediately. If this happensto us, we need to learn to be “ready toobey.” (James 3:17) In this article, we willtalk about some situations that give usan opportunity to show if we are reallyready to obey all the time.

2 When you learn from the Bible thatyou need to make a change in your life,are you ready to obey? Think about this:The Bible says that the people whom Je-hovah wants to bring into his organiza-tion are “the desirable things of all thenations.” (Haggai 2:7) This means thatGod chooses people who are precious tohim because they love what is right. It istrue that when we first started studyingthe Bible, most of us were doing wrongthings. But because we loved God andhis Son and wanted to please God, wewere happy to make important chang-es in the way we thought and acted. We

1. How do we enter into God’s rest today?Why can it be difficult to obey?2, 3. What must we continue to do to pleaseJehovah?

asked for Jehovah’s help in prayer andthenworked hard to make the necessarychanges. Finally, we could get baptizedand receive Jehovah’s approval.—ReadColossians 1:9, 10.

3 But we are still imperfect. We stillneed to make changes in our life and towork hard to do what is right. But Jeho-vah promises to help us if we continueto do our best to please him.

WHEN WE NEED TOMAKE CHANGES IN OUR LIFE

4 Before we make changes in our life,we have to know what we need tochange. Jehovah helps us with this indifferent ways. He can use a talk at theKingdom Hall or an article in our maga-zines to show us that there is somethingin our thinking or actions that is wrong.Sometimes we do not understand thatwe need to make changes even after wehear a talk or read a publication, so Jeho-vah can use a brother or sister in the con-gregation to correct us with kindness.—Read Galatians 6:1.

5 When another imperfect human cor-rects us, it can be very hard to acceptwhat he says, even if he talks to us in akind way. But Jehovah commands the el-ders to “try to readjust” us “in a spirit ofmildness,” that is, to correct us in a kind

4. What three ways does Jehovah use to showus that we need to make changes?5. In what ways do we sometimes act whensomeone corrects us? Why must Christianelders continue to try to help us?

Have You Entered IntoGod’s Rest?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“The word of God is aliveand exerts power.”—HEBREWS 4:12.


way. (Galatians 6:1) If we accept theirhelp, we will become even more “desir-able,” or precious, to Jehovah. Of course,in our prayers, we often tell Jehovah thatwe are imperfect and make many mis-takes. But then when an elder tells usthat we made a mistake, we sometimesact in a different way. We try to give rea-sons for what we did, or we say that ourmistake was not so bad. Maybe we saythat the person who corrected us doesnot like us or that he did not talk to usin a kind way. (2 Kings 5:11) Or we mayget very angry if the elders tell us some-thing that we especially do not like tohear. For example, they may tell us that aperson in our family is doing somethingwrong or that the way we dress is notproper. Maybe they tell us that we needto keep our bodies cleaner or that Jeho-vah hates what we do for recreation. Be-cause we are angry, we may say thingsthat we should not say. This can make usfeel sad with ourselves and it can makethe brother who is trying to help us sadas well. But later, when we are no lon-ger angry, we usually accept that whathe said was good for us.

6 The theme scripture for this article,Hebrews 4:12, tells us that the word ofGod “exerts power.” This means thatGod’sword has the power to help peopleto change their lives. His word helpedus to make the changes that we need-ed to make before we got baptized. Andit can help us to make changes in ourlife after our baptism. In his letter tothe Hebrew Christians, Paul also writesthat the word of God “pierces even tothe dividing of soul and spirit” and thatit “is able to discern thoughts and in-

6. How is the word of God “able to discernthoughts and intentions of the heart”?

tentions of the heart.”(Hebrews 4:12) The “soul”here means what we areon the outside, what peo-ple can see when theylook at us. The “spirit”here means what we real-ly are on the inside, whatpeople cannot see whenthey look at us. So Paulwas saying that whenwe understand what Godwants us to do, our ac-tions will show whatwe are on the inside. Isthere sometimes a dif-ference between whatother people see and whatwe really are on the in-side? (Read Matthew 23:27, 28.) Think about whatyou would do in the situa-tions that we will now talkabout.

CONTINUE TOPROGRESS WITHJEHOVAH’S ORGANIZATION

7 Many of us know these words fromProverbs 4:18 very well: “The path ofthe righteous ones is like the brightlight that is getting lighter and lighteruntil the day is firmly established.” Thatmeans that with time, we understandbetter and better what Jehovah wantsfrom us and we get better at doing whatpleases him.

8 We already learned that after Je-sus died, many Hebrew Christians still

7, 8. (a) Why did some Hebrew Christianswant to continue to obey some parts of theLaw of Moses? (b) Why can we say that theywere acting against Jehovah’s purpose?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Imperfect:Someone who is imper-fect makes mistakes,does things wrong

ˇ Faithful anddiscreet slave:Those whom God choos-es for heavenly life whoare still on earth. Theyare represented by asmall group of brotherswho form the GoverningBody

ˇ Bible Students:Before 1931, Jehovah’sWitnesses were calledBible Students

ˇ Disfellowship:To “remove the wickedman” or woman fromthe congregation


wanted to obey the Law of Moses. (Acts21:20) Paul explained clearly that Chris-tians no longer had to obey the Lawof Moses, but some still did not acceptwhat Jehovah wanted from them. (Co-lossians 2:13-15) Maybe they thought

that if theycontinued to obey some partsof the Law of Moses, they could avoidpersecution by those who followed theJewish religion. But Paul was very clearwhen he told those Hebrew Christiansthat if they continued to act againstGod’s purpose, they could not enter intoGod’s rest.� (See footnote.) (Hebrews 4:1, 2, 6; readHebrews 4:11.) To have Jeho-vah’s approval, they had to accept thatJehovah now wanted his people to wor-ship him in a different way.

9 Today, the faithful and discreet slavesometimes helps us to understand ateaching in the Bible in a way that is dif-ferent from what we thought before. Weshould be happy about these changes.They show us that Jehovah is using thefaithful and discreet slave to teach us the

� Many Jewish religious leaders tried to obeyevery detail of the Law of Moses. But when Je-sus came to earth, they did not want to believethat he was the Messiah. They acted againstGod’s purpose.

9. How should we feel when the faithful anddiscreet slave makes changes in the way weunderstand something in the Bible?

truth. Sometimes the Governing Body,who represents the faithful and dis-creet slave, reviews how we understandcertain truths. If these brothers decidethat changes are necessary, they are notafraid to correct the way they explainedsome teachings in the past or to maketheir explanations clearer. They knowthat some will say bad things about thefaithful and discreet slave because ofthese changes, but that is not the mostimportant thing to them. The most im-portant thing to them is that they co-operate with God’s purpose. How doyou feel when the faithful and discreetslave makes a change in the way we un-derstand something in the Bible?—ReadLuke 5:39.

10 Let us talk about another example.About a hundred years ago, some of theBible Students who gave excellent pub-lic talks thought that giving talks wasthe best way for them to preach. Theyliked to speak in front of people. Someof them really liked it when peoplepraised them for their talks. But later, Je-hovah’s people understood more clear-ly that Jehovah wanted them to do morethan just give public talks. He wantedthem to preach from house to houseand in other ways. Some of those verygood speakers did not want to do that.Their talks made others think that theyloved and obeyed Jehovah, but their ac-tions in this situation showed that theydid not. We know that Jehovah was notpleased with their actions. They left hisorganization.—Matthew 10:1-6; Acts 5:42; 20:20.

10, 11. What did some Bible students dowhen they learned that they should try newways of preaching? What do we learn fromthis example?

We need to obeythe faithful anddiscreet slave to haveJehovah’s approval


11 It was also hard for many of the oth-er Bible Students to preach from houseto house, especially in the beginning.But they obeyed and were loyal to Jeho-vah’s organization. After some time, itbecame easier for them to preach fromhouse to house. Jehovah blessed themvery much. What do you do when thefaithful and discreet slave tells you to trya way of preaching that you never triedbefore? Do you obey even if this way ofpreaching seems very difficult to you?

WHEN SOMEONE WE LOVELEAVES JEHOVAH

12 We certainly agree that to please Je-hovah, we must obey the command tobe clean in every way. (Read Titus 2:14.) But there are situations that canmake it difficult for us to obey this com-mand. For example, think of this situ-ation: A loyal Christian couple haveonly one son and he leaves the truth.He prefers “the temporary enjoyment ofsin” to his friendship with Jehovah andwith his parents. Because of his actions,he cannot be part of the congregationanymore. So the congregation removeshim, or disfellowships him, from amongGod’s people.—Hebrews 11:25.

13 The parents suffer so much! Theyknow that the Bible says to “quit mixingin company with anyone called a broth-er that is a fornicator or a greedy personor an idolater or a reviler or a drunkardor an extortioner, not even eating withsuch a man.” It also says: “Remove thewicked man from among yourselves.”(1 Corinthians 5:11, 13) And they under-

12, 13. (a) Why does Jehovah tell us to“remove the wicked man” from among us?(b) What can be a difficult situation forChristian parents?

stand that the word “anyone” includesmembers of the family who do not livein the same house. But because of theirstrong love for their son, they may think:“We need to talk to our son as much aswe can. We cannot help him return toJehovah if we cannot talk to him.”�—Seefootnote.

14 We are sad to see those parents suf-fer. Their son had the choice to changewhat he was doing. But he wanted tocontinue to do what was wrong morethan he wanted to be with his parentsand the congregation. The parents wantto help their son, but they cannot con-trol what he decides to do. We can real-ly understand why they are suffering somuch.

15 What will our dear brother and sis-ter do? Will they obey the clear com-mand from Jehovah? It is true that theremaybe rare occasions when theyneed totalk to their son because of a necessaryfamily matter. But will they think thatthey have many reasons to talk to theirson? When they make their decision

� See “Keep Yourselves in God’s Love,” pag-es 207-209.

14, 15. What must parents remember whendeciding if they will talk to their disfellow-shipped child?

Our love for Jehovahmust be stronger than

our love for familymembers who are not

loyal to Jehovah


about this, theymust remember what Je-hovah wants them to do. They must re-member that Jehovah wants to keep hispeople clean. That is why he gives thecommand to “remove the wicked man”from the congregation. He also wants tohelp the person who did what is wrongto change his actions and return to thecongregation. How can Christian par-ents show that they want the same asJehovah?

16 Aaron, the brother of Moses, wasin a difficult situation because of what

16, 17. What lesson do we learn from theexample of Aaron?

two of his sons did. His sons Nadab andAbihu made an offering in a way thatJehovah did not approve. Jehovah sentfire from heaven and killed them. Imag-ine how much Aaron suffered becauseof this. Aaron could no longer talk tohis sons. They were dead. But there wassomething else that made that situationeven more difficult for Aaron and hisfamily. Moses told Aaron and his oth-er sons that Jehovah did not want themto show that they were sad. Moses said:“Do not let your heads go ungroomed,and you must not tear your garments,that you may not die and that he may

The parentssuffer so much!


not become indignant against all the as-sembly.” (Leviticus 10:1-6) The lessonis clear. Our love for Jehovah must bestronger than our love for family mem-bers who are not loyal to Jehovah.

17 Today, Jehovah does not immediate-ly kill those who disobey his laws. Heshows them love and gives them an op-portunity to stop their wrong actions.But how does Jehovah feel if parents dis-obey his command and think that theyhave many reasons to talk to their dis-fellowshipped son or daughter?

18 Many say that they returned to thecongregation because their friends andfamily continued to be loyal to Jehovahand did not talk to them. For example,a young woman told the elders that onething that made her change her way oflife was the way her brother acted. Hewas loyal to Jehovah and obeyed Jeho-vah’s command while she was disfellow-shipped. This made her want to returnto the congregation.

19 So what do we need to do? We needto obey Jehovah in all situations in life.Because we are imperfect, this will bedifficult for us sometimes. But we muststrongly believe that what Jehovah tellsus to do is always the best for us.

“THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE”

20 When Paul wrote at Hebrews 4:12:“The word of God is alive,” he was notspeaking about the Bible.� (See foot-

� Today, God speaks to us through the Bible.The Bible has the power to change our lives.So, what we read at Hebrews 4:12 is also trueabout the Bible.

18, 19. What blessings can family membershave if they continue to be loyal to Jehovah?20. In what two ways can we understandHebrews 4:12? (See footnote.)

note.) The other verses inthat chapter show that hewas speaking about God’spromises. Paul was sayingthat God’s promises al-ways come true. Jehovahsaid about his word: “Itwill not return to me with-out results.” And he said:“It will have certain suc-cess in that for which Ihave sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) So we must be pa-tient if God does not ful-fill his promises when wewant him to. We can besure that Jehovah is work-ing to complete his pur-pose.—John 5:17.

21 Many of the “greatcrowd” have served Jeho-vah for many years now.(Revelation 7:9) They didnot expect to get old in this wick-ed world. But they are still doing theirbest in Jehovah’s service. (Psalm 92:14)They know that the word of God is aliveand that Jehovah’s promises will cometrue. (Hebrews 4:12) They know thathe is working to fulfill his purpose forthe earth and humans. Because God’spurpose is very important to him, itmakes him happy when we show thathis purpose is also important to us. Dur-ing this seventh day of rest, nothing willstop Jehovah from completing his pur-pose. And he knows that his people, asa group, will continue to cooperate withhis purpose. What about you? Have youentered into God’s rest?

21. How can Hebrews 4:12 help older ones tocontinue serving Jehovah?

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

ˇ What do we need to doto enter into God’s resttoday?

ˇ When we understandfrom the Bible what Godwants us to do, how dowe show that we wantto please God?

ˇ In what situationscan it be difficult todo what Jehovah tellsus to do? But why isit very important thatwe obey him?

ˇ In what two ways canwe understand Hebrews4:12?


IN 1991 the government of the Soviet Unionregistered Jehovah’s Witnesses as an official

religion in that country. When the Soviet Unionended, the new Russian government also putJehovah’s Witnesses on the list of official reli-gions in Russia. The new government admit-ted that the old government had persecuted thebrothers. In 1993, Moscow’s Department of Jus-tice registered the Witnesses legally as the Mos-cow Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Alsoin 1993, the Russian government made a newconstitution, that is, a document that promis-es certain rights for the people. This constitu-tion says that everyone is free to practice hisown religion. Our brothers and sisters had wait-ed many years for these changes to happen.

After this, the brothers and sisters in Russiaincreased their preaching work, and many peo-ple learned the truth. (2 Timothy 4:2) From1990to 1995, the number of Witnesses in Moscowincreased fromabout 300 to over 5,000! Becauseof this, the enemies of Jehovah’s Witnesses be-came worried. About this time, they started toattack, or oppose, Jehovah’s people in the legalcourts.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS BEGIN

The first attack began in June 1995. A groupof people in Moscow who support the RussianOrthodox Church officially accused our broth-ers of participating in criminal activities. InJune 1996, the investigators said that they didnot find any evidence against Jehovah’s Wit-nesses. But the Moscow group accused ourbrothers of the same things four more times.And each time, the investigators searched forevidence but could not find anything against Je-

hovah’s Witnesses. Finally, on April 13, 1998,the legal case was closed.

The prosecutor’s representative said thatthere was no evidence that Jehovah’s Witness-es did anything against the criminal law. Butthen she gave her advice and said that anoth-er way to stop the Witnesses was to bring a civilsuit against them. A civil suit is an official com-plaint made by the people, not by the police.So the prosecutor of the Northern Administra-tive Circuit of Moscow made a civil suit againstthe brothers. On September 29, 1998, the le-gal case started in Golovinsky District Court inMoscow.

THE BIBLE IN COURT

In this case the prosecutor was Tatyana Kon-dratyeva. She used a national law signed in1997 to attack the Witnesses. This law saysthat only Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Juda-ism, and Buddhism are traditional religions.One newspaper said that the Russian OrthodoxChurch worked hard to make the governmentwrite this law because the Church wanted thegovernment to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. (As-sociated Press, June 25, 1999) This law allowscourts to ban, or prohibit, religions that causepeople to hate others. The prosecutor said thatthe government should ban Jehovah’s Witness-es because they make people hate others andbecause they destroy families.

A lawyer who defended our brothers asked:“Who are the individuals in the Moscow Con-gregation who disobey the law and make peo-ple hate others?” The prosecutor could notname anyone. But she said that the literatureof Jehovah’s Witnesses makes them hate peo-

A LEGAL VICTORYFOR JEHOVAH’S PEOPLE!


ple of other religions because it teaches that Je-hovah’s Witnesses have the true religion.

Another lawyer, one of our brothers, gave acopy of the Bible to the judge and the prose-cutor. Then he read Ephesians 4:5, which says:“One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” The judge,the prosecutor, and the lawyer all had a Bible intheir hands, and they talked about some scrip-tures including John 17:18 and James 1:27. Thejudge asked: “Do these scriptures make peoplehate those of other religions?” The prosecutorsaid that it did not matter what she thought be-cause she was not an expert on the Bible. Thenthe lawyer showed publications of the RussianOrthodox Church that said things against Jeho-vah’s Witnesses and asked: “Are the things theysay in these publications against the law?” Theprosecutor again said that it was not importantwhat she thought because she was not an ex-pert on religion.

ACCUSATIONS WITH NO EVIDENCE

When the prosecutor accused the Witness-es of destroying families, she said that one ev-idence of this is that they do not celebrate holi-days. She also said that the Witnesses do not lettheir children have normal rest or do things thatmake them happy. She later admitted that Rus-sian law does not tell Russians to celebrate hol-idays. She also said that she had never talkedto any children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and thatshe had never attended a meeting of Jehovah’sWitnesses.

The prosecutor invited a professor of psychi-atry to give his opinion in court. The profes-sor said that reading our literature causes men-tal problems. He admitted that he just copiedmany of the things that he wrote about this le-gal case from the document that the MoscowPatriarchate, or leaders of the Orthodox Churchin Moscow, wrote. He also said that he had nev-er treated a patient who was one of Jehovah’sWitnesses. Another doctor said in court that he

had studied more than 100 Witnesses in Mos-cow. He said that these Witnesses were men-tally healthy and that after becoming Jehovah’sWitnesses, they had more respect for other re-ligions than they had before.

WE HAD A VICTORY,BUT IT WAS NOT FINAL

On March 12, 1999, the judge chose five ed-ucated people to study the literature of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses, and she suspended the legalcase for some time. But before this happened,the Ministry of Justice for the country of Rus-sia also ordered a group of educated peopleto study our literature. On April 15, 1999, thisgroup said that they found nothing bad in ourpublications. So on April 29, 1999, the Minis-try of Justice decided that Jehovah’s Witness-es could continue to be a legal religion in Rus-sia. But in Moscow the judge still decided thatthe five people she chose should study our lit-erature. This was a strange situation. The Min-istry of Justice for the whole country of Rus-sia said that Jehovah’s Witnesses obeyed thelaw and could be a legal religion. At the sametime, the Department of Justice of Moscow was


investigating the Witnesses because oth-ers accused them of breaking the law!

Two years later the legal case in Mos-cow started again. On February 23,2001, Judge Yelena Prokhorycheva de-cided that there was no reason to banthe activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses inMoscow. Finally, the court decided thatall the accusations against our brotherswere false! But the prosecutor did notagree with the decision and this timeasked the Moscow City Court to studythe case. Three months later, on May 30,2001, that court canceled the decisionof Judge Prokhorycheva. The court ordered thestart of another legal case with the same pros-ecutor but with a different judge.

WE LOST, BUT IT WAS NOT FINAL

On October 30, 2001, the legal case startedagain. The judge was Vera Dubinskaya. Pros-ecutor Kondratyeva once again accused Jeho-vah’s Witnesses of making people hate others.But then she said that the government shouldban Jehovah’s Witnesses for their own protec-tion! When they heard this, all of the 10,000Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow immediatelysigned a petition, or document, to tell the judgethat they did not need the “protection” offeredby the prosecutor. It is interesting that it wasexactly on the same date ten years before, onOctober 30, 1991, that the government officiallyadmitted that the Soviet government had perse-cuted Jehovah’s Witnesses because of their re-ligion.

The prosecutor said that she did not needto give evidence that the Witnesses were doingsomething wrong. She said that the case wasnot about what Jehovah’s Witnesses do, but itwas about their literature and what they be-lieve in. She said that she was going to invitesomeone from the Russian Orthodox Church tobe a witness in court. This showed that leaders

of the Russian Orthodox Church were the oneswho wanted to ban the Witnesses. On May 22,2003, the judge ordered that a group of expertson religion study the publications of Jehovah’sWitnesses again.

On February 17, 2004, the court met to hearthe results of the study. In their study, the ex-perts found that our publications teach peoplehow to have a happy family and a happy mar-riage. They did not find anything that showsthat we teach people to hate others. Other ex-perts agreed. The judge asked a professor ofreligious history: “Why do Jehovah’s Witness-es preach?” The professor said that Christiansmust preach. He said that the Bible tells themto preach and that Christ commanded his dis-ciples to go and preach in all lands. Evenwith all the evidence, on March 26, 2004, thejudge banned the activities of Jehovah’s Wit-nesses in Moscow. On June 16, 2004, the Mos-cow City Court supported that decision. Thisaction meant that the congregations in Moscowno longer had a legal organization to representthem. The enemies hoped to cause problems forour brothers and stop their preaching work.

What did the brothers do? Our brothers inMoscow did not allow their enemies to stopthem. They continued to preach the good news.(1 Peter 4:12, 16) They were sure that Jehovah


was going to help them. And they were readyto defend their right to worship Jehovah.

MORE ATTACKS

On August 25, 2004, our brothers sent a pe-tition to Vladimir Putin, who at that time waspresident of Russia. In this document, theytold him how they felt after the courts of Mos-cow banned their work. The petition had 76volumes, and 315,000 people signed it. At thesame time, the leaders of the Russian Ortho-dox Church said: “We are verymuch against theactivities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Some people in Russia believed the false ac-cusations against Jehovah’s Witnesses and be-gan to attack them. They punched and kickedthe Witnesses while they were preaching inMoscow. One angry man wanted a sister toleave the building where she was preaching. Hechased her and kicked her in the back. The sis-ter fell and hit her head and needed to get treat-ment in a hospital. But the police did not arrestthe man who attacked her. The police arrestedmanyWitnesses, treated themas criminals, andheld them in jail overnight. Because they wereafraid of losing their jobs, people who took careof the buildings that our brothers used for theirmeetings did not want to rent them to the Wit-nesses anymore. Many congregations did nothave a place to meet. For example, 40 congre-gations had to use just four Kingdom Halls thatwere located in one building. One of these con-gregations had to meet for their Public Meet-ing at half past seven in the morning. A trav-eling overseer said that the publishers had toget up at five o’clock to attend the meeting, butthey were happy to do it, and they did it formore than a year.

A COURT CASE THAT WAS“FOR A WITNESS”

The Witnesses wanted to show that the de-cision to ban their preaching work in Mos-

cow was against the law. So in December 2004our lawyers asked for the help of the Euro-pean Court of Human Rights. Six years later, onJune 10, 2010, after studying all the accusations,the Court decided that the Witnesses were notguilty of any of them! The Court said that theaccusations were completely false. It also decid-ed that the government of Russia had to endthe ban and do everything possible to correctwhat it did to the Witnesses. After this deci-sion, the government of Russia wanted the caseto be heard again. So it asked an even higherauthority in the Court, that is, the Grand Cham-ber of the European Court of Human Rights,to consider the case. But on November 22, 2010,five judges from the Grand Chamber decidedthat it did not need to listen to this case. Thatmeant that the decision of June 10, 2010, is finaland that it must be obeyed.—See the box “TheCourt’s Judgment,” on page 32.

The Court decided that the European Con-vention on Human Rights protects the activitiesof Jehovah’s Witnesses. This decision appliesnot only to Russia. It also applies to the oth-er 47 nations that are members of the Councilof Europe. Many judges, lawmakers, and peo-ple around the world who study human rightswill also be interested in the decision. Why? Be-cause when the judges of the Court made theirdecision, they used as examples eight other

On June 10, 2010,the European Court

of Human Rightsdecided that the

accusations againstthe Witnesses

were false

www.watchtower.org ws11 07/15-E

decisions that the Court had made earli-er in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Theyalso used nine decisions that the high-est courts of Argentina, Canada, Japan,Russia, South Africa, Spain, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States madein favor of the Witnesses. Jehovah’s Wit-nesses all around the world can now usethe decision of the Court to defend theirworship.

Jesus told his disciples that peoplewill take them “before governors andkings” for his sake, “for a witness tothem and the nations.” (Matthew 10:18)All these legal cases in Russia duringthe last 15 years gave the people in Mos-cow and in other places the opportuni-ty to hear about Jehovah like never be-fore. Everything that happened in thesecases resulted in “a witness” and helpedin “the advancement of the good news.”(Philippians 1:12) Nothing and no onecan stop us from preaching the goodnews of the Kingdom. We pray that Je-hovah continues to help our courageousbrothers and sisters in Russia, whom welove very much.�—See footnote.

� This is a summary of the full article that ap-pears in The Watchtower, July 15, 2011, pag-es 4-9, in standard English.

THE COURT’S JUDGMENT

Here are parts of the decisions that the

judges of the European Court of Human Rights

made.

One accusation was that Jehovah’s Witnesses

destroy families. The judges decided that this

was false. They said:

“It is the resistance and unwillingness ofnon-religious family members to accept andto respect their religious relative’s freedom tomanifest and practise his or her religion thatis the source of conflict.”—Paragraph 111.

The judges of the European Court also found

no evidence to support the accusation that

Jehovah’s Witnesses use “mind control.” They

said:

“The Court finds it remarkable that the[Russian] courts did not cite the name of asingle individual whose right to freedom ofconscience had allegedly been violated bymeans of those techniques.”—Paragraph 129.

Another accusation was that by not accepting

blood transfusions, Jehovah’s Witnesses dam-

age the health of believers. The judges of the

European Court did not accept the accusation.

They said:

“The freedom to accept or refuse specificmedical treatment, or to select an alternativeform of treatment, is vital to the principlesof self-determination and personal autonomy.A competent adult patient is free to decide,for instance, whether or not to undergo sur-gery or treatment or, by the same token, tohave a blood transfusion.”—Paragraph 136.


September 26–October 2They Waited for the MessiahPAGE 8 SONGS TO BE USED: 116, 30

October 3-9They Found the Messiah!PAGE 12 SONGS TO BE USED: 109, 5

October 10-16Jehovah—“The God Who Gives Peace”PAGE 23 SONGS TO BE USED: 39, 76

October 17-23Pursue PeacePAGE 27 SONGS TO BE USED: 53, 73

34567AUGUST 15, 2011



34567�

AUGUST 15, 2011



The Hebrew Scriptures contain scores of Messi-anic prophecies. Examining some of them willenable you to identify the promised Messiah.The information in these articles should proveuseful toyou as you engage in the ministry. Thematerial will also undoubtedly strengthenyourfaith in Jehovah’s prophetic word.


The unity enjoyed by Jehovah’s Witnesses isunique, and we should never take it for grant-ed. The first article highlights Bible examplesthat encourage us to be peacemakers. The sec-ond article shows how we can pursue peace.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 The Internet—Making Wise Useof a Global Tool

6 Ideas forFamily Worshipand PersonalStudy )


18 A History-Making Meeting


32 Do You Remember?


THE WATCHTOWER ˙ AUGUST 15, 2011 3

THE invention of printing, centuries ago,changed the way in which people com-

municate with one another. The inventionof the Internet in modern times has beencompared to that. This practical tool hasbeen called a global tool of communication,and rightly so. As you travel down the “in-formation superhighway,” you can pick upfacts, statistics, and opinions on a wide vari-ety of subjects.

The ability to communicate is awonderfulgift from our Creator. It enables us to ex-change ideas and share information withothers. Jehovah was the first to communi-cate with his human family, providing clear,unambiguous information on how to lead ameaningful life. (Gen.1:28-30) As made evi-dent by what happened early in human his-tory, however, the gift of communicationcan be misused. Satan gave utterly false in-formation to Eve. She accepted what he saidand passed it on to Adam, who led human-kind into a course of calamity.—Gen. 3:1-6;Rom. 5:12.

What can be said about using the Inter-net?While the Internet canprovide valuableinformation, save us time, and serve a usefulfunction, it can also misinform us, consume

an inordinate amount of our time, and cor-rupt us morally. Let us consider how we canuse this global tool to our benefit.

Information—Reliable or False?Never assume that all information found

on the Internet is goodandbeneficial. Inter-net search engines might be compared to alegion of mushroom pickers who tirelesslycollect all types of mushrooms—edible aswell as poisonous—throwing them into asingle container and dishing them out forus to eat. Would you start eating thesemushrooms without carefully examiningeachone?Of coursenot! Internet search en-gines use a huge number of computers toharvest or select from billions of Web pagescontaining everything from the very best tothe very worst. We need discernment toseparate the wheat from the chaff, as itwere, lest we poison our minds with mis-information.

In 1993 a well-known magazine had a car-toon showing twodogs in frontof a comput-er. One dog explains to the other: “On theInternet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Longago, Satan hid behind a serpent to start a“chat” with Eve and told her that she could

The InternetMaking Wise Use

of a Global Tool

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ AUGUST 15, 2011

be like God. Today, anyone with an Internetconnection can become a desktop professor,pretending to be in the know, without evenrevealing his name. And there are no ruleson who can publish ideas, information, im-ages, and suggestions.

Do not become an “Internet Eve.” Be criti-cal and suspicious of the information. Be-fore trusting it, ask: (1) Who published thismaterial? What are the author’s credentials?(2) Why was this published? What motivat-ed the writer? Is there any bias? (3) Wheredid the author get the information? Does hesupply sources that can be checked? (4) Isthe information current? In the first centu-ry, the apostle Paul gave Timothy advice thatapplies with equal force today. Paul wrote:“Guard what is laid up in trust with you,turning away from the empty speeches thatviolate what is holy and from the contra-dictions of the falsely called ‘knowledge.’”—1 Tim. 6:20.

Saves Time or Takes Time?If used wisely, the Internet can undoubt-

edly save us time, energy, and funds. We canconveniently buy something without leav-ing home. Comparing prices may help us

save money. Online banking has made thelife of many people easier; financial matterscanbe handled at any time in the comfort ofour home. The Internet provides essentialtools to work out a convenient and econom-ical itinerary for a trip we may be planningand helps us make the necessary bookings.With a little effort, we can look up phonenumbers, addresses, and various ways toget to our intended destination. Worldwide,branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses usemany of these services to save time, person-nel, and funds.

There is, however, a dark side to be consid-ered. It concerns the amount of time that us-ing the Internetmayconsume. For some, theInternet has become a fascinating toy in-stead of a helpful tool. They spend excessiveamounts of time playing, shopping, chat-ting, e-mailing, searching, and surfing. Even-tually, they may start to neglect the more im-portant things involving family, friends, andcongregation. The Internet can even becomeaddictive. For example, an estimate pub-lished in 2010 indicated that 18.4 percent ofKorean adolescents were affected by Internetaddiction. German researchers stated that“more and more women are complainingabout the addiction [of] their partners.” Onewoman complained that dependence on theInternet has changed her husband dramati-cally to the point that it has destroyed theirmarriage.

A branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses re-ceived a letter from an individualwho calledhimself an Internet junkie. He sometimesspent up to ten hours a day on the Internet.After remarking that “at first, it all seemed soinnocent,” he added: “In time, my meetingattendance dwindled and I stopped pray-ing.” When he went to the meetings, he wasunprepared and his mind was at home long-ing to “be able to log on again.” Happily, he

How can you avoid becominga victim of misinformation?

realized the seriousness of the problem andtookmeasures to correct it.Maywenever getto the point that using the Internet has be-come an addiction for us.

Information—Worthy or Not?At 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22, we read:

“Make sure of all things; hold fast to what isfine. Abstain from every form of wicked-ness.”Weneed todeterminewhether the in-formation we find on the Internet is worthyof God’s approval, meeting his high stan-dards. It should be morally unobjectionableand appropriate for a Christian. Internetpornography has become especially perva-sive, and if we are not careful, it can easilylure us into its trap.

We are wise to ask ourselves, ‘Is whatI see on the screen something I wouldquickly hide from my mate, my parents, ormy Christian brothers if they entered theroom?’ If the answer is yes,wewoulddowellto use the Internet only when others arepresent. The Internet has indeed changedthe way we communicate and shop. In addi-tion, it has opened up a completely new wayto ‘commit adultery in our heart.’—Matt. 5:27, 28.

To Forward or Not to Forward?Using the Internet includes getting infor-

mation as well as distributing it. Though wehave the freedom to obtain and pass on in-formation, we also have the responsibilityto ascertain its truthfulness and morality.Can we vouch for the accuracy of what wewrite or forward to others? Do we have per-mission to pass the information on?� Is itworthwhile and upbuilding? What are our

� The same applies to photos. Though we may takepictures for our own use, we may not be at liberty to dis-tribute them, much less supply the names of the peo-ple represented in the photos and indicate where theylive.

motives in making it available? Do we wantto do so simply to impress others?

If used properly, e-mail can be a blessing.It can alsoflooduswith information.Areweoverloading others by broadcasting the lat-est news or trivia to long lists of acquain-tances, perhaps consuming their valuabletime? Should we not examine our motivesbefore we hit the send button? What do wereally want to accomplish? People used towrite letters to share their own experienceswith family and friends, keeping them up-to-date with what was going on in their life.Should this not be the focus of our e-mail?Whypasson toothers somethingwecannotverify?

So, then, what should we do with regardto the Internet? Shun it altogether? Thatmay be necessary in some cases. The Inter-net junkie mentioned earlier did that in or-der to overcome years of addiction. On theother hand, using the Internet can benefitus, provided we let ‘thinking ability keepguard over us and discernment safeguardus.’—Prov. 2:10,11.

What should you considerbefore hitting the send button?


AT THEbeginning of 2009, congregationsof Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide ad-

justed their meeting schedule. The two mid-week meetings were combined, and all wereencouraged to use the free evening for fami-ly worship or personal study.Have you beentaking advantage of the new arrangement?Are you benefiting fully from it?

Some have wondered what material theyshould select for considerationduring fami-ly worship. It is not the intention of theGoverning Body to establish one format forall families. Since circumstances vary, it isappropriate for each family head or individ-ual to evaluate how this weekly occasioncan be used in the best way.

Some have been preparing for congrega-tion meetings, but family worship need notbe limited to that. Others have been read-ing, discussing, and even dramatizing Scrip-tural information, especially for the benefitof younger children. It may not alwaysbe necessary or even desirable to use aquestion-and-answer method, as is done atformal meetings. A relaxed atmosphere isoften more conducive to a stimulating dis-cussion and the exchange of ideas. Suchan atmosphere promotes creative thinking,

which can make the occasion memorableand enjoyable for all.

One father of three children writes:“What we have been doing is mostly basedon the Bible reading. We each read thechapters ahead of time, the children picksome aspect for research, and then they pre-sent their findings. Michael [age seven] willoften draw a picture or write a paragraph.David and Kaitlyn [ages 13 and 15] mightwrite about a Bible account from the pointof view of an observer. For example, whenwe were reading about Joseph’s interpreta-tion of the dreams of Pharaoh’s baker andhis cupbearer, Kaitlyn wrote a compositionfrom the standpoint of a prisoner watchingthe scene unfold.”—Gen., chap. 40.

Naturally, situations differ. What worksfor one individual or family may not workfor another. The accompanying box pre-sents a number of ideas that may be usedduring your periods of family worship orpersonal study. Very likely, you can think ofmanyothers.

Ideas forFamily Worship andPersonal Study

For familieswith teens:

˙ Read and discuss Ques-tions Young People Ask—Answers That Work.

˙ Practice “What if . . . ?”situations. (See The Watch-tower of May 15, 1996,page 14, paragraphs 17-18.)

˙ Talk about long-term andshort-term goals.

˙ From time to time, watchand discuss a Bible-basedvideo.

˙ Consider the Watchtowerfeature “For Young Peo-ple.”

For coupleswith no children:

˙ Discuss chapters 1, 3, 11-16 of the book The Secretof Family Happiness.

˙ Share the results ofresearch on points fromBible reading.

˙ Prepare for the Congre-gation Bible Study or theWatchtower Study.

˙ Discuss ways to expandyour ministry as a couple.

For single brothers andsisters or for those inreligiously dividedhouseholds:

˙ Study new publicationsreceived at district conven-tions.

˙ Read current and pastYearbooks.

˙ Do research on questionscommon in your local ter-ritory.

˙ Prepare presentations forthe field ministry.

For familieswith young children:

˙ Dramatize Bible scenes.

˙ Play memory games, suchas those on pages 30 and31 of Awake!

˙ Occasionally, do some-thing imaginative. (See“Studying the Bible—Inthe Zoo!” in Awake! ofMarch 8, 1996, pages 16-19.)

˙ Consider the Watchtowerfeature “Teach Your Chil-dren.”

NIGHT has fallen. Shepherds are out-of-doors, keeping watch over their flocks.

How startled they are when Jehovah’s an-gel stands nearby and God’s glory gleamsaround them! Listen! The angel makes thisdramatic proclamation: “Have no fear, for,look! I am declaring to you good news of agreat joy that all the people will have, be-cause there was born to you today a Savior,

1. Certain shepherds heard what angelic announce-ment?

who is Christ the Lord,” the one who wouldprove to be the Messiah. The shepherds canfind this infant lying in amanger in a nearbytown. Suddenly, “a multitude of the heaven-ly army” begin praising Jehovah, saying:“Glory in the heights above to God, andupon earth peace among men of goodwill.”—Luke 2:8-14.

2 Of course, the Jewish shepherds knowthat “Messiah,” or “Christ,” refers to God’s“Anointed One.” (Ex. 29:5-7) But how can

they learn more and convinceothers that thebabymentionedby the angel will be Jehovah’sappointedMessiah?Byexamin-ing prophecies found in the He-brew Scriptures and comparingthesewith the activities and lifecourse of this child.

Why Were Peoplein Expectation?

3 When John the Baptizercame on the scene years later,hiswords anddeeds led some towonder if the Messiah had ar-rived. (Read Luke 3:15.) It ispossible that somecorrectly un-derstood a Messianic prophecyinvolving “seventy weeks.” If

2. What does “Messiah” mean, andhow can he be identified?3, 4. How do we understand Daniel9:24, 25?

THEY WAITEDFOR THE MESSIAH

“The people were waiting, and all were reasoningin their hearts concerning John, whether he were not the Messiah.”

—LUKE 3:15, THE EMPHATIC DIAGLOTT.

8


so, they could have determined when theMessiahwould appear. Inpart, the prophecystated: “From the going forth of the word torestore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messi-ah the Leader, there will be seven weeks,also sixty-two weeks.” (Dan. 9:24, 25) Vari-ous scholars agree that these are weeks ofyears. For instance, the Revised Standard Ver-sion says: “Seventy weeks of years are de-creed.”

4 Today, Jehovah’s servants are aware thatthe69weeks, or 483 years, ofDaniel 9:25be-gan in455B.C.E.whenPersianKing Artaxer-xes authorized Nehemiah to restore and re-build Jerusalem. (Neh. 2:1-8) Those weeksended 483 years later, in 29 C.E., when Jesusof Nazareth was baptized and anointed withholy spirit, thus becoming the Messiah.—Matt. 3:13-17.�

5 Let us now consider a few of manyother prophecies regarding the Messiahthat found fulfillment in Jesus’ birth, ear-ly life, and ministry. This will undoubted-ly strengthen our faith in God’s propheticword. It will also provide clear evidencethat Jesus was indeed the long-awaitedMessiah.

His Early Life Foretold6 The Messiah was to be born of Israel’s

tribe of Judah. In his deathbed blessing ofhis sons, the patriarch Jacob foretold: “Thescepter will not turn aside from Judah, nei-ther the commander’s staff from betweenhis feet, until Shiloh comes; and to himthe obedience of the peoples will belong.”(Gen. 49:10) Many Jewish scholars of thepast associated those words with the Messi-

� For a detailed discussion of the “seventy weeks,” seechapter 11 of the book Pay Attention to Daniel’s Proph-ecy!

5. What prophecies will we now consider?6. Explain how Genesis 49:10 was fulfilled.

ah. Startingwith the ruleof JudeanKingDa-vid, the scepter (royal sovereignty) and thecommander’s staff (power to command) re-sided with the tribe of Judah. “Shiloh” sig-nifies “He Whose It Is; He to Whom It Be-longs.” The regal line of Judah would end in“Shiloh” as the permanent kingly Heir, forGod told Zedekiah, the last Judean king,that rulership would be given to one havingthe legal right to it. (Ezek. 21:26, 27) AfterZedekiah, Jesus was the only descendantof David to whom kingship was prom-ised. Before Jesus’ birth, the angel Gabrieltold Mary: “Jehovah God will give him thethrone of David his father, and he will ruleas king over the house of Jacob forever, andthere will be no end of his kingdom.”(Luke 1:32, 33) Shiloh must be Jesus Christ,who was a descendant of Judah and David.—Matt.1:1-3, 6; Luke 3:23, 31-34.

7 The Messiah’s birth would take place inBethlehem. “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,the one too little to get to be among thethousands of Judah,” wrote the prophet Mi-cah, “from you there will come out to methe one who is to become ruler in Israel,whose origin is from early times, from thedays of time indefinite.” (Mic. 5:2) The Mes-siah was to be born in the Judean town ofBethlehem, evidently once named Ephra-thah.Although Jesus’mother,Mary, andhisadoptive father, Joseph, lived in Nazareth, aRoman registration decree had taken themto Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in2 B.C.E. (Matt. 2:1, 5, 6) What a remarkablefulfillment of prophecy!

8 The Messiah would be born of a vir-gin. (Read Isaiah 7:14.) The Hebrew wordbethu·lah� means “virgin,” but another

7. Where was the Messiah born, and why is this sig-nificant?8, 9. What was foretold about the Messiah’s birthand the events that followed it?


term (�al·mah�) appears at Isaiah 7:14.There it was prophesied that “the maiden[ha·�al·mah�]”would give birth to a son. Theword �al·mah� is applied to the maiden Re-bekah before her marriage. (Gen. 24:16, 43)Under inspiration, Matthew used the Greekword for “virgin” (par·the�nos) when show-ing that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in connec-tionwith thebirthof Jesus. TheGospelwrit-ers Matthew and Luke state that Mary was avirgin who became pregnant through theoperation of God’s spirit.—Matt. 1:18-25;Luke 1:26-35.

9 Young children would be killed after theMessiah’s birth. Something similar hap-pened centuries earlier when Egypt’s Pha-raoh decreed that Hebrew male babies becast into the Nile River. (Ex. 1:22) But es-pecially noteworthy is Jeremiah 31:15, 16,where Rachel is depicted as weeping overher sons who were taken to “the land ofthe enemy.” Her lamentation was heard indistant Ramah, in the territory of Benja-min, north of Jerusalem. Matthew showsthat Jeremiah’s words were fulfilled whenKing Herod ordered the slaughter of youngmale children in Bethlehem and its sur-rounding territory. (Read Matthew 2:16-18.) Imagine the grief in that area!

10 Like the Israelites, the Messiah would becalled out of Egypt. (Hos. 11:1) Before Her-od’s death-dealing decree, an angel directedthat Joseph, Mary, and Jesus go to Egypt.There they remained “until the decease ofHerod, for that to be fulfilled which wasspoken by Jehovah through his prophet[Hosea], saying: ‘Out of Egypt I called myson.’” (Matt. 2:13-15) Of course, Jesus him-self could not have orchestrated any of theforetold events associated withhis birth andearly life.

10. Explain how Hosea 11:1 was fulfilled in Jesus.

The Messiah Goes Into Action!11 The way was to be prepared before God’s

Anointed One. Malachi foretold that “Elijahthe prophet” would do this work, preparingthe hearts of the people for the coming ofthe Messiah. (Read Malachi 4:5, 6.) Jesushimself identified this “Elijah” as John theBaptizer. (Matt. 11:12-14) And Mark pointedout that the ministry of John fulfilled theprophetic words of Isaiah. (Isa. 40:3; Mark 1:1-4) Jesus did not arrange for John to do anElijahlike work as His forerunner. The activi-ty of this foretold “Elijah” was done in har-monywithGod’s will as a means of identify-ing the Messiah.

12 A God-given commission helps to identifythe Messiah. In the synagogue at Nazareth,the town where he had been reared, Jesusread from the scroll of Isaiah and applied tohimself the words: “Jehovah’s spirit is uponme, because he anointed me to declare goodnews to the poor, he sent me forth to preacha release to the captives and a recovery ofsight to the blind, to send the crushed onesaway with a release, to preach Jehovah’s ac-ceptable year.” Because he truly was theMessiah, Jesus could rightly say: “Today thisscripture that you just heard is fulfilled.”—Luke 4:16-21.

13 The Messiah’s public ministry in Galileewas foretold. Concerning “the land of Zebu-lun and the land of Naphtali . . . Galilee ofthe nations,” Isaiah wrote: “The people thatwere walking in the darkness have seen agreat light. As for those dwelling in the landof deep shadow, light itself has shone uponthem.” (Isa. 9:1, 2) Jesus began his public

11. How was the way prepared before Jehovah’sAnointed One?12. What commission helps to identify the Mes-siah?13. How was Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee fore-told?


ministry in Galilee, residing at Caperna-um, where many residents of Zebulun andNaphtali enjoyed the benefits of the spiritu-al light he brought them. (Matt. 4:12-16) InGalilee, Jesus gave his thought-provokingSermon on the Mount, chose his apostles,performed his first miracle, and likely ap-peared to some 500 disciples after his resur-rection. (Matt. 5:1–7:27; 28:16-20; Mark 3:13, 14; John 2:8-11; 1 Cor. 15:6) He thus ful-filled Isaiah’s prophecybypreaching in “theland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.”Of course, Jesus went on to preach the King-dom message elsewhere in Israel.

The Messiah’s OtherActivities Foretold

14 The Messiah would speak in parables, orillustrations. The psalmist Asaph sang: “In aproverbial saying I will open my mouth.”(Ps. 78:2) How do we know that this pro-phetically applied to Jesus? Matthew tells usso. After relating illustrations in which Jesuslikened the Kingdom to a developing mus-tard grain and to leaven, Matthew states:“Without an illustration [Jesus] would notspeak to them; that there might be fulfilledwhat was spoken through the prophet whosaid: ‘I will open my mouth with illustra-tions, I will publish things hidden since thefounding.’” (Matt. 13:31-35) Proverbial say-ings, or parables, were among Jesus’ effec-tive means of teaching.

15 Our infirmities were to be borne by theMessiah. Isaiah foretold: “Truly our sickness-es were what he himself carried; and as forour pains, he bore them.” (Isa. 53:4) Mat-thew pointed out that after curing Peter’smother-in-law, Jesus healed others so that“there might be fulfilled what was spokenthrough Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘Hehim-

14. In what way was Psalm 78:2 fulfilled by Jesus?15. Point out how Isaiah 53:4 found fulfillment.

self took our sicknesses and carried our dis-eases.’” (Matt. 8:14-17) And this is butone ofmany recorded instances when Jesus curedthe ailing.

16 Despite all the good done by the Messiah,many people would not believe in him. (ReadIsaiah 53:1.) Showing that this prophe-cy was fulfilled, the apostle John wrote:“Although [Jesus] had performed so manysigns before them, they were not puttingfaith in him, so that the word of Isaiah theprophet was fulfilled which he said: ‘Jeho-vah, who has put faith in the thing heard byus? And as for the arm of Jehovah, to whomhas it been revealed?’” (John12:37, 38) Also,few put faith in the good news about Jesus,the Messiah, during the ministry of theapostle Paul.—Rom.10:16,17.

17 The Messiah would be hated withoutcause. (Ps. 69:4) The apostle John quotes Je-sus as saying: “If I had not done among [thepeople] the works that no one else did, theywould have no sin; but now they have bothseen and hated me as well as my Father. Butit is that the word written in their Lawmay be fulfilled, ‘They hated me withoutcause.’” (John 15:24, 25) Often the “Law”means the whole body of Scripture. (John10:34; 12:34) The Gospel accounts provethat Jesus was hated, especially by the Jew-ish religious leaders. Moreover, Christ said:“The world has no reason to hate you, but ithates me, because I bear witness concerningit that its works are wicked.”—John 7:7.

18 Jesus’ first-century followers were cer-tain that Jesus was the Messiah, for he didindeed fulfill the Messianic propheciesfound in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Matt. 16:

16. How did the apostle John show that Jesus ful-filled Isaiah 53:1?17. John made what application of Psalm 69:4?18. What further examination should strengthenour conviction that Jesus is the Messiah?


16) As we have seen, some of these under-went fulfillment during the early life andministry of Jesus of Nazareth. AdditionalMessianic prophecies will be examined inthe next article. Our prayerful reflectionon them will surely strengthen our convic-tion that Jesus Christ truly is the Messiahwho was appointed by our heavenly Father,Jehovah.

How Would You Answer?˙ What prophecies were fulfilled in

connection with Jesus’ birth?˙ How was the way prepared before

the Messiah?˙ What prophetic words of Isaiah

chapter 53 found fulfillment in Jesus?

JOHN THE BAPTIZER is standing withtwo of his disciples. As Jesus approaches,

John exclaims: “See, the Lamb of God!”An-drewand the other disciple promptly followJesus and spend the daywithhim.Later, An-drew finds his brother, Simon Peter, andleads him to Jesus after making the dramat-ic announcement: “Wehave found theMes-siah.”—John 1:35-41.

2 As time passes, Andrew, Peter, and oth-ers will have ample opportunity to delveinto the Scriptures and will unreservedly de-clare that Jesus of Nazareth is the promisedMessiah. Our own faith in God’s Word andhis Anointed One will be bolstered as wenow continue our examination of Messian-ic prophecies.

“Look! Your King Is Coming”3 The Messiah would make a triumphal

1. What led up to the statement: “We have foundthe Messiah”?2. Howwill we benefit from further examination ofMessianic prophecies?3. What prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus’ trium-phal entry into Jerusalem?

entry into Jerusalem. Zechariah’s prophecystated: “Be very joyful, O daughter of Zion.Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem.Look! Your king himself comes to you.He isrighteous, yes, saved; humble, and ridingupon an ass, even upon a full-grown animalthe son of a she-ass.” (Zech. 9:9) The psalm-ist wrote: “Blessed be the One coming inthe name of Jehovah.” (Ps. 118:26) Jesuscould not have manipulated the crowd’s ac-tions. However, in fulfillment of prophecy,that throng spontaneously cried out withboundless joy. As you read the account, vi-sualize the scene and hear the happy voices.—Read Matthew 21:4-9.

4 Although many would reject Jesus despitehis Messianic credentials, he is precious toGod. As foretold, Jesus ‘was despised andconsidered to be of no account’ by thosewho refused to believe the evidence. (Isa.53:3;Mark 9:12) However, God had inspiredthe psalmist to say: “The stone that thebuilders rejected has become the head of

4. Explain what happened in fulfillment of Psalm118:22, 23.

THEY FOUND THE MESSIAH!“We have found the Messiah.”—JOHN 1:41.


the corner. This has come to be from Jeho-vahhimself.” (Ps.118:22, 23) Jesus drew thispassage to the attention of his religious op-posers, and Peter said that it was fulfilled inChrist. (Mark 12:10, 11; Acts 4:8-11) Jesusdid become the “foundation cornerstone”of the Christian congregation. Rejected bygodless men, he is “chosen, precious, withGod.”—1 Pet. 2:4-6.

Betrayed and Abandoned!5 It was foretold that the Messiah would be

betrayed by a treacherous associate. Davidprophesied: “The man at peace with me, inwhom I trusted, who was eating my bread,has magnified his heel against me.” (Ps.41:9) A person who ate bread with someonewas thought to be his friend. (Gen. 31:54) Sothe betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot wastreachery of the worst sort. Jesus called at-tention to the fulfillment of David’s pro-phetic words when He referred to his betray-

5, 6. What was foretold and fulfilled regarding theMessiah’s betrayal?

er and told his apostles: “I amnot talking about all of you; Iknow the ones I have chosen.But it is in order that theScripture might be fulfilled,‘He that used to feed on mybread has lifted up his heelagainst me.’”—John 13:18.

6 The Messiah’s betrayerwould receive 30 pieces of sil-ver—the price of a slave! Draw-ing on Zechariah 11:12, 13,Matthew showed that Jesuswas betrayed for such a pal-try sum. But why did Mat-thew say that this had beenforetold “through Jeremiahthe prophet”? In Matthew’sday, Jeremiah may have been

placed first in a group of Bible books that in-cluded Zechariah. (Compare Luke 24:44.)Judas never spent his ill-gotten sum, for hethrew the money into the temple and wentoff and committed suicide.—Matt. 26:14-16;27:3-10.

7 Even the Messiah’s disciples would scat-ter. “Strike the shepherd,” wrote Zechariah,“and let those of the flock be scattered.”(Zech. 13:7) On Nisan 14, 33 C.E., Jesus toldhis disciples: “All of you will be stumbled inconnection with me on this night, for it iswritten, ‘I will strike the shepherd, andthe sheep of the flock will be scatteredabout.’”And that is exactly what happened,for Matthew reported that “all the disci-ples abandoned [Jesus] and fled.”—Matt. 26:31, 56.

Accused and Smitten8 The Messiah would be tr ied and

7. How did Zechariah 13:7 undergo fulfillment?8. Under what circumstances was Isaiah 53:8 ful-filled?

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalemfulfilled which prophecies?


condemned. (Read Isaiah 53:8.)At dawnonNisan 14, the entire Sanhedrin met, had Je-sus bound, and handed him over to RomanGovernor Pontius Pilate. He questioned Je-sus and found him guilty of nothing at all.When Pilate offered to release Jesus, how-ever, the crowd shouted: “Impale him!” andcalled for the freeing of the criminal Barab-bas. Wishing to satisfy the throng, Pilate re-leased Barabbas, had Jesus whipped, andhanded him over to be impaled.—Mark 15:1-15.

9 False witnesses would testify against theMessiah. “Violent witnesses rise up,” saidthe psalmist David. “What I have notknown they ask me.” (Ps. 35:11) True toprophecy, “the chief priests and the en-tire Sanhedrin were looking for false wit-ness against Jesus in order to put him todeath.” (Matt. 26:59) In fact, “many, indeed,were giving false witness against him, buttheir testimonies were not in agreement.”(Mark14:56) Lying testimonymattered littleto Jesus’ rabid enemies, who sought hisdeath.

10 The Messiah would be silent before hisaccusers. Isaiah prophesied: “He was hardpressed, and he was letting himself be af-flicted; yet he would not open his mouth.Hewasbeing brought just like a sheep to theslaughtering; and like a ewe that before hershearers has become mute, he also wouldnotopenhismouth.” (Isa. 53:7) While Jesus“was being accused by the chief priests andolder men, he made no answer.” Pilateasked: “Do you not hear how many thingsthey are testifying against you?” Neverthe-less, Jesus “did not answer him, no, nota word, so that the governor wonderedvery much.” (Matt. 27:12-14) Jesus did not

9. What happened in Jesus’ time as was foretold atPsalm 35:11?10. Explain how Isaiah 53:7 was fulfilled.

revile his accusers.—Rom. 12:17-21; 1 Pet.2:23.

11 Isaiah prophesied that the Messiahwould be smitten. “My back I gave to thestrikers, andmycheeks to those pluckingoffthe hair,” wrote the prophet. “My face Idid not conceal from humiliating thingsand spit.” (Isa. 50:6) Micah foretold: “Withthe rod they will strike upon the cheek thejudge of Israel.” (Mic. 5:1) Confirming thefulfillment of these prophecies, the Gospelwriter Mark said: “Some started to spit on[Jesus] and to cover his whole face and hithimwith their fists and say to him: ‘Prophe-sy!’And, slapping him in the face, the courtattendants took him.” Mark states that sol-diers “would hit him on the head witha reed and spit upon him and, bendingtheir knees [in mockery], they would doobeisance to him.” (Mark 14:65; 15:19) Ofcourse, Jesus did nothing to provoke suchabuse.

Faithful to Death12 Aspects of the Messiah’s impalement

were foretold. “The assembly of evildoersthemselves have enclosed me,” said thepsalmist David. “Like a lion they are at myhands andmy feet.” (Ps. 22:16)Reporting anevent well-known to Bible readers, the Gos-pel writer Mark states: “It was now the thirdhour [about nine o’clock in the morning],and they impaled him.” (Mark 15:25) It hadalso been foretold that the Messiah wouldbe numbered with sinners. “He poured outhis soul to the very death,” wrote Isaiah,“and it was with the transgressors that hewas counted in.” (Isa. 53:12) So it was that“two robberswere impaledwith [Jesus], one

11. What took place in fulfillment of Isaiah 50:6and Micah 5:1?12. How did Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53:12 apply toJesus?


on his right and one on his left.”—Matt.27:38.

13 David prophesied that the Messiahwould be reviled. (Read Psalm 22:7, 8.) Jesuswas reviled while suffering on the torturestake, for Matthew reports: “The passersbybegan speaking abusively of him, waggingtheir heads and saying: ‘O you would-bethrower-down of the temple and builder ofit in three days, save yourself! If you are ason of God, come down off the torturestake!’” Similarly, the chief priests, scribes,and older men made fun of him and said:“Others he saved; himself he cannot save!He is King of Israel; let him nowcome downoff the torture stake and we will believe onhim. He has put his trust in God; let Him

13. In what way was Psalm 22:7, 8 fulfilled in Jesus?

now rescue him if He wants him, forhe said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” (Matt.27:39-43) Yet, Jesus bore all of thiswith dignity. What a fine examplefor us!

14 Lots were to be cast for the Mes-siah’s clothing. “They apportion mygarments among themselves,” wrotethe psalmist, “and upon my clothingthey cast lots.” (Ps. 22:18) That iswhat occurred, for “when [the Romansoldiers] had impaled [Jesus] theydistributedhis outer garments by cast-ing lots.”—Matt. 27:35; read John 19:23, 24.

15 The Messiah would be given vin-egarand gall. “For food theygavemeapoisonous plant,” said the psalmist,“and for my thirst they tried to makeme drink vinegar.” (Ps. 69:21) Mat-thew tells us: “They gave [Jesus] wine

mixedwith gall to drink; but, after tasting it,he refused todrink.” Later, “oneof themranand took a sponge and soaked it with sourwine and put it on a reed and went givinghim a drink.”—Matt. 27:34, 48.

16 The Messiah would seem forsaken byGod. (Read Psalm 22:1.) In accord withprophecy, “at the ninth hour [aboutthree o’clock in the afternoon] Jesus calledout with a loud voice: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani?’ which means, when translated: ‘MyGod,myGod,whyhave you forsakenme?’”(Mark 15:34) Jesus had not lost faith in hisheavenly Father. God abandoned Jesus to

14, 15. Show how specific prophecies were fulfilledregarding the Messiah’s clothing and his being giv-en vinegar.16. Explain how the prophetic words of Psalm 22:1were fulfilled.

Jesus died for our sins,but he now rules as Messianic King


his enemies by taking away His protectionso that Christ’s integrity might be fully test-ed. And by crying out as he did, Jesus ful-filled Psalm 22:1.

17 The Messiah would be pierced, but hisbones would not be broken. Inhabitants of Je-rusalem would “look to the One whomthey pierced through.” (Zech. 12:10) AndPsalm 34:20 states: “[God] is guarding allthe bones of that one; not one of them hasbeen broken.” Confirming these points, theapostle John wrote: “One of the soldiersjabbed his [Jesus’] side with a spear, and im-mediately blood and water came out. Andhe that has seen it [John] has bornewitness,and his witness is true . . . These things tookplace in order for the scripture to be ful-filled: ‘Not a bone of his will be crushed.’And, again, a different scripture says: ‘Theywill look to the One whom they pierced.’ ”—John 19:33-37.

18 The Messiah would be buried with therich. (Read Isaiah 53:5, 8, 9.) Late in the af-ternoon of Nisan 14, “a rich man of Arima-thea, named Joseph,” asked Pilate for Jesus’body, and the request was granted. Mat-thew’s account adds: “Joseph took thebody,wrapped it up in clean fine linen, and laid itin his new memorial tomb, which he hadquarried in the rock-mass. And, after rollinga big stone to the door of the memorialtomb, he left.”—Matt. 27:57-60.

Hail the Messianic King!19 The Messiah would be resurrected. David

wrote: “You [Jehovah] will not leave mysoul in Sheol.” (Ps. 16:10) Imagine the sur-prise of the women who came to the tomb

17. How were Zechariah 12:10 and Psalm 34:20 ful-filled?18. How did Jesus come to be buried with the rich?19. What happened in keeping with the propheticwords of Psalm 16:10?

where Jesus’ body had been laid. There theyencountered a materialized angel, who toldthem: “Stop being stunned. You are lookingfor Jesus theNazarene,whowas impaled.Hewas raised up, he is not here. See! The placewhere they laid him.” (Mark 16:6) To thecrowd present in Jerusalem on the day ofPentecost 33C.E., the apostle Peter declared:“[David] saw beforehand and spoke con-cerning the resurrection of the Christ, thatneither washe forsaken inHadesnordid hisflesh see corruption.” (Acts 2:29-31) Goddid not allow the physical body of his be-loved Son to decay. Moreover, Jesus wasmiraculously raised to life in the spirit!—1 Pet. 3:18.

20 As foretold, God declared that Jesus ishis Son. (Read Psalm 2:7; Matthew 3:17.)Also, crowds hailed Jesus and the com-ing Kingdom, and we joyfully speak abouthim and his blessed rule. (Mark 11:7-10)Christ will soon destroy his foes as he ‘ridesin the cause of truth, humility, and righ-teousness.’ (Ps. 2:8, 9; 45:1-6) His kingshipwill then bring about earth-wide peace andprosperity. (Ps. 72:1, 3, 12, 16; Isa. 9:6, 7)How privileged we are to proclaim thesetruths as Witnesses of Jehovah, whose be-loved Son already reigns in heaven as theMessianic King!

20. How was the foretold rulership of the Messiahfulfilled?

How Would You Answer?˙ How was Jesus betrayed and aban-

doned?˙ What were some foretold features

of Jesus Christ’s impalement?˙ Why are you convinced that Jesus

is the promised Messiah?


Is it possible to say exactly how manyMessianic prophecies are contained in theHebrew Scriptures?

A careful study of the Hebrew Scripturesenables us to identify dozens of prophe-cies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Theseprophecies foretold details of the Messiah’sbackground, time of appearance, actions,treatment, and place in Jehovah God’s ar-rangement. They combine to form one grandpicture that helps us to identify Jesus as theMessiah. However, caution is needed if we tryto determine exactly how many Messianicprophecies are found in the Hebrew Scrip-tures.

Not everyone agrees on what is or is nota Messianic prophecy. In his book The Lifeand Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Eders-heim stated that the ancient rabbinic writ-ings classified 456 passages from the HebrewScriptures as Messianic, although many ofthem do not specifically mention the Messi-ah. A close look at these 456 passages rais-es questions as to whether some of themare prophetic of Jesus Christ. For example,Edersheim said that the Jews regarded Gene-sis 8:11 as Messianic. They held that “theolive-leaf, brought by the dove, was takenfrom the Mount of the Messiah.” The au-thor also mentioned Exodus 12:42. Explain-ing how the Jews incorrectly understood thistext, he wrote: “As Moses came out of thedesert, so would the Messiah come out ofRome.” Many scholars and others would un-doubtedly find it hard to relate these twotexts and erroneous explanations to JesusChrist.

Even if we restrict our attention to thoseprophecies that were actually fulfilled in Je-sus Christ, we encounter difficulties agreeing

on an exact number. Take, for example, Isa-iah chapter 53, which contains several pro-phetic features regarding the Messiah. Isaiah53:2-7 prophesies: “No stately form does hehave . . . He was despised and was avoidedby men . . . Our sicknesses were what he him-self carried . . . He was being pierced for ourtransgression . . . He was being brought justlike a sheep to the slaughtering.” Should thiswhole passage in Isaiah chapter 53 be count-ed as one Messianic prophecy, or shouldeach of these characteristics of the Messiahbe viewed as a separate prophecy in its ownright?

Consider, too, Isaiah 11:1, which reads:“There must go forth a twig out of the stumpof Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout willbe fruitful.” In verse 10, this prophecy ap-pears again, with similar wording. Shouldwe count these two verses as two separateprophecies or as one prophecy that is repeat-ed? The conclusions reached on Isaiah chap-ter 53 and Isaiah chapter 11 would clearlyaffect the total number of Messianic prophe-cies.

Hence, we do well to avoid being specificabout the total number of Messianic prophe-cies in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jehovah’s orga-nization has published lists showing dozensof prophecies concerning Jesus and their ful-fillment.� These lists can be of assistanceand encouragement to us in our personaland family study and in our public ministry.Moreover, the numerous Messianic prophe-cies, whatever their number, give us solid ev-idence that Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah.

� Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 1223; Vol-ume 2, page 387; “All Scripture Is Inspired of God andBeneficial,” pages 343-344; What Does the Bible ReallyTeach? page 200.



“BY THE time this meeting is over, youwill say, ‘This was truly a theocrat-

ic history-making annual meeting!’” Withthose words, Stephen Lett of the GoverningBody of Jehovah’s Witnesses intensified thesense of keen anticipation in the large audi-ence. They were gathered for the 126th an-nual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible andTract Society of Pennsylvania, held on Octo-ber 2, 2010, at the Assembly Hall of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses in Jersey City, New Jersey,U.S.A. What were some of the highlights ofthis historic occasion?

Brother Lett’s opening talk was an en-thusiastic discussion of Jehovah’s celestialchariot as described in the Bible book ofEzekiel. This colossal, glorious vehicle pic-tures God’s organization, with Jehovah incomplete control. Its heavenly part, com-posed of spirit creatures, moves with light-ning speed—the speed of Jehovah’s ownthoughts, Brother Lett said. The earthly partof Jehovah God’s organization is likewise onthe move. Brother Lett noted a number ofexciting developments in the visible part ofGod’s organization in recent years.

For instance, anumberof branches are be-ing merged and consolidated, which will al-

low many who were formerly serving inBethel homes in those countries to focus onthe preaching work. Brother Lett urged theaudience to keep praying that the Govern-ing Body, as the representative of the slaveclass, continue to be not only faithful butalsowise, or discreet.—Matt. 24:45-47.

Encouraging Reportsand Heartwarming Interviews

Tab Honsberger, who serves on theBranch Committee in Haiti, gave a touchingreport on the aftermath of the January 12,2010, earthquake, which took an estimated300,000 lives in that land. He noted thatclergymen have been telling people thatGod punished those victims for being faith-less while protecting the good. Yet, thou-sands of convicted criminals went free whenthe walls of a prison collapsed in the quake.Many honesthearted Haitians are thus find-ing comfort in learning the truth about whyour times are so troubled. Brother Hons-bergerquoted a faithfulHaitianbrother wholost his wife in the disaster as saying: “I shedtears to this day. I don’t knowhow long I willcontinue to mourn, but I rejoice to feel thelove of Jehovah’s organization. I have hope,and I am determined to share it.”

A History-MakingMeeting

Mark Sanderson, now a member of theBrooklyn Bethel family, gave a report onthe Philippines. A former member of theBranch Committee there, he fairly beamedas he spoke of the country’s 32 consecu-tive peaks in the number of Kingdom pub-lishers and of the way the Bible studiesfar outnumber the publishers. He told ofa brother named Miguel whose grandsonwas murdered. Miguel worked hard to havethe murderer prosecuted and jailed. Later,when witnessing in the prison, Miguel metthe murderer. Though nervous, Miguel ad-dressed him mildly and kindly. He eventual-ly studied with the man, who respondedwell and came to love Jehovah. He is nowbaptized. Miguel is his close friend and isworking to win his new brother an early re-lease fromprison.�

The program next featured a get-acquainted interview conducted by MarkNoumair, an instructor in the TheocraticSchools Department. He interviewed threecouples—Alex and Sarah Reinmueller, Davidand Krista Schafer, and Robert and Ketra Ci-ranko.AlexReinmueller, a helper to the Pub-lishing Committee, told of how he made thetruth his own while pioneering in Canadawhen he was only 15 years old, often work-ing by himself. Asked who had the most im-

� See the 2011 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, pag-es 62-63.

pact on him at Bethel, Brother Reinmuellermentioned three faithful men, pointing outhow each of them had helped him to growspiritually.Hiswife, Sarah, toldofher friend-ship with a sister who endured decades inChinese prisons for her faith. Sarah said thatshe has learned to rely on Jehovah throughpersonal prayer.

David Schafer, a helper to the Teach-ing Committee, praised his mother forher strong faith and told of brothers whoworked as loggers and helped him to auxilia-ry pioneer as a youth. His wife, Krista, spokefondly of being influenced by older mem-bers of the Bethel family who proved to be“faithful in what is least,” as Jesus recom-mended.—Luke 16:10.

Robert Ciranko, a helper to the Writ-ing Committee, reminisced about his fourgrandparents, who were Hungarian immi-grants and anointed Christians. As a boy, hewas impressed when he attended large con-ventions in the 1950’s and learned that Je-hovah’s organizationwas far bigger than hisown congregation. His wife, Ketra, told ofhow she learned about loyalty when serving

The get-acquaintedinterviews were enjoyedby all in attendance


as a pioneer in a congregation that was af-flicted with apostasy and other problems.She endured and was eventually assigned toserve as a special pioneer in a congregationwhere the unity touched herheart.

Manfred Tonak next gave a report, onEthiopia. This land dates back to Bible times,and it is now blessed with over 9,000 pub-lishers of the good news. Most of them livein or near the capital, Addis Ababa. Remoteareas thus need more attention. To addressthis need, Ethiopian Witnesses living in oth-er countries were invited to visit in order to

preach in some remote parts of the country.Many came, encouraged the local Witness-es, and found receptive listeners.

A program highlight was a symposiumabout Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia andtheir legal struggles. Aulis Bergdahl of theBranchCommittee inRussia presented ahis-tory of the persecution of the Witnesses inRussia, particularly in Moscow. Philip Brum-ley of the Legal Department at the UnitedStates branch told about the thrilling de-velopments in recent months when theEuropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR)heard thenine charges that hadbeen leveledagainst the Witnesses. The Court unani-mously found that none of the nine chargeshad any merit, in a number of cases evenreasoning carefully to refute the argumentspresented. While the results remain to beseen, Brother Brumley spoke hopefully ofthe impact that the Court’s ruling may haveon cases in other lands.

Following this exciting news, Brother Lettannounced that the ECHR had deemed asadmissible the long-running tax case involv-ing the government of France and Jehovah’sWitnesses. This highly respected Court ad-mits very few of the cases presented to it. Sofar, the ECHR has considered a total of 39cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses, and ithas ruled in our favor in 37 of them. Broth-er Lett encouraged all of God’s people tokeep the current matter before Jehovah Godinprayer.

The final report came from Richard Mor-lan, a field instructor of the School for Con-gregation Elders. He spoke enthusiasticallyabout the school and the appreciative re-sponse from the elders who have attended.

Other Talks by GoverningBody Members

Guy Pierce of the Governing Body gave aheartfelt talk that focused on the yeartext

Jehovah has blessed thepreaching work in Ethiopia


for 2011, “Take refuge in the name of Jeho-vah.” (Zeph. 3:12) He noted that while thisis a happy time in many ways for Jehovah’speople, it is also a serious, sobering time. Je-hovah’s great day is near; yet, people contin-ue to seek refuge in false religion, politicalinstitutions, material wealth, escapism, andthe like.Tofinda genuine refuge,weneed tocall upon Jehovah’s name, which involvesknowing, deeply respecting, and trustingthe Person represented by that name, lovinghimwith everything we have.

David Splane of theGoverning Body nextdelivered an earnest, thought-provokingdiscussion on the theme “Have You EnteredInto God’s Rest?” He noted that God’s restdoes not mean inactivity, since Jehovah andhis Son have “kept working” throughoutthat figurative day of rest in order to bringGod’s purpose for the things created regard-ing the earth to a successful conclusion.(John 5:17) How, then, may we enter intoGod’s rest? Desisting from sin and fromworks of self-justification are just part of theanswer. We need to exercise faith and livewith God’s purpose in mind, making what-ever contribution we can to that purpose.At times, that may be a special challenge,but we need to accept the counsel and co-operate with the direction from Jehovah’sorganization. Brother Splane entreated theaudience to do everything possible to enterinto God’s rest.

The final talk, delivered by Anthony Mor-ris of the Governing Body, was entitled“What Are We Waiting For?” With urgencyand fatherly warmth, Brother Morris re-minded the audience of prophetic develop-ments yet ahead of us, events that all faith-ful ones eagerly await. These include the cryof “Peace and security!” and the destructionof false religion. (1 Thess. 5:2, 3; Rev. 17:15-17) Brother Morris warned against saying,

“This must be Armageddon,” in response toevents in the news that do not fulfill suchprophecies. He recommended the joyful,patient, waiting attitude described at Micah7:7.At the same time, though, heurged all to“close ranks” with the Governing Body, todraw close together as would soldiers enter-ing the thick of the battle. “May your heartbe strong,” he said, “all you who are waitingfor Jehovah.”—Ps. 31:24.

In conclusion, there were some thrill-ing, history-making announcements. Geof-frey Jackson of the Governing Body an-nounced plans for the trial of a simplifiedstudy edition of The Watchtower for thosewith limited English-reading abilities. ThenStephen Lett announced that the Gov-erning Body will arrange for shepherdingvisits to be provided for district overseersand their wives in the United States. Henext revealed that the Ministerial TrainingSchool would henceforth be known as theBible School for Single Brothers. It wouldsoon be complemented by the Bible Schoolfor Christian Couples. This school wouldgive couples further training so that theycan be more useful to Jehovah’s organiza-tion. Brother Lett also announced that theSchool for Traveling Overseers and TheirWives and the School for Branch Commit-tee Members and Their Wives would be ex-panded to two classes eachyear at Patterson,with provisions for those who have previ-ously attended to attend a second time.

A touching conclusion to the programcame when 97-year-old John E. Barr, long-time member of the Governing Body, of-fered a humble and sincere prayer.� Every-one left with the impression that this hadindeed been a historic day.

� Brother Barr finished his earthly course on Decem-ber 4, 2010.


How are we to understand the figures inthe annual service report?

Each year, we look forward to the servicereport published in the Yearbook. It is thrill-ing to see what Jehovah’s people as a grouphave accomplished in the worldwide King-dom preaching and teaching work. But to de-rive the greatest benefit from the report, weneed a correct understanding of the entriesas well as a balanced view of the figures.Consider a few examples.

Service year. This extends from Septemberof one year through August of the next. TheYearbook contains the report for the preced-ing service year. Thus, the 2011 Yearbook con-tains the report for the 2010 service year,which ran from September 1, 2009, to Au-gust 31, 2010.

Peak publishers and average publishers.“Publishers” includes baptized Witness-es of Jehovah as well as unbaptized oneswho qualify to be Kingdom preachers. “Peakpublishers” is the highest number report-ing for any one month of the service yearand may include late reports that were notadded to the preceding month’s report. Inthis way some publishers may be countedtwice. However, the peak figure does not in-clude the number of publishers who actuallyshared in the ministry but forgot to report.This emphasizes the importance of each pub-lisher reporting promptly each month. “Aver-age publishers” is the typical number of dif-ferent ones reporting time in the ministryeach month.

Total hours. According to the 2011 Year-book, Jehovah’s Witnesses spent over 1.6 bil-lion hours in the field ministry. This total,however, does not represent all the hours we

spend in our worship, for it does not includetime we regularly devote to such activities asshepherding, attending meetings, and en-gaging in personal Bible study and medita-tion.

Money spent. During the 2010 service year,Jehovah’s Witnesses spent over $155 millionin caring for special pioneers, missionaries,and traveling overseers in their field serviceassignments. This figure does not, however,include the cost of printing the Bible-basedpublications we produce; nor does it includethe money spent in caring for the more than20,000 Bethel volunteers staffing the branchfacilities around the world.

Memorial partakers. This is the numberof baptized individuals who partake of theemblems at the Memorial worldwide. Doesthis total represent the number of anointedones on earth? Not necessarily. A numberof factors—including past religious beliefs oreven mental or emotional imbalance—mightcause some to assume mistakenly that theyhave the heavenly calling. We thus have noway of knowing the exact number of anoint-ed ones on earth; nor do we need to know.The Governing Body does not keep a list of allpartakers, for it does not maintain a globalnetwork of anointed ones.�

What we do know is that there will besome of the anointed “slaves of our God”on earth when the destructive winds of thegreat tribulation are released. (Rev. 7:1-3)Until then, the anointed will take the lead insomething that is well-documented by ourannual service report—the greatest preach-ing and teaching work in human history.

� See the article “The Faithful Steward and Its Govern-ing Body,” in the June 15, 2009, issue of The Watchtower,page 24.


23

THE place is close to Penuel, near the tor-rent valley of Jabbok on the east side of

the river Jordan. Esau has heard that histwinbrother, Jacob, is returning home. Eventhough 20 years have passed since Esau soldhis right as firstborn to his brother, Jacobfears that his brother may still harbor a mur-derous grudge against him. Accompanied by400men, Esaumarches towardhis estrangedbrother. Anticipating a hostile reception, Ja-cob sends Esau wave upon wave of giftsamounting to over 550 domestic animals.With each group of animals, Jacob’s ser-vants tell Esau that they are a gift from hisbrother.

2 The moment finally arrives! As Jacob

1, 2. What tense situation is described in Genesischapters 32 and 33, and what was the outcome?

courageously walks toward Esau, he bowsdown—not once but seven times. Jacob hasalready taken the most important measurehe can take to soften theheart of his brother.Jacob has prayed to Jehovah for deliverancefrom Esau’s hand. Does Jehovah answer thisprayer? Yes. “Esau went running to meethim,” the Bible tells us, “and he began toembrace him and fall uponhis neck and kisshim.”—Gen. 32:11-20; 33:1-4.

3 The account of Jacob and Esau showsthat we should make earnest and practicalefforts to settle matters whenproblems arisethatmay threaten the peacewe enjoywithinthe Christian congregation. Jacob sought tomakepeacewithEsau, butnot because Jacob

3. What do we learn from the account of Jacob andEsau?

JEHOVAH—“THE GOD WHO GIVES PEACE”

“May the God who gives peace be with all of you.”—ROM. 15:33.

What was the mostimportant step taken by Jacob in

making peace with Esau?


had erred against his brother and owed himan apology. No, Esau had despised his birth-right and had sold it to Jacob for a bowl ofstew. (Gen. 25:31-34; Heb. 12:16) However,the way Jacob approached Esau illustratesthe extent to which we should be willing togo to preserve the peace with our Christianbrothers. It also shows that the true Godblesses our prayerful efforts to make peace.The Bible contains numerous other exam-ples that instruct us to be peacemakers.

A Superlative Example to Exhort Us4 The most outstanding example of a

peacemaker is Jehovah—“the God whogives peace.” (Rom. 15:33) Think of the ex-tent to which Jehovah went to enable us tohave a peaceful relationship with him. Assinful descendants of Adam and Eve, we de-serve “the wages [that] sin pays.” (Rom. 6:23) Still, out of his great love, Jehovah ar-ranged for our salvation by sending his be-loved Son from heaven to be born as aperfect human. And the Son willingly com-plied. He allowed himself to be put to deathby God’s enemies. (John 10:17, 18) The trueGod resurrected his beloved Son, who after-ward presented to the Father the value of hisshed blood, which would be a ransom tosave repentant sinners from eternal death.—Read Hebrews 9:14, 24.

5 How does the provision of the ransomsacrifice of God’s Son affect the damaged re-lationship between God and sinful man-kind? “The chastisement meant for ourpeace was upon him,” states Isaiah 53:5,“and because of his wounds there has beena healing for us.” Instead of being viewed as

4. What is God’s provision for saving mankindfrom sin and death?5, 6. How does Jesus’ shed blood affect the dam-aged relationship between God and sinful man-kind?

God’s enemies, obedient humans can nowenjoy a peaceful relationship with him. “Bymeans of [Jesus] we have the release by ran-som through the blood of that one, yes, theforgiveness of our trespasses.”—Eph.1:7.

6 The Bible states: “God saw good for allfullness to dwell in [Christ].” This is becauseChrist is the key figure in the fulfilling ofGod’s purpose. And what is Jehovah’s pur-pose? It is “to reconcile again to himself allother things by making peace through the[shed] blood” of Jesus Christ. “All otherthings” that God thus brings into a peacefulrelationship with him are “the things in theheavens” and “the things upon the earth.”What are they?—Read Colossians 1:19, 20.

7 The provision of the ransom makes itpossible for anointed Christians, who “havebeen declared righteous” as sons of God, to“enjoy peace with God.” (Read Romans5:1.) They are referred to as “the things inthe heavens” because they have a heavenlyhope and “are to rule as kings over theearth” and serve as priests to God. (Rev. 5:10) On the other hand, “the things uponthe earth” refer to repentant humans, whowill eventually attain to everlasting life onearth.—Ps. 37:29.

8 Expressing his heartfelt gratitude for Je-hovah’s provision, Paul wrote to the anoint-ed Christians in Ephesus: “God, who is richinmercy, . . .madeus alive together with theChrist, even when we were dead in trespass-es—by undeserved kindness you have beensaved.” (Eph. 2:4, 5) Whether we have aheavenly hope or an earthly hope, we aredeeply indebted to God for his mercy and

7. What are “the things in the heavens” and “thethings upon the earth” that are brought into apeaceful relationship with God?8. How are you affected by reflecting on the extentto which Jehovah went to enable mankind to be atpeace with him?


undeserved kindness. Our hearts are filledwith gratitude as we consider the extentto which Jehovah went to make it possi-ble for mankind to enjoy peace with him.When we are confronted with situationsthat threaten the peaceful unity of the con-gregation, should not our appreciatively re-flecting on God’s example move us to bepeacemakers?

Learning From theWays of Abraham and Isaac

9 Concerning the patriarch Abraham, theBible states: “ ‘Abraham put faith in Jeho-vah, and it was counted to him as righteous-ness,’ and he came to be called ‘Jehovah’sfriend.’” (Jas. 2:23) Abraham’s faith wasmade evident by his peace-loving ways. Forexample, as Abraham’s flocks and herdsincreased, tension developed between hisherdsmen and those of his nephew Lot.(Gen. 12:5; 13:7) The obvious solution wasthat Abraham and Lot separate. How wouldAbraham deal with this delicate situation?Instead of using his age and status withGod to tell his nephew what to do, Abra-ham proved himself to be a true peace-maker.

10 “Please, do not let any quarreling con-tinue between me and you and between myherdsmen and your herdsmen,” Abrahamtold his nephew, “for we men are brothers.”The patriarch continued: “Is not the wholeland available to you? Please, separate fromme. If you go to the left, then I will go to theright; but if you go to the right, then I will goto the left.” Lot chose the most fertile partof the land, but Abraham held no grudgeagainst him. (Gen. 13:8-11) Later on whenLot was taken captive by invading armies,

9, 10. How did Abraham prove himself to be apeacemaker in dealing with Lot when tension aroseamong their herdsmen?

Abrahamdidnot hesitate to rescuehis neph-ew.—Gen.14:14-16.

11 Think also of how Abraham pursuedpeace with his Philistine neighbors in theland of Canaan. The Philistines had “seizedby violence” a well of water dug by Abra-ham’s servants at Beer-sheba. How would aman who had rescued his nephew by over-coming the four kings who had capturedhim respond to this act? Rather than fightback and repossess his well, Abraham choseto remain silent about the matter. In time,the Philistine king visited Abraham to makea covenant of peace. Only after he got Abra-ham to swear to him to be kind to the Philis-tine king’s offspring did Abraham bring upthematter of his stolenwell. Shocked tohearabout this, the king restored the well toAbraham. As for Abraham, he continued tolive peacefully as an alien resident in theland.—Gen. 21:22-31, 34.

12 Abraham’s son Isaac followed thepeace-loving ways of his father. This is evi-dent from the manner in which Isaac dealtwith the Philistines. Because of a famine inthe land, Isaac moved his household north,from Beer-lahai-roi in the arid region of theNegeb into the more fertile territory of thePhilistines at Gerar. There Jehovah blessedIsaac with bumper crops and increased hislivestock. The Philistines began to envy him.Not wanting Isaac to prosper as his fatherhad prospered, the Philistines stopped upthe wells that Abraham’s servants had dugin the region. Finally, the Philistine king toldIsaac to ‘move from their neighborhood.’The peaceful man Isaac complied.—Gen. 24:62; 26:1,12-17.

11. How did Abraham pursue peace with his Philis-tine neighbors?12, 13. (a) Howdid Isaac follow the example of hisfather? (b) How did Jehovah bless Isaac’s peace-loving ways?


13 After Isaac moved his encampment far-ther away, his shepherds dug another well.Philistine shepherds claimed that the waterwas theirs. Like his father, Abraham, Isaacdid not fight over a well. Instead, Isaac againhad his men dig a well. The Philistines alsoclaimed this one for themselves. For the sakeof peace, Isaacmoved his large encampmentaway to yet another location. There his ser-vants dug awell that Isaac named Rehoboth.In time, he moved to the more fertile regionof Beer-sheba, where Jehovah blessed himand told him: “Do not be afraid, because Iam with you, and I will bless you and multi-ply your seed on account of Abraham myservant.”—Gen. 26:17-25.

14 Isaac surely had the ability to fight forhis right to use all the wells that his servantshad dug. After all, the Philistine king and hisofficials came to visit him in Beer-sheba andsought to make a covenant of peace withhim, saying: “We have unmistakably seenthat Jehovah has proved to be with you.”Still, for the sake of peace, Isaac had morethan once opted to move rather than fight.This time too Isaac proved himself to bea peacemaker. The historical record states:“He made a feast for [his visitors] and theyate anddrank.Nextmorning theywere earlyin rising and they made sworn statementsone to the other. After that Isaac sent themaway. . . inpeace.”—Gen. 26:26-31.

Learning From the SonWhom Jacob Loved the Most

15 Isaac’s son Jacob grew up to be “ablameless man.” (Gen. 25:27) As discussedat the outset, Jacob sought to make peacewith his brother, Esau. Undoubtedly, Jacob

14. How did Isaac prove himself to be a peacemak-er when the Philistine king sought to make a cove-nant of peace with him?15. Why were Joseph’s brothers unable to speakpeacefully to him?

had benefited from the peaceable exampleof his father, Isaac. What can be said aboutJacob’s sons? Of his 12 sons, Joseph was theonewhomJacob loved themost. Josephwasan obedient, respectful sonwho cared deep-ly for his father’s interests. (Gen. 37:2, 14)However, Joseph’s older brothers became sojealous of him that they were unable tospeak peacefully to him. Cruelly, they soldJoseph into slavery and tricked their fatherinto believing that Joseph had been killedby awild beast.—Gen. 37:4, 28, 31-33.

16 Jehovah proved to be with Joseph. Intime, JosephbecameEgypt’s primeminister—second in power only to Pharaoh. When asevere famine brought Joseph’s brothers toEgypt, they did not even recognize him inhis official Egyptian attire. (Gen. 42:5-7)How easy it would have been for Joseph torepay his brothers for their cruelty to himand to their father! Rather than seek re-venge, however, Joseph tried to make peacewith them. When it became clear that hisbrothers had repented, he made himselfknown to them, saying: “Do not feel hurtand do not be angry with yourselves be-cause you sold me here; because for thepreservation of life God has sent me aheadof you.” Then he proceeded to kiss all hisbrothers and to weep over them.—Gen. 45:1, 5,15.

17 After the death of their father, Ja-cob, Joseph’s brothers thought that Josephmight take vengeance on them. As they ex-pressed their fears to him, Joseph “burstinto tears” and replied: “Do not be afraid. Imyself shall keep supplying you and yourlittle children with food.” Peace-loving Jo-seph “comforted them and spoke reassur-ingly to them.”—Gen. 50:15-21.

16, 17. Howdid Joseph prove himself to be a peace-loving brother to his siblings?


“Written for Our Instruction”18 “All the things that were written afore-

timewerewritten forour instruction,” wrotePaul, “that through our endurance andthrough the comfort from the Scriptures wemight havehope.” (Rom.15:4) Howhavewebenefited from considering not only the su-perlative example of Jehovah but also theScriptural accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Ja-cob, and Joseph?

19 Does not appreciatively reflecting onwhat Jehovah has done to heal the damagedrelationship between him and sinful man-kind move us to do all we can to pursuepeace with others? The examples of Abra-ham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph show that par-ents can have a good influence on their chil-

18, 19. (a) How have you benefited from consider-ing the examples of peacemakers discussed in thisarticle? (b) What will we consider in the next arti-cle?

dren. Moreover, these accounts also showthat Jehovahblesses the efforts of thosewhotry to make peace. No wonder Paul refers toJehovah as “the God who gives peace”!(Read Romans 15:33; 16:20.) The followingarticle will consider why Paul stressed theneed for us to pursue peace and how we canbe peacemakers.

What Did You Learn?˙ In what way did Jacob seek peace

when he was about to meet Esau?˙ How have you been affected by

what Jehovah did to enable man-kind to be at peace with him?

˙ What have you learned from theexamples of the peacemakersAbraham, Isaac, Jacob, andJoseph?

TRUE peace is hard to find in today’sworld. Even people belonging to the

same national group and speaking the samelanguage are often divided religiously, politi-cally, and socially. By contrast, Jehovah’speople are united despite the fact that theyhave come out of “all nations and tribes andpeoples and tongues.”—Rev. 7:9.

2 The peaceful condition that generally ex-ists among us is no accident. It has come

1, 2. Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoy peaceamong themselves?

about primarily because we “enjoy peacewith God” through our faith in his Son,whose shed blood covers our sins. (Rom. 5:1;Eph. 1:7) Moreover, the true God gives holyspirit to his loyal servants, and the fruitage ofthat spirit includes peace. (Gal. 5:22) Anoth-er reason for our peaceful unity is that we are“no part of the world.” (John 15:19) Ratherthan taking sides in political issues, we re-main neutral. Having ‘beaten our swordsinto plowshares,’ we do not get involved incivil or international wars.—Isa. 2:4.

PURSUE PEACE“Let us pursue the things making for peace.”—ROM. 14:19.


3 The peace we can enjoy with one anoth-er goes deeper than merely refraining fromdoing harm to our brothers. Although thecongregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses thatwe belong to may be made up of individualsfrom many different ethnic groups and cul-tures, we “love one another.” (John 15:17)Our peace allows us to “work what is goodtoward all, but especially toward those relat-ed to us in the faith.” (Gal. 6:10) Our peace-ful spiritual paradise is something to be trea-sured and safeguarded. Let us, therefore,examine how we may pursue peace withinthe congregation.

When We Stumble4 “We all stumble many times,” wrote the

disciple James. “If anyone does not stumblein word, this one is a perfect man.” (Jas. 3:2)Hence, differences and misunderstandingsbetween fellow believers are bound to arise.(Phil. 4:2, 3) However, problems between in-dividuals can be solved without disturbingthe peace of the congregation. For example,consider the counsel we should apply if werealize that we may have offended someone.—Read Matthew 5:23, 24.

5 What if we have been wronged in somesmall way? Should we expect the offender tocome to us and apologize? “[Love] does notkeep account of the injury,” states 1 Co-rinthians 13:5. When offended, we pursuepeace by forgiving and forgetting, that is, by‘not keeping account of the injury.’ (ReadColossians 3:13.) Minor transgressions inday-to-day life are best handled in this way,for this contributes to a peaceful relationshipwith fellow worshippers and gives us peace

3. What does the peace we can enjoy make possi-ble, and what will be discussed in this article?4. What can we do to pursue peace when we haveoffended someone?5. How may we pursue peace when we have beenwronged?

of mind. A wise proverb states: “It is beauty. . . to pass over transgression.”—Prov.19:11.

6 What if we find that a certain offense istoodifficult for us to overlook? Spreading thematter to asmanyears as arewilling tohear iscertainly not the course of wisdom. Suchgossip serves only to disrupt the peace of thecongregation. What should be done to re-solve the matter peacefully? Matthew 18:15states: “If your brother commits a sin, go laybare his fault between you and him alone. Ifhe listens to you, you have gained yourbrother.” While Matthew 18:15-17 applies tosin of a serious nature, in the spirit of theprinciple stated in verse 15, we should kindlyapproach the offender privately and try to re-store a peaceful relationship with him.�

7 Theapostle Paulwrote: “Bewrathful, andyet do not sin; let the sun not set with you ina provoked state, neither allow place for theDevil.” (Eph. 4:26, 27) “Be about settlingmatters quickly with the one complainingagainst you at law,” said Jesus. (Matt. 5:25)Pursuing peace, then, calls for settling dif-ficulties quickly. Why? Because doing so pre-vents differences from festering like an un-treated, infected wound. Let us not allowpride, envy, or the attaching of toomuch im-portance to material things prevent us fromresolving disputes soon after they arise.—Jas.4:1-6.

When a Controversy Involves Many8 Sometimes differences in the congrega-

� For Scriptural guidance in dealing with such serioussins as slander and fraud, see The Watchtower, Octo-ber 15, 1999, pages 17-22.

6. What should we do if it is too difficult for us tooverlook an offense committed against us?7. Why should we be quick to settle disputes?8, 9. (a) What differences of viewpoint existed inthe first-century congregation in Rome? (b) Whatcounsel did Paul give Roman Christians regardingtheir dispute?

tion involve not just two people but manyindividuals. That was the case with Chris-tians in Rome to whom the apostle Paulwrote an inspired letter. There was a disputeamong Jewish and Gentile Christians. Cer-tain ones in that congregation were evi-dently looking down on those whose con-sciences were weak, or overly restrictive.Such individuals were improperly judgingothers on purely personal matters. What ad-vice did Paul give the congregation?—Rom.14:1-6.

9 Paul counseled individuals onboth sidesof the dispute. He told those who under-stood that they were not under the MosaicLaw not to look down on their brothers.(Rom.14:2, 10) Such an attitude could stum-ble believers who still found it repulsive toeat things that were not permittedunder theLaw. “Stop tearing down the work of Godjust for the sake of food,” Paul admonishedthem. “It is well not to eat flesh or to drink

wine or do anything over which your broth-er stumbles.” (Rom.14:14,15, 20, 21) On theother hand, Paul counseled Christians whohad more restrictive consciences not to bejudging as unfaithful those who held abroader viewpoint. (Rom. 14:13) He told‘everyone there among them not to thinkmore of himself than it was necessary tothink.’ (Rom. 12:3) Having counseled bothsides in this dispute, Paul wrote: “So, then,let us pursue the things making for peaceand the things that are upbuilding to oneanother.”—Rom.14:19.

10 We can be sure that the congregation inRome responded well to Paul’s counsel andmade the necessary adjustments. When dif-ferences among fellow Christians occur to-day, should we not likewise settle disputesgraciously by humbly seeking and applyingScriptural counsel? As was the case with the

10. As with the first-century congregation in Rome,what is needed to resolve differences today?

Jehovah loves those whofreely forgive others


Romans, today those on both sides of thecontroversy may need to make adjustmentsin order to “keep peace between one anoth-er.”—Mark 9:50.

When Called Upon to Help11 What if a Christianwants to talk to an el-

der about a problem he or she is having witha relative or with a fellow believer? Proverbs21:13 states: “Anyone stopping up his earfrom the complaining cry of the lowly one,he himself also will call and not be an-swered.” An elder would certainly not ‘stopup his ear.’ However, another proverb warns:“The first to state his case seems right, untilhis opponent begins to cross-examine him.”(Prov. 18:17, New English Translation) An el-der should listen kindly, but he needs to becareful not to take sides with the one report-ing the offense. After listening to the matter,he would likely ask whether the offendedparty has spoken to the one who caused theupset. The elder may also review Scripturalsteps that the offended one can take to pur-sue peace.

12 Three Biblical examples underscore thedanger of acting hastily after hearing onlyone side of a controversy. Potiphar believedhis wife’s story that Joseph had tried torape her. With unjustified anger, Potipharhad Joseph thrown into prison. (Gen. 39:19, 20) King David believed Ziba, who saidthat his master, Mephibosheth, had sidedwith David’s enemies. “Look! Yours is every-thing that belongs to Mephibosheth” wasDavid’s hasty response. (2 Sam. 16:4; 19:25-27) King Artaxerxes was told that the Jewswere rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and wereabout to rebel against the Persian Empire.

11. What care should an elder exercise if a Christianwants to talk to him about a dispute with a fellowbeliever?12. Cite examples showing the danger of actinghastily after hearing a complaint.

The king believed the false report and or-dered that all rebuilding in Jerusalem cease.As a result, the Jews stopped work on God’stemple. (Ezra 4:11-13, 23, 24) Christian el-ders wisely follow Paul’s counsel to Timo-thy to avoid making premature judgments.—Read 1 Timothy 5:21.

13 Even when it seems that both sides of adispute have come to light, it is important torealize that “if anyone thinks hehas acquiredknowledge of something, he does not yetknow it just as he ought to know it.” (1 Cor.8:2) Do we really know all the details thatled up to the dispute? Can we fully under-stand the backgrounds of the individuals in-volved? When called upon to judge, how vi-tal it is that elders not let themselves bedeceived by falsehood, clever tactics, or ru-mors! God’s appointed Judge, Jesus Christ,judges righteously. He does not “judge byany mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprovesimply according to the thing heard by hisears.” (Isa. 11:3, 4) Rather, Jesus is guidedby Jehovah’s spirit. Christian elders likewisehave the benefit of being guided by God’sholy spirit.

14 Before they make judgments respectingfellow believers, elders need to pray for thehelp of Jehovah’s spirit and depend on itsguidance by consulting God’s Word and thepublications of the faithful anddiscreet slaveclass.—Matt. 24:45.

Peace at Any Price?15 As Christians, we are exhorted to pursue

peace. However, the Bible also states: “Thewisdom from above is first of all chaste, thenpeaceable.” (Jas. 3:17) Being peaceable is

13, 14. (a) All of us have what limitations respect-ing the disputes of others? (b) What help do eldershave in making correct judgments respecting fellowbelievers?15. When should we report a serious sin that wehave become aware of?


secondary to chasteness, that is, upholdingGod’s clean moral standards andmeeting hisrighteous requirements. If a Christian be-comes aware of a serious sin on the part of afellow believer, he should encourage thatone to confess the sin to the elders. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Jas. 5:14-16) If the wrongdoer does notdo so, the Christian who has come to knowabout the sin should report it. Failure todo this in a mistaken effort to maintainpeace with the sinner makes one a party tothe wrongdoing.—Lev. 5:1; read Proverbs29:24.

16 One account involving Jehu shows thatGod’s righteousness takes priority overpeaceableness. God sent Jehu to execute Hisjudgment on the house of King Ahab. Wick-ed King Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jeze-bel, rode in his chariot to meet Jehu and said:“Is there peace, Jehu?” How did Jehu re-spond? He replied: “What peace could therebe as long as there are the fornications of Jez-ebel your mother and her many sorceries?”(2 Ki. 9:22) With that, Jehu drew his bow andshot Jehoram through the heart. Just as Jehutook action, elders must not compromisewith willful, unrepentant practicers of sinfor the sake of keeping peace. They expelunrepentant sinners so that the congrega-tion can continue to enjoy peace with God.—1 Cor. 5:1, 2, 11-13.

17 Most disputes between brothers do notinvolve serious wrongdoing that requires ju-dicial action. How good it is, therefore, lov-ingly to cover over the mistakes of others.“The one covering over transgression is seek-ing love,” says God’s Word, “and he thatkeeps talking about a matter is separatingthose familiar with one another.” (Prov.17:9)Complying with those words will help all of

16. What can we learn from Jehu’s encounter withKing Jehoram?17. All Christians play what part in pursuing peace?

us to preserve peace in the congregation andmaintain a good relationship with Jehovah.—Matt. 6:14,15.

Pursuing Peace Brings Blessings18 Our pursuing “the things making for

peace” brings us rich blessings. We enjoy aclose personal relationship with Jehovah aswe imitate his ways, and we contribute to thepeaceful unity of our spiritual paradise. Pur-suing peace inside the congregation alsohelps us to see ways in which we can pursuepeace with those to whom we preach “thegood news of peace.” (Eph. 6:15) We are bet-ter prepared ‘to be gentle toward all, keep-ing ourselves restrained under evil.’—2 Tim.2:24.

19 Remember, too, that there will be “a res-urrection of both the righteous and the un-righteous.” (Acts 24:15) When that hope be-comes a reality here on earth, millions ofpeople with varying backgrounds, tempera-ments, and personalities will be broughtback to life—and that from times stretchingall the way back to “the founding of theworld”! (Luke 11:50, 51) Teaching resurrect-ed ones the ways of peace will indeed be agreat privilege. What a tremendous help thetraining we now receive as peacemakers willbe to us at that time!

18, 19. What benefits result from pursuing peace?

What Did You Learn?˙ How may we pursue peace if we have

offended someone?˙ What should be done to pursue

peace when we have been wronged?˙ Why is it unwise to take sides in the

disputes of others?˙ Explain why peace should not be

pursued at any price.


˙ What three keys can help us to resist anytendency toward dishonesty?They are: (1) Develop a healthy fear of God.(1 Pet. 3:12) (2) Cultivate a Bible-trained con-science. (3) Work hard to promote a sense ofcontentment.—4/15, pages 6-7.˙ How do we know that serving God withseriousness does not mean always having astern appearance or avoiding relaxation?We can consider Jesus’ example. He enjoyedrelaxing meals with others. We know that hewas not overly serious or stern. Others, evenchildren, were drawn to and comfortablewith him.—4/15, page 10.˙ What can a couple do if their relationshipseems to have weakened after they hadchildren?They need to reaffirm their love for each oth-er. A husband can strive to allay any feelingsof insecurity his wife may have. And bothneed to work at good communication abouttheir feelings and physical needs.—5/1, pag-es 12-13.˙ What was illustrated by the olive tree inRomans chapter 11?The olive tree pertains to the secondary partof Abraham’s seed, spiritual Israel. Jehovah islike the root and Jesus like the trunk of thissymbolic olive tree. When most of the naturalJews rejected Jesus, Gentiles who became be-lievers could be grafted in, thus producingthe full number of the secondary part of theseed of Abraham.—5/15, pages 22-25.˙ What especially good news can we offerto the poor?The good news is: God has appointed Jesusas King. He is the ideal Ruler to end poverty.

Why? Because he is to rule all mankind andhas the power to act; he has compassion forthe poor; and he can end the cause of pover-ty, our inherited tendency to be selfish.—6/1,page 7.˙ What did Jesus mean when he told Ca-iaphas: “You yourself said it”?—Matt. 26:63, 64.Apparently, “you yourself said it” was a com-mon Jewish idiom affirming that a statementwas true. High Priest Caiaphas had askedwhether Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.Jesus’ response: “You yourself said it” was anaffirmative reply.—6/1, page 18.˙ Could the potential descendants of theperfect man Jesus have become part of theransom?No. Though Jesus could have been the sourceof billions of perfect descendants, such po-tential offspring were not part of the ran-som. Jesus’ perfect life alone corresponded toAdam’s. (1 Tim. 2:6)—6/15, page 13.˙ How can Christians show that they taketo heart the warning about false teachersrecorded at Acts 20:29, 30?They do not receive into their homes orgreet false teachers. (Rom. 16:17; 2 John 9-11) Christians avoid the literature of apos-tates, TV programs featuring them, and Websites containing their teachings.—7/15, pag-es 15-16.˙ Who should teach children about God?The father and the mother should share indoing so, in line with what the Bible coun-sels. (Prov. 1:8; Eph. 6:4) Research shows thatwhen both parents are involved, the effect onthe children is positive.—8/1, pages 6-7.

Do You Remember?

Have you carefully read the recent issues of The Watchtower?Well, see if you can answer the following questions:

STUDY ARTICLES:

��

September 26–October 2 ˙ PAGE 3��

They Waited for the Messiah


��

October 3-9 ˙ PAGE 9��

They Found the Messiah!


��


Jehovah Is“the God Who Gives Peace”


��


Make Efforts to Keep Peace


34567AUGUST 15, 2011




34567�

AUGUST 15, 2011







There are many prophecies about the Messiah in the HebrewScriptures. Our study of some of these prophecies will help usto know who the Messiah is. These articles will also help us inour preaching work. And they will make our faith in Bibleprophecies even stronger.


As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we are the only people on earth whohave true peace. This peace makes us united, and we shouldalways value it. The first article talks about examples in theBible that show us how important it is to keep peace withothers. The second article shows us how we can keep peacein the congregation.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE


28 Some Ideas for Family Worship and Personal Study

30 Use the Internet in a Wise Way

3

IT IS nighttime, and some shepherdsare in the fields, caring for their sheep.

Suddenly Jehovah’s angel stands nextto them, and a bright light shines allaround them! They are afraid, but theylisten to the exciting news that the an-gel tells them: “Have no fear, for, look!I am declaring to you good news of agreat joy that all the people will have, be-cause there was born to you today a Sav-ior, who is Christ the Lord.” The babythat the angel is talking about is the onewho will be the Christ, or Messiah. Theangel tells the shepherds that they canfind this baby in a manger in a nearbytown. Then suddenly many angels ap-pear. They praise Jehovah: “Glory in theheights above to God, and upon earthpeace among men of goodwill.”—Luke 2:8-14.

2 The Jewish shepherds know that theMessiah, or “Christ,” is God’s Anoint-ed One. (Exodus 29:5-7) But how couldthese shepherds and others learn moreand know that Jehovah had chosen thisbaby to be the Messiah? First, theyneeded to study the prophecies in theScriptures about the Messiah, and thenthey needed to see if these prophe-cies came true during the life of thischild.

1. What exciting news did the angel tell theshepherds?

2. What does “Messiah” mean? How couldpeople know who the Messiah really was?

WHY WERE PEOPLEWAITING FOR THEMESSIAH?

3 Many years later, Johnthe Baptist started hispreaching work. Becauseof what he said and did,some people began tothink that maybe he wasthe Messiah. (Read Luke3:15.) But in the Bible,there is a prophecy that talks about 70weeks, and it helped people to knowwhen the Messiah would appear. Theprophecy says: “There are seventyweeksthat have been determined upon yourpeople . . . From the going forth of theword to restore and to rebuild Jerusa-lem until Messiah the Leader, there willbe seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks.”(Daniel 9:24, 25) Bible experts agree thatthese are not weeks of days but weeksof years. So each of these weeks is sev-en years long. The Revised Standard Ver-sion Bible says at Daniel 9:24: “Seventyweeks of years are decreed.”

4 Today, Jehovah’s people understandthat the 69 weeks of Daniel 9:25 areequal to 483 years and that they be-gan in the year 455 before Christ. Thiswas when King Artaxerxes of Persiatold Nehemiah to repair and rebuild Je-rusalem. (Nehemiah 2:1-8) Those 483

3, 4. How did the prophecy at Daniel 9:24, 25come true?

They Waited for the Messiah

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“The people were waiting,and all were reasoning intheir hearts concerningJohn, whether he were notthe Messiah.”—LUKE 3:15,

THE EMPHATIC DIAGLOTT.

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ AUGUST 15, 20114

years ended in the year29 when Jesus was bap-tized. At that time, Je-hovah anointed him withholy spirit and he becamethe Messiah.—Matthew 3:13-17.�—See footnote.

5 In the Bible, there aremany other propheciesabout the Messiah. Wewill learn about some ofthem in this article. Theyare prophecies about hisbirth, his life as a childand as an adult, and hisministry. We will learnabout how these prophe-cies came true during thelife of Jesus. This willmake our faith in the Bi-ble stronger and alsoprove that Jesus was theMessiah whom peoplewere waiting for.

PROPHECIESABOUT HIS EARLY LIFE

6 The Messiah would be from thetribe of Judah in Israel. Just before Ja-cob died, he blessed his sons, and to Ju-dah he said: “The scepter will not turnaside from Judah, neither the command-er’s staff from between his feet, untilShiloh comes; and to him the obedi-ence of the peoples will belong.” (Gen-

� To learn more about the “seventy weeks,”read chapter 11 of the book Pay Attention toDaniel’s Prophecy!

5. What prophecies are we going to learnabout?

6. How did the prophecy at Genesis 49:10come true?

esis 49:10) Jewish teachers always be-lieved that Jacob’s words to Judah wereabout the Messiah. But what do Jacob’swords mean? We know that he is talk-ing about a king because the scepter andcommander’s staff were rods carried bya king to show that he had the rightto rule and to give commands. So thisprophecy shows that the king, the onewith the right to rule, had to come fromthe tribe of Judah. The first king from Ju-dah was King David, and Zedekiah wasthe last king from Judah on earth. But

Jacob’s prophecy talked about anotherking after Zedekiah. That king would beking forever. He is called Shiloh, whichmeans he is “the one to whom it be-longs.” God told Zedekiah that this kingis the one who has the legal right. (Eze-kiel 21:26, 27) Before Jesus was born, theangel Gabriel told Mary: “Jehovah Godwill give him the throne of David his fa-ther, and he will rule as king over thehouse of Jacob forever, and there will beno end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33)Jesus was from the tribe of Judah andfrom the family of David. And after Zed-ekiah, Jesus was the only person in thefamily of David to whom Jehovah prom-ised the right to be king. So Shiloh must

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Illustration:An examplethat helps usto understandBible truths

ˇ Scroll:A roll of parchment,leather, or papyrusused by Bible writers

ˇ Tribe of Judah:A tribe in Israel.Descendants ofJudah, the sonof Jacob

ˇ Anointed:A person chosenby God for a specialpurpose. AnointedChristians are the144,000

Prophecies aboutthe Messiah’s birth,

his life as a childand as an adult,and his ministry

came true


be Jesus Christ.—Matthew 1:1-3, 6; Luke3:23, 31-34.

7 The Messiah would be born in aplace called Bethlehem. The prophetMicah wrote: “You, O Bethlehem Ephra-thah, the one too little to get to be amongthe thousands of Judah, from you there

7. How did the prophecy about the birth ofthe Messiah come true?

will come out to me the one who is tobecome ruler in Israel, whose origin isfrom early times, from the days of timeindefinite.” (Micah 5:2) The prophecytells us that the Messiah would be bornin Bethlehem. This was a town in Ju-dah that was once called Ephrathah. ButMary, the mother of Jesus, and her hus-band, Joseph, lived in a different town


called Nazareth. When it was close tothe time for Jesus to be born, the rul-er of Rome told people to return to thecity where their father was born to reg-ister their names. So Mary and Josephwent back to Bethlehem, where Marygave birth to Jesus. (Matthew 2:1, 5, 6)

So the birth of Jesus happened exactlyas the prophecy said!

8 A virgin, or maiden, would givebirth to the Messiah. (Read Isaiah 7:14.)This verse says that the maiden wouldgive birth to a son. The word for virginin Hebrew is bethulah. This verse uses al-mah, a word that means “maiden.” Butwe know that almah also means “virgin”because the Bible calls Rebekah a maid-en (almah) before her marriage. (Gene-sis 24:16, 43) God’s holy spirit directedMatthew to write that Isaiah 7:14 cametrue when Jesus was born. In this verse,he did not use theGreek word for “maid-en.” He used the Greek word for “vir-gin,” parthenos. The Gospel writers Mat-thew and Luke both say that Mary wasa virgin and that she became pregnantthrough God’s holy spirit.—Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35.

9 After the Messiah was born, chil-dren would be murdered. This is simi-

8, 9. What does the prophecy say about thebirth of the Messiah? What would happen af-ter the Messiah was born?

lar to what happened hundreds of yearsbefore the Messiah was born. Pharaohof Egypt ordered the people to throw allthe Hebrew baby boys into the Nile Riv-er. (Exodus 1:22) A prophecy at Jeremi-ah 31:15, 16 talks about “Rachel weep-ing over her sons” because enemies tookthem away. People heard the sound ofher crying far away inRamah,which wasin Benjamin, north of Jerusalem. Mat-thew tells us that this prophecy cametrue when King Herod ordered the mur-der of all the baby boys in Bethlehem.(Read Matthew 2:16-18.) Imagine thegrief that the people felt!

10 The Messiah would be brought outof Egypt. (Hosea 11:1) To save Jesusfrom King Herod, an angel told Josephand Mary to leave Israel and take Jesusto Egypt. They stayed there until Heroddied. After Herod died, Joseph broughtJesus back to Israel. What Jehovah saidto Hosea came true: “Out of Egypt Icalled my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15) Ofcourse, it was impossible for Jesus tocontrol the things that happened at hisbirth and in his early life.

THE MESSIAHBEGINS HIS MINISTRY!

11 A messenger would prepare theway for the Messiah. Malachi said thatsomeone would come before the Messi-ah to prepare the way for him. Hewould help people to be ready to acceptthe Messiah when he appeared. Mala-chi calls him Elijah the prophet. (ReadMalachi 4:5, 6.) Jesus said that John theBaptist was the one who was like Elijah.(Matthew 11:12-14) Mark said that John

10. How did the prophecy at Hosea 11:1 cometrue?11. Who prepared the way for the Messiah?

Jesus could notcontrol whathappened at his birthor in his early life


prepared the way. This is exactly whatIsaiah had prophesied. (Isaiah 40:3;Mark 1:1-4) Jesus did not tell John to pre-pare the way for him. God wanted peo-ple to know who the Messiah was. So itwas God who chose John to do a workthat was like the work of Elijah and pre-pare the people towelcome the Messiah.

12 God would give the Messiah a spe-cial work to do. One day Jesus was in thesynagogue in Nazareth, the town wherehe grew up. Jesus opened a scroll andread the words of Isaiah. This is whathe read: “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me,because he anointed me to declare goodnews to the poor, he sent me forth topreach a release to the captives and arecovery of sight to the blind, to sendthe crushed ones away with a release, topreach Jehovah’s acceptable year.” Jesussaid that this prophecy was about him.He really was the Messiah. That is whyJesus had the right to say: “Today thisscripture that you just heard is fulfilled.”—Luke 4:16-21.

13 One prophecy tells us about theMessiah’s ministry in Galilee. Isa-iah prophesied about “Zebulun” and“Naphtali” and “Galilee of the nations.”He wrote: “The people that were walk-ing in the darkness have seen a greatlight. As for those dwelling in the land ofdeep shadow, light itself has shone uponthem.” (Isaiah 9:1, 2) Jesus began hisministry in Galilee, in the town calledCapernaum. He also taught in the areasof Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus helpedthe people in these places by teachingthem truths that shone like a great light.

12. What special work did God give the Mes-siah to do?13. What did Isaiah say about Jesus’ ministryin Galilee?

(Matthew 4:12-16) It was in Galilee thatJesus gave his Sermon on the Mount,chose his apostles, and performed hisfirst miracle. It was also here in Gal-ilee that Jesus appeared to more than500 disciples after his resurrection.(Matthew 5:1–7:27; 28:16-20; Mark 3:13, 14; John 2:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:6)So Isaiah’s prophecy came true whenJesus preached in “the land of Zeb-ulun and the land of Naphtali.” Jesusalso preached the good news about theKingdom in other places in Israel.

MORE PROPHECIESABOUT THE MESSIAH

14 The Messiah would use stories andillustrations to teach people. In oneof the psalms, Asaph sang: “In a pro-verbial saying I will open my mouth.”(Psalm 78:2) Matthew tells us abouthow this prophecy came true. Jesus

always used illustrations, or exam-ples, to teach. Matthew wrote aboutthe time when Jesus used a mustardseed and yeast as illustrations to teachpeople about the Kingdom of God. Hewrote: “Without an illustration he wouldnot speak to them; that there might befulfilled what was spoken through theprophet who said: ‘I will open my mouthwith illustrations, I will publish thingshidden since the founding.’ ” (Matthew

14. How did Psalm 78:2 come true?

Jesus’ discipleswere convinced thathe was the Messiah


13:31-35) The stories andillustrations that Jesusused helped many peopleto understand the truthabout Jehovah.

15 The Messiah wouldheal people. Isaiah proph-esied: “Truly our sick-nesses were what he him-self carried; and as forour pains, he bore them.”(Isaiah 53:4) When themother-in-law of Peterwas sick, Jesus healed her.

After that, many other people came tothe house of Peter, and Jesus healedthem too. Matthew said that this ful-filled what was spoken through Isaiahthe prophet, saying: “He himself tookour sicknesses and carried our diseas-es.” (Matthew 8:14-17) But this was notthe only time that Jesus healed people.The Bible talks about many other timeswhen Jesus made people well again.

16 Many people would not believe thatJesus was the Messiah even though hedid good things. (Read Isaiah 53:1.) Theapostle John said that this prophecycame true. He wrote: “Although he hadperformed so many signs before them,they were not putting faith in him, sothat the word of Isaiah the prophet wasfulfilled which he said: ‘Jehovah, whohas put faith in the thing heard by us?And as for the arm of Jehovah, to whomhas it been revealed?’ ” (John 12:37, 38)

15. How did the prophecy at Isaiah 53:4 cometrue?16. What did the apostle John write thatproves that Isaiah 53:1 was about Jesus?

Even years later, when the apostle Paulpreached the good news, not many peo-ple believed that Jesus was the Messiah.—Romans 10:16, 17.

17 People would hate the Messiah forno reason. (Psalm 69:4) Jesus said: “IfI had not done among them the worksthat no one else did, they would haveno sin; but now they have both seenand hated me as well as my Father. Butit is that the word written in their Lawmay be fulfilled, ‘They hated me withoutcause.’ ” (John 15:24, 25) The “Law” men-tioned here means all the Scriptures thatexisted at that time. (John 10:34; 12:34)What we read about Jesus in the Gos-pels proves that many people hated Je-sus, especially the Jewish religious lead-ers. Also, Jesus said: “The world has noreason to hate you, but it hates me, be-cause I bear witness concerning it thatits works are wicked.”—John 7:7.

18 The disciples of Jesus in the firstcentury were sure that Jesus was theMessiah. They knew that Jesus fulfilledall the prophecies in the Hebrew Scrip-tures about the Messiah. (Matthew 16:16) From this article, we learned thatthe prophecies about the early life andministry of Jesus came true. But thereare many more prophecies in the Bi-ble that prove who the Messiah is. Wewill learn about them in the next article.If we think deeply about these prophe-cies, we will never doubt that Jesus is theone whom Jehovah chose to be the Mes-siah.

17. How did the prophecy at Psalm 69:4 cometrue?18. What will we learn in the next article?

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ What are some of theprophecies about thebirth of Jesus?

ˇ Who prepared the wayfor the Messiah?

ˇ How did the prophe-cies of Isaiah chap-ter 53 come true?

9

JOHN THE BAPTIST is with two ofhis disciples. As Jesus walks toward

them, John says: “See, the Lamb ofGod!” The two disciples of John the Bap-tist, Andrew and John, immediately fol-low Jesus and stay with him the rest ofthat day. Later, Andrew goes to find hisbrother, Simon Peter, and makes thisvery exciting announcement: “We havefound the Messiah.” Andrew then takesPeter to see Jesus.—John 1:35-41.

2 As time passes, Andrew, Peter, andothers will carefully study the Scriptures

1. What happened before Andrew madethe announcement: “We have found theMessiah”?2. How will our study of the prophecies aboutthe Messiah help us?

and will say without anydoubt that Jesus is thepromised Messiah. Wewill now study some moreprophecies in the Bi-ble that prove who theMessiah is. This will helpus have stronger faith in the Bible andin the one whom Jehovah chose to bethe Messiah.

“LOOK! YOUR KING IS COMING”

3 The Messiah would enter Jerusalemas a king. Zechariah’s prophecy said:“Be very joyful, O daughter of Zion.Shout in triumph, O daughter of

3. What prophecies came true when Jesusentered Jerusalem as a king?

They Found the Messiah!

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“We have found theMessiah.”—JOHN 1:41.

What prophecieswere fulfilledwhen Jesus en-tered Jerusalemas a king?


Jerusalem. Look! Yourking himself comes toyou. He is righteous, yes,saved; humble, and ridingupon an ass, even upon afull-grown animal the sonof a she-ass.” (Zechariah9:9) One Bible writer said:“Blessed be the One com-ing in the name of Je-hovah.” (Psalm 118:26) Alarge crowd shouted withgreat joy as Jesus enteredJerusalem. Jesus did nottell the crowd what to do.But they did exactly asthe prophecy said. As youread the Bible verses thatdescribe the scene, imag-

ine that you are there and that you canhear the happy voices of the crowd.—Read Matthew 21:4-9.

4 Jesus is precious to God, eventhough many people would not accepthim as the Messiah. As the prophe-cies said, many people hated Jesus andthought that he was of no account, orof no value. These people did not havefaith. (Isaiah 53:3; Mark 9:12) But theBible says: “The stone that the build-ers rejected has become the head of thecorner. This has come to be from Jeho-vah himself.” (Psalm 118:22, 23) Once,Jesus spoke about this prophecy whenhe was talking to his religious enemies.And Peter said that this prophecy wasabout Jesus and the congregation. Hecompared the congregation to a build-ing. A building has one cornerstone, orone main stone, in its foundation. In thesame way, Jesus was the main stone in

4. How did Psalm 118:22, 23 come true?

the foundation of the Christian congre-gation. Men without faith did not ac-cept Jesus as the Messiah, but he is “cho-sen, precious, with God.”—1 Peter 2:4-6;Mark 12:10, 11; Acts 4:8-11.

ONE DISCIPLE BETRAYS HIMAND THE OTHERS ABANDON HIM

5 Someone who seemed to be theMessiah’s friend would betray him. Da-vid prophesied: “The man at peace withme, in whom I trusted, who was eatingmy bread, has magnified his heel againstme.” (Psalm 41:9) In Bible times, it wasan act of friendship to eat bread to-gether. (Genesis 31:54) So the prophecymeant that someone whowas a friend ofthe Messiah would do something terri-ble. He would betray the Messiah! Jesustalked about this person when he saidto his apostles: “I am not talking aboutall of you; I know the ones I have chosen.But it is in order that the Scripture mightbe fulfilled, ‘He that used to feed on mybread has lifted up his heel against me.’ ”(John 13:18) Jesus was talking about Ju-das Iscariot, who was a follower and afriend of Jesus. When he betrayed Jesus,David’s prophecy came true.

6 The one who betrayed the Messiahwould betray him for 30 pieces of silver,that is, the price paid for a slave! Mat-thew said that Judas betrayed Jesus foronly 30 pieces of silver and that this ful-filled the prophecy at Zechariah 11:12,13. But Matthew says that what was spo-ken through Jeremiah the prophet wasfulfilled. Why does he say Jeremiah ifthe prophecy is in the book of Zechari-ah? In Matthew’s day the book of Jere-

5, 6. What did the prophecies say about theMessiah’s betrayal? How did they come true?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Sanhedrin:The Jewish high court

ˇ Cast lots:This was a way to de-cide a question. Lots,or small pieces ofwood or stone, weremarked and thenthrown on the groundor shaken in a con-tainer. A decision wasmade based on howthe lots fell or on whichlot was pulled out


miah may have appeared first in a groupof books that included Zechariah. Ju-das did not spend those 30 pieces of sil-ver. He threw the money into the tem-ple and “went off and hanged himself.”—Matthew 26:14-16; 27:3-10.

7 The Messiah’s disciples would leavehim. Zechariah wrote: “Strike the shep-herd, and let those of the flock be scat-tered.” (Zechariah 13:7) On Nisan 14of the year 33, Jesus told his disciples:“All of you will be stumbled in con-nection with me on this night, for it iswritten, ‘I will strike the shepherd, andthe sheep of the flock will be scatteredabout.’ ” And that is exactly what hap-pened. Matthew said that all the dis-ciples abandoned Jesus and fled.—Mat-thew 26:31, 56.

SOME WOULDACCUSE AND BEAT HIM

8 People would take the Messiah tocourt and condemn him to death. (ReadIsaiah 53:8.) On the morning of Ni-san 14, all the members of the Sanhe-drin Court gathered together. They tiedJesus with ropes and took him to theRoman Governor Pontius Pilate. Pilatequestioned Jesus and said that Jesus haddone nothing wrong. But when Pilateasked the crowd if they wanted him tofree Jesus, the crowd shouted: “Impalehim!” They said that they wanted Pilateto free Barabbas, a criminal, instead ofJesus. Because Pilate wanted to pleasethe crowd, he freed Barabbas. Then heordered his men to beat Jesus with awhip and to hang him on a stake.—Mark15:1-15.

7. How did Zechariah 13:7 come true?

8. How did Isaiah 53:8 come true?

9 There would be false witnessesagainst the Messiah. David wrote: “Vi-olent witnesses rise up; what I have notknown they ask me.” (Psalm 35:11) Ex-actly as the prophecy said, “the chiefpriests and the entire Sanhedrin werelooking for false witness against Jesusin order to put him to death.” (Matthew26:59) The Bible says that many, indeed,were giving false witness against him,but their testimonies were not in agree-ment. (Mark 14:56) The enemies of Je-sus did not care that the witnesses weretelling lies about him. They just wantedJesus dead.

10 The Messiah would not answerthose who accused him. Isaiah proph-esied: “He was hard pressed, and hewas letting himself be afflicted; yet hewould not open his mouth. He wasbeing brought just like a sheep to theslaughtering; and like a ewe that beforeher shearers has become mute, he alsowould not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)While Jesus “was being accused by thechief priests and older men, he made noanswer.” Pilate asked: “Do you not hearhow many things they are testifyingagainst you?” But Jesus “did not answerhim, no, not aword, so that the governorwondered very much.” (Matthew 27:12-14) Jesus did not insult his enemies.—Ro-mans 12:17-21; 1 Peter 2:23.

11 Isaiah prophesied that they wouldbeat the Messiah. Isaiah wrote: “Myback I gave to the strikers, and mycheeks to those plucking off the hair.

9. How did Psalm 35:11 come true in Jesus’time?

10. How did Isaiah 53:7 come true?

11. How did Isaiah 50:6 and Micah 5:1 cometrue?


My face I did not conceal from humili-ating things and spit.” (Isaiah 50:6) Mi-cah prophesied: “With the rod they willstrike upon the cheek the judge of Isra-el.” (Micah 5:1) Mark showed that theseprophecies were about Jesus. Markwrote: “Some started to spit on him and

to cover his whole face and hit him withtheir fists and say to him: ‘Prophesy!’And, slapping him in the face, the courtattendants took him.” Mark said thatsoldiers would hit him on the head witha reed and spit upon him, and bend-ing their knees, theywould do obeisanceto him. (Mark 14:65; 15:19) Of course,there was no reason for those people totreat Jesus that way.

HE WAS LOYAL TO GODUNTIL DEATH

12 The Messiah would die on a stake.David said: “The assembly of evildoersthemselves have enclosed me. Like alion they are at my hands and my feet.”(Psalm 22:16) As Bible readers knowand as Mark tells us in his Gospel, thisprophecy came true. Mark wrote thatthey impaled Jesus about nine o’clockin the morning. They nailed his handsand his feet to a stake. (Mark 15:25)Another prophecy said that the Messi-

12. How did Psalm 22:16 come true? How didIsaiah 53:12 come true?

ah would die with sinners. Isaiah wrote:“He poured out his soul to the verydeath, and it was with the transgres-sors that he was counted in.” (Isaiah53:12) This came true when “two rob-bers were impaled with him, one onhis right and one on his left.”—Matthew27:38.

13 David prophesied that peoplewould insult the Messiah. (Read Psalm22:7, 8.) People insulted Jesus while hewas suffering on the stake.Matthew tellsus: “The passersby began speaking abu-sively of him, wagging their heads andsaying: ‘O you would-be thrower-downof the temple and builder of it in threedays, save yourself! If you are a son ofGod, come down off the torture stake!’ ”The chief priests, scribes, and older menmade fun of him and said: “Others hesaved; himself he cannot save! He isKing of Israel; let him now come downoff the torture stake and we will believeon him. He has put his trust in God;let Him now rescue him if He wantshim, for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’ ”(Matthew 27:39-43) Jesus suffered, buthe remained calm and never said any-thing wrong. He is a very good examplefor us.

14 They would cast lots to take theMessiah’s clothes. David wrote: “Theyapportion my garments among them-selves, and upon my clothing they castlots.” (Psalm 22:18) That is exactly whathappened. The Bible says that after theRoman soldiers put Jesus on the stake,they distributed his outer garments by

13. How did Psalm 22:7, 8 come true?

14, 15. Some prophecies talked about theMessiah’s clothing and that he would be givenvinegar to drink. How did they come true?

Our study of theprophecies about theMessiah helps ushave stronger faith


casting lots.—Matthew 27:35; read John 19:23, 24.

15 They would give theMessiah vinegar and bit-ter gall to drink. Theprophecy says: “But forfood they gave me a poi-sonous plant, and for mythirst they tried to makeme drink vinegar.” (Psalm69:21) We know that thisprophecy came true be-cause Matthew tells us:“They gave him winemixed with gall to drink;but, after tasting it, he re-fused to drink.” And lat-er, “one of them ran andtook a sponge and soakedit with sour wine and putit on a reed and went giv-ing him a drink.”—Mat-thew 27:34, 48.

16 It would seem thatGod had left the Messiah.(Read Psalm 22:1.) Marktells us that at the ninthhour, Jesus called outwith a loud voice: “ ‘Eli, Eli,lama sabachthani?’ whichmeans, when translated:‘My God, my God, why have you forsak-en me?’ ” (Mark 15:34) When Jesus saidthat God had left him, he did not say thisbecause he had lost faith in his Father.He knew that God would not protecthim from his enemies at the time of hisdeath. This was an opportunity for Jesusto show that he would always be loyal toGod. When Jesus said with a loud voice,“My God, my God, why have you for-

16. How did Psalm 22:1 come true?

saken me?” the prophecy at Psalm 22:1came true.

17 Enemies would stab the Messiah.They would not break his bones. Zech-ariah said that the people of Jerusa-lem would look to the One whom theypierced through. (Zechariah 12:10) AndPsalm 34:20 says that God “is guardingall the bones of that one; not one of them

17. How did Zechariah 12:10 and Psalm 34:20come true?

Jesus diedfor our sins,but now herules as King


has been broken.” Theapostle John said thatthese prophecies cametrue. John wrote: “Oneof the soldiers jabbed hisside with a spear, and im-mediately blood and wa-ter came out. And he thathas seen it has borne wit-ness, and his witness istrue.” John also wrote:“These things took placein order for the scriptureto be fulfilled: ‘Not a boneof his will be crushed.’And, again, a different

scripture says: ‘Theywill look to the Onewhom they pierced.’ ”—John 19:33-37.

18 The Messiah’s burial place wouldbe among the graves of rich people.(Read Isaiah 53:5, 8, 9.) Late in the after-noon of Nisan 14, “a rich man of Arima-thea, named Joseph,” asked Pilate if hecould take Jesus’ body. Joseph wantedto bury him, and Pilate agreed. Matthewtells us: “Joseph took the body, wrappedit up in clean fine linen, and laid it in hisnew memorial tomb, which he had quar-ried in the rock-mass. And, after rollinga big stone to the door of the memorialtomb, he left.”—Matthew 27:57-60.

PRAISE THE MESSIAH, OUR KING!

19 Jehovah would resurrect the Mes-siah. David wrote: “You will not leavemy soul in Sheol,” that is, in the grave.

18. The prophecy said that Jesus would beburied among the graves of rich people. Howdid that prophecy come true?19. How did the prophecy at Psalm 16:10come true?

(Psalm 16:10) OnNisan 16, some womencame to the tomb where Jesus was bur-ied. Imagine their surprise when theysaw an angel sitting inside the tomb!The angel said to the women: “Stop be-ing stunned. You are looking for Jesusthe Nazarene, who was impaled. He wasraised up, he is not here. See! The placewhere they laid him.” (Mark 16:6) Later,on the day of Pentecost of the year 33,the apostle Peter talked to a large groupof people in Jerusalem about David’sprophecy in Psalm 16. He said about Da-vid: “He saw beforehand and spoke con-cerning the resurrection of the Christ,that neither was he forsaken in Hadesnor did his flesh see corruption.” (Acts2:29-31) God did not allow the bodyof his dear Son to decay. And Jehovahdid something even more wonderful. Heresurrected Jesus to life in heaven!—1 Pe-ter 3:18.

20 God would announce that Jesus ishis Son. (Read Psalm 2:7; Matthew 3:17.) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, thecrowds praised him and his Kingdom.Today, we also praise Jesus. We are hap-py to tell others about him and his King-dom. (Mark 11:7-10) Soon, Christ willdestroy his enemies when he rides “inthe cause of truth and humility and righ-teousness.” (Psalm 2:8, 9; 45:1-6) Thenhe will rule over the whole earth. All willlive in peace and have what they need.(Psalm 72:1, 3, 12, 16; Isaiah 9:6, 7) Jeho-vah’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ, alreadyrules as King in heaven. It is a great hon-or to be Witnesses of Jehovah and to tellothers about these truths!

20. What do the prophecies say about theMessiah’s rule?

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ How did the prophe-cies about Jesus’being betrayed andabandoned cometrue?

ˇ How did the proph-ecies about Jesus’death come true?

ˇ Why are you sure thatJesus is the Messiah?

15

IMAGINE this: Two brothers wereabout to meet. They were going to

meet close to Penuel, near the valley ofJabbokon the east side of the JordanRiv-er. The brothers were Esau and Jacob,and they had not seen each other for along time. Twenty years earlier, Esau hadsold his right as firstborn to his broth-er, Jacob. When Esau heard that Jacobwas returning home, he went to meet Ja-cob with 400 men. When Jacob heardthis, he became afraid. He thought thathis brother might still be angry with himand want to kill him. So Jacob sent hisservants with animals as gifts for Esau.Each time the servants came with moreanimals, they told Esau that they weregifts from his brother. Jacob sent himmore than 550 animals.

2 What happened when the brothersfinally met? Jacob showed courage andhumility. He walked toward Esau andbowed down before his brother seventimes! But before this, Jacob had alreadydone the most important thing. He hadprayed to Jehovah and asked Jehovahto protect him from Esau. Jehovah an-swered his prayer. The Bible tells us thatEsau went running to meet him, and hebegan to embrace him and fall upon hisneck and kiss him.—Genesis 32:11-20;33:1-4.

3 This situation shows us that we

1, 2. What situation do we read about in Gen-esis chapters 32 and 33? What was the result?3. What do we learn from the story of Jacoband Esau?

should do everything wecan to solve problemswith others in the congre-gation. If we do not, thepeace and unity of thecongregation will be dam-aged. Jacob had not doneanything wrong. He didnot have to tell Esau that he was sorry.It was Esau who did not value his rightas firstborn and who had sold it to Ja-cob for just one meal. But Jacob still dideverything he could to have peace withhim. (Genesis 25:31-34; Hebrews 12:16)Jacob’s example shows how much ef-fort we should make to keep peace withour Christian brothers and sisters. Italso shows that when we ask Jehovah tohelp us do this, he answers our prayers.There are many other examples in theBible that show us how to keep peacewith others. We will talk about some ofthem.

THE BEST EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

4 The best example of someone whokeeps peace is Jehovah. He is “the Godwho gives peace.” (Romans 15:33) Thinkof all that Jehovah did to make it possi-ble for us to be his friends. Because weare descendants of Adam and Eve, wesin. And those who sin deserve death.(Romans 6:23) But because God lovedus so much, he wanted to save us from

4. What did God do to save mankind from sinand death?

Jehovah Is“the God Who Gives Peace”

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“May the God who givespeace be with all of you.”—ROMANS 15:33.


sin and death. So he senthis beloved Son, Jesus,from heaven to be bornas a perfect human anddie for our sins. And Jesuswas happy to do what hisFather wanted and to sac-rifice his life for us. (John10:17, 18) Then Jehovahresurrected Jesus to life inheaven. It was in heaventhat Jesus presented to Je-hovah the value of hissacrifice. This sacrifice, orransom, saves from eter-nal death all those who re-pent of their sins.—ReadHebrews 9:14, 24.

5 Because of sin, hu-mans became enemies ofGod. How does Jesus’ sac-rifice help humans? Isa-iah 53:5 says: “The chas-

tisement meant for our peace was uponhim, and because of his wounds therehas been a healing for us.” Jesus’ sacri-fice makes it possible for obedient hu-mans to become friends of God. The Bi-ble also says: “By means of him we havethe release by ransom through the bloodof that one, yes, the forgiveness of ourtrespasses.”—Ephesians 1:7.

6 The Bible says about Jesus: “God sawgood for all fullness to dwell in him.”This means that God uses Jesus to makehis purpose come true. And what isGod’s purpose? It is “to reconcile againto himself all other things by mak-ing peace through the blood” of JesusChrist. The things that God reconciles to

5, 6. How does Jesus’ sacrifice help humansto become friends of God?

himself, or causes to become his friends,are “the things in the heavens” and “thethings upon the earth.” What are they?—Read Colossians 1:19, 20.

7 Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, anoint-ed Christians “have been declared righ-teous” as sons of God and “enjoy peacewith God.” (Read Romans 5:1.) The Bi-ble calls them “the things in the heav-ens” becauseGod resurrects them to livein heaven with Jesus Christ. There they

will “rule as kings over the earth” andserve as priests. (Revelation 5:10) “Thethings upon the earth” are humans whorepent of their sins and who will live for-ever on earth.—Psalm 37:29.

8 The words of Paul to the anointedChristians in Ephesus show how grate-ful he was for the ransom. He saidthat God is “rich in mercy” and that he“made us alive together with the Christ,even when we were dead in trespass-es.” He said that God saved us “by un-deserved kindness.” (Ephesians 2:4, 5)All of us, those who will live in heav-en and those who will live on earth, arevery grateful for God’s mercy and un-deserved kindness. We are grateful foreverything Jehovah did to make it pos-sible for humans to have peace with him.At times, we have problems that can

7. What are “the things in the heavens” and“the things upon the earth”?8. How does Jehovah’s example help youwhen there are problems in the congregation?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Ransom:The price Jehovahpaid through Jesusto free humansfrom sin and death

ˇ Repent:To feel regret for pastsins and to make thenecessary changesto please God

ˇ Covenant:A serious promiseor agreement

ˇ Undeserved kindness:Jehovah’s great kind-ness that he gives free-ly to sinful humans

Prayer helpedJacob to keep

peace with Esau


put the unity of the congregation in dan-ger. In these situations, we should thinkabout God’s example and keep peacewith our brothers and sisters.

LEARN FROM THE EXAMPLESOF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

9 The Bible says about Abraham:“ ‘Abraham put faith in Jehovah, and itwas counted to him as righteousness,’and he came to be called ‘Jehovah’sfriend.’ ” (James 2:23) One way thatAbraham showed his faith in Jehovahwas by keeping peace with others. Forexample, there was an argument be-tween the men who took care of Abra-ham’s animals and those who took careof the animals of his nephew Lot. (Gen-esis 12:5; 13:7) Abraham and Lot decid-ed that the best solution for them was togo to different parts of the land. Noticewhat Abraham did in this difficult situ-ation. He did not think that he shouldmake the final decision just becausehe was older and had a special friend-ship with Jehovah. Instead, he showedthat he wanted to keep peace with hisnephew.

10 Abraham told his nephew: “Please,do not let any quarreling continue be-tween me and you and between myherdsmen and your herdsmen, for wemen are brothers.” And he continued:“Is not the whole land available to you?Please, separate from me. If you go tothe left, then I will go to the right; butif you go to the right, then I will go to theleft.” Lot chose the best part of the land,the most fertile part. Abraham acceptedLot’s choice and did not get angry withhim. (Genesis 13:8-11) We know this be-

9, 10. How did Abraham show that he want-ed to keep peace with others?

cause later when enemies took Lot as aprisoner, Abraham hurried to save him.—Genesis 14:14-16.

11 Think also of how Abraham didwhat he could to keep peace with thePhilistines, who were his neighbors inthe land of Canaan. The Philistines hadviolently stolen awell of water that Abra-ham’s servants had dug at Beer-sheba.In this situation, Abraham chose notto do or say anything. Later, the Phi-listine king visited Abraham to make acovenant of peace between them. Abra-ham agreed to be kind to the descen-dants of the king. Only after that hap-pened did Abraham tell the king aboutthe stolen well. The king was shockedto hear about the well, and he returned ittoAbraham. And Abraham continued tolive in peace as a foreigner in that land.—Genesis 21:22-31, 34.

12 Abraham’s son Isaac loved peacejust like his father. He did what he couldto keep peace with the Philistines. Be-cause there was no food in the land,Isaac and his family moved from thedry area of Beer-lahai-roi, in the Negeb,to the more fertile area of Gerar. This

11. How did Abraham keep peace with hisPhilistine neighbors?12, 13. (a) How did Isaac follow the exampleof his father? (b) How did Jehovah blessIsaac’s efforts to keep peace?

Because of Jesus’sacrifice, obedienthumans can have

peace with God


area belonged to the Philistines. Jeho-vah blessed Isaac with good crops andmany animals. The Philistines becamejealous of him. They did not want Isaac’swealth to keep increasing, so they filledhis wells with dirt. Finally, the Philistineking told Isaac: “Move from our neigh-borhood.” To keep peace with the Phi-listines, Isaac did what the king said.—Genesis 24:62; 26:1, 12-17.

13 After Isaac and his family moved,his shepherds dug another well. Philis-tine shepherds argued with Isaac’s shep-herds because of the well and said thatthe water was theirs. Like his father,Isaac did not want to fight. Instead, hetold his servants to dig another well.The Philistines argued because of thatone also. Again, just to keep peace withthe Philistines, Isaac moved his fami-ly and everything he had. His servantsdug a well in that place, and Isaaccalled it Rehoboth. Later, he moved to

the more fertile area of Beer-sheba. Je-hovah blessed him there and told him:“Do not be afraid, because I am withyou, and I will bless you and multiplyyour seed on account of Abraham myservant.”—Genesis 26:17-25.

14 Of course, Isaac could have fought

14. When the Philistine king came to make acovenant with Isaac, how did Isaac show thathe wanted to keep peace with him?

for his right to use all the wells thathis servants had dug. The Philistineking knew that Jehovah blessed Isaac ineverything he did. When the king camewith his officials to visit Isaac in Beer-sheba and make a covenant with him, hesaid: “We have unmistakably seen thatJehovah has proved to be with you.” Butto keep peace, Isaac chose to move morethan once. He did not want to fight. Thistime too, when the king and his officialscame to visit him, Isaac showed that hewanted to keep peace with the king. The

Abraham, Isaac,Jacob, and Josephalways tried to keeppeace with others

Bible tells us: “He made a feast for themand they ate and drank. Next morn-ing they were early in rising and theymade sworn statements one to the oth-er. After that Isaac sent them away andthey went from him in peace.”—Genesis26:26-31.

LEARN FROMTHE EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH

15 The Bible says that Isaac’s son Ja-cob was “a blameless man.” (Genesis 25:27) As we learned earlier, Jacob did what

15. Why were Joseph’s brothers not able tospeak peacefully to him?

he could to keep peace with his brother,Esau. Jacob had learned from the goodexample of his father, Isaac. Did Jacob’ssons learn from his example? Of all his12 sons, Jacob loved Joseph the most.He obeyed and respected his father andwas a son Jacob could trust. (Genesis37:2, 14) But the Bible says that Joseph’solder brothers became so jealous of himthat they were not able to speak peace-fully to him. They hated Joseph so muchthat they sold him as a slave and thenmade their father believe that a wild an-imal had killed him.—Genesis 37:4, 28,31-33.

What was the most importantthing Jacob did to keep peace

with Esau?



16 Jehovah blessed Jo-seph. In time, Josephbecame Egypt’s primeminister, that is, thesecond-most powerfulperson in Egypt. Whenthere was a terrible fam-ine in Canaan, Joseph’sbrothers came to Egyptto buy food. When theymet Joseph there, theydid not know who hewas, probably because ofthe Egyptian clothes hewas wearing. (Genesis 42:5-7) Joseph could havetreated his brothers thesame way they treatedhim and his father. In-stead, Joseph did what he

could to make peace with them. Andwhen they showed that they were sor-ry for what they had done, Joseph toldthem who he was. He said: “Do notfeel hurt and do not be angry withyourselves because you sold me here;because for the preservation of lifeGod has sent me ahead of you.” Then“he proceeded to kiss all his brothersand to weep over them.”—Genesis 45:1,5, 15.

17 After the death of their father, Ja-cob, Joseph’s brothers thought that Jo-seph might want to take revenge onthem. When they talked to Joseph about

16, 17. How did the way Joseph treated hisbrothers show that he wanted to keep peacewith them?

this, he “burst into tears” and said:“Do not be afraid. I myself shall keepsupplying you and your little childrenwith food.” In this situation too, Josephshowed that he loved peace. He “com-forted them and spoke reassuringly tothem.”—Genesis 50:15-21.

EXAMPLES“FOR OUR INSTRUCTION”

18 Paul wrote: “All the things thatwere written aforetime were written forour instruction, that through our endur-ance and through the comfort from theScriptures we might have hope.” (Ro-mans 15:4) What have we learned fromthe greatest example of all, Jehovah, andalso the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Ja-cob, and Joseph?

19 If we think about all that Jehovahdid to make it possible for us to becomehis friends, we will want to do every-thing we can to keep peace with others.What we learned about Abraham, Isaac,Jacob, and Joseph shows that parentscan be good examples for their childrenand teach them to keep peace with oth-ers. We also learned that Jehovah bless-es the efforts of those who try to keeppeace. This helps us understand whyPaul wrote that Jehovah is “the God whogives peace.” (Read Romans 15:33; 16:20.) The next article will talk about whyPaul said that we need to keep peace andhow we can do that.

18, 19. (a) What did you learn from the ex-amples we talked about in this article?(b) What will we learn in the next article?

WHAT DID YOU

LEARN?

ˇ Just before he metEsau, what did Jacobdo to keep peacewith him?

ˇ Jehovah did a lot tomake it possible forhumans to becomehis friends. What doesthat make you wantto do?

ˇ What have you learnedfrom the examples ofAbraham, Isaac, Jacob,and Joseph?

21

THERE is no true peace among peo-ple in the world today. Even people

from the same country and who speakthe same language are often not unit-ed. They are divided by religion, poli-tics, money, and education. But thereis peace among the more than sev-en million who are Jehovah’s Witness-es around the world, even though theycome from “all nations and tribes andpeoples and tongues.”—Revelation 7:9.

2 There are good reasons why we havepeace among us. The main reason is thatwe “enjoy peace with God.” This peaceis the result of our faith in his Son, whosacrificed his life for us. (Romans 5:1;Ephesians 1:7) Also, Jehovah gives holyspirit to his loyal servants, and the fruit-age of that spirit includes peace. (Gala-tians 5:22) Another reason we havepeace and unity is that we are “no partof the world.” (John 15:19) This meansthat we do not participate in politics orwar. As the Bible says, Jehovah’s peo-ple “beat their swords into plowshares.”—Isaiah 2:4.

3 We “love one another” in the congre-gation even though we come from dif-ferent places and have different customsand ways of thinking. (John 15:17) Thepeace we have is more than not want-ing to harm our brothers. It allows usto “work what is good toward all, but

1, 2. Why is there peace among Jehovah’sWitnesses?3. What does the peace we have make possi-ble, and what will we talk about in this article?

especially toward thoserelated to us in the faith.”(Galatians 6:10) Thispeace with Jehovah andwith our brothers and sis-ters is very precious. Weneed to protect it. We willnow talk about how wecan keep peace even when problemshappen in the congregation.

WHEN WE “STUMBLE”

4 The disciple James wrote: “We allstumble many times. If anyone doesnot stumble in word, this one is a per-fect man.” (James 3:2) So there will betimes when two people in the congre-gation will not agree with each other orwill have some other problem betweenthem. But if there is a problem, theyshould be able to solve it and keep thepeace in the congregation. For example,read what Jesus said we should do if wethink that we have offended someone.—Read Matthew 5:23, 24.

5 What if someone did somethingagainst us? Should we think that thisperson has to come to us and tell usthat he is sorry? 1 Corinthians 13:5 saysthat love does not keep account of theinjury. When someone offends us, weshow that we want to keep peace byforgiving the person and forgetting the

4. What can we do to keep peace when we of-fend someone?5. What can we do to keep peace when some-one offends us?

Make Efforts to Keep Peace

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Let us pursue the thingsmaking for peace.”—ROMANS 14:19.


problem. (Read Colos-sians 3:13.) This is thebest thing to do whenthere is a small problem.It helps us to stay unit-ed with our brothers. Andwe feel good because wedid what was right. Awise proverb says that itis beauty when we passover transgression.—Prov-erbs 19:11.

6 What if someone doessomething against us thatis difficult to forget? It isnot wise to talk about it toothers. This kind of gos-sip puts the peace of the

congregation in danger. What can wedo to solve the problem? Matthew 18:15 says: “If your brother commits a sin,go lay bare his fault between you andhim alone. If he listens to you, you havegained your brother.” Even though Mat-thew 18:15-17 talks about a serious sin,we could use the principle, or lesson, inverse 15 in other situations. So when wehave a problem with someone, it is bestto talk to him alone about it. We shouldtalk to our brother kindly and try to havepeace with him again.�—See footnote.

7 The apostle Paul wrote: “Be wrath-ful, and yet do not sin; let the sun notset with you in a provoked state, neitherallow place for the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:

� The Bible gives us more information aboutwhat to do when there are serious problems,such as slander and fraud. See The Watchtower,October 15, 1999, pages 17-22.

6. What if someone does something againstus that is difficult to forget?

7. Why should we solve problems quickly?

26, 27) And Jesus said: “Be about set-tling matters quickly with the one com-plaining against you at law.” (Matthew5:25) So to keep peace with others, wemust solve problems quickly. When wedo not do that, problems become big-ger and more serious, just as a cut inour skin gets infected if we do not treatit quickly. We should not let pride, jeal-ousy, or the love of money stop us fromsolving any problems with our brothers.—James 4:1-6.

WHEN A PROBLEMINVOLVES MANY PEOPLE

8 Some problems in the congregationmay involve many people. This hap-pened to some Christians in Rome.There was an argument among Jew-ish and Gentile Christians. Some had aweaker conscience. There were a lot ofthings that their conscience did not al-low them to do, even though the Scrip-tures did not say that these things werewrong. Others in the congregation hada stronger conscience. They thought thatthey were better than those who had aweaker conscience. And those who hadaweaker conscience started to condemnthe ones who had a stronger conscience.But all these arguments were about per-sonal choices. What did Paul tell thecongregation?—Romans 14:1-6.

9 Those with a stronger conscienceunderstood that they did not have toobey the Law of Moses. Those with aweaker conscience thought that it waswrong to eat things that were not al-lowed under the Law. Paul correctedboth groups of Christians. Paul told

8, 9. (a) What argument was there in thecongregation in Rome? (b) How did Paul cor-rect the Christians in Rome?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Gentile:A person whois not of theJewish nation

ˇ Conscience:A sense of rightor wrong that wehave inside of us.It can stop usfrom doing wrongthings, and it canmake us do goodthings


those with a stronger conscience not tothink that they were better than thosewho had a weaker conscience. (Romans14:2, 10) This way of thinking and act-ing could cause those with a weakerconscience to abandon their friendshipwith Jehovah. Paul added: “Stop tearingdown the work of God just for the sakeof food.” He also said: “It is well not toeat flesh or to drink wine or do anythingover which your brother stumbles.” (Ro-mans 14:14, 15, 20, 21) Paul told thosewith a weaker conscience not to judgethose who had a different way of think-ing. (Romans 14:13) He told them: “I telleveryone there among you not to think

more of himself than it is necessary tothink.” (Romans 12:3) After he correctedboth groups of Christians, he said: “So,then, let us pursue the things making forpeace and the things that are upbuild-ing to one another.”—Romans 14:19.

10 We can be sure that the congrega-tion in Rome accepted what Paul toldthem and made the needed changes. To-day, we can solve arguments with ourbrothers and sisters in a loving way ifwe do what the Bible tells us. As withthe Christians in Rome, if there is a

10. As with the Christians in Rome, whatshould those now involved in an argument doto solve the problem?

problem in the congregation today, allthose involved need to make changesto “keep peace between one another.”—Mark 9:50.

HOW ELDERS CAN HELP

11 What if someone has a problemwith a family member or with anotherChristian and wants to talk to an elderabout it? Proverbs 21:13 says: “Anyonestopping up his ear from the complain-ing cry of the lowly one, he himself alsowill call and not be answered.” An el-der would be “stopping up his ear” ifhe did not listen to someone asking forhelp. But another proverb says: “Thefirst to state his case seems right, un-til his opponent begins to cross-examinehim.” (Proverbs 18:17, New English Trans-lation) An elder should listen kindly, buthe needs to be careful not to make anydecisions before he knows more aboutthe problem. After listening to the per-son, the elder could ask him if he hastalked about the problem with the oth-er person. The elder could also reviewwith him what the Bible says we shoulddo to keep peace with our brothers andsisters.

12 It is dangerous to act too quick-ly after hearing only what one personhas to say about a problem. Three Bi-ble examples show this. The first oneis what happened to Potiphar. His wifelied and told him that Joseph had triedto rape her. Potiphar believed her. Hewas so angry that he sent Joseph to

11. What should an elder do if a person wantsto talk to him about a problem that the personis having with another Christian?12. What three examples show the danger ofacting too quickly after hearing about a prob-lem?

We can solveproblems with ourbrothers if we dowhat the Bibletells us


prison. (Genesis 39:19, 20) Another ex-ample is what King David did. Mephib-osheth’s servant, Ziba, told David thatMephibosheth was helping David’s ene-mies. David believed him and said with-out thinking: “Look! Yours is everythingthat belongs to Mephibosheth.” (2 Sam-uel 16:4; 19:25-27) A third example iswhat happened to King Artaxerxes. En-emies of the Jews told the king that theJews were building Jerusalem again be-cause they wanted to rebel against him.The king believed this lie and orderedthat the Jews stop their work. Because ofthis, the Jews stopped working on God’stemple. (Ezra 4:11-13, 23, 24) Christian

elders are wise to do what Paul said toTimothy and not make any judgmentsbefore knowing all the facts about a sit-uation.—Read 1 Timothy 5:21.

13 The Bible says: “If anyone thinks hehas acquired knowledge of something,he does not yet know it just as he oughtto know it.” (1 Corinthians 8:2) We maythink we know what happened whenthere is an argument between two peo-ple. But we need to remember that wemay not know all the facts. Also, we may

13, 14. (a) When there is an argument be-tween two people, what do we need to remem-ber? (b) What can help elders to make correctjudgments?


not know everything about the two peo-ple who have the problem. Elders mustbe very careful when they judge the situ-ation and not let themselves be deceivedby lies or rumors about what happened.Also, they should not believe someonejust because he is rich. Jesus, the judgeGod chose, does not “judge by any mereappearance to his eyes, nor reprove sim-ply according to the thing heard by hisears.” (Isaiah 11:3, 4) Jesus is guided byGod’s spirit. Christian elders too mustbe guided by God’s spirit.

14 Elders need to pray for Jehovah’sspirit before judging a problem. They al-low God’s spirit to guide them by us-

ing the Bible and the publications of“the faithful and discreet slave.”—Mat-thew 24:45.

WE MUST KEEP PEACE WITH GOD

15 The Bible tells us to keep peace withothers. But it also says: “The wisdomfrom above is first of all chaste, thenpeaceable.” (James 3:17) The Bible saysthat first we need to be chaste. To bechaste, or clean, means to allow God totell us what is right and what is wrongand to live in a way that pleases him. Ifa Christian knows that a brother or sister

15. If a Christian knows of a serious sin, whenshould he tell the elders about it?

Jehovah lovesthose whofreely forgiveothers


has done something se-riously wrong, he shouldtell that person to con-fess the sin to the el-ders. (1 Corinthians 6:9,10; James 5:14-16) If theperson does not confesshis sin, the Christian whoknows of the sin shouldtell the elders about it.If the Christian does notsay anything because hewants to keep peace withthe sinner, then he toois sinning.—Leviticus 5:1;read Proverbs 29:24.

16 Jehu did somethingthat showed that it ismore important to dowhat is right than it is tokeep peace with someonewho practices sin. God

sent Jehu to punish King Ahab’s family.The son of Ahab and Jezebel was wick-ed King Jehoram. He rode in his char-iot to meet Jehu and asked: “Is therepeace, Jehu?” Jehu answered: “Whatpeace could there be as long as there arethe fornications of Jezebel your motherand her many sorceries?” (2 Kings 9:22)Then Jehu used his bow to shoot Jeho-ram in the heart. Just as Jehu took ac-tion, so elders will need to take actionif a sinner is not repentant. They can-not allow those who refuse to repent oftheir sins to remain part of the congre-gation just to keep peace with them. Theelders remove them so that the congre-gation can continue to have peace withGod.—1 Corinthians 5:1, 2, 11-13.

16. What can we learn from the action Jehutook against King Jehoram?

17 Most of the time, the problems be-tween us are not about serious sins. Soit is much better to show love and for-get the mistakes our brothers make. TheBible says: “The one covering over trans-gression is seeking love, and he thatkeeps talking about a matter is sepa-rating those familiar with one another.”(Proverbs 17:9) If we do what the Biblesays, we will keep peace in the congre-gation and keep our friendship with Je-hovah.—Matthew 6:14, 15.

GOD BLESSESTHOSE WHO KEEP PEACE

18 Jehovah blesses us when we makethe effort to keep peace. We have astrong friendship with Jehovah, and wehave a part in keeping the unity of thecongregation. When we keep peace in-side the congregation, we also learn howto keep peace with those to whom wepreach “the good news of peace.” (Ephe-sians 6:15) We are ready to “be gentletoward all” and to keep ourselves “re-strained under evil.”—2 Timothy 2:24.

19 Our efforts to keep peace now trainus for the future. The Bible says that Je-hovah will resurrect both the righteousand the unrighteous. (Acts 24:15) Thismeans that Jehovah will resurrect mil-lions of people of all types. They willbe from different parts of the world andfrom different time periods, even fromthe beginning of human history. (Luke11:50, 51) It will be our great honor toteach resurrected ones to love peace.The training we get now will greatly helpus at that time!

17. What do all Christians need to do to keeppeace?18, 19. How does Jehovah bless us when wemake efforts to keep peace?

WHAT DID YOU

LEARN?

ˇ What can we do tokeep peace when weoffend someone?

ˇ What can we doto keep peace whensomeone offends us?

ˇ When there is anargument betweentwo people, whatdo we needto remember?

ˇ Why is it more im-portant to do whatis right than to keeppeace with someonewho practices sin?

27

˛ What does the information in the annualservice report mean?

Every year a report about the preaching workis printed in the Yearbook. We are very happy toknow what Jehovah’s people around the worldare doing to preach God’s Kingdom and teachothers about it. But to understand what the re-port really means, we need to understand whatsome of the titles and numbers refer to. Hereare some examples.

Service year. A service year starts in Sep-tember and ends in August. The report in theYearbook is always about the service year beforethe date on the Yearbook. For example, the 2011Yearbook contains the report for the service yearfrom September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2010.

Peak publishers and average publishers.

Publishers are baptized Witnesses and otherswho are approved to preach the good news ofthe Kingdom. The number of “peak publish-ers” is taken from the month of the service yearwith the highest number of reports. The num-ber may include some reports that came too lateto be counted the previous month. The num-ber of “average publishers” refers to the numberof publishers who normally report their timein the preaching work each month.

Total hours. The 2011 Yearbook shows thatthe total time that Jehovah’s Witnesses usedfor the preaching work was more than 1.6 bil-lion hours. But this total does not include allthe time that we use to worship Jehovah. Forexample, it does not include the time that theelders use to shepherd the members of the con-gregation, that is, to help and encourage them.It also does not include the time we use to at-tend meetings, to study the Bible, and to med-itate about what we learn.

Money. During the 2010 service year, Jeho-vah’s Witnesses spent more than $155 mil-

lion to care for the needs of special pioneers,missionaries, and traveling overseers. But thisamount of money does not include the moneyneeded for printing Bibles, books, and maga-zines. And it does not include the money need-ed to care for the more than 20,000 brothersand sisters who work as volunteers in Bethelhomes around the world.

Memorial partakers. This is the number ofall the baptized Witnesses who partake of thebread and wine at the Memorial. But this num-ber may not be the exact number of anointedones on earth. For example, some may have thewrong idea about going to heaven because ofwhat they believed in the past or because theyhave mental or emotional problems. So it is notpossible to know the exact number of anoint-ed ones who are on earth, and we do not need

to know. The Governing Body does not keep alist of the names of everyone who partakes ofthe bread and wine at the Memorial.�—See foot-note.

What we do know is that there will be someof the anointed “slaves of our God” on earthwhen the great tribulation starts. (Revelation 7:1-3) While they are still on earth, the anoint-ed are working very hard in the preaching andteaching work. The annual report tells us whatJehovah’s people around the world are doing inthis most important work in human history.

� For more information, see the article “The FaithfulSteward and Its Governing Body,” in the June 15, 2009,issue of The Watchtower, page 24.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

The annual report tells uswhat Jehovah’s people are

doing around the world

28

SINCE the beginning of 2009, the congrega-tions of Jehovah’s Witnesses began meeting

just one evening each week instead of two eve-nings. Because of this change, the GoverningBody encouraged us to use one evening a weekfor family worship or personal study. Have youbeen using this time well? What you choose todo during this evening can help you and yourfamily very much.

What should we study during our familywor-ship? The Governing Body does not tell familieswhat they should study every week. Every fam-ily has different needs. So the head of the fam-ily should think about what his family needsand decide what will help them the most. In-dividuals can also decide how they can use thistime in the best way.

Some families prepare for congregationmeetings together. But this is not the only thingthat we can do for family worship. Some fam-ilies read the Bible or some information fromour publications and discuss it together. Oth-ers prepare a drama about a story in the Bi-ble. This is especially beneficial for young chil-dren. So our family worship does not need tobe like a meeting in the congregation, where weread paragraphs and ask questions. The timefor family worship should be a time when wecan talk and say what is in our heart. It is atimewhenwe can use our imagination and have

interesting conversations about the things weread in the Bible. In this way, the evenings to-gether as a family will be a happy time for every-one.

One father of three children wrote to explainwhat his family does for family worship. He hasa daughter, Kaitlyn, and two sons, David andMichael. Kaitlyn is 15 years old, David is 13,and Michael is 7. For family worship, the fami-ly often uses the chapters from the Bible readingfor that week. First everyone reads the chapters.Then the children choose something that theywould like to study more about. Later they telltheir parents what they learned. Michael oftendraws a picture or writes something about whathe reads. Sometimes David and Kaitlyn writeabout a story in the Bible as if they were watch-ingwhatwas happening. For example, one weekthe family read in Genesis chapter 40 about thetime when Joseph explained to two of Pharaoh’sslaves what their dreams meant. And Kaitlynwrote about this as if she were a prisoner watch-ing what was happening.

This is just an example of what families cando during their family worship. Because every-one is different, each person or family can de-cide what is best for them. The box in this ar-ticle gives some other ideas of things we cando during familyworship or personal study. Youcan probably think of many other ideas too.

Some Ideas forFamily Worship andPersonal Study

For families withteenagers:˙ Read and talk about a

chapter from Questions

Young People Ask

—Answers That Work.

˙ Imagine that you were

living in Bible times.

(For example, see The

Watchtower of May 15,

1996, page 14, para-

graphs 17-18.)

˙ Talk about what you plan

to do in Jehovah’s service

—now and in the future.

˙ Watch one of our videos

and talk about it.

˙ Study the articles “For

Young People” in The

Watchtower.

For married people withno children:˙ Talk together about

chapters 1, 3, 11-16 in

the book The Secret of

Family Happiness.

˙ Read and study some

chapters of the Bible,

and talk about what you

learn.

˙ Prepare the Congregation

Bible Study or the Watch-

tower Study.

˙ Talk about how you could

do more in Jehovah’s

service.

For those who are singleor alone in the truth:˙ Study the new publica-

tions that we have re-

ceived at our district

conventions.

˙ Read the Yearbook and

also Yearbooks of other

years.

˙ Learn how to answer

different questions that

people ask when you

preach to them.

˙ Prepare some ideas of

what to say to people in

the preaching work.

For families withyoung children:˙ Prepare a drama about

a story from the Bible.

˙ Play games, for example

by using page 31 of

Awake!

˙ Do something that en-

courages the children to

use their imagination.

(For example, see “Study-

ing the Bible—In the Zoo!”

in Awake! of March 8,

1996, pages 16-19.)

˙ Read together the articles

“Teach Your Children”

in The Watchtower.

THE Internet makes it possible forus to have knowledge about almost

anything, anywhere, at any time. It is notsurprising that people everywhere in theworld use it to communicate.

The ability to communicate is a won-derful gift from our Creator. It allows usto exchange ideas and information withothers. Jehovah was the first to commu-nicate with the human family. He gavethem clear information about how tohave a life full of meaning. (Genesis 1:28-30) But it is possible to use the gift ofcommunication in the wrong way. Thisis what happened in the beginning ofhuman history. Satan gave Eve false in-formation. She believed what he said,and she told Adam. Adam acted on thefalse information, and his actions madeall humans suffer.—Genesis 3:1-6; Ro-mans 5:12.

The Internet can give us access toimportant information and help us dothings faster. But it can also give falseinformation, take a lot of time fromother things, and make it very easy tolook at immoral things. Let us talk abouthow we can use the Internet in a wiseway.

IS THE INFORMATIONTRUE OR FALSE?

Do not think that all information onthe Internet is good. When we searchthe Internet, we can get the very bestkind or the very worst kind of informa-tion. We need to be wise and separatethe good from the bad.

Today, anyone with an Internet con-nection can pretend to be an expert andto have a lot of knowledge. And peopledo not even have to use their names.Anyone can publish ideas, information,photographs, and suggestions.

Do not trust the information immedi-ately. Before you trust it, ask: (1) Whopublished this information? Is the writ-er someone we can trust? (2) Why wasit published? Why was it written? Is thewriter a fair person, or is he just pro-moting his own ideas? (3) Where didthe writer get the information? Does hesay where he got the information so thatpeople can check it? (4) Is the infor-mation up-to-date? In the first century,the apostle Paul gave Timothy some ad-vice that is just as important for us to-day. Paul wrote: “Guard what is laid upin trust with you, turning away from

USE THEINTERNET IN A

WISE WAY


the empty speeches that violate what isholy and from the contradictions of thefalsely called ‘knowledge.’ ”—1 Timothy6:20.

DOES THE INTERNETSAVE TIME OR WASTE TIME?

If we use the Internet in a wise way,it can help us use less of our time, en-ergy, and money. We can convenientlybuy something without leaving home. Itcan help us to find the best price. Insteadof going to a bank, people can pay bills,transfer money, and do other things likethat from home. The Internet can helpus plan a trip and buy tickets. It is alsoeasy to search for phone numbers, ad-dresses, and directions. Branch offices ofJehovah’s Witnesses all over the worlduse many of these services and benefitfrom them.

But there are some dan-gers. For example, wehave to think about howmuch time we use on theInternet. Some spend toomuch time playing, shop-ping, chatting, e-mailing,searching, and surfingthe Web. They sometimesforget about their fami-ly, friends, and congrega-tion. They can become ad-dicted to the Internet.

A branch office of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses receiveda letter from someonewho called himself an In-ternet junkie, meaningthat he was addicted tothe Internet. Some dayshe was on the Internet forten hours. He said that

“at first, it all seemed so innocent.”But then he started to miss meetingsand stopped praying. When he went tothe meetings, he was not prepared andthought only about when he was goingto “be able to log on again.” In time, heunderstood that he had a serious prob-lem, and he made the necessary chang-es. We should never use so much timeon the Internet that we become addict-ed to it.

WHAT KIND OF INFORMATIONDO YOU LOOK AT?

We read at 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22:“Make sure of all things; hold fast towhat is fine. Abstain from every formof wickedness.” When we look at some-thing on the Internet, we need to re-member what Jehovah thinks of it.What we look at should be morally clean

How can you be sure thatthe information you aregetting is true?


and appropriate for a Chris-tian. Internet pornographyhas become very common.If we are not careful, it canvery easily become a prob-lem for us.

To help us decide aboutwhat we should or shouldnot look at on the Internet,think about this question: ‘Iswhat I watch on the screensomething I would quick-ly hide from my husband(or wife), my parents, or myChristian brothers if they entered theroom?’ If the answer is yes, it would bebetter to use the Internet only when oth-ers are with us. The Internet has com-pletely changed the way people commu-nicate and shop. But it has also shownpeople a new way to commit adultery intheir hearts.—Matthew 5:27, 28.

WHAT SHOULD WEFORWARD TO OTHERS?

When we use the Internet, we of-ten exchange information with people.We must be sure that the informationwe write or forward to others is true, isnot immoral, and is informationwe havepermission to give.� (See footnote.) Weshould think about this: Is the informa-tion going to help others? Why do we

� We can say the same thing about photos. Wemay take pictures of others for our own use.But we do not have the right to show these pic-tures to just anybodyor to tell others the namesof the people in the photos and where they live.

want to tell others about it? Is it just toimpress others?

E-mail can be very useful when weuse it the right way. But it can alsogive us a lot of unnecessary information.Are we giving others too much to read,maybe using more of their time thanwe should? Should we not think aboutwhy we are sending an e-mail before wehit the send button? In the past, peoplewrote letters to their family and friendsto tell them about what was happeningin their life. This should be what oure-mail is mainly about. Why send to oth-ers something that we cannot prove istrue?

So, what should you do about the In-ternet? Should you not use it at all? Forsome this may be necessary. The Inter-net junkie whom we talked about earli-er had to do that. The Internet can behelpful to you if you use “thinking abili-ty” and allow it to “keep guard over you.”—Proverbs 2:10, 11.

What should youthink about before you

hit the send button?


October 24-30Jehovah Is My SharePAGE 7 SONGS TO BE USED: 38, 56

October 31–November 6Are You Letting JehovahBe Your Share?


November 7-13Run the Race With EndurancePAGE 16 SONGS TO BE USED: 54, 135

November 14-20“Run . . . That You May Attain It”


November 21-27Are You Known by Jehovah?PAGE 25 SONGS TO BE USED: 107, 4

34567SEPTEMBER 15, 2011



34567�

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011



When Jehovah told the Levites: “I am yourshare,” what did he mean? (Num.18:20) Werethe Levites the only ones who had that privi-lege? Can we today have Jehovah as our share?If so, how? These two study articles will exam-ine the matter of how Jehovah can be one’sshare.


These articles will help us to see how we canwin our race for the prize of everlasting life.Where can we find support and encourage-ment? What pitfalls and entanglements shouldwe avoid? And what will help us to press on tothe finish line?


Jehovah’s faithful servants are known and ap-proved by him. What qualities can help us tomaintain that precious standing with Jehovah?This article will assist each of us to make a self-examination.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Bible Reading—My LifelongSource of Strength

30 Can You Be Like PhinehasWhen You Face Challenges? 0


THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 3

“INTHEbeginning God created the heavensand the earth,” I began reading in the pri-

vacy of my room. Why did I read in secret?Surelymy father, a confirmed atheist, wouldnot approve of the book I had in my hands—the Bible.

I had never read the Bible before, andthose opening words of Genesisstruck me like a bolt of lightning.I thought, ‘Here is the explana-tion for the harmonyof the phys-ical laws that has always amazedme!’ Enthralled, I read from eightat night until four in the morn-ing. Thus began my lifelong habitof reading God’s Word. Let meexplain how Bible reading hasbeen a source of strength to methroughout my life.

“You Will Haveto Read It Every Day”

I was born in 1926, in Vermelles, a coal-mining village in northern France. Duringthe second worldwar, coalwas a commodityof national importance. So as a miner, I wasexempt from military service. Still, to im-prove my lot, I began studying radio andelectricity, which impressed on me the har-mony of physical laws. When I was 21, a

classmate handed me my first Bible, saying,“It is a book worth reading.” By the time Ifinished reading it, I was convinced that theBible is God’s Word, a revelation to man-kind.

Thinking that my neighbors too would beexcited to read the Bible, I obtained eight

copies. To my surprise, I met withmockery and opposition. Super-stitious relatives warned, “Onceyou start reading this book, youwill have to read it every day!”Read it I did, and I have never re-gretted doing so. It became mylifelong custom.

Recognizing my interest in theBible, some neighbors passed onto me publications of Jehovah’s

Witnesses that they had received. Book-lets such as One World, One Government�(shown in French) explained why the Biblepoints to God’s Kingdom as the only hopefor mankind. (Matt. 6:10) I was more deter-mined than ever to share this hope withothers.

One of the first to accept a Bible from mewas Noel, a childhood friend. Being a prac-ticing Catholic, he arranged for us to meet

� Published in 1944, but now out of print.

BIBLE READINGMY LIFELONG SOURCE

OF STRENGTH˘

AS TOLD BYMARCEAU LEROY

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

with a man who was studying to become apriest. I felt intimidated, yet I knew fromreading Psalm 115:4-8 and Matthew 23:9, 10that God disapproves of using idols in wor-ship and addressing clergymen with reli-gious titles. This gave me the courage to de-fend my newfound belief. As a result, Noelaccepted the truth, and to this day he re-mains a faithful Witness.

I also visited my sister. Her husband hadbooks on spiritism and was being harassedby demons. Although I felt rather powerlessat first, such Bible verses as Hebrews 1:14convinced me that I had the support of Je-hovah’s angels. When my brother-in-lawapplied Bible principles and rid himself ofeverything connected with the occult, hewas able to free himself from demon influ-ence. Both he and my sister became zealousWitnesses.

In 1947 an American Witness, ArthurEmiot, called at my home. Excited, I askedhim where the Witnesses met. He told methat there was a group in Lievin, some sixmiles (10 km) away. Even bicycles were hardto come by in those days, so for severalmonths I walked to and from the meet-ings. The work of Jehovah’s Witnesses inFrance had been under ban for eight years.There were only 2,380 Witnesses in thewhole country—many being Polish immi-grants. But on September 1, 1947, our workin France was legally recognized again. Abranch office was reestablished in Paris atVilla Guibert. Because there was not evenone pioneer in France, the December 1947issue of Informant (now Our Kingdom Minis-try) launched anappeal for general pioneers,who would preach 150 hours a month. (In1949 that was reduced to 100 hours.) In fullagreement with Jesus’ words at John 17:17,“[God’s] word is truth,” I was baptized in1948, and inDecember 1949, I becamea pio-neer.

From Prison Back to DunkerqueMy first assignment, Agen, in southern

France, was short-lived. Because I had leftthe mines, I was eligible for military service.I refused to join the army, so I was sent toprison. Though I was not allowed to have aBible, I was able to obtain a few pages of thebook of Psalms. Reading them encouragedme. When I was released, I had a decision tomake: Should I stop the full-time service inorder to get settled? Here again, what I readin theBiblehelpedme. ImeditatedonPaul’swords at Philippians 4:11-13: “For all things Ihave the strength by virtue of him who im-parts power to me.” I made up my mind tocontinue pioneering. In 1950, I received anew assignment—Dunkerque, a town whereI had preached before.

When I arrived there, I had nothing. Thetown had been severely damaged duringWorld War II, and accommodations werehard to find. I decided to visit a family I usedto call on, and the lady of the house wasoverjoyed: “Oh, Mr. Leroy, you’ve been re-leased! My husband says that if there weremore men like you, there never would havebeen a war.” They had a guesthouse, so theyoffered me lodging until the tourist seasonstarted. The same day, Arthur Emiot’s broth-er, Evans, offered mework.�Hewas an inter-preter in theport andwas looking for a nightwatchman to guard a ship. He introducedme toone of the ship’sfirst officers. After mytime in prison, I was as thin as a rake. WhenEvans explained why, the officer told me tohelp myself to the food in the refrigerator.On that one day, I obtained lodging, work,and food! My confidence in Jesus’ words re-corded at Matthew 6:25-33 had indeed beenstrengthened.

When the tourist season started, my pio-

� For more information about Evans Emiot, see TheWatchtower, January 1, 1999, pages 22 and 23.


neer partner, Simon Apolinarski, and I hadto find other lodging, but we were deter-mined to stay in our assignment. We wereoffered accommodations in an old horsestable, where we slept on straw mattresses.We spent our days in the service. We wit-nessed to the owner of the stable, and he be-came one of many who accepted the truth.It was not long before an article appeared inthe local press, warning the inhabitants ofDunkerque of the “outbreak of Jehovah’sWitness activity in the region.” Yet, Simonand I and a handful of publishers were theonly Witnesses there! In the face of difficul-ties, we were encouraged by meditating onour Christian hope and considering theway Jehovah had taken care of us. Therewere some 30 regular publishers in Dun-kerquewhenmy assignmentwas changed in1952.

Strengthened for New ResponsibilitiesAfter a brief stay in the city of Amiens, I

was appointed a special pioneer to serve inBoulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. Ihad many Bible studies, and some of themlater took up full-time service and mission-ary work. One young man, Guy Mabilat, ac-cepted the truth and went on to serve as a

circuit overseer and then as a district over-seer. Later, he had oversight of the construc-tionof the printery at thepresent-day Bethelin Louviers, some distance from Paris. Fre-quent Bible discussions in the ministry fur-ther imprinted God’s Word on my mind,filling me with joy and enabling me to im-prove my teaching ability.

Then in 1953, out of the blue, I was ap-pointed to be a circuit overseer in Alsace-Lorraine, a region that between 1871and 1945 was twice annexed by Germany.Hence, I had to learn some German. When Istarted in the circuit work, there were fewcars, televisions, or typewriters in that re-gion and no transistor radios or personalcomputers. But my life was neither sad noraustere. In fact, it was amost joyful time. Fol-lowing the Bible’s advice to keep ‘a simpleeye’ meant that there were fewer distrac-tions from serving Jehovah than there aretoday.—Matt. 6:19-22.

The 1955 “Triumphant Kingdom”Assem-bly in Paris was a memorable occasion forme. There I met my future wife, Irene Kolan-ski, who had started full-time service theyear before I did. Her Polish parents werelongtime, zealous Witnesses. In France theywere visited by Adolf Weber. He had been

' Simon and me

When serving asdistrict overseer *

' A Bible similar tothe first one I received


Brother Russell’s gardener and had come toEurope to declare the good news. Irene and Iwere married in 1956, and she joined me inthe circuitwork.What a fine support she hasbeen throughout the years!

Two years later, another surprise awaitedme—I was appointed a district overseer. Still,to make up for the shortage of qualifiedbrothers available, I continued to visit somecongregations as a circuit overseer. What abusy time that was! In addition to preaching100 hours a month, each week I had talks togive, three book studies to visit, records tocheck, and reports to prepare. How would itbe possible to buy out time to read God’sWord? I saw only one solution—I cut pagesout of an old Bible and kept some with me.Whenever I had to wait for someone to ar-rive for an appointment, I tookout the pagesand read. Those brief moments of spiritu-al refreshment strengthened my resolve tocontinue in my assignment.

In 1967, Irene and I were invited to be-come permanent members of the Beth-el family in Boulogne-Billancourt. I beganworking in the Service Department, andover 40 years later, I still have that privilege.Anenjoyable aspect of myworkhas been an-swering letters asking Bible questions. How I

delight in digging into God’s Word and “de-fending . . . the good news”! (Phil. 1:7) I alsotake pleasure in conducting Bible discus-sions at morning worship before breakfast.In 1976, I was appointed to be a member ofthe Branch Committee in France.

The Best Way of LifeAlthough I have experienced trialsome

times, the most challenging time in my lifeis now, when old age and health problemslimit what Irene and I can do. Still, readingand studyingGod’s Word togetherkeeps ourhope alive. We enjoy taking the bus to ourcongregation territory to share this hopewith others. Our combined experience ofmore than 120 years in full-time servicemoves us to recommend wholeheartedlythis course to all who wish to pursue an ex-citing, joyful, and useful life.WhenKing Da-vid wrote the words of Psalm 37:25, he had“grown old,” but like him, I too “have notseen anyone righteous left entirely.”

Throughoutmy life, Jehovahhas strength-ened me by means of his Word. My relativespredictedover 60 years ago that Bible readingwould be a lifelong habit. They were right. Ithas been—a daily habit that I have never re-gretted!

' On ourwedding day

Irene and I enjoyreading and studying

God’s Word *

AFTER the Israelites had conquered muchof the Promised Land, Joshua turned

his attention to apportioning the landby lot.In doing this, he worked along with HighPriest Eleazar and heads of the tribes. (Num.34:13-29) As for the Levites, they were not tohave a land inheritance such as the othertribes received. (Josh. 14:1-5) Why did theLevites have no tribal territory, or share, ofthe Promised Land? Were they being leftout?

2 We find the answer inwhat Jehovah toldthe Levites. Underlining the fact that theywere not being abandoned, Jehovah said tothem: “I amyour share andyour inheritancein the midst of the sons of Israel.” (Num.18:20) What a profound assurance: “I am yourshare”! How would you feel if Jehovah saidthat toyou?Yourfirst reactionmight be, ‘AmI worthy of such an assurance from the Al-mighty?’ You might also wonder, ‘Can Jeho-

1, 2. (a) What was the situation of the Levites as toa land inheritance? (b) What assurance did Jehovahgive the Levites?

vah really be the share of any imperfectChristian today?’ Those questions involveyou and your loved ones. So let us determinewhat that divine statement means. That willhelp us understand how Jehovah can be theshare of Christians today. More specifically,he can be your share, whether you hope tolive in heaven or you look forward to life inan earthly paradise.

Jehovah Provides for the Levites3 Before Jehovah gave the Law to the Isra-

elites, family heads served as priests amongthem. When God provided the Law, he ar-ranged for a full-time priesthood and for as-sistants from the tribe of Levi. How did thiscome about? When God destroyed Egypt’sfirstborn, he sanctified Israel’s firstborn, set-ting them apart as his, as belonging to him.Then God made this significant adjustment:“I do take the Levites . . . in place of all thefirstborn among the sons of Israel.” Since acensus showed that the firstborn sons of Is-rael exceeded the Levites in number, a ran-

som price was paid to make up thedifference. (Num. 3:11-13, 41, 46, 47)Thus the Levites could carry out theirrole in serving the God of Israel.

4 What did that assignment meanfor the Levites? Jehovah said that hewas to be their share in the sensethat rather than receiving a land

3. What led to God’s taking the Levites forhis service?4, 5. (a) What did it mean for the Levitesto have God as their share? (b) Howdid Godprovide for the Levites?

JEHOVAH IS MY SHARE“I am your share and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

—NUM. 18:20.

How was Jehovah the shareof the priests and Levites?

7


inheritance, they were entrusted with apriceless privilege of service. Being “thepriesthood of Jehovah” was their inheri-tance. (Josh. 18:7) The context of Numbers18:20 shows that this did not leave them im-poverished materially. (Read Numbers 18:19, 21, 24.) The Levites were to be given“every tenth part in Israel as an inheritancein return for their service.” They would

receive 10 percent of Israel’s produce and ofthe increase of the domestic animals. Inturn, the Levites were to contribute a tenthpart of what they received, “of the very bestof it,” for the support of the priesthood.�(Num. 18:25-29) The priests were also given“all the holy contributions” that the sons ofIsrael brought toGod at his place ofworship.Members of the priesthood thus had goodreason for believing that Jehovahwouldpro-vide for them.

5 It appears that the Mosaic Law providedfor a second tithe, which was set asidefor the household’s sustenance and enjoy-ment during the holy conventions eachyear. (Deut.14:22-27)However, at the end ofevery third and sixth year of the seven-yearsabbatical cycle, this tithe was deposited atthe gate for the benefitof the poor aswell asthe Levites. Why were the Levites includedas recipients? Because they had “no share orinheritance” in Israel.—Deut.14:28, 29.

� For details about how the priesthood was main-tained, see Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, page 684.

6 You might wonder, ‘If the Levites hadno landassigned to them,wherewould theyreside?’ God provided for them. He gavethem 48 cities along with the surroundingpasture grounds. These included the six cit-ies of refuge. (Num. 35:6-8) Thus, the Le-vites had a place to live when they were notserving at the sanctuary of God. Jehovahprovided abundantly for those who gavethemselves to his service. Clearly, the Le-vites were able to show that Jehovah wastheir share by putting their trust in his will-ingness and power to provide for them.

7 The Law did not include any penalty foran Israelite who failed to tithe. When thepeople became negligent as to tithing, thepriests and Levites were affected. That hap-pened in the days of Nehemiah. As a result,the Levites had to work in their fields, ne-glecting their ministry. (Read Nehemiah13:10.)Clearly, the sustenance of the Leviti-cal tribehingedon the spiritualityof the na-tion. Furthermore, the priests and Levitesthemselves needed faith in Jehovah and inhis means of providing for them.

Individuals Had Jehovahas Their Share

8 The Levites as a tribe were to have Jeho-vah as their share. It is noteworthy, though,that individual Levites used the phrase “Je-hovah is my share” to express devotion toGod and reliance on him. (Lam. 3:24) Onesuch Levite was a singer and composer. Wewill refer to him as Asaph, though he couldhave been a member of the house of Asaph,the Levite who led the singers in the days ofKing David. (1 Chron. 6:31-43) In Psalm 73

6. Though having no tribal share of land in Israel,where would the Levites reside?7. What was required of the Levites for them tohave Jehovah as their share?8. Describe the trouble the Levite Asaph faced.

The Levites did notreceive a land inheritance.Instead, Jehovah was their

share, for they had the greatprivilege of serving him


we read that Asaph (or one of his descen-dants) became perplexed. He envied thewicked who were leading a prosperous lifeand went to the point of saying: “Surely it isin vain that I have cleansed my heart andthat I wash my hands in innocence itself.”He apparently lost sight of his privilege ofservice; he failed to appreciate that Jehovahwas his share. He was spiritually troubled“until [he] proceeded to come into thegrand sanctuary of God.”—Ps. 73:2, 3, 12,13,17.

9 At the sanctuary, Asaph began to viewthings from God’s perspective. You mayhave had a similar experience. Perhaps atone point you lost sight of your spiritualprivileges to some extent and began to focuson what you were lacking in a materialway. But by studying God’s Word and bygoing toChristianmeetings, you came to seethings Jehovah’s way. Asaph perceived whatwould eventually happen to the wicked. Hethought about his lot and realized that Jeho-vah would take hold of his right hand andlead him. Asaph could thus say to Jehovah:“Besides you I do have no other delight onthe earth.” (Ps. 73:23, 25) He then referredto God as his share. (Read Psalm 73:26.) Al-though the psalmist’s ‘organism and heartmight fail,’ God would be his “share to timeindefinite.” The psalmist was confident thatJehovah would remember him as a friend.His faithful service would not be forgotten.(Eccl. 7:1) How reassuring that must havebeen for Asaph! He sang: “As for me, thedrawing near to God is good for me. In theSovereign Lord Jehovah I have placed myrefuge.”—Ps. 73:28.

10 Having Jehovah as his share meantmore to Asaph than the material sustenancehe received as a Levite. What he referred to

9, 10. Why could Asaph refer to God as his “shareto time indefinite”?

was mainly his privilege of service and hisrelationship with Jehovah, the friendshiphe had cultivated with the Most High. (Jas.2:21-23) To preserve that relationship, thepsalmist had to maintain faith in Jehovah,trusting in him. Asaph had to have confi-dence that the final outcome of his lifewould be a rewarding one if he lived accord-ing to the divine standard. You can have thesame confidence in the Almighty.

11 The prophet Jeremiah was another Le-vite who recognized Jehovah as his share.Let us consider what he meant when us-ing that expression. Jeremiah lived in Ana-thoth, a Levite city near Jerusalem. (Jer. 1:1)At one point, Jeremiah became perplexed:Why were the wicked prospering while therighteous suffered? (Jer. 12:1) After observ-ing what was taking place in Jerusalemand Judah, he felt compelled to ‘complain’about what he saw. Jeremiah knew that Je-hovah is righteous. What Jehovah there-after inspired Jeremiah to prophesy and

11. What question did Jeremiah have, and how wasit answered?

What helpedAsaph to continueto have Jehovahas his share?


howHe fulfilled those propheticwords gavea solid answer to the prophet’s question.In harmony with divine prophecies, thosewho obeyed Jehovah’s direction ‘receivedtheir souls as spoil,’ whereas the prosperouswicked ones ignored the warning and per-ished.—Jer. 21:9.

12 As Jeremiah later looked over his devas-tated homeland, he felt as though he werewalking in darkness. It was as if Jehovah hadmade him “sit like men dead for a longtime.” (Lam. 1:1, 16; 3:6) Jeremiah had toldthe wayward nation to return to their heav-enly Father, but their badness had reachedthe point where God had to let Jerusalemand Judah be destroyed. That caused Jere-miah pain, though he was not at fault.Amid his afflictions, the prophet remem-bered God’s mercies. “We have not come toour finish,” he said. Indeed, Jehovah’s mer-cies are new each morning! It was then thatJeremiah declared: “Jehovah is my share.”He continued having the privilege of serv-ing Jehovah as a prophet.—Read Lamenta-tions 3:22-24.

13 For 70 years, the Israelites would lack ahomeland. It would lie desolate. (Jer. 25:11)But Jeremiah’s expression “Jehovah is my

12, 13. (a) What moved Jeremiah to declare: “Je-hovah is my share,” and what attitude did he have?(b) Why did all the tribes of Israel need to cultivatea waiting attitude?

share” revealed his confidence in divinemercy, and it gave him reason for showing“a waiting attitude.” All the tribes of Israelhad lost their inheritance, so they needed tocultivate the same attitude as the prophet.Jehovah was their only hope. After 70 years,God’s people were restored to their home-land and had the privilege of serving himthere.—2 Chron. 36:20-23.

Others Could HaveJehovah as Their Share

14 Both Asaph and Jeremiah were of thetribe of Levi, but was it only the Levites whocould be privileged to serve Jehovah? Hard-ly! Young David, the future king of Israel,called God his “share in the land of the liv-ing ones.” (Read Psalm 142:1, 5.) At thetime that David composed this psalm, hewas not in a palace or even in a house. Hewas in a cave, hiding from his enemies. Onat least two occasions, David took refuge incaves—one near Adullam and the other inthe wilderness of En-gedi. He may well havecomposed Psalm 142 in one of those caves.

15 If that was the case, King Saul was theone hounding David, seeking to take hislife. David fled to a cave that was hard to ap-proach. (1 Sam. 22:1, 4) In this remote re-gion, it might have seemed to David that nofriend was at his side to give him protectivesupport. (Ps. 142:4) That was when Davidcalled out to God.

16 By the time David composedPsalm142,he may have learned what had befallenHigh Priest Ahimelech, who had unwitting-ly given him assistance when he was fleeingfrom Saul. Jealous King Saul had Ahimelechand his household killed. (1 Sam. 22:11, 18,

14, 15. Other than the Levites, who let Jehovah behis share, and why?16, 17. (a) What reasons did David have for feelinghelpless? (b) Whom could David turn to for help?

How Would You Answer?˙ In what sense was Jehovah the share

of the Levites?˙ Asaph, Jeremiah, and David did

what, showing that Jehovah wastheir share?

˙ What quality do you need if God isto be your share?


WHEN you read the name Israel in theBible, what comes to your mind? Do

you think of Isaac’s son Jacob, who was re-named Israel?Ordoyou thinkofhisdescen-dants, the ancient nation of Israel? What ofspiritual Israel? When Israel is referred to ina figurative sense, it usually applies to “theIsrael of God,” the 144,000, who are anoint-ed with holy spirit to become kings andpriests in heaven. (Gal. 6:16; Rev. 7:4; 21:

1, 2. (a) “The Israel of God” mentioned at Gala-tians 6:16 represents whom? (b) At Matthew 19:28,whom do “the twelve tribes of Israel” represent?

12) But consider the special reference toIsrael’s 12 tribes that is found at Matthew19:28.

2 Jesus said: “In the re-creation, when theSon of man sits down upon his gloriousthrone, you who have followed me will alsoyourselves sit upon twelve thrones, judgingthe twelve tribesof Israel.” In this verse, “thetwelve tribes of Israel” are those who will bejudged by Jesus’ anointed disciples and whoare in line to receive eternal life in Paradiseon earth. They will benefit from the priestlyservices of the 144,000.

ARE YOU LETTINGJEHOVAH BE YOUR SHARE?

“Keep on . . . seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, andall these other things will be added to you.”—MATT. 6:33.

19) David felt responsible for their deaths. Itwas as if he had killed the priest who hadhelped him. If you had been in David’s posi-tion, would you have felt responsible? Add-ing to David’s stress was the fact that he hadno rest because Saul kept onpursuing him.

17 Soon thereafter came the death of theprophet Samuel, who had anointed David tobe the future king. (1 Sam. 25:1) That couldhave added to David’s feelings of helpless-ness. Yet, David knew whom he could turnto for help—to Jehovah. David did not havethe same privilege of service as the Levites,but he had already been anointed to per-form another type of service, eventually tobe the king ofGod’s people. (1 Sam.16:1,13)

Hence, David poured out his heart to Jeho-vah and continued to look to God for direc-tion. You too can and should have Him asyour share and your refuge as you exertyourself in his service.

18 Those whom we have considered hadJehovah as their share in the sense that theyreceived an assignment of work in his ser-vice. They relied on God for sustenance asthey served him. Both the Levites and thoseof Israel’s other tribes, such as David, couldlet God be their share. How can you likewiselet Jehovah be your share? We will discussthat in our next article.

18. How did the ones we discussed in this articleshow that they had Jehovah as their share?


3 Like the priests and Levites of old,anointed ones today view their service as aprivilege. (Num.18:20) The anointed donotexpect to be given some territoryor locationon earth as a possession. Instead, they lookforward to being kings and priests inheavenwith Jesus Christ. They will continue toserve Jehovah in that assignment, as indi-cated by what we read at Revelation 4:10, 11concerning the anointed in their heavenlyposition.—Ezek. 44:28.

4 While on earth, anointed ones live in away that gives evidence that Jehovah is theirshare. Their privilege of serving God is ofprimary importance to them. They exercisefaith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice and followhim continually, thus ‘making their callingand choosing sure.’ (2 Pet. 1:10) Their indi-vidual circumstances and abilities differ.Yet, they do not use any limitations as an ex-cuse to do only a small amount inGod’s ser-vice. On the contrary, they give high priori-ty to God’s service, doing all they can. Andthey set a good example for thosewho hopeto live on a paradise earth.

5 Whether we have the heavenly hope oran earthly one, we must ‘disown ourselvesand pick up our torture stake and continual-ly follow Christ.’ (Matt. 16:24) Millions wholook forward to life in Paradise on earth areworshipping God and following Christ inthatway.They arenot content todo just a lit-tle when they sense that they can do more.Many have been impelled to simplify theirlife and have become pioneers. Others man-age to pioneer some months each year. Stillothers, while unable to pioneer, exert them-selves in the ministry. Such ones are like de-voted Mary, who poured perfumed oil on Je-

3, 4. What fine example have faithful anointedones set?5. How can all Christians have Jehovah as theirshare, and why might that be challenging?

sus. He said: “She did a fine deed toward me.. . . She did what she could.” (Mark 14:6-8)Our doing all we can may not be easy, for welive in a world dominated by Satan. Yet, weexert ourselves vigorously and put our trustin Jehovah. Consider how we do so in fourspecific areas.

Seeking First God’s Kingdom6 Jesus taught his followers to seek first

the Kingdom and God’s righteousness. Peo-ple of the world tend to seek personal inter-ests first as “men of this system of things,whose share is in this life.” (Read Psalm 17:1, 13-15.) With no regard for their Creator,many devote themselves to making a com-fortable living, raising a family, and leavingbehind an inheritance. Their share is in thislife only. David, on the other hand, was in-terested in making “a good name” with Je-hovah, as his son later recommended thatall do. (Eccl. 7:1, ftn.) Just like Asaph, Davidsaw that having Jehovah as his Friend wasfar better than putting his own interestsforemost in life. He rejoiced inwalking withGod. In our time, many Christians have putspiritual activities ahead of their secular em-ployment.

7 Consider Jean-Claude, in the Central Af-rican Republic. He is a married elder withthree children. In that land, finding work ishard, and most people will do almost any-thing tokeep their job.Oneday, the produc-tion manager told Jean-Claude to beginworking nights—starting at 6:30 p.m., sevendays a week. Jean-Claude explained that inaddition to supporting his family material-ly, he needed to care for their spiritual wel-

6. (a) How do people in general show that theirshare is in this life only? (b) Why is it better to haveDavid’s outlook?7. What blessing did one brother receive for puttingthe Kingdom first?


fare.He also stated that hehada responsibil-ity to help the congregation. The manager’sresponse? “If you are fortunate enough tohave a job, you must forget all other things,including your wife, your children, andyour problems. You must devote your life toyour work—nothing but your work. Makeyour choice: your religion or your work.”What would you have done? Well, Jean-Claude realized that if he lost his job, Godwould look after him. He would still haveplenty to do in God’s service, and Jehovahwould help care for his family’s materialneeds. Thus, he attended the next midweekmeeting. After that, he got ready to go towork, not sure if he would even have a job.Just then, he got a phone call. The managerhad been fired, but our brother still had hisjob.

8 Some who have been in a situationwhere their job seemed at risk may havewondered, ‘Howwill I fulfillmy responsibil-ity to provide for my family?’ (1 Tim. 5:8)Whether you have faced a similar challengeor not, from your own experience you arelikely sure that youwill never be disappoint-ed if God is your share and you highly trea-sure the privilege of serving him. When Je-sus told his disciples to keep on seeking firstthe kingdom, he assured them: “All theseother things”—such as what to eat, drink, orput on—“will be added to you.”—Matt. 6:33.

9 Think of the Levites, who did not re-ceive a land inheritance. Since pureworshipwas their primary concern, for sustenancethey had to relyon Jehovah,who told them:“I am your share.” (Num. 18:20) Althoughwe are not serving at a literal temple as thepriests and Levites did, we can imitate theirspirit, having confidence that Jehovah will

8, 9. In what sense can we imitate the priests andLevites in having Jehovah as our share?

provide for us. Our trust in God’s power toprovide becomes more and more importantas we move deeper into the last days.—Rev.13:17.

Seeking First God’s Righteousness10 Jesus also urgedhis disciples to ‘keepon

seeking first God’s righteousness.’ (Matt. 6:33) This means putting Jehovah’s standardof what is right and what is wrong ahead ofhuman norms. (Read Isaiah 55:8, 9.) Youmay recall that in the past, a numberof peo-ple were involved in growing tobacco orselling tobacco products, training others inwarfare, or producing and selling weapons

of war. After coming to a knowledge of thetruth, most chose to change their employ-ment and qualify for baptism.—Isa. 2:4;2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 5:14.

11 Andrew is an example. When he andhis wife learned about Jehovah, they re-solved to serve him. Andrew took muchpride in his job but left it. Why? Because hewas working for a nonneutral organizationand was determined to put first God’s righ-teousness. When Andrew left that job, hehad two children, no income, and enoughmoney to last just a few months. From a hu-man standpoint, it may have seemed thathe had no ‘inheritance.’ He searched for ajob, trusting in God. Looking back, he andhis family can confirm that Jehovah’s hand

10, 11. How have some put their trust in Jehovahin connection with their employment? Give an ex-ample.

Jehovah becomes our sharewhen we make his service our

primary concern


is not short. (Isa. 59:1) By keeping their lifesimple, Andrew and his wife have even hadthe privilege of being in full-time service.“There have been times when finances,housing, health, and just growing olderhave made us anxious,” he says. “But Jeho-vah has always stood by us. . . . We can saywithout a hint of doubt that serving Jeho-vah is, without question, the most nobleand rewarding human endeavor.”�—Eccl.12:13.

12 Jesus told his disciples: “If you havefaith the size of amustard grain, youwill sayto this mountain, ‘Transfer from here tothere,’ and it will transfer, and nothing willbe impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Wouldyou be able to put God’s standards foremostif that would result in difficulties? If you areuncertain whether you could do so, speakwith other members of the congregation.You will no doubt find it spiritually refresh-ing to hear their experiences.

Appreciating Jehovah’sSpiritual Provisions

13 If you treasure your privilege of servingJehovah, you can be sure that hewill supplyyour physical and spiritual needs, just as heprovided sustenance for the Levites. Thinkabout David. Though he was in a cave, hecould count on God to provide for him. Wetoo can rely on Jehovah even when wesee no way out. Recall that when Asaphcame “into the grand sanctuary of God,” hegained insight into what was distressinghim. (Ps. 73:17) Similarly, weneed to turn tothe divine Source of our spiritual nourish-ment. Thus we show appreciation for our

� See Awake! November 2009, pages 12-14.

12. What quality is needed to put God’s standardsforemost? Cite local examples.13. When we exert ourselves in Jehovah’s service,what can we expect as to spiritual provisions?

privilege of serving God no matter what ourcircumstances may be. We are thereby let-ting Jehovah be our share.

14 How do you react when Jehovah, theSource of spiritual enlightenment, shedslight on “the deep things of God” found intheBible? (1Cor. 2:10-13)Wehave an excel-lent example in the apostle Peter’s reactionwhen Jesus told His listeners: “Unless youeat thefleshof the Sonofmananddrinkhisblood, you have no life in yourselves.” Tak-ing those words literally, many disciplessaid: “This speech is shocking; who can lis-ten to it?” They “went off to the things be-hind.” But Peter said: “Lord, whom shall wego away to? You have sayings of everlastinglife.”—John 6:53, 60, 66, 68.

15 Peter did not fully understand what Je-sus said about eating His flesh and drinkingHis blood. But the apostle relied on Godfor spiritual enlightenment. When spirituallight on some matter gets brighter, do youtry to understand the underlying Scripturalreasons for the adjustment? (Prov. 4:18) Thefirst-century Beroeans received the word“with the greatest eagerness of mind, care-fully examining the Scriptures daily.” (Acts17:11) Imitating them will deepen your ap-preciation for your privilege to serve Jeho-vah, to have him be your share.

Marrying Only in the Lord16 Another area in which Christians need

to keep God’s purposes in mind is in apply-ing the Bible’s direction to marry “only inthe Lord.” (1Cor. 7:39)Manyhave chosen toremain single rather than disregard this di-vine counsel. God kindly takes in such ones.What did David do when he felt lonesome

14, 15. How should we respond when there is in-creased light on certain scriptures, and why?16. How can God be our share regarding the com-mand found at 1 Corinthians 7:39?


and seemingly lacked any help? “Before[God] I kept pouring out my concern,” hesaid. “Before him I continued to tell aboutmy own distress, when my spirit faintedaway within me.” (Ps. 142:1-3) Similar feel-ings may have surfaced in the prophet Jere-miah, who served God faithfully for decadesas a single person. You may want to studyhis example as discussed in chapter 8 ofthe book God’s Word for Us Through Jere-miah.

17 “I have never resolved to remain sin-gle,” says a sister in the United States. “I amopen to getting married when I meet theright person. My unbelieving mother triedto convince me to marry just about anyonewho came along. I asked her if shewanted tobe responsible if my marriage turned outbadly. In time, she saw that I had a stable job,was taking care of myself, and was happy.She stopped pressuring me.” This sister attimes feels some loneliness. “Then,” shesays, “I try to make Jehovah my confidence.

17. How does one single sister cope with occasionalloneliness?

He never forsakes me.”What has helped her to trustin Jehovah? “Prayer helpsme sense that God is realand that I am never alone.The Most High of the uni-verse is listening, so howcould I not feel dignifiedand joyful?” Confident that“there is more happiness ingiving than there is in re-ceiving,” she says: “I try togive of myself to help oth-ers, not expecting anythingin return. When I am think-

ing, ‘What can I do to help this person?’ Ihave inner joy.” (Acts 20:35) Yes, she has Je-hovah as her share, and she is enjoying herprivilege of serving him.

18 Nomatter what situationyou find your-self in, you can let God be your share. As youdo, you will be counted among his happypeople. (2 Cor. 6:16, 17) That can result inyour being Jehovah’s share, as was true ofothers in the past. (Read Deuteronomy 32:9, 10.) Just as Israel became God’s shareamong the nations, he can mark you as hisand lovingly care for you.—Ps.17:8.

18. In what sense can Jehovah make you his share?

Jeremiah’s exampleis encouraging

How Would You Answer?How can you let Jehovah be your share˙ by seeking first God’s Kingdom and

his righteousness?˙ by showing appreciation for spiritual

food?˙ by observing God’s command to

marry only in the Lord?


EACH year, marathons are held in manyplaces. The so-called elite runners enter

the race with one objective—to win. Mostothers who participate aim a bit lower. Forthem, just to finish the race is an accom-plishment to be proud of.

2 In the Bible, the Christian life course hasbeen compared to a race. The apostle Paulcalled this point to the attention of his fel-low Christians in ancient Corinth in his firstletter to them. He wrote: “Do you not knowthat the runners in a race all run, but onlyone receives the prize? Run in such a waythat you may attain it.”—1 Cor. 9:24.

3 Was Paul saying that only one of thoseChristianswouldgain theprize of life and allthe rest would run in vain? Of course not!Runners in the competitions trained and ex-erted themselves rigorously with the goal ofbecoming the winner. Paul wanted his fel-low Christians to exert themselves that wayin their quest for everlasting life. Doing so,they could hope to gain the prize of life. Yes,in the Christian race, all who finish win thatprize.

4 Those words are encouraging, yet sober-ing, to all who have taken up the race for lifetoday. Why? Because the prize—whether lifein heaven or life in Paradise on earth—is be-

1, 2. To what did the apostle Paul compare theChristian life course?3. Why did Paul mention that only one runnerwins?4. What do we need to consider regarding the racethat is set before us?

yond compare. True, the race is long and ar-duous; there are many obstacles, distrac-tions, and dangers along the way. (Matt. 7:13,14) Sadly, some have slowed down, givenout, or even fallen along the way. What pit-falls and dangers are there in the race forlife? How can you avoid them? What canyou do to finish and thus win that race?

Endurance Needed to Win5 In his letter to the Hebrew Christians in

Jerusalem and Judea, Paul again made refer-ence to features of athletic games or races.(Read Hebrews 12:1.) He not only called at-tention to the reason for engaging in therace but also pointed out what one must doto win. Before we examine Paul’s inspiredadvice to the Hebrew Christians to see whatlessons there are for us, let us considerwhat prompted Paul to write the letter andwhat he was trying to encourage his readersto do.

6 The first-century Christians, especiallythose living in Jerusalem and Judea, werefacing many trials and hardships. They wereunder great pressure from the Jewish reli-gious leaders, who still wielded powerful in-fluence over the people. Earlier, these lead-ers had succeeded in having Jesus Christcondemned as a seditionist and killed as acriminal. And they were not about to stop

5. As recorded at Hebrews 12:1, Paul made what ref-erence to a race?6. Christians were under what pressure from reli-gious leaders?

RUN THE RACEWITH ENDURANCE

“Let us run with endurancethe race that is set before us.”—HEB. 12:1.


their opposition. In the book of Acts, weread one account after another of theirthreats and attacks against Christians, start-ing almost immediately after the miracu-lous events at Pentecost 33 C.E. This certain-ly made life difficult for the faithful ones.—Acts 4:1-3; 5:17,18; 6:8-12; 7:59; 8:1, 3.

7 Those Christians were also living in theperiod just before the end of the Jewish sys-temof things. Jesus had told themabout thedestruction to come upon the unfaithfulJewish nation. He had also told his followersabout events that would take place just priorto the end, giving them specific instruc-tions on what action to take to survive.(Read Luke 21:20-22.) What, then, wouldthey do? Jesus warned: “Pay attention toyourselves that your hearts never becomeweighed down with overeating and heavydrinking and anxieties of life, and sudden-ly that day be instantly upon you.”—Luke21:34.

8 At the time Paul wrote his letter to theHebrews, nearly 30yearshadpassed since Je-sus gave that warning. How did the passageof time affect those Christians? Some suc-cumbed to the pressures and distractions ofdaily life and failed to make the spiritu-al advancement that would have fortifiedthem. (Heb. 5:11-14) Others apparently feltthat life would be so much easier if theyjust went along with the majority of Jewsaround them. Those Jews, after all, had notcompletely abandoned God; they were stillfollowing his Law to some extent. OtherChristians were persuaded or intimidated byindividuals in the congregation who clam-ored for sticking to the Mosaic Law and tra-dition.What might Paul say that would help

7. What critical times were upon Christians towhom Paul wrote?8. What might have caused some Christians to slowdown or give out?

his Christian brothers to keep spirituallyalert and endure in the race?

9 It is interesting to observe the way Paul,underdivine inspiration, sought to strength-en the Hebrew Christians. In chapter 10 ofhis letter, Paul pointed out that the Law wasbut “a shadow of the good things to come”and clearly demonstrated the value of theransomsacrificeofChrist. Toward the endofthat chapter, Paul admonished his readers:“You have need of endurance, in order that,after you have done the will of God, youmay receive the fulfillment of the promise.For yet ‘a very little while,’ and ‘he who iscoming will arrive and will not delay.’”—Heb.10:1, 36, 37.

10 In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul skillfullyexplains what true faith in God is. And he il-lustrates it by historical examples of menand women of faith. Was that an unneces-sary digression? Not at all. The apostle knewthat his fellow worshippers needed to real-ize that faith called for courageous actionand endurance. The sterling example set bythose ancient faithful servants of Jehovahwould strengthen the Hebrews to deal withthe trials and hardships they faced. Thus, af-ter enumerating the acts of faith of thoseloyal ones in the past, Paul could say: “Be-cause we have so great a cloud of witnessessurrounding us, let us also put off everyweight and the sin that easily entangles us,and let us run with endurance the race thatis set before us.”—Heb.12:1.

“A Cloud of Witnesses”11 The ‘great cloud of witnesses’ were no

mere spectators or bystanders, as it were,

9, 10. (a) Toward the end of Hebrews chapter 10,we read what encouragement by Paul? (b) Why didPaul write about the faithful acts of ancient wit-nesses?11. Thinking of the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ canhave what effect on us?


who were there only to watch the race or tosee their favorite athlete or team win. Rath-er, they were participants, like runners in arace. And they had successfully run the raceand finished it. Though now deceased, theycould be thought of as seasoned runnerswho could encourage newer runners in therace. Imagine how a contestant would feel ifhe knew that surrounding, or watching, himwere some of the most accomplished run-ners. Would he not be moved to do his bestor even tooutdohimself? Thosewitnesses ofold could testify that such a figurative race,no matter how strenuous, can be won. Thus,by keeping closely in mind the example ofthe “cloud of witnesses,” the first-centuryHebrew Christians could draw courage and‘run the race with endurance’—as canwe to-day.

12 Many of the faithful ones whom Paulmentioned had circumstances similar toours. For example, Noah was living whenthe pre-Flood world was ending. We are liv-ing near the end of the present systemof things. Abraham and Sarah were calledupon to leavebehind theirhomeland topur-sue trueworship and await the fulfillment ofJehovah’s promise. We are urged to disownourselves and gain Jehovah’s approval andtheblessingsheholds out for us.Moses jour-neyed through a fearsome wilderness, head-ing for the Promised Land. We are on acourse through this dying system of things,heading toward the promised new world.What these men went through, their suc-cesses and failures, as well as their strengthsand weaknesses, is truly worthy of our con-sideration.—Rom.15:4; 1 Cor.10:11.

They Succeeded—How?13 What enabled these servants of Jeho-

12. How are the examples Paul cited relevant to us?13. Noah faced what challenges, and what enabledhim to overcome them?

vah to endure and succeed in the race? Notewhat Paul wrote about Noah. (Read He-brews 11:7.) “The deluge of waters upon theearth [that would] bring to ruin all flesh”was something that Noah had “not yet be-held.” (Gen.6:17) Itwas something that hadnever taken place before, something totallyunprecedented. Still, Noah did not dismissit as impossible or even improbable. Why?Because he had faith that whatever Jehovahsaid, Jehovah would do. Noah did not feelthat what he was asked to do was too dif-ficult. Rather, “he did just so.” (Gen. 6:22)Considering all that Noah had to do—build-ing the ark, gathering the animals, stockingthe ark with food for humans and animals,preaching a warning message, and keepinghis family spiritually strong—itwasno smalltask to do “just so.” Yet, Noah’s faith and en-durance resulted in life and blessings forhim and forhis family.

14 AbrahamandSarah comenext inPaul’slist of the “cloud of witnesses surroundingus.” They were uprooted from their normallife in Ur, and their future appeared un-certain. They proved to be examples ofunwavering faith and obedience in tryingtimes. In conjunction with all the sacrificesthat Abraham was willing to make for trueworship, he was fittingly called “the fatherof all those having faith.” (Rom. 4:11) Paultouchedonlyon thehighpoints, his readersbeing well-acquainted with the details ofAbraham’s life.Nonetheless, the lessonPauldrew is powerful: “In faith all these [includ-ing Abraham and his family] died, althoughtheydid not get the fulfillmentof the prom-ises, but they saw them afar off and wel-comed them and publicly declared thattheywere strangers and temporary residents

14. What trials did Abraham and Sarah endure, pro-viding what lesson for us?


in the land.” (Heb.11:13) Clearly, their faithin God and their personal relationship withhim helped them run the race with endur-ance.

15 Moses is another exemplary servant ofJehovah among the “cloud of witnesses.”Moses left behind a prosperous, privilegedlife, “choosing to be ill-treated with the peo-ple of God.” What motivated him to do so?Paul answered: “He looked intently towardthepaymentof the reward. . . .He continuedsteadfast as seeing theOnewho is invisible.”(Read Hebrews 11:24-27.) Moses was notdistracted by “the temporary enjoyment ofsin.” God and his promises were so real toMoses that he demonstrated extraordinarycourage and endurance. He exerted himselfuntiringly in leading the Israelites out ofEgypt to the Promised Land.

15. What motivated Moses to live as he did?

16 Like Abraham, Moses did not experi-ence the fulfillment of God’s promise in hislifetime. With the Israelites poised to enterthe Promised Land,Moseswas told: “From adistance you will see the land, but you willnot go there into the land that I amgiving tothe sons of Israel.” This was because earlierhe and Aaron, exasperated by the people’srebelliousness, “acted undutifully toward[God] in the middle of the sons of Israel atthe waters of Meribah.” (Deut. 32:51, 52)Did Moses become despondent or resent-ful? No. He pronounced a blessing on thepeople and concluded with these words:“Happy you are, O Israel! Who is there likeyou, apeople enjoying salvation in Jehovah,the shield of your help, and the One who isyour eminent sword?”—Deut. 33:29.

16. Why did Moses not become despondent whenhe was not allowed to enter the Promised Land?

Abraham and Sarah were willing to leave behind the comforts of Ur


Lessons for Us17 From our review of the life of some of

those who make up the “cloud of witnessessurrounding us,” it is clear that for us to runthe race to the finish, we must have implicitfaith in God and his promises. (Heb. 11:6)Faith cannot be just at the corners of our life;it needs to be at the center of it. Unlike thosewithout faith, Jehovah’s servants can seebeyond the present. We are able to see“the One who is invisible” and thus runthe race with endurance.—2 Cor. 5:7.

18 The Christian race is not easy. Nonethe-

17, 18. (a) As to our race for life, what can we learnfrom the “cloud of witnesses”? (b) What will beconsidered in the following article?

less, it is possible for us to finish the race suc-cessfully. In the following article, we willconsider what further help we have avail-able.

Can You Explain?˙ Why did Paul write at length about

the ancient faithful witnesses?˙ How can envisioning the “cloud of

witnesses surrounding us” encour-age us to run with endurance?

˙ What have you learned from con-sidering such faithful witnessesas Noah, Abraham, Sarah, andMoses?

IN HIS letter to the Hebrews, the apostlePaul used a powerful word picture to en-

courage his fellow Christians. He remindedthem that they were not alone in runningthe race for life. Surrounding them were a‘great cloud of witnesses,’ who had success-fully completed the race. Having clearly inmind the faithful acts and strenuous effortsof these forerunners would give the HebrewChristians incentive to press on and not togive out in their race.

2 In the preceding article, we considered

1, 2. (a) What did Paul use to encourage the He-brew Christians? (b) What are God’s servants ad-monished to do?

the life course of several among the “cloudof witnesses.” All demonstrated that un-shakable faith enabled themto remain loyalto God, as if they were pressing on in a raceto the finish. We can draw a lesson fromtheir success. As noted in that article, Pauloffered this admonition to his fellow ser-vants, including us: “Let us also put offevery weight and the sin that easily entan-gles us, and let us run with endurance therace that is set before us.”—Heb.12:1.

3 Regarding foot racing, one of the popu-lar athletic events of the day, the book Back-

3. What was Paul’s point of counsel with referenceto runners in the Greek games?

“RUN . . . THAT YOUMAY ATTAIN IT”

“Run in such a way that you may attain it.”—1 COR. 9:24.


grounds of Early Christianity tells us that“the Greeks exercised and competed in thenude.”� In such cases, the runners strippedthemselves of any extraneousweight or bur-den that could slow them down. While wewould object to their lack of modesty andpropriety, they ran that way with the soleobjective of winning the prize. Paul’s pointwas that to gain the prize in the race for life,it is essential for runners to remove hin-drances of any sort. This was sound counselfor Christians back then, and it is for us to-day. What weights or burdens might hin-der us from gaining the prize in the race forlife?

“Put Off Every Weight”4 Paul’s counsel was to “put off every

weight.” That includes everything thatmight prevent us from giving our full atten-tion and best effort to the race we are run-ning. What might such weights be? Look-ingatNoah—oneof those examples cited byPaul—we recall what Jesus said: “Just as it oc-curred in the days of Noah, so it will be alsoin the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:26)Jesus was not speaking primarily about theunprecedented destruction that is to come;he was referring to the people’s way of life.(Read Matthew 24:37-39.) The majority ofthepeople inNoah’s daydidnot show inter-est inGod, let alone endeavor to please him.What had distracted them? Nothing ex-traordinary. Eating, drinking, and marrying—things that are normal aspects of life. Thereal problem was that “they took no note,”as Jesus said.

� This was offensive to the Jews of ancient times.According to the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees, itcaused considerable controversy when, as a Hellenizingeffort, the apostate high priest Jason proposed to builda gymnasium in Jerusalem.—2 Macc. 4:7-17.

4. What were people in Noah’s day preoccupiedwith?

5 LikeNoah andhis family,wehavemuchto do every day. We need to make a livingand to take care of ourselves and our family.That can occupy a large portion of our time,energy, and resources. Especially in eco-nomically challenging times, it is easy to be-come anxious about life’s necessities. Asdedicated Christians, we also have impor-tant theocratic responsibilities. We share inthe ministry, prepare for and attend Chris-tian meetings, and keep spiritually strongby personal study and family worship. De-spite all that Noahhad to do in serving God,“he did just so.” (Gen. 6:22) Surely, keepingthe weight we have to carry to a minimum,as well as avoiding taking on any unneces-sary burden, is vital if we are to run theChristian race to the finish.

6 Whatdid Paulmeanwhenhe said to putoff “every weight”? Of course, we cannot re-lieveourselves completelyof every responsi-bility that we have. In this regard, bear inmind Jesus’ words: “Never be anxious andsay, ‘What arewe to eat?’ or, ‘What arewe todrink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ For all

5. What can help us to complete the race success-fully?6, 7. We should keep in mind what counsel of Je-sus?


these are the things the nations are eagerlypursuing. For your heavenly Father knowsyou need all these things.” (Matt. 6:31, 32)Jesus’ words imply that even so-called nor-mal things like food and clothing can be-come a burden or a stumbling block if notkept in their proper place.

7 Focus on Jesus’ words: “Your heavenlyFather knows you need all these things.”This implies that our heavenly Father, Jeho-vah, will do his part to take care of ourneeds. To be sure, “all these things” may bedifferent from what we personally are in-clined to like or want. Still, we are told notto be anxious about “the things the na-tions are eagerly pursuing.” Why? Jesus lat-er advised his listeners: “Pay attention toyourselves that your hearts never becomeweighed down with overeating and heavydrinking and anxieties of life, and suddenlythat day be instantly upon you as a snare.”—Luke 21:34, 35.

8 The finish line is just ahead. What a pityit would be if we allowed ourselves to beburdened down with unnecessary weightsthat could impede us when we are so closeto the end! The apostle Paul’s counsel,therefore, is trulywise: “It is ameansof greatgain, this godly devotion along with self-sufficiency.” (1 Tim. 6:6) Our taking Paul’swords to heart will greatly enhance ourprospects of attaining the prize.

“The Sin That Easily Entangles Us”9 In addition to “everyweight,” Paulmen-

tioned putting off “the sin that easily entan-gles us.” What might that be? The Greekword translated “easily entangles” appears

8. Why is now especially the time to “put off everyweight”?9, 10. (a) To what does the expression “the sinthat easily entangles us” refer? (b) How might we beentangled?

only once in the Bible, in this verse. ScholarAlbert Barnes observed: “As a runner wouldbe careful not to encumber himself witha garment which would be apt to windaroundhis legs in running, and hinderhim,so it shouldbewith theChristian,who espe-cially ought to lay aside everything whichresembles this.” How might a Christian be-come entangled, with the result that hisfaith is weakened?

10 A Christian does not lose his faith over-night. That might take place gradually, evensubtly. Earlier in his letter, Paul warnedabout the danger of ‘drifting away’ and of‘developing a wicked heart lacking faith.’(Heb. 2:1; 3:12) Whena runner’s legs get en-tangled with his garment, almost unavoid-ably he falls. The risk of entanglement isparticularly great if the runner ignores thedanger of wearing certain clothing whilerunning. What might cause him to ignorethe danger? Perhaps carelessness or over-confidence or some distraction. What les-son canwe draw from Paul’s counsel?

11 We should bear in mind that loss offaith is the end result of what we might doover the course of time. Regarding “the sinthat easily entangles us,” another scholarnotes that it is “the sin that has the greatestadvantage against us, by the circumstanceswe are in, our constitution, our company.”The idea is that our environment, our per-sonal weaknesses, and our associations canall exert a powerful influence on us. Theycan cause a weakening of our faith or eventhe loss of it.—Matt.13:3-9.

12 Over the years, the faithful and discreetslave class has been reminding us to be care-ful about what we watch and listen to, that

11. What might cause us to lose faith?12. What reminders should we take to heart so asnot to suffer a loss of faith?


is to say, what we set our hearts and mindson. We have been warned about the dan-ger of getting entangled in the pursuit ofmoney and possessions. We might be side-tracked by the glitter and glamourof the en-tertainment world or by the endless paradeofnewgadgets. Itwouldbe a seriousmistaketo feel that such counsel is overly restric-tive or that it applies only to others, whilewe personally are somehow immune to thedangers. Subtle and deceptive are the entan-glements that Satan’sworld puts in our way.Carelessness, overconfidence, and distrac-tions have been the undoing of some, andsuch things could affect our hope of attain-ing the prize of life.—1 John 2:15-17.

13 Day in and day out, we are exposed topeople who promote the goals, values, andthinking of the world around us. (ReadEphesians 2:1, 2.) Nonetheless, the degreeto which we are affected depends largely on

13. How can we protect ourselves against harmfulinfluences?

us, on how we react to these influences.“The air” that Paul spoke about is death-dealing. We must constantly be on guard soas not to be choked, or asphyxiated, andthus fail to finish the race. What help do wehave to stay the course? Jesus is the perfectlead runner, you might say. (Heb. 12:2) Wealso have Paul’s example, for he countedhimself among the runners in the Christianrace andurgedhis fellowbelievers to imitatehim.—1 Cor.11:1; Phil. 3:14.

“You May Attain It”—How?14 How did Paul view his personal share in

the race? In his final address to the eldersfrom Ephesus, he said: “I do not make mysoul of any account as dear to me, if only Imay finish my course and the ministrythat I received of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24) He was willing to sacrifice everything,including his life, in order to finish the

14. How did Paul view his personal share in therace?

What is “the sin that easily entangles us,” and how might it entangle us?


race. For Paul, all his efforts and hard workin connection with the good news wouldamount to nothing if he should somehowfail to finish the course. Yet, he was not self-assured, feeling that he would without failwin the race. (Read Philippians 3:12, 13.)Only toward the end of his life did hesay with a measure of confidence: “I havefought the fine fight, I have run the courseto the finish, I have observed the faith.”—2 Tim. 4:7.

15 In addition, Paul had an intense desireto see his fellow Christians finish the courseand not drop out along the way. For exam-ple, he urged Christians in Philippi to workhard for their own salvation. They neededto keep “a tight grip on the word of life.” Hecontinued: “That I may have cause for exul-tation in Christ’s day, that I did not run invain or work hard invain.” (Phil. 2:16) Simi-larly, he urged the Christians in Corinth:“Run in such away that you may attain [theprize].”—1 Cor. 9:24.

16 In a long race, such as a marathon, thefinish line is not in sight at first. Still, allthrough the race, a runner keeps focused onthefinish. That focus becomes clearer whenhe knows that the goal is near. It should besimilar in our race. The goal, or prize, needsto be real to us. That will help us to attain it.

17 “Faith is the assured expectation ofthings hoped for, the evident demonstra-tion of realities though not beheld,” wrotePaul. (Heb. 11:1) Abraham and Sarah werewilling to leave a comfortablewayof life be-hind and live as “strangers and temporaryresidents in the land.” What helped them?

15. What encouragement did Paul give his fellowrunners in the race?16. Why should we have the goal, or prize, clearlyin view?17. How is faith involved in keeping focused on theprize?

“They saw [the fulfillment of God’s promis-es] afar off.” Moses rejected “the temporaryenjoyment of sin” and “the treasures ofEgypt.” How did he have the faith andstrength to do so? He “looked intently to-ward the payment of the reward.” (Heb. 11:8-13, 24-26) Understandably, Paul prefacedhis description of each of these people withthe expression “by faith.” Faith enabledthem to look beyond the trials and hard-ships of the present and see what God wasdoing in their behalf and would yet do.

18 By meditating on the men and womenof faith mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11and imitating their example, we can culti-vate faith and put off “the sin that easily en-tangles us.” (Heb. 12:1) Also, we can “con-sider one another to incite to love and fineworks” by gathering together with peo-ple who are cultivating like faith.—Heb.10:24.

19 We are near the end of our race. Thefinish line is as good as in sight. Throughfaith and with Jehovah’s help, we too can“put off every weight and the sin that easilyentangles us.” Yes, we can run in sucha way that we may attain the prize—theblessings promised by our God and Father,Jehovah.

18. To put off “the sin that easily entangles us,”what positive steps can we take?19. How do you feel about keeping focused on theprize?

Do You Remember?˙ What is involved in putting off

“every weight”?˙ What might cause a Christian to

lose faith?˙ Why must we keep our focus on

the prize?


ONE day a Pharisee approached Jesusand asked: “Which is the greatest com-

mandment in the Law?” Jesus responded:“Youmust love JehovahyourGodwithyourwhole heart and with your whole soul andwith your whole mind.” (Matt. 22:35-37) Je-sus had great love for his heavenly Fatherand truly lived by those words. Jesus wasalso concerned about his standing with Je-hovah, demonstrating this by his faithfullife course. Therefore, shortly before hisdeath, he could state that God knew him asone who faithfully obeyed His command-ments. Jesus thus remained in Jehovah’slove.—John 15:10.

2 Many today claim to love God. We nodoubt include ourselves in that number.However, serious aspects to consider are:‘Am I known by God? How does Jehovahviewme?AmI knownasbelonging tohim?’(2 Tim. 2:19) What a privilege it is to con-template such a close relationship with theSovereign of the universe!

3 Yet, some who have much love for Jeho-vah find it challenging to believe that Godcanknow theminapositiveway. Somehavefeelings of worthlessness, so they questionthe idea of belonging to Jehovah. How gladwe canbe, though, thatGod can see us froma different perspective! (1 Sam. 16:7) The

1, 2. (a) What was Jesus concerned about?(b) What questions should we consider?3. Why do some question whether they can belongto Jehovah, and what will help to counteract suchthinking?

apostle Paul told his fellow Christians: “Ifanyone loves God, this one is known byhim.” (1Cor. 8:3) Your love forGod is an im-portant prerequisite for being known byhim. Consider: Why are you reading thisjournal? Why are you striving to serve Jeho-vah with your whole heart, soul, mind, andstrength? If you are dedicated to God andbaptized, what led you to take those steps?The Bible explains that Jehovah,who exam-ines hearts, draws desirable ones. (ReadHaggai 2:7; John 6:44.) Therefore, you canconclude that you are serving Jehovah be-cause he drew you. He will never leave theones whom he has drawn if they remainfaithful. God views them as very precious,and he loves them dearly.—Ps. 94:14.

4 Once Jehovah has drawn us, we shouldbe concerned with remaining in his love.(Read Jude 20, 21.) Remember, the Bibleshows that it is possible to drift awayordrawaway from God. (Heb. 2:1; 3:12, 13) For ex-ample, just prior to the statement found at2 Timothy 2:19, the apostle Paul mentionedHymenaeus and Philetus. Those two menhad evidently belonged to Jehovah at onepoint, but they later deviated from thetruth. (2 Tim. 2:16-18) Recall, too, that inthe Galatian congregations, some who hadbeen known by God did not remain in thespiritual light they once enjoyed. (Gal. 4:9)May we never take for granted our preciousstanding with God.

4. Why should we continue to reflect on our beingknown by God?

ARE YOU KNOWNBY JEHOVAH?

“Jehovah knows those who belong to him.”—2 TIM. 2:19.


5 There are some qualities that Jehovahespecially values. (Ps.15:1-5; 1 Pet. 3:4) Faithand humility distinguished some who wereknown by God. Let us examine the exam-ples of two men to see how these qualitiesendeared them to Jehovah. We will alsolook at a man who thought he was knownby God but who took a prideful course andfound out that Jehovah had rejected him.We can learn valuable lessons from theseexamples.

The Father of Those Having Faith6 Abrahamwas amanwho“put faith in Je-

hovah.” In fact, he is called “the father of allthose having faith.” (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:11)In faith, Abraham left his home, his friends,and his possessions to go to a distant land.(Gen. 12:1-4; Heb. 11:8-10) Abraham’s faithwas still strong many years later. This was ev-ident when he “as good as offered up Isaac”his son in obedience to Jehovah’s com-mand. (Heb. 11:17-19) Abraham demon-strated faith in Jehovah’s promises, so Godviewed him as special; he really knew Abra-ham. (Read Genesis 18:19.) Jehovah wasnot merely aware of Abraham’s existence;he cherished Abraham as a friend.—Jas. 2:22, 23.

7 It is noteworthy that Abraham did notduring his lifetime receive the inheritanceof the landpromised tohim.He also didnotsee his seed become “like the grains of sandthat are on the seashore.” (Gen. 22:17, 18)

5. (a) What are some qualities that God values?(b) What examples will we consider?6. (a) Abraham demonstrated what faith in Jeho-vah’s promises? (b) How was Abraham known by Je-hovah?7. What is noteworthy about the fulfillment of Je-hovah’s promises, and howdid this affect Abraham?

Though these promises went unfulfilledduring Abraham’s lifetime, he maintainedstrong faith in Jehovah.Heknew that if Godgave his word, it was as good as done. Yes,Abraham lived his life inharmony with thatfaith. (Read Hebrews 11:13.) Are we knownby Jehovah as having faith similar to Abra-ham’s?

Waiting on Jehovah Isa Mark of Faith

8 We may have desires that we long tosee fulfilled. Marriage, having children, andgood health are all natural and appropriatedesires. For many, though, one or more ofthose desires may go unfulfilled. If that is soin our case, how we deal with the situationmay be a measure of our faith.

8. What appropriate desires do some long to seefulfilled?

Like Abraham, do we have faith thatJehovah will completely fulfill his promises?


9 How unwise it would be to seek to fulfillthese desires in a way contrary to godly wis-dom. That would be to one’s spiritual det-riment. Some, for instance, have chosenforms of health care that conflict with Jeho-vah’s counsel. Others have taken on em-ployment that keeps them away from theirfamilies or congregation meetings. Or whatof developing a romantic relationship withan unbeliever? If a Christian follows such acourse, is he truly seeking to be known byJehovah? How would Jehovah have felt ifAbraham had become impatient about thefulfillment of God’s promises to him? Whatif Abraham had taken matters into his ownhands to settle down again and make a cele-brated name for himself rather thanwait onJehovah? (Compare Genesis 11:4.) Wouldhe have continued to be favorably knownby Jehovah?

10 What desires do you long to see ful-filled? Is your faith strongenough for you towait on Jehovah, who promises to satisfyyour proper yearnings? (Ps. 145:16) As wastrue with Abraham, the fulfillment of somedivinepromisesmaynot comeas soonaswewould like. Still, Jehovah values our devel-oping faith likeAbraham’s andour acting inharmony with it. Doing so is surely to ourultimate benefit.—Heb.11:6.

A Contrast BetweenHumility and Pride

11 Moses and Korah stand in sharp con-trast when it comes to demonstrating re-spect for Jehovah’s arrangement and his de-cisions. Their reactions had a bearing on

9, 10. (a) Howhave some sought to fulfill their de-sires? (b) How do you feel about the fulfillment ofGod’s promises?11. Korah may have enjoyed what privileges, evi-dently indicating what about his attitude towardGod?

how Jehovah viewed them. Korah was a Ko-hathite Levite, and he enjoyed many privi-leges, which likely included seeing the de-liverance of the nation through theRed Sea,supporting Jehovah’s judgment against dis-obedient Israelites at Mount Sinai, and hav-ing a role in transporting the ark of the cov-enant. (Ex. 32:26-29; Num. 3:30, 31) He hadevidently been loyal to Jehovah for yearsandwas subsequently lookedup to by manyin the camp of Israel.

12 Nevertheless, while the nation of Israelwas en route to the Promised Land, Korahperceived what he imagined to be problemsin God’s arrangement. Then 250 other lead-ing men in the nation sided with Korah intrying to make changes. Korah and the oth-ers must have felt secure about their rela-tionship with Jehovah. They told Moses:“That is enough of you, because the wholeassembly are all of them holy and Jehovahis in their midst.” (Num. 16:1-3) What anoverconfident and prideful attitude! Mosestold them: “Jehovah will make known whobelongs to him.” (Read Numbers 16:5.) Bythe end of the next day, Korah and all thosewho had sided with him in rebellion weredead.—Num.16:31-35.

13 In contrast, Moses was “by far themeekest of all the men who were upon thesurface of the ground.” (Num. 12:3) Hemanifested his meekness and humility byhis determination to follow Jehovah’s direc-tion. (Ex. 7:6; 40:16) There is no indicationthat Moses often questioned Jehovah’s wayof doing things or got annoyed at hav-ing to follow procedures that Jehovah setout. For example, Jehovah gave commands

12. As depicted on page 28, how did pride affect Ko-rah’s being known by God?13, 14. In what ways did Moses demonstrate hishumility?

regarding the tabernacle constructiondownto the smallest detail, such as the color ofthe thread and the number of loops to beused in making the tent cloths. (Ex. 26:1-6)If a human overseer in God’s organiza-tion provides you with instructions thatseemextremely detailed, youmight at timesfeel frustrated. Jehovah, however, is a per-fect overseer, who delegates generously andtrusts his servants. When he gives many de-tails, he does so for good reason. Take note,though, that Moses did not become irritat-ed with Jehovah for giving that level of de-tail, as if Jehovah were demeaning him orstifling his creativity or freedom. Rather,Moses made sure that the workers “did justso” in following God’s directions. (Ex. 39:32) What a humble course! Moses recog-nized that it was Jehovah’swork and that hewas just a tool being used to get that workdone.

14 Moses’ humility was also evident whenhe faced negative circumstances that affect-ed him personally. On one occasion, Moseslost self-control and failed to sanctify God

whendealing with the complaining people.As a result, Jehovah told Moses that hewould not take the people into the Prom-ised Land. (Num. 20:2-12) He and his broth-er, Aaron, had endured the grumbling ofthe Israelites for years. Then, because Moseserred on that one occasion, he would notget to experience what he had been expect-ing for so long!Howdid Moses react? Whileunderstandably disappointed, Moses hum-bly accepted Jehovah’s decision. He knewthat Jehovah is a righteousGod,withwhomthere is no injustice. (Deut. 3:25-27; 32:4)When you think of Moses, do you not seehim as one known by Jehovah?—Read Exo-dus 33:12,13.

Submitting to JehovahRequires Humility

15 How we react to adjustments in theworldwideChristian congregation anddeci-sionsmade by those taking the lead in it hasa bearing on our being known by Jehovah.

15. What can we learn from Korah’s pridefulcourse?

Korah was not willing to submit humbly to direction


Korah and his associatesalienated themselves fromGodby their overconfidence,pride, and lack of faith. Al-though in Korah’s eyes it wasaged Moses who was makingday-to-day decisions, it wasreally Jehovah who was di-recting the nation.Korah lostsight of that fact and con-sequently failed to show loyalty to thosewhom God was using. How much wiser itwould have been for Korah to wait on Jeho-vah for a clearer understanding or for ad-justments if those were really needed. So inthe end, Korah destroyed his record of faith-ful service by his prideful actions!

16 That account provides a serious warn-ing for elders and others in the congrega-tion today. Waiting on Jehovah and follow-ing directions from those appointed to takethe lead requires humility. Do we show thatwe are as humble and mild-tempered asMo-ses was? Can we acknowledge the positionof those taking the lead among us and sub-mit to directions we receive? Are we able torise above our personal feelings when facedwith disappointments? If so, we too will beknown favorably by Jehovah. Our humilityand submissionwill endear us to him.

Jehovah KnowsThose Who Belong to Him

17 It is beneficial to reflect on thosewhomJehovahdrewand knew favorably. Abraham

16. How can following Moses’ example of humilityaffect our being known by Jehovah?17, 18. What can help us to continue to be knownas belonging to Jehovah?

and Moses were imperfect and had flaws, aswe do. Yet, they were known by Jehovah asones belonging to him. Korah’s example,however, illustrates that itwould bepossiblefor us to draw away from Jehovah and thusno longer be known by him with approval.Each of us does well to ask himself: ‘Howdoes Jehovah seeme? What can I learn fromthese Bible examples?’

18 You can take great comfort in know-ing that Jehovah views as belonging tohim faithful ones whom he has drawn.Continue to develop faith, humility, andother qualities that further endear you toour God. Being known by Jehovah is un-deniably a precious privilege that bringssatisfaction to our life now, and it holdsout wonderful blessings for the future.—Ps.37:18.

Are you known byJehovah as one who humbly

submits to directions?

Do You Recall?˙ What precious standing can you

enjoy with Jehovah?˙ How can you imitate the faith of

Abraham?˙ What lessons can we learn from

Korah and Moses?


IT IS a precious privilege to serve as acongregation elder. God’s Word acknowl-

edges, however, that elders face challenges.On occasion, they must handle cases ofwrongdoing in which they ‘judge for Jeho-vah.’ (2 Chron. 19:6) Or an overseer may re-ceive an assignment for which he feels un-prepared, as did Moses, who meekly askedregarding one assignment: “Who am I that Ishould go to Pharaoh?”—Ex. 3:11.

The Scriptures, written under the influ-ence of the same active force that appointselders, provide living examples of overseerswho faced trials successfully. Phinehas wasthe son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aar-on and thus was in line to become highpriest. Three events in his life highlight theneed for elders today to face challenges withcourage, insight, and reliance on Jehovah.

“He at Once Got Up”Phinehas was a young manwhen the Isra-

elites were encamped on the Plains of Moab.The Bible reports: “The people started tohave immoral relations with the daughtersofMoab. . . . And the people began to eat andto bow down to their gods.” (Num. 25:1, 2) Jehovah afflicted the wrongdoers witha death-dealing scourge. Can you imaginehow this report of wrongdoing and thescourge it caused must have affected Phine-has?

“Look!” the account continues, “a man ofthe sons of Israel came, and he was bringingnear to his brothers a Midianite woman be-fore Moses’ eyes and before the eyes of allthe assemblyof the sons of Israel, while theywere weeping at the entrance of the tent ofmeeting.” (Num. 25:6) What would priestPhinehas do? He was relatively young, andthe offending Israelite was a chieftain whotook the lead in worship among the people.—Num. 25:14.

But Phinehas feared Jehovah, not men.When he caught sight of the two, he at oncetook a lance in his hand and went after theman into the tent and pierced both of themthrough. How did Jehovah view Phinehas’courage and decisiveness? Jehovah immedi-ately ended the scourge and rewardedPhine-has with a covenant that the priesthoodwould remain in his line “to time indef-inite.”—Num. 25:7-13.

Of course, Christian elders today do notresort to violence. But like Phinehas, eldersmust be ready tobedecisive and courageous.For example,Guilhermehadbeen serving asan elder for only a few months when he wasasked to serve on a judicial committee. Thecase of wrongdoing involved an elder whohad helped Guilherme when he was youn-ger. “I felt awkward being in that position,”he says. “I found it difficult to sleep at night.I kept going over in my mind ways to han-

Can You BeLike PhinehasWhen You FaceChallenges?


dle this case without letting my emotionsblur my spiritual vision. I prayed for sever-al days and researched Bible publications.”This helped him to have the needed courageto handle the unique situation and renderspiritual assistance to his erring brother.—1 Tim. 4:11,12.

By acting with courage and decisivenesswhen situations in the congregation re-quire such, elders become examples of faithand loyalty. Of course, other Christians alsoneed to act courageously, reporting seriouswrongdoing that they may become awareof. Likewise, it takes loyalty to discontinueassociation with a friend or relative who isdisfellowshipped.—1 Cor. 5:11-13.

Insight Averts a CrisisPhinehas’ courage was not mere youthful

impetuousness. Consider how he displayedinsight—acting with prudence and discre-tion—when another report reached his ears.The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the halftribe of Manasseh built an altar near the Jor-dan River. Other Israelites concluded that itwas for false worship and prepared to takemilitary action.—Josh. 22:11,12.

How did Phinehas react? Phinehas, alongwith the Israelite chieftains, prudently dis-cussed the matter with those who had builtthe altar. The accused tribes clarified the sit-uation, explaining that it actually was an al-

tar for “the service of Jehovah.” A crisis wasthus averted.—Josh. 22:13-34.

If a Christianhears an accusationor a neg-ative report about a fellow servant of Jeho-vah, how wise it would be to imitate Phine-has! Insight restrains us from taking offenseor revealing unkind observations about ourbrothers.—Prov.19:11.

How can insight assist elders to act asPhinehas did? “When a publisher startsspeaking about a personal difference he ishaving with another person,” notes Jaime,an elder for over ten years, “I quickly ask Je-hovah to help me not to take sides but toprovide Scriptural guidance. A sisteronce ap-proached me about a personal problem re-garding the way a responsible brother in an-other congregation had treated her. Sincethe brother wasmy personal friend, it wouldhave been easy for me to speak to him. In-stead, the sister and I reasoned on several Bi-ble principles. She agreed, first of all, tospeak to the brother herself. (Matt. 5:23, 24)Peace was not immediately restored. So Iurgedher to consider other Scriptural princi-ples. She decided to pray again about the sit-uation and to strive to forgive.”

What was the result? “Several months lat-er,” Jaime recalls, “the sister approached me.She explained that, in time, the brother re-gretted what he had said. He arranged towork with her in the ministry and expressed


appreciation for her. The matter was re-solved. Could I have come up with a betteroutcome if I, who might have seemed tobe partial, had become unduly involved inthe dispute?” The Bible counsels: “Do notgo forth to conduct a legal case hastily.”(Prov. 25:8) Insightful elders wisely encour-age Christians who have personal differ-ences to apply Scriptural principles to pro-mote and achieve peace.

He Inquired of JehovahPhinehas was privileged to serve as a

priest for God’s chosen people. As noted, hehad extraordinarycourage and insight, evenat a relatively young age. However, his suc-cess in coping with challenges depended onhis trusting in Jehovah.

Following the tragic rape and murder of aLevite’s concubineby themenofGibeah, ofthe tribe of Benjamin, the other tribes setout to wage war against the Benjamites.(Judg. 20:1-11) They prayed for Jehovah’shelp before fighting, but they were defeatedtwice, with significant losses. (Judg. 20:14-25) Would they conclude that their prayerswere ineffective?Was Jehovah truly interest-ed in seeing themrespond to thewrong thathad been done?

Unwavering in his confidence, Phinehas,now Israel’s high priest, again came to thefore. “Shall I go out yet again to battleagainst the sons of Benjamin my brother orshall I cease to?” he prayed. In response, Je-hovah gave the Benjamites into their hand,and Gibeah was burned to the ground.—Judg. 20:27-48.

What lesson might we learn from this?Some problems faced in the congregationpersist despite the elders’ diligent effortsand prayers for God’s help. If this occurs, el-ders do well to remember Jesus’ words:“Keep on asking [or praying], and it will

be given you; keep on seeking, and youwill find; keep on knocking, and it will beopened to you.” (Luke 11:9) Even if an an-swer to prayer seems delayed, overseers canbe assured that Jehovah will respond in hisown due time.

For instance, a congregation in Irelandwas indesperateneedof aKingdomHall butdid not have the favor of the local planningofficer. He objected to all proposals for thesite on which the brothers hoped to build.It seemed that the only other authoritywho could approve the proposals was thechief planning officer for the entire county.Would prayer help, as it did in Phinehas’day?

A local elder relates: “After a great deal ofprayer and supplication, we traveled to themain planning office. I was told that itwould probably be weeks before we couldsee the chief officer. However, we managedto meet with him for five minutes. After hesaw the redrawn plans, he quickly gave uspermission to continue, and from then onthe local planning officer went out of hisway to help us. That experience impressedonus thepowerof prayer.” Yes, Jehovahwillanswer the sincereprayers of elderswho relyon him.

Phinehas carried aheavy loadof responsi-bility in ancient Israel; yet, with courage, in-sight, and reliance on God, he was able toface challenges successfully. And Phinehas’diligent care for God’s congregation metwith Jehovah’s approval. Some 1,000 yearslater, Ezrawas inspired towrite: “Itwas Phin-ehas the son of Eleazar that happened to beleader over them in the past. Jehovah waswith him.” (1 Chron. 9:20) May that be trueof allwhotake the lead amongGod’s peopletoday, in fact, of all Christians who servehim loyally.

STUDY ARTICLES:

��


Jehovah Is My Share


��

October 31–November 6 ˙ PAGE 9��

Are You Letting JehovahBe Your Share?


��

November 7-13 ˙ PAGE 15��

Run the Race With Endurance


��


Run That You May Attain the Prize


��


Are You Known by Jehovah?


34567SEPTEMBER 15, 2011


The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown, ONL7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower, 1000 Red Mills Road,Wallkill, NY 12589-3299. � 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.


34567�

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011







When Jehovah told the Levites: “I am your share,” what did hemean? (Numbers 18:20) Were the Levites the only ones whohad Jehovah as their share? Can we today have Jehovah asour share? If we can, how? These two study articles willanswer these questions.


These articles talk about the race that Christians run.The prize is everlasting life. What examples can encourageus to continue running in this race? What could stop us fromrunning? And what will help us to finish the race and win theprize?


Jehovah’s faithful servants are known and approved byhim. What qualities can help us to continue to be his friends?This article will help each of us to think about his ownfriendship with God.

3

AFTER the Israelites had conqueredmuch of the Promised Land, Josh-

ua, High Priest Eleazar, and the leadersof the tribes divided the land into por-tions, or parts. These portions were thetribes’ share of the land. (Numbers 34:13-29) Jehovah gave all the tribes a shareof the land, but the Levites did not geta share. (Joshua 14:1-5) Why did the Le-vites not receive a territory, or share, ofthe Promised Land? Were they forgot-ten?

2 The answer is in what Jehovah toldthe Levites. Jehovah promised not toabandon them. He said: “I am yourshare and your inheritance in the midstof the sons of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20)When Jehovah said: “I am your share,”he made a wonderful promise to the Le-vites. How would you feel if Jehovahsaid that to you? At first, you might ask,“Would Jehovah promise that to some-one like me?” You might also ask, “CanJehovah really be the share of any im-perfect Christian today?” These are im-portant questions because they involveyou and the people you love. So we willlook at what it means for someone tohave Jehovah as his share. That will helpus understand how Jehovah can be theshare of Christians today. More specif-ically, we will understand how he can be

1, 2. (a) What was the situation of the Le-vites when Jehovah gave a share of the land toall the other tribes of Israel? (b) What was Je-hovah’s promise to the Levites?

your share, whether youhope to live in heaven orin a paradise on earth.

JEHOVAH TOOK CAREOF THE LEVITES

3 Before Jehovah gavethe Law to Israel, fami-ly heads served as priestsfor their own families. Butwhen Jehovah gave the Law to Israel,he chose some from the tribe of Levi toserve as priests and assistants. How didthis happen? Jehovah said that when hedestroyed the firstborn sons of the Egyp-tians, he “sanctified” for himself everyfirstborn son of the Israelites. Thismeans that they belonged to him for hisservice. But then Jehovah decided that“in place of all the firstborn among thesons of Israel,” he wanted to use the Le-vites for his service. Because the othertribes of Israel had more firstborn sonsthan there were Levites, Jehovah toldthe other Israelites to pay a price in ex-change for those who were “in excess ofthe Levites.” (Numbers 3:11-13, 41, 46,47) So the Levites could now start theirservice to the God of Israel.

4 When Jehovah chose the Levitesfor his service, how did he becometheir share? Instead of giving them

3. How did it happen that God chose the Le-vites for his service?4, 5. (a) What did it mean for the Levites tohave God as their share? (b) How did God takecare of the Levites?

Jehovah Is My Share

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“I am your share and yourinheritance in the midst ofthe sons of Israel.”—NUMBERS 18:20.

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 20114

a land inheritance, Jeho-vah gave them somethingprecious, a very impor-tant work to do. “Thepriesthood of Jehovah”was their inheritance, orshare. (Joshua 18:7) Num-bers chapter 18 helps usto understand that theywould still have the ma-terial things that theyneeded. (Read Numbers18:19, 21, 24.) The Levitesgot “every tenth part in Is-

rael as an inheritance in return for theirservice.” This means that they receiveda tithe, or one tenth, of what the land

produced and of the increase of the do-mestic animals. Then the Levites con-tributed a tenth part of what they re-ceived, “of the very best of it,” for theneeds of the priests.� (See footnote.)(Numbers 18:25-29) The priests also re-ceived “all the holy contributions” thatthe sons of Israel brought to God at hisplace of worship. So the priests couldtrust Jehovah to take care of their needs.

5 Some believe that the Israelites gavea second tithe. Israelite families used itfor food, drink, and enjoyment duringthe holy conventions each year. (Deu-

� To learn more about how Jehovah took careof the needs of the priests, see Insight on theScriptures, Volume 2, page 684.

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Material things:Things such as money,food, and clothes

ˇ Sanctuary:A place of worship

ˇ Assignment of work:A specific work some-one gives you to do

How wasJehovah theshare of thepriests and

Levites?


teronomy14:22-27) But there was anoth-er use for this tithe. The Israelites cele-brated a Sabbath year every seven years.At the end of every third and sixth yearof this period of seven years, the Isra-elites used this tithe to help the poorand also the Levites. Why were the Le-vites included in this law? Because theyhad “no share or inheritance” in Israel.—Deuteronomy 14:28, 29.

6 If the Levites had no share of theland, where did they live? God took careof them. He gave the Levites 48 citiesalong with the fields around these cit-ies. These cities included the six citiesof refuge. (Numbers 35:6-8) So the Le-vites had a place to live when they werenot serving at the sanctuary of God. Je-hovah took very good care of the needs

of those who gave themselves to his ser-vice. So howcould the Levites show thatJehovah was their share? By trustingthat Jehovah had the power to give themwhat they needed and that he wantedto take care of them.

7 There was no punishment in theLaw for an Israelite who did not givethe tithe. But when the people did notobey Jehovah’s law about the tithe, thepriests and Levites suffered. That hap-

6. Even though the tribe of Levi did not have ashare of the land, where did they live?7. What did the Levites need to have for Jeho-vah to be their share?

pened in the time of Nehemiah. As aresult, the Levites had to work in thefields and could not do their work asministers. (Read Nehemiah 13:10.) TheLevites could have what they neededto sustain them only when the nationobeyed Jehovah’s Law. And the priestsand Levites needed faith in Jehovah andin the ways that Jehovah used to takecare of their needs.

INDIVIDUAL LEVITES WHOHAD JEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE

8 The Levites as a tribe had Jehovahas their share. But some individual Le-vites also used the words “Jehovah ismy share” when they spoke about theirown friendship with God and their trustin him. (Lamentations 3:24) For exam-ple, the Bible talks about a Levite sing-er and composer who spoke of Jehovahas his share. We will call him Asaph,though he could have been a memberof the family of Asaph, the main singerfrom the Levites in the time of King Da-vid. (1 Chronicles 6:31-43) We read inPsalm 73 that this Asaph became jeal-ous of the wicked and could not under-stand why they seemed to have a goodlife. He even said: “Surely it is in vainthat I have cleansed my heart and thatI wash my hands in innocence itself.” Itseems that Asaph forgot for a while thatthe work Jehovah had given him to dowas very special. He forgot that Jehovahwas his share. He was troubled until he“proceeded to come into the grand sanc-tuary of God.”—Psalm 73:2, 3, 12, 13, 17.

9 At the sanctuary, Asaph began tochange his way of thinking. Maybe

8. What troubled the Levite Asaph?9, 10. Why could Asaph say that God was his“share to time indefinite”?

Jehovahcared for theneeds of the Levites


something like that has happened toyou. Maybe you too forgot for a whilehow special your service to Jehovah isand began to think about the materi-al things you could have. But by study-ing the Bible and by going to Christianmeetings, you again started to think theway Jehovah thinks. Asaph understoodwhat would finally happen to the wick-ed. He thought about the good thingsthat he had as one of God’s servants. Hesaid that Jehovah would hold his righthand and lead him. And he could sayto Jehovah: “Besides you I do have noother delight on the earth.” (Psalm 73:23, 25) Then he said that Jehovah was

his share. (Read Psalm 73:26.) Asaphwrote: “Myorganism and my heart havefailed.” But he continued, saying thatGod was his “share to time indefinite.”He knew that Jehovah would rememberhim as a friend forever and would notforget his faithful service. (Ecclesiastes7:1) This must have been very comfort-ing to Asaph. He sang: “As for me, thedrawing near to God is good for me.In the Sovereign Lord Jehovah I haveplaced my refuge.”—Psalm 73:28.

10 So when Asaph said that God washis share, he was not talking aboutjust the material things he received asa Levite. He was mainly talking about

What helpedAsaph to

continue tohave Jehovahas his share?


his service to Jehovah and the friend-ship that he had with the Most High.(James 2:21-23) To continue to be Jeho-vah’s friend, Asaph had to keep his faithin Jehovah and trust in him. He had tobe sure that Jehovah would reward himwith a happy future if he obeyed Jeho-vah. You can be sure that Jehovah willdo the same for you.

11 Another Levite who said that Jeho-vah was his share was the prophet Jer-emiah. Let us talk about what he meantwhen he said that. He lived in Ana-thoth, a Levite city near Jerusalem. (Jer-emiah 1:1) There was a time when Jere-miah too asked Jehovah why the wickedhad a good life but those who didwhat was right suffered. (Jeremiah 12:1)When he saw what was happening inJerusalem and Judah, he made a com-plaint to Jehovah. Jeremiah knew thatJehovah is righteous. Jehovah answeredJeremiah’s question by telling him topreach a message of destruction, andthen Jehovah made this prophecy cometrue. Those who obeyed Jehovah sur-vived, but the wicked did not pay atten-tion to the warning and died.—Jeremi-ah 21:9.

12 Later, when Jeremiah looked at hishomeland and saw how empty and ru-ined it was, he felt as if he were walk-ing in darkness. It was as if Jehovahhad made him “sit like men dead for along time.” (Lamentations 1:1, 16; 3:6)Jeremiahhad told the Israelites to return

11. What question did Jeremiah ask Jehovah?How did Jehovah answer his question?

12, 13. (a) What made Jeremiah say: “Jeho-vah is my share”? What attitude did he show?(b) Why did all the tribes of Israel need to havethe same “waiting attitude” as Jeremiah?

to their heavenly Father, but they hadbecome so bad that Jehovah had to de-stroy Jerusalem and Judah. That madeJeremiah feel hurt, even though he haddone what was right. Even in that time

of sadness, Jeremiah said: “We have notcome to our finish.” He said about Je-hovah’s mercies: “They are new eachmorning.” It was then that Jeremiah saidthe words: “Jehovah is my share.” Hestill had something very special. It washis work as Jehovah’s prophet.—ReadLamentations 3:22-24.

13 For 70 years, the homeland of theIsraelites would be empty and ruined.(Jeremiah 25:11) But Jeremiah’s words“Jehovah is my share” showed that hetrusted in Jehovah. And his trust in Godgave him reason to show “a waiting at-titude,” that is, to wait patiently for Je-hovah to act. All the tribes of Israel hadlost their inheritance, so they neededto show the same attitude as Jeremiah.Jehovah was their only hope. After 70years, they returned to their homelandand had the opportunity of serving Je-hovah there.—2 Chronicles 36:20-23.

OTHERS COULD HAVEJEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE

14 Both Asaph and Jeremiah were ofthe tribe of Levi, but it was not only the

14, 15. Other than the Levites, who else hadJehovah as his share? Why?

Asaph and Jeremiahtrusted that Jehovah

would act


Levites who could beprivileged to serve Jeho-vah. Young David, the fu-ture king of Israel, calledGod his “share in the landof the living ones.” (ReadPsalm 142:1, 5.) WhenDavid wrote this psalm,he was not in a palace oreven in a house. He washiding from his enemiesin a cave. At least twotimes, David had to hidein caves. One time it wasnear Adullam and theother time it was in thewilderness of En-gedi. It

is possible that he wrote Psalm 142 inone of those caves.

15 If David wrote this psalm in acave, it is because he was hiding fromKing Saul. Saul wanted to kill David, soDavid escaped to a cave that was hardto get to. (1 Samuel 22:1, 4) In that iso-lated place, David probably felt that hehad no friend to protect him. (Psalm142:4) That was when David asked Godfor help.

16 Before David wrote Psalm 142, hemight have heard about what had hap-pened to High Priest Ahimelech. With-out knowing that David was escapingfrom Saul, Ahimelech had helped Da-vid. Jealous King Saul ordered the deathof Ahimelech and his family. (1 Sam-uel 22:11, 18, 19) David felt responsi-ble for their deaths. It was as if hehad killed the priest who had helpedhim. If you had been in David’s situa-

16, 17. (a) Why could David have felt that hehad no one to help him? (b) Whom could Da-vid ask for help?

tion, would you have felt responsible?To make things even more difficult, Da-vid had no rest because Saul continuedto chase him.

17 Soon after what happened to Ahim-elech, the prophet Samuel died. He wasthe one who had anointed David to bethe future king. (1 Samuel 25:1) Thatcould have made David feel alone, as ifhe had no one to help him. But he knew

that Jehovah would help him. He didnot have the same special work that theLevites had, but he had been anointedto do another kind of special service. Hewas going to become the king of God’speople. (1 Samuel 16:1, 13) So Davidtalked to Jehovah about all his thoughtsand feelings and continued to trust in Je-hovah. You too can have Jehovah as yourshare. You can trust in him while youcontinue to do your best in his service.

18 For the servants of Jehovah whomwe have talked about in this article,what did it mean to have Jehovah astheir share? It meant that they all re-ceived an assignment of work in hisservice. They also trusted that Jehovahwould take care of them. The Levitesand those of other tribes, such as Da-vid, could have God as their share. Howcan we be like them and have Jehovahas our share? We will talk about that inour next article.

18. How did the ones we talked about in thisarticle show that they had Jehovah as theirshare?

David trustedin God

WHAT IS

YOUR ANSWER?

ˇ In what way wasJehovah the shareof the Levites?

ˇ What did Asaph,Jeremiah, and Daviddo that shows thatJehovah was theirshare?

ˇ What quality do youneed to have God asyour share?

9

WHEN you read the name Israelin the Bible, what do you think

of? Do you think of Isaac’s son Jacob,who was later named Israel? Or do youthink of his descendants, the ancientnation of Israel? The Bible also talksabout spiritual Israel, or “the Israel ofGod.” They are the 144,000, who areanointed with holy spirit to becomekings and priests in heaven. (Galatians6:16; Revelation 7:4; 21:12) But there isanother special use of the name Isra-el. We read about it at Matthew 19:28.

2 Jesus said: “In the re-creation,when the Son of man sits down uponhis glorious throne, you who have fol-lowed me will also yourselves sit upontwelve thrones, judging the twelvetribes of Israel.” In this verse, “thetwelve tribes of Israel” are those whowill live forever in Paradise on earth.The 144,000 will serve as judges andpriests for them.

3 Like the priests and Levites in thepast, the anointed today think of theirservice to Jehovah as very precious.(Numbers 18:20) The anointed do notexpect to get some territory or placeon earth. Instead, Revelation 4:10, 11shows that they will continue their ser-

1, 2. (a) Who are “the Israel of God” whomwe read about at Galatians 6:16? (b) Who are“the twelve tribes of Israel” whom we readabout at Matthew 19:28?3, 4. What fine example have faithful anoint-ed ones set?

vice to Jehovah in heav-en, where they will bekings and priests withJesus Christ.—Ezekiel44:28.

4 While on earth, theanointed live in a waythat shows that Jehovahis their share. Their ser-vice to God is the mostimportant thing to them.The apostle Peter said: “Do your ut-most to make the calling and choosingof you sure for yourselves.” (2 Peter 1:10) Those anointed do this by puttingfaith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice andfollowing him continually. They havedifferent abilities and different situa-tions in life, but they do not use theirlimitations as an excuse to do little inGod’s service. Just the opposite, theyput God’s service first in their livesand do all they can. Clearly, they arean example for those who hope to liveon earth.

5 Jesus said that every Christian,whether he hopes to live in heaven oron earth, must “disown himself andpick up his torture stake” and followhim continually. (Matthew 16:24) Mil-lions of people who hope to live in Par-adise on earth are worshipping Godand following Christ in that way. They

5. How can all Christians have Jehovah astheir share? Why may that be difficult?

Are You LettingJehovah Be Your Share?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“If anyone wants tocome after me, let himdisown himself and pickup his torture stake andcontinually follow me.”—MATTHEW 16:24.


are not content to do justa little in God’s serviceif they know that theycan do more. Many havemade their life simplerand have become regularpioneers. Others makethe effort to pioneersome months each year.Still others, not able topioneer, work hard in

the ministry. They are like Mary, whopoured perfumed oil on Jesus. Jesussaid: “She did a fine deed toward me.. . . She did what she could.” (Mark 14:6-8) We live in a world controlled bySatan, so it may be difficult to do allwe can. We need to work hard and putour trust in Jehovah. We will now lookat four ways in which we can do that.

SEEK FIRSTGOD’S KINGDOM

6 Jesus taught his followers to seekfirst the Kingdom and God’s righ-teousness. People in the world usuallyseek what is best for themselves. TheBible speaks of them as “men of thissystem of things, whose share is in thislife.” (Read Psalm 17:1, 13-15.) Thesepeople do not care about Jehovah.Many care only about having a com-fortable life, raising a family, and leav-ing an inheritance for their children.Their share is in this life only. Davidwas different. He wanted to have “agood name” with Jehovah. His son Sol-omon later said that we should all do

6. (a) How do people in the world show thattheir share is in this life only? (b) Why is it bet-ter to imitate David?

the same. (Ecclesiastes 7:1, footnote.)Just like Asaph, David knew that be-ing a friend of Jehovah was the mostimportant thing in life. It made Davidhappy. In our time, many Christianshave shown that their service to Jeho-vah is more important to them thantheir secular work. They show that Je-hovah is their share.

7 Jean-Claude, in the Central Afri-can Republic, is a married elder withthree children. It is hard to find a jobin that land, and most people will doalmost anything to keep their job. Oneday, the production manager told Jean-Claude to begin working nights. Workwould start at 6:30 in the evening, sev-en days a week. Jean-Claude told himthat he not only had to care for the ma-terial needs of his family but also hadto help them have a good relationshipwith God. He also said that he had

to help the congregation. The man-ager told him: “If you are fortunateenough to have a job, you must forgetall other things, including your wife,your children, and your problems. Youmust devote your life to nothing butyour work. Make your choice: your re-ligion or your work.” What would you

7. What blessing did one brother receive forputting the Kingdom first?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Secular work:A job or employment

ˇ Literal:Something that youcan see and touchis literal

Jehovah becomesour share when

we put his servicefirst in our life


have done? Jean-Claude knew that ifhe lost his job, God would take care ofhim. He would still have a lot to do inGod’s service, and Jehovah would carefor the material needs of his family.So he went to the next meeting. Afterthat, he got ready to go to work eventhough he did not know if he still hada job. Just then, he got a phone call.The manager had been dismissed fromhis job, but our brother still had his.

8 Some of you may have been in asimilar situation. You may have wor-ried about how you would take care ofyour family if you lost your job. (1 Tim-othy 5:8) But whether that happenedto you or not, you probably know fromyour own experience that God neverdisappoints those who have him astheir share and put his service first intheir lives. When Jesus told his disci-ples to keep on “seeking first the king-dom,” he promised them that Godwould give them all other things, suchas what to eat, drink, or wear.—Mat-thew 6:33.

9 Think of the Levites, who did notreceive a land inheritance. Becausetheir work was to lead the nation inpure worship, they had to trust that Je-hovah was their share and would takecare of their material needs. (Numbers18:20) Even though we are not servingat a literal temple as the priests and Le-vites were, we can have the same trustin Jehovah. As we get closer to the end,it becomes more and more importantthat we trust in God to take care of us.—Revelation 13:17.

8, 9. In what way can we be like the priestsand Levites and have Jehovah as our share?

SEEK FIRSTGOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

10 Jesus also told his disciples toseek first God’s righteousness. (Mat-thew 6:33) This means that we fol-low what Jehovah thinks is right andwhat is wrong and not what humansthink. (Read Isaiah 55:8, 9.) Somepeople grew tobacco or sold tobac-co products, trained others in war, or

made and sold weapons of war be-fore they became Christians. But af-ter they learned the truth, most choseto change their work and qualify forbaptism.—Isaiah 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:1;Galatians 5:14.

11 Andrew is an example of someonewho did that. When he and his wifelearned about Jehovah, they decidedto serve him. Andrew liked his jobvery much but left it. Why? Becausethe organization he worked for was in-volved in war, and he wanted to dowhat Jehovah says is right. When An-drew left his job, he had two chil-dren and enough money to last justa few months. It seemed that, likethe Levites, he had no inheritance. He

10, 11. How have some shown that they trustin God when they choose work? Give an ex-ample.

Our serviceto God is moreimportant than

our secularwork


trusted in God and looked for a job.Now when they think about that time,Andrew and his family can say thatthese words are true: “The hand of Je-hovah has not become too short.” (Isa-iah 59:1) Because they kept their lifesimple, Andrew and his wife have

even been able to pioneer. He says thatat times they have been anxious aboutmoney, a place to live, their health,and just the fact that they are gettingolder. But Jehovah has always helpedthem. They can say without any doubtthat serving Jehovah is rewarding andthat it is the greatest honor a hu-man can have.� (See footnote.)—Eccle-siastes 12:13.

12 Jesus told his disciples: “If youhave faith the size of a mustard grain,you will say to this mountain, ‘Transferfrom here to there,’ and it will trans-fer, and nothing will be impossible foryou.” (Matthew 17:20) Would you stillseek first God’s righteousness if thatwould cause you difficulties? If you arenot sure whether you could do that,

� See Awake! November 2009, pages 12-14.

12. What quality do we need to seek firstGod’s righteousness? Give examples from thearea where you live.

speak with others in the congregation.Their experiences about how Jehovahhelped them will certainly make yourfaith stronger.

BE THANKFUL FORJEHOVAH’S PROVISIONS

13 If you treasure serving Jehovah,you can be sure that he will give youeverything you need, just as he did forthe Levites. Think about David. Eventhough he was hiding in a cave, hewas sure that God would help him.We too can trust in Jehovah even whenit seems that no one can help us. Re-member that when Asaph came “intothe grand sanctuary of God,” he wasbetter able to understand what trou-bled him. (Psalm 73:17) In the sameway, we must trust in Jehovah to giveus what we need to keep our friend-ship with him. This will show that wevalue our service to Jehovah no matterwhat our situation may be. We will letJehovah be our share.

14 Do you trust in Jehovah whenhe helps us to understand “the deepthings of God” that are in the Bi-ble? (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) The apos-tle Peter was an excellent example ofsomeone who did that. Jesus told theJews: “Unless you eat the flesh ofthe Son of man and drink his blood,you have no life in yourselves.” Manydisciples thought that Jesus was talk-ing about literal flesh and blood. Theysaid: “This speech is shocking; who

13. When we work hard in serving Jehovah,what trust must we have?14, 15. What should we do when there isa change in the way we understand certainscriptures? Why?

Do you trust inJehovah when thereis a change in theway we understanda Bible truth?


can listen to it?” They “went off to thethings behind.” But Peter said: “Lord,whom shall we go away to? You havesayings of everlasting life.”—John 6:53,60, 66, 68.

15 Peter did not completely under-stand Jesus’ words. But he trusted thatJehovah was using Jesus to help peo-ple understand the truth. When thereis a change in the way we understand

a Bible truth today, do you try to un-derstand the reasons for the change?(Proverbs 4:18) The Beroeans in thefirst century “received the word withthe greatest eagerness of mind, care-fully examining the Scriptures daily.”(Acts 17:11) If you follow their exam-ple, you will value your service to Godeven more. You will be truly grateful tohave Jehovah as your share.

Jeremiah’sexampleencouragesGod’s people


MARRY ONLYIN THE LORD

16 Another way inwhich Christians keepGod’s purposes in mindis by obeying the Bible’scommand to marry “onlyin the Lord.” (1 Corinthi-ans 7:39) Many decide tostay single rather than todisobey this command.God takes good care ofthose who do that. Whatdid David do when hefelt lonely and as if hehad no one to help him?He asked Jehovah forhelp. David said: “Beforehim I kept pouring outmy concern; before him

I continued to tell about my own dis-tress, when my spirit fainted awaywithin me.” (Psalm 142:1-3) Jeremiahserved God faithfully for many years asa single person. He too may have feltlonely. You can study his example inchapter 8 of the book God’s Word forUs Through Jeremiah.

17 A sister in the United States saidthat she has never made the decisionto stay single. She wants to get mar-ried when she meets the right person.Her mother, who is not a Witness, didnot care whom her daughter married.She just really wanted her to get mar-ried. The sister asked her mother ifshe wanted to be responsible for a badmarriage. But when the mother saw

16. How can single Christians let God be theirshare, according to 1 Corinthians 7:39?17. What does one single sister do when shefeels lonely?

that her daughter had a good job, wastaking care of herself, and was happy,she stopped talking so much about it.This sister feels lonely sometimes. Shesays: “I try to make Jehovah my con-fidence. He never forsakes me.” Whathas helped her to trust in Jehovah? Sheanswers: “Prayer helps me sense thatGod is real and that I am never alone.The Most High of the universe is lis-tening, so how could I not feel digni-fied and joyful?” She trusts what theBible says: “There is more happiness

in giving than there is in receiving.” Soshe tries to help others without expect-ing anything in return. She continues:“When I am thinking, ‘What can I doto help this person?’ I have joy.” (Acts20:35) She has Jehovah as her share,and she is happy in his service.

18 No matter what your situation is,you can let God be your share. If youdo, you can be among his happy peo-ple. (2 Corinthians 6:16, 17) You canthen become Jehovah’s share, as oth-er servants of God did in the past.(Read Deuteronomy 32:9, 10.) Just asIsrael became God’s share among thenations, he can choose you to be hisshare and lovingly care for you.—Psalm17:8.

18. How can you become Jehovah’s share?

We obey theBible’s command

to marry “onlyin the Lord”

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ How can you showthat you trust inJehovah by seekingfirst God’s Kingdomand his righteousness?

ˇ How can you showthat you are gratefulfor what Jehovahgives you?

ˇ How can you provethat you trustin God by obeyinghis commandto marry “onlyin the Lord”?

15

EACH year many people aroundthe world run in marathon races.

Some who run in these races are verygood runners, and they want to win.But most of the other runners knowthat they cannot win the race. Themost important thing to them is just tofinish the race.

2 The Bible also talks about a race.It explains that the life of true Chris-tians is like a race that has a prize.Those who make the effort to live likeChristians and to remain loyal to Jeho-vah are like runners who want to finishthe race. The apostle Paul wrote aboutthis type of race in his first letter tothe Christians in ancient Corinth. He

wrote: “Do you not know that the run-ners in a race all run, but only one re-ceives the prize? Run in such a waythat you may attain it.”—1 Corinthians9:24.

1, 2. What does the Bible say is similar to thelife of true Christians?

3 So when Paul saidthat only one receivesthe prize, did he meanthat only one Christianwould receive the prizeof life? No. He was talk-ing about the reason whythe runners in races ran.The Christians in Corinth knew thatall the runners in a race were deter-mined to win, even though only onerunner received the prize. That is whyall runners trained very well and ran inthe best way they could. They all madegreat efforts to win. Paul wanted hisbrothers to make every effort to remainloyal to Jehovah and finish the race.All Christians who do this can win theprize of everlasting life.

4 Those words are encouraging to us,but they also make us think serious-ly about how we are living. If we livein a way that pleases Jehovah, we havea wonderful hope of living forever ei-ther in heaven or in Paradise on earth.But life as a Christian is like runninga very long race on a road with manydangers. There are many things thatcould slow us down in Jehovah’s ser-vice or even stop us from serving Je-hovah. (Matthew 7:13, 14) This hasalready happened to some servants

3. What did Paul mean when he said that onlyone receives the prize?4. What do we need to know about the racethat Christians run?

Run the Race With Endurance

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Let us run with endurancethe race that is set beforeus.”—HEBREWS 12:1.

Christians whoremain loyalto Jehovah arelike runners whofinish a race


of Jehovah. What trapsand dangers are there inthe race for life? How canyou avoid them? Whatcan you do to finish andwin the race?

TO WINWE MUST ENDURE

5 When Paul wrote tothe Hebrew Christiansin Jerusalem and Ju-dea, he again talkedabout runners in a race.(Read Hebrews 12:1.)He explained why Chris-tians should continue torun their race and alsowhat they must do to fin-ish the race. First we will

talk about why Paul wrote this letterto the Hebrews and what he wantedthem to do. Then we will talk aboutwhat we can learn from what he wroteto them.

6 The Christians in the first centu-ry lived during a very difficult time.This was especially true of the HebrewChristians in Jerusalem and Judea be-cause the Jewish religious leaders triedto force people to obey them. Earli-er, they had even made people believethat Jesus Christ was against the gov-ernment and was a criminal who de-served to die. These religious leadershad killed Jesus Christ, and now theywanted to stop those who were preach-ing about him. In the book of Acts, wecan read what happened after Pente-

5. What did Paul explain at Hebrews 12:1?6. What did the religious leaders try to do toChristians?

cost of the year 33. These leaders at-tacked the Christians many times totry to stop them from preaching. Solife was very difficult for faithful Chris-tians.—Acts 4:1-3; 5:17, 18; 6:8-12; 7:59;8:1, 3.

7 Another reason why those Chris-tians lived in a very difficult time wasthat the destruction of Jerusalem wasnear. Jesus had warned them that Je-rusalem was going to be destroyed. Hetold them what would happen just be-fore this destruction, and he also toldthem exactly what they should do tostay alive. (Read Luke 21:20-22.) Jesuswarned them: “Pay attention to your-selves that your hearts never becomeweighed down with overeating andheavy drinking and anxieties of life,and suddenly that day be instantlyupon you.”—Luke 21:34.

8 Paul wrote to the Hebrew Chris-tians nearly 30 years after Jesus saidthose words. What happened to theseChristians during those 30 years? Be-cause of problems or because they be-came worried about their daily needs,some did not continue to learn aboutJehovah and keep their friendship withhim strong. (Hebrews 5:11-14) SomeChristians probably thought that itwould be easier to live like the Jewsaround them. They might have thoughtthat this was not wrong because theJews still believed in God and obeyedmost of the Law of Moses. Also, therewere some people in the congregations

7. What made the time that those Christianslived in very difficult?

8. What might have caused some Christiansto slow down in serving Jehovah or even stop?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Cloud of witnesses:The many servantsof God in the pastwho showed faith.Paul said that theywere a large “cloud.”There were so manythat they could notbe counted

ˇ Endurance:When someone hasendurance, he re-mains loyal to Godeven in difficultsituations


who were trying to force others to obeythe Law of Moses and Jewish tradi-tions. Some Christians believed them,and others listened to them becausethey were afraid. What did Paul sayto encourage his Christian brothers tocontinue living like Christians and toremain loyal to Jehovah?

9 Jehovah inspired Paul to write thisletter of encouragement to the HebrewChristians. In chapter 10, he first ex-plained to them that the Law of Moseswas “a shadow of the good things tocome” and that only through the sacri-fice of Jesus could their sins be forgiv-en. At the end of chapter 10, Paul toldthem that to benefit from this sacrifice,they needed endurance. He said: “Youhave need of endurance, in order that,after you have done the will of God,you may receive the fulfillment of thepromise. For yet ‘a very little while,’and ‘he who is coming will arrive andwill not delay.’ ”—Hebrews 10:1, 36, 37.

10 In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul ex-plained what true faith in God is. Hedid so by writing about the things thatpeople with true faith did. In chap-ter 12, he again encouraged Christiansto endure and told them to “run withendurance the race” that was beforethem. Why did he talk about faith be-fore he again talked about endurance?Because he wanted those Christians toknow that to show true faith in Jeho-vah, they needed endurance and cour-

9, 10. (a) At the end of Hebrews chapter 10,what did Paul say the Hebrew Christiansneeded to do? (b) Why did Paul write aboutthe acts of faith of servants of Jehovah in thepast?

age. He mentioned many men andwomen who in the past had remainedloyal to Jehovah even in very dif-ficult situations. Their example wouldhelp the Hebrew Christians to endurein difficult situations. After mention-ing the acts of faith of all these ser-vants of Jehovah, Paul told the HebrewChristians: “Because we have so great acloud of witnesses surrounding us, letus also put off every weight and the sinthat easily entangles us, and let us runwith endurance the race that is set be-fore us.”—Hebrews 12:1.

“A CLOUD OF WITNESSES”

11 Paul said that the servants of Je-hovah who lived before the Christiantime were a great “cloud of witnessessurrounding us.” They had remainedloyal to Jehovah to the end of theirlives, and their example shows that it

is possible for Christians to remain loy-al to Jehovah even in very difficult sit-uations. The “cloud of witnesses” werelike experienced runners who had fin-ished their race. Their example wouldencourage others to continue to run

11. When we think of the example of thegreat “cloud of witnesses,” what should we re-member?

Noah had faithin what Jehovah

promised to do andendured in the work

that he had to do


the race. If we were in a race and knewthat very good runners were watch-ing us and encouraging us to continuerunning, then we would do our best tofinish the race. So the Hebrew Chris-tians needed to think about the exam-ple of those servants of Jehovah in thepast. Their example could give themcourage and remind them that it waspossible for them to “run with endur-ance” and finish their race. And it ispossible for us too.

12 We can learn from the faith of thepeople that Paul talked about becausemany of them were in situations likeours. For example, Noah lived just be-fore Jehovah destroyed the world ofthat time in a flood. And we are liv-ing just before Jehovah destroys Sa-tan’s world. Jehovah asked Abrahamand Sarah to leave their home. Hepromised to make from them a nationto serve him, and they waited for himto fulfill that promise. Jehovah asks usto stop living for ourselves and to livefor him. He promises us that if we dothat, he will be our friend and willreward us. Moses walked a long waythrough a dangerous land to go to thePromised Land. We live in a wickedworld and wait for the new world thatJehovah has promised us. It is impor-tant for us to think about the life ofthese faithful people. We can imitatethe things they did to please Jehovahand learn from the things that did notplease him.—Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthi-ans 10:11.

12. What can we learn from the faith of thepeople Paul talked about?

WHAT HELPED THEM TOFINISH THE RACE?

13 What helped these servants of Je-hovah to endure in the race and finishit? Note what Paul wrote about Noah.(Read Hebrews 11:7.) Noah had nev-er seen a flood that destroyed all peo-ple and animals. (Genesis 6:17) A floodhad never happened before. But Noahdid not think that a flood was impos-sible. Why? Because he had faith that

Jehovah always does what he says. SoNoah did not think that it was too dif-ficult to obey Jehovah. He did exact-ly what Jehovah commanded him. TheBible says: “He did just so.” (Gene-sis 6:22) Noah had many things to do.He needed to build the ark, gather theanimals, store food for his family andfor the animals, warn the people aboutthe Flood, and help his family to havestrong faith in Jehovah. It was not al-ways easy for Noah to do everythingthat Jehovah commanded him. But hehad faith in Jehovah, so he endured inthe work that he had to do. And Jeho-vah saved him and his family and gavethem many blessings.

13. Why was Noah’s situation difficult? Whathelped him to do everything that Jehovah toldhim to do?

Abraham and Sarahhad strong faith

in God and obeyedhim even in difficult

situations

14 Paul mentioned Abraham and Sa-rah as part of the “cloud of witness-es surrounding us.” Their life changedwhen God told them to leave theirhome in Ur. They did not know whatwould happen to them. But they hadstrong faith in Jehovah and obeyedhim even in difficult situations. TheBible calls Abraham “the father of allthose having faith” because he made

14. In what situations did Abraham and Sarahshow faith in God? What can we learn fromtheir example?

many sacrifices for Jehovah. (Romans4:11) The Hebrew Christians alreadyknew about the life of Abraham andhis family, so Paul mentioned onlysome of their acts of faith. But thesewere enough to show how strong theirfaith was. Paul said about them: “Infaith all these died, although they didnot get the fulfillment of the promis-es, but they saw them afar off andwelcomed them and publicly declaredthat they were strangers and tempo-rary residents in the land.” (Hebrews

Abraham andSarah werewilling to leavebehind thecomforts of Ur



11:13) Their faith in Godand their friendship withhim helped them to en-dure in the race.

15 Moses is anotherservant of Jehovah whois part of the “cloud ofwitnesses.” Moses lefthis home just as Abra-ham did. Moses left theglory and the riches ofthe king’s palace. Hechose “to be ill-treatedwith the people of God.”Why did he choose todo this? Paul answered:“He looked intently to-ward the payment of thereward.” Paul also saidabout Moses: “He con-

tinued steadfast as seeing the One whois invisible.” (Read Hebrews 11:24-27.)Moses knew that there was some-thing more important than “the tempo-rary enjoyment of sin.” God was realto him, and he knew that all of God’spromises would come true. That iswhat helped him to act with greatcourage and to endure in difficult situ-ations. And it helped him to work hardto lead the Israelites out of Egypt to thePromised Land.

16 Abraham and Moses died beforeGod’s promises to them came true.Just before the Israelites enteredthe Promised Land, God told Moses:“From a distance you will see the land,

15. Why did Moses choose to live the way hedid?16. How do we know that Moses did not giveup because he could not enter the PromisedLand?

but you will not go there into the landthat I am giving to the sons of Israel.”Because they acted improperly at thewaters of Meribah, Moses and Aarondid not enter the Promised Land. Theyallowed the rebellious people to makethem very angry, so they acted in a waythat did not honor God. (Deuterono-my 32:51, 52) Moses did not give upbecause he could not enter the Prom-ised Land. He did not think that whatGod decided was unjust. We know thisbecause he asked Jehovah to bless thepeople of Israel. His last words to themwere: “Happy you are, O Israel! Whois there like you, a people enjoying sal-vation in Jehovah, the shield of yourhelp, and the One who is your eminentsword?”—Deuteronomy 33:29.

SOME LESSONS FOR US

17 We learned from the life of someof those who are part of the “cloud ofwitnesses surrounding us” that to fin-ish the race, we must have strong faithin God and in his promises. (Hebrews11:6) This faith must affect the way welive our life now. We know that there isa better future that God has promisedus. We are able to see “the One who isinvisible.” God is real to us, so we runthe race with endurance.—2 Corinthi-ans 5:7.

18 The race that Christians run is noteasy. But we can finish the race. In thenext article, we will talk about someother things that can help us to finishthe race.

17, 18. (a) What can we learn from the “cloudof witnesses”? (b) What will we talk about inthe next article?

CAN YOU

EXPLAIN?

ˇ Why did Paul writeabout the acts of faithof witnesses in thepast?

ˇ How does the ex-ample of the great“cloud of witnessessurrounding us” helpus to endure in therace?

ˇ What have youlearned from theexamples of Noah,Abraham, Sarah,and Moses?

21

THE apostle Paul used an illustra-tion of a race to encourage the He-

brew Christians. In the letter he wroteto them, he said that they were like run-ners in a race. But he reminded themthat they were not alone in that race.There were many loyal servants of Je-hovah in the past who had already fin-ished the race. Paul said that these oneswere like a great “cloud of witnesses”surrounding them. If the Hebrew Chris-tians always remembered the acts offaith and the efforts of those loyal ones,

1, 2. (a) What did Paul use to encourage theHebrew Christians? (b) What did Paul say thatwe must do?

they would be deter-mined to finish the race.

2 In the previous arti-cle, we talked about theexample of some of thoseloyal servants of Jehovah.Their strong faith in Godhelped them to remainloyal to him to the end of their life. Theycontinued running the race to the end.How can we too finish the race, just asthey did? Paul said: “Let us also put offevery weight and the sin that easily en-tangles us, and let us run with endur-ance the race that is set before us.”—He-brews 12:1.

Run That YouMay Attain the Prize

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Run in such a waythat you may attain it.”—1 CORINTHIANS 9:24.


3 Why did Paul say to“put off every weight”?A book that talks aboutChristians in the timeof Paul explains the waythe runners of his timeran. (Backgrounds of EarlyChristianity) It says: “TheGreeks exercised andcompeted in the nude.”�(See footnote.) To run inthis way may not seemright today. But the run-ners ran without clothesbecause they did notwant anything to stopthem from winning theprize. So when Paul toldthe Hebrew Christians to“put off every weight,” he

meant that they should try to removeanything from their lives that could stopthem fromwinning the prize of everlast-ing life. Thiswas good advice for the He-brew Christians, and it is good advicefor us too. What things in our lives couldbe like a weight and make it difficult forus to finish the race?

“PUT OFF EVERY WEIGHT”

4 Paul said to “put off every weight.”This weight includes anything thatcould stop us from giving our full atten-

� The ancient Jews thought that this was veryshocking. The apocryphal book of 2 Macca-bees says that many Jews were angry whenapostate High Priest Jason wanted to have agymnasium in Jerusalem just as the Greekshad.—2 Maccabees 4:7-17.

3. What can Christians learn from what Paulsaid about running in the Greek games?4. What were the people in Noah’s time do-ing?

tion to the race and from doing every-thing we can to finish it. What aresome of those things that could be likea weight? Jesus helps us to understandthis. He spoke about the time of Noah.

Jesus explained: “Just as it occurred inthe days of Noah, so it will be also inthe days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:26) It is true that the world of our timewill end just as the world of Noah’s timeended. But Jesus was explaining thatthe way people live now would be sim-ilar to the way people lived before theFlood of Noah’s time. (Read Matthew24:37-39.) Most people in Noah’s timedid not want to learn about God, andthey did not want to live in a way thatpleased him. What were they doing?Eating, drinking, and marrying. Thesewere just the normal things of life. Butdoing these things was more importantto the people than listening to God’smessage. Jesus said that they “took nonote.”

5 Like Noah and his family, we havemuch to do every day. We need towork to earn money, and we need totake care of ourselves and our family.This can use a lot of our time and ener-gy. And if we have money problems, we

5. What can help us to run the race to theend?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Attain:To work hard to getsomething. To attainthe prize means towin the prize

ˇ Entangle:Clothing that entan-gles a runner wrapsaround his legs andmakes him fall. If weallow the thinking ofthe world to make uslose faith, we will falland we will not beable to finish our race

We should removeanything from our life

that could stop us fromfinishing the race


could become anxious about how to getthe things we need every day. Also, be-cause we have dedicated our lives to Je-hovah, we have other important respon-sibilities. We preach, we prepare forour meetings and attend them, and westudy the Bible with our family and doour personal study. Noah also had muchto do to serve God, but “he did just so.”He did everything Jehovah asked himto do. (Genesis 6:22) It is very impor-tant that we do not carry any weight thatwould make it difficult for us to run therace to the end.

6 What did Paul meanwhen he said to“put off every weight”? He did not meanto remove every responsibility from ourlives. Some responsibilities are neces-sary. But remember what Jesus saidabout the necessary things of life: “Nev-er be anxious and say, ‘What are weto eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or,‘What are we to put on?’ For all these arethe things the nations are eagerly pursu-ing. For your heavenly Father knows youneed all these things.” (Matthew 6:31,32) Jesus was helping us to understandthat even the necessary things of life,like food and clothing, could becomelike a weight if they are the most impor-tant things in our lives. They could stopus from running the race.

7 Do not forget that Jesus said: “Yourheavenly Father knows you need allthese things.” These words show us thatour Father, Jehovah, will take care ofour needs. Of course, to have “all thesethings” does not mean that we haveeverything that we would like to have.

6, 7. What words of Jesus should we alwaysremember?

So Jesus told us not to be anxious evenabout the things we need. Otherwise,we would be like the nations who are“eagerly pursuing” these things. Why isit dangerous to become anxious aboutour needs? Jesus said: “Pay attentionto yourselves that your hearts never be-come weighed down with overeatingand heavy drinking and anxieties of life,and suddenly that day be instantly uponyou as a snare.”—Luke 21:34, 35.

8 It is as if we can see the finish line.So we do not want to allow anythingto make it difficult for us to finish therace. That is why we must “put off everyweight.” We must be content to havethe things we need. This was the advicethe apostle Paul gave when he told usto have “godly devotion along with self-sufficiency.” (1 Timothy 6:6) If we listento Paul’s advice, it will be easier to con-tinue running and win the prize.

“THE SIN THAT EASILYENTANGLES US”

9 Paul mentioned something else thatwe must put off. He said that we mustput off “the sin that easily entangles us.”The Greek word that is translated “eas-ily entangles” appears only once in theBible, in this verse. One Bible scholarnamed Albert Barnes said that a run-ner of that time was careful not to wearclothing that could wrap around his legsand make it difficult for him to run. Andhe said that in the same way, a Christianshould not allow anything to make it dif-ficult for him to run his race. AChristian

8. Why should we “put off every weight” now?9, 10. (a) What is the sin that could easily en-tangle us? (b) What can happen to the faith ofa Christian?


should not allow anything to entanglehim, that is, to weaken his faith or evencause him to lose his faith. How does aChristian lose his faith?

10 A Christian does not lose his faithsuddenly. This might happen gradual-ly, and he may not even realize that hisfaith is becoming weaker and weaker.Earlier in his letter to the Hebrew Chris-tians, Paul warned them about this dan-ger. He said that they should be care-ful never to “drift away” from the faithand never to develop “a wicked heartlacking faith.” (Hebrews 2:1; 3:12) Ifthe clothing of a runner wraps aroundhis legs, he usually falls. So a runnermust realize that if he chooses to runin the wrong kind of clothing, he couldfall. What might cause a runner to ig-nore this danger? Maybe he is careless,that is, he does not pay attention whensomeone warns him. Maybe he is over-confident, that is, he thinks that he isstrong and could never fall. Or may-be he is distracted, that is, he is busythinking about other things. What canwe learn from all of Paul’s advice?

11 We must remember that if a Chris-tian loses his faith, it is because ofthings he has chosen to do. Anotherscholar talked about “the sin that easi-ly entangles us.” He explained that thecircumstances we are in, the people weassociate with, and our wrong desirescan all have a very powerful effect onus. These things could weaken our faithor even cause us to lose our faith.—Mat-thew 13:3-9.

12 The faithful and discreet slave has

11. What might cause us to lose our faith?12. What warnings are important to obey ifwe do not want to lose our faith?

often warned us to choose carefullywhat we watch and what we listen to be-cause these things affect how we thinkand what we desire. The faithful anddiscreet slave has also warned us aboutthe danger of always wanting moremoney and more things. If we lovethe entertainment of this world or wantto have every new gadget, we could beso busy with these things that we do nothave time for more important things. Itcould be dangerous to reject these warn-ings because we think that they are toostrict. And we should not think that be-cause we have strong faith, these warn-ings are for others and not for us. Sa-tan uses the thinking and desires of theworld to make us ignore the warnings.He does not want us to finish the race.Some have lost their faith because they

became careless, overconfident, or dis-tracted by things in the world. If thishappens to us, we are in danger of los-ing the prize of everlasting life.—1 John2:15-17.

13 Every day, people in Satan’s worldtry to make us think like them. Theywant us to consider important thethings they consider important. Andthey want us to want to do the same

13. What must we do to avoid thinking likethe people in the world?

We have a choice.We can decide if we willallow the thinking of the

world to affect us

things that they do. (Read Ephesians2:1, 2.) But we have a choice. We candecide if we will allow the thinking ofthe world to affect us. Paul said thatthe thinking of people in the world islike the air that is all around us. But thisthinking is like poisonous air. So just aswe would not want to breathe poison-ous air, we must never allow the waypeople in the world think to affect theway we think. What can help us to con-tinue running in the race? The exam-ple of Jesus. He is the best example ofsomeone who ran the race to the end,and we can imitate him. (Hebrews 12:2)And we also have the example of theapostle Paul. He ran the race, and he en-couraged his brothers to imitate his ex-ample.—1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians3:14.

HOW “YOU MAYATTAIN” THE PRIZE

14 How important was it for Paul tofinish the race? When he spoke to the

14. How important was it for Paul to finish therace?

elders from Ephesus for the last time,he said: “I do not make my soul of anyaccount as dear to me, if only I may fin-ish my course and the ministry that I re-ceived of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24)So Paul was willing to sacrifice every-thing, even his life, to finish the race.Paul had worked very hard to preach thegood news. But he said that all that ef-fort would have been for nothing if hedid not finish the race. He knew thathe had to continue working hard to theend. He did not think that he had al-ready won the prize. (Read Philippians3:12, 13.) However, not long before hedied, he was able to say: “I have foughtthe fine fight, I have run the course tothe finish, I have observed the faith.”—2 Timothy 4:7.

15 Paul wanted his brothers to finishthe race. He encouraged the Christiansin Philippi to work hard for their ownsalvation. He reminded them to keep“a tight grip on the word of life.” Healso told them why this was important

15. What did Paul encourage his brothersto do?

What is “thesin that easilyentangles us”?How might itentangle us?


to him: “That I may havecause for exultation inChrist’s day, that I didnot run in vain or workhard in vain.” (Philippi-ans 2:16) He also encour-aged the Christians inCorinth to continue run-ning to win the prize. Hesaid: “Run in such a waythat you may attain it.”—1 Corinthians 9:24.

16 A runner in a longrace does not see the finish line un-til the end. But he is always thinkingabout the finish line and knows that itis getting closer. And when he knowsthat the end of the race is near, he iseven more determined to finish. Therace that Christians run is similar. Theprize must be real to us. This will help

us to be determined to finish the raceand win the prize.

17 Paul wrote: “Faith is the assuredexpectation of things hoped for, the ev-ident demonstration of realities thoughnot beheld.” (Hebrews 11:1) Abrahamand Sarah were willing to leave a com-fortable home and live as “strangersand temporary residents in the land.”

16. Why should the prize be real to us?

17. How does faith make the prize real to us?

How were they able to do this? Thethings that God had promised werereal to them. “They saw them afaroff.” Moses rejected “the temporary en-joyment of sin” and “the treasures ofEgypt.” How did he have the faith andstrength to do this? He “looked intent-ly toward the payment of the reward.”(Hebrews 11:8-13, 24-26) Paul said thateach of these people acted “by faith.”They had strong faith, so the prize wasalways real to them. They did not allowany difficult situation to make them for-get the prize. They knew that God washelping them then, and they knew thathis promises for the future would cometrue.

18 We can think deeply about thefaithful men and women of Hebrewschapter 11, and we can imitate theirexample. This can help us to build upour faith and put off “the sin that eas-ily entangles us.” (Hebrews 12:1) Also,by meeting together with our brotherswho are trying to build up their ownfaith, we can “consider one anotherto incite to love and fine works.”—He-brews 10:24.

19 We are near the end of our race,and it is as if we can see the fin-ish line. Because Jehovah will help usand because we have strong faith inhim, it is possible for us to “put offevery weight and the sin that easily en-tangles us.” We can continue runningand attain the prize that our Father, Je-hovah, promises us.

18. What should we do to avoid not finishingthe race?

19. Why is it important to continue runningthe race now?

If we have strong faith,the prize will be realto us even in difficultsituations

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

ˇ How can we put off“every weight”?

ˇ What might cause aChristian to lose hisfaith?

ˇ Why must the prizebe real to us?

27

ONE day a Pharisee asked Jesus:“Which is the greatest command-

ment in the Law?” Jesus answered: “Youmust love Jehovah your God with yourwhole heart and with your whole souland with your whole mind.” (Matthew22:35-37) Jesus had great love for Jeho-vah. The way he lived showed that hereally cared about what Jehovah thoughtof him. That is why Jesus, just before hedied, could talk about his faithful obe-dience to God, saying: “I have observedthe commandments of the Father andremain in his love.”—John 15:10.

2 Many people today say that they loveGod. Of course, we say that too. Butthere are some important questions thatwe need to think about: What does Je-hovah think of me? Can I say that Jeho-vah “knows” me or that I have Jehovah’sapproval? Does Jehovah think of me assomeone who belongs to him? (2 Timo-thy 2:19) It is wonderful to think that wecan have such a close friendshipwith themost important person in the universe!

3 But it is hard even for some wholove Jehovah to think that they can befriends with God. Some believe thatthey are not worth anything. Becauseof that, they think that they cannot be-long to Jehovah. It is so good to knowthat Jehovah sees us in a different way.

1, 2. (a) What did Jesus care about? (b) Whatquestions should we think about?3. Why is it hard for some to believe that theycan belong to Jehovah? What can help themchange this way of thinking?

(1 Samuel 16:7) Thinkabout this: Why are youreading this magazine?Why are you trying hardto serve Jehovah withyour whole heart, soul,mind, and strength? Ifyou dedicated your life toJehovah and got baptized, why did youdo it? The Bible says that Jehovah knowshearts and that he finds the people whoare “desirable” to him. He then “draws”them, or invites them, to be his friends.(Read Haggai 2:7; John 6:44.) So youcan be sure that you are serving Jehovahbecause he wants you to. He will neverleave those he invited to be his friends if

they continue to be faithful to him. Theyare precious to God, and he loves themvery much.—Psalm 94:14.

4 Now that Jehovah has drawn us,we need to keep ourselves in the loveof God. (Read Jude 20, 21.) Remem-ber, the Bible shows that it is possibleto drift away or draw away from Godand no longer be his friend. (Hebrews

4. Why should we always think about howprecious our friendship with Jehovah is?

Are You Known by Jehovah?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Jehovah knows thosewho belong to him.”—2 TIMOTHY 2:19.

We need faithand humility to

be friends of God


2:1; 3:12, 13) For exam-ple, just before the wordsat 2 Timothy 2:19, theapostle Paul talked aboutHymenaeus and Philetus.It seems that these twomen served Jehovah atone time, but they laterleft the truth. (2 Timothy2:16-18) Some in the con-gregations in Galatia alsoleft the truth. They didnot stay in the truth. (Ga-latians 4:9) We should al-ways remember how pre-cious our friendship withJehovah is.

5 There are some qual-ities we need if we wantto be known by Jeho-vah. (Psalm 15:1-5; 1 Pe-ter 3:4) Two of them arefaith and humility. Wewill talk about the exam-ples of two men who wereloved by Jehovah becausethey showed these quali-ties. We will also look ata manwho was proud and

because of that was rejected by God. Wecan learn important lessons from theseexamples.

THE FATHEROF THOSE HAVING FAITH

6 Abraham was a man who “put faithin Jehovah.” He is called “the father of

5. (a) To be known by God, what qualities dowe need? (b) What examples will we now talkabout?6. (a) Because he had faith in Jehovah’s prom-ises, what did Abraham do? (b) In what waydid Jehovah really know Abraham?

all those having faith.” (Genesis 15:6;Romans 4:11) Because he had faith,Abraham was willing to leave his home,his friends, his work, and things heowned to go to a distant land. (Gen-esis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8-10) Abrahamkept his faith strong. One proof ofthat was that many years later he was

ready to obey Jehovah’s command andoffer his son Isaac as a sacrifice toJehovah. (Hebrews 11:17-19) Abrahamshowed faith in Jehovah’s promises,and that made him special to God. Je-hovah really knew Abraham. (ReadGenesis 18:19.) This means that Jeho-vah not only knew that Abraham exist-ed but also loved him as a friend.—James 2:22, 23.

7 Jehovah promised Abraham that hisdescendants would “take possession ofthe gate” of their enemies and be-come “like the grains of sand thatare on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17,18) Even though these promises did notcome true during Abraham’s life, hecontinued to have strong faith in Jeho-vah. He knew that God’s promises al-ways come true, and he showed thisfaith in the way he lived his life. (ReadHebrews 11:13.) Does Jehovah knowus as people who have faith like Abra-ham’s?

7. What did Abraham know about Jehovah’spromises? How did he show his faith?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Kohathite Levite:Levite who served atthe tabernacle. TheKohathites had theresponsibility of carry-ing the ark of thecovenant

ˇ Meek:A meek person is gen-tle and patient. Heaccepts instructionsand waits for Jehovahto act. He does notget angry easily

ˇ Being known byJehovah: HavingJehovah’s approval

ˇ Tabernacle:The tent used for wor-ship in Israel. It wastaken from place toplace when the nationmoved

If we wait forJehovah to act,

he will reward us

SHOW YOUR FAITHBY WAITING FORJEHOVAH TO ACT

8 There may be thingsthat we want very much,such as getting married,having children, and hav-ing good health. Thereis nothing wrong withwanting these things. Butmany of us may not getwhat we want. If there issomething that we wantvery much but that wecannot have now, whatwill we do? The way weact in this situation mayshow how strong ourfaith is.

9 It would be foolish togo against God’s guidanceto try to get what we want.This could damage ourfriendship with Jehovah.For example, some havechosen forms of healthcare that go against Bible principles.Others have accepted work that leavesthem no time for their families or forcongregation meetings. Some start a ro-mantic relationship with someone whodoes not serve Jehovah. If a Christiandoes that, is he really trying to be knownby Jehovah? Imagine if Abraham had be-come impatient about God’s promises.How would Jehovah have felt? What ifAbraham had done things his own wayand had tried to have a very comfortable

8. What are some things that most peoplewant very much?9, 10. (a) What have some done to get whatthey want? (b) What do you think about Jeho-vah’s promises coming true in your life?

life? What if he had decided to make afamous name for himself instead of wait-ing for Jehovah to act? (Compare Gene-sis 11:4.) Would Jehovah have continuedto think of him as his friend?

10 What are the things that you wantvery much? Do you have enough faith towait for Jehovah to give them to you? Hepromises to satisfy “the desire of everyliving thing.” (Psalm 145:16) Some of Je-hovah’s promises may not come true assoon as we would like. But if we contin-ue to live in a way that shows that wehave faith like Abraham’s, Jehovah willnot forget about us. He will reward us.—Hebrews 11:6.

Like Abraham,do we have faiththat Jehovah’spromises alwayscome true?


ONE EXAMPLE OF HUMILITYAND ONE EXAMPLE OF PRIDE

11 We will look at the examples of twomen who acted in opposite ways, Mo-ses and Korah. What they did helps usunderstand that what Jehovah thinks ofus depends on how much respect weshow for his decisions and way of do-ing things. Korah was a Kohathite Le-vite. Probably he had the opportunityto see what Jehovah had done to freethe Israelites through the Red Sea. Hemay also have had a part in Jehovah’sjudgment against disobedient Israelitesat Mount Sinai, and he may have helpedto carry the ark of the covenant. (Exodus32:26-29; Numbers 3:30, 31) It seems

11. What had Korah done for many years?

that he had been loyal to Jehovah formany years, and because of that, manyin Israel respected him.

12 But on the way to the PromisedLand, Korah thought that there wassomething wrong with the way Jehovahwas leading the nation. He wanted tomake changes. Then 250 other men inthe nation joined Korah. They were surethat Jehovah knew them and that theyhad his approval. They told Moses: “Thatis enough of you, because the whole as-sembly are all of them holy and Jehovahis in their midst.” (Numbers 16:1-3) Thiswas a very proud way of thinking andacting. They trusted too much in theirown way of doing things. Moses told

12. What happened to Korah’s friendshipwith God because of his pride?

Korah was nothumble and

willing to followdirections



them: “Jehovah will make known whobelongs to him.” (Read Numbers 16:5.)By the end of the next day, Korah andall those who had joined him were dead.—Numbers 16:31-35.

13 Moses was the opposite of Korah.He was “by far the meekest of all themen who were upon the surface of theground.” (Numbers 12:3) He showedthat he was meek and humble by do-ing exactly what Jehovah had command-ed him. (Exodus 7:6; 40:16) We do notread in the Bible that Moses was alwaysdisagreeing with Jehovah’s way of doingthings or that he got angry because hehad to follow instructions from Jehovah.For example, Jehovah gave very specif-ic instructions about how to build thetabernacle. These instructions includedthe color of the thread and the num-ber of loops the Israelites should use tomake the tent cloths. (Exodus 26:1-6) Ifan overseer in God’s organization givesyou very specific instructions aboutthings, you may sometimes feel discour-aged. But Jehovah is a perfect overseer.He gives his servants work to do, and hetrusts that they will do it well. When hegives many details, there is a good rea-son for it. Moses did not get angry withJehovah or think that Jehovah was notshowing him respect because he gavehim many detailed instructions. Mosesdid not think that Jehovah was takingaway his freedom. Moses told the work-ers to do exactly as Jehovah had com-manded them. (Exodus 39:32) This wasa humble way of thinking and acting.Moses knew that it was Jehovah’s workand that Jehovah was simply using himto do it.

13, 14. In what ways did Moses show that hewas humble?

14 Moses showed that he was humbleeven when he had reasons to be dis-appointed. For example, when the peo-ple complained that they had no wa-ter, Moses got very angry with themand did not give glory to Jehovah. Be-cause of that, Jehovah told Moses thathe would not be allowed to lead the peo-ple into the Promised Land. (Numbers20:2-12) Moses and Aaron had sufferedfor many years, listening to the Israel-ites complaining. And now, because of

that one mistake, Moses was not goingto get what he had expected for so long!What did Moses do? He was of coursedisappointed. But he was humble andaccepted Jehovah’s decision. He knewthat Jehovah is a righteous God “withwhom there is no injustice.” (Deuteron-omy 3:25-27; 32:4) Today, whenwe thinkof Moses, we think of someone who wasknown by Jehovah.—Read Exodus 33:12, 13.

OBEDIENCE TO JEHOVAHREQUIRES HUMILITY

15 We can have Jehovah’s approv-al only if we accept adjustments thatare made. And we need to show re-spect for those Jehovah uses to leadthe congregation. What do we do whenthese men make decisions or change

15. What can we learn from what proud Ko-rah did?

Like Moses,we should humblyaccept instructions


the way we do things inthe congregation? Be-cause they trusted theirown way of doing things,Korah and his followerscould no longer be God’sfriends. They were proudand showed little faith.Korah thought that Moseswas just an old man mak-ing his own decisions, buthe forgot that it was real-ly Jehovah who was guid-ing the nation. As a re-

sult, Korah did not show loyalty to thoseGod was using. Korah should have wait-ed for Jehovah to act. Jehovah couldhave helped him understand why thingswere the way they were or could havechanged things if needed. Because Ko-rah acted like that, today we never thinkof Korah’s years of loyal service to Jeho-vah. We usually think of him as some-one who disobeyed Jehovah because ofhis pride.

16 What happened to Korah is a warn-ing for elders and others in the congre-

16. How can Moses’ humble example help us?

gation. To wait for Jehovah to act and toobey those Jehovah uses to lead the con-gregation, we must be humble. Do weshow that we are as humble and meekas Moses was? Do we understand andaccept that Jehovah uses those who leadthe congregation? Do we obey their in-structions? Do we control our feelingswhen we get disappointed? If we dothese things, we will have Jehovah’s ap-proval. If we are humble and obedient,we will be precious to him.

JEHOVAH KNOWSTHOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM

17 It is good for us to think about theexamples of those whom Jehovah lovedand invited to be his friends. Abra-ham and Moses were imperfect andhad problems, just like us. But Jehovahthought of them as friends, as peoplewho belonged to him. The opposite iswhat happened to Korah. His exampleshows how it could be possible for us todraw away from Jehovah and no longerbe his friends. Each of us should thinkabout questions like: What does Jeho-vah think of me? What can I learn fromthese Bible examples?

18 Jehovah thinks of his faithful ser-vants as people who belong to him. Thisis a great comfort to us. So continueto make an effort to show such quali-ties as faith and humility. Theywill makeyou even more precious to our wonder-ful God. It is an honor to be knownby Jehovah. Those who have his ap-proval have a happy life now and willhave wonderful blessings in the future.—Psalm 37:18.

17, 18. What can help us to continue to haveJehovah’s approval?

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

ˇ What does it meanto be known byJehovah?

ˇ How can you imitatethe faith of Abraham?

ˇ What lessons can welearn from Korah andMoses?

Are you knownby Jehovah assomeone whois humble and

obedient?


November 28–December 4Is Your Recreation Beneficial?PAGE 8 SONGS TO BE USED: 70, 74

December 5-11Wise Counsel onSingleness and Marriage


December 12-18Trust in Jehovah,“the God of All Comfort”


December 19-25“Comfort All the Mourning Ones”


34567OCTOBER 15, 2011



34567�

OCTOBER 15, 2011



No matter where we live, applying Bible princi-ples will help us to choose forms of recreationthat will be beneficial. This article will considerhow we can put our choice of recreation to thetest.


A person’s decisions regarding singleness andmarriage affect not only his entire life but alsohis standing before Jehovah. This article willshow how God’s servants, single and married,can apply the Bible’s counsel found in 1 Corin-thians chapter 7 to their benefit in this impor-tant aspect of life.


In these last days, many distressing circum-stances confront Jehovah’s servants and oth-ers. What are some of these situations? Wherecan needed comfort be found? These two arti-cles show how Jehovah and his Witnessesbring people comfort in these troubled times.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 “Keep on the Watch”—Why So Important?

5 Let UsRejoiceTogether! )

18 ServingJehovahHas BeenMy Delight )

32 QuestionsFrom Readers

Globe: Courtesy of Replogle Globes


THE WATCHTOWER ˙ OCTOBER 15, 2011 3

“WHAT will be the sign of your presenceand of the conclusion of the system of

things?” (Matt. 24:3) In answer to that ques-tion, Jesus gave his disciples a sign thatwas clear, detailed, recognizable, and un-mistakable, as recorded in Matthew chap-ter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chap-ter 21.He added: “Keepon thewatch.”—Matt.24:42.

If the sign in itself was to be so evident,why this extra admonition? Consider thesetwo possibilities. First, distractions might in-cline some to disregard the sign, resulting ina loss of spirituality and watchfulness. Sec-ond, a Christian might recognize particularsof the sign but because of his immediatesurroundings not feel directly affected. Hemight then reason that the “great tribu-lation,” the culmination of Jesus’ prophe-cy, was still quite distant and that it wastherefore not yet necessary to “keep on thewatch.”—Matt. 24:21.

“They Took No Note”Jesus reminded his followers about Noah’s

contemporaries. Noah’s preaching, the con-struction of the colossal ark, and the vio-lence of the day could not have gone un-noticed. Nevertheless, most “took no note.”(Matt. 24:37-39) A similar attitude towardwarnings prevails today. For example, speed-

limit signs send out an unmistakable mes-sage, yet many disregard them. Authoritiesoften feel compelled to install speed bumpsacross city streets to force drivers to slowdown. Likewise, a Christian may be con-scious of the sign of the last days but still be-come involved in activities not consistentwith its implication. Arielle, a West Africanteenager, experienced this.

Arielle enjoyed watching women’s hand-ball on television. When her school orga-nized a team, the prospect of playing dulledher alertness to potential dangers to her spiri-tuality. She signed up to be a goalkeeper.What followed? She explains: “Some of myteammates had boyfriends who used drugsand smoked. They made fun of me for be-ing different, but I thought I could handlethat. Unexpectedly, the game itself began tocorrode my spirituality. Handball filled mymind and heart. During Christian meetings,my thoughts often wandered from the King-dom Hall to the handball court. My Chris-tianpersonality also suffered. Loveof playingshifted to a passion for winning. I practicedhard to satisfy my new competitive spirit.Stress built up. I even sacrificed friendshipsforhandball.

“The climax came when our opponentswere awarded a penalty shot in one game.

“Keep onthe Watch”Why SoImportant?

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ OCTOBER 15, 2011

I was poised to defend the goal. Before I real-ized it, I had prayed to Jehovah to help meblock the shot! This incident made me real-ize how much my spirituality had suffered.How did I regain it?

“I had seen our DVD Young People Ask—What Will I Do With My Life?� I decided towatch it again and this time to take it seri-ously. After all, I was in the same predica-ment as Andre, the young man in the dra-ma. I especially took note of what an elderhad suggested that Andre do—read and re-flect onPhilippians 3:8. That did it. I quit theteam.

“What a difference that made! My com-petitive spirit and the accompanying stressdisappeared. I felt happier and closer to myChristian friends. Spiritual activities took ongreater meaning. I concentrated at the meet-ings and enjoyed them again. My ministryalso improved. Now I regularly serve as anauxiliary pioneer.”

If a distraction is tugging at you to dis-

� A modern-day drama about a Christian youth’sstruggle to do what is right in Jehovah’s eyes.

regard the sign Jesus gave us, take serioussteps, as Arielle did. You might try some ofthe following. Consult the Watch Tower Pub-lications Index, which has been called a mapto hidden treasures. References to soundcounsel and first-person reports on how oth-ers have faced temptations await you. Benefitfully from Christian meetings by preparingwell and taking notes. Some have found thatsitting near the front of the auditorium ishelpful. When there is audience participa-tion, try to give a comment early. In addition,keep spiritually awake by matching up cur-rent news items with aspects of the signand other characteristics of “the last days.”—2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3, 4; Rev. 6:1-8.

“Prove Yourselves Ready”The sign of the last days is international,

comprising “all the inhabited earth.” (Matt.24:7,14)Millions live in areas hardhit by pes-tilences, food shortages, earthquakes, andother foretold events. In contrast, many oth-ers dwell in relative peace and quiet. If youhave never personally experienced some as-pects of the sign, should you reason that thegreat tribulation is still a long way off? Thatwould not be wise.

Reflect, for example, on what Jesus fore-told about “pestilences and food shortages.”(Luke 21:11) First, he did not say that thesewould affect all areas simultaneously or tothe same degree. Rather, he stated that thesewould occur “in one place after another.” Sowe cannot expect the same events every-where at the same time. Second, shortly aftermentioning food shortages, Jesus indicatedthat some of his followers would have tobe alert not to overeat: “Pay attention toyourselves that your hearts never becomeweighed down with overeating.” (Luke 21:34) Thus, all Christians should not expect toexperience every aspect of the sign. Rather,

Daily spiritual discussionshelp Emmanuel and his familyto ‘prove themselves ready’


HAPPINESS and joy are increasingly dif-ficult to attain. For many, sharing posi-

tive sentiments with others seems almostimpossible. Modern-day life, especially inbig cities, causes people to withdraw intothemselves and become isolated.

“Loneliness is a very common condi-tion,” says Professor of Psychobiology Alber-to Oliverio, and “there is no doubt that lifein large built-up areas facilitates isolation. Inmany situations, it causes us to ignore the

personal life of an office colleague, a neigh-bor, or the checkout clerk who works at theneighborhood supermarket.” Such isolationoften leads to depression.

The situation of fellow Christians, how-ever, is different, and so is their spirit. Theapostle Paul wrote: “Always be rejoicing.”(1 Thess. 5:16) There are many reasons for usto be joyful and to rejoice together. We wor-ship the Most High God, Jehovah; we under-stand the Bible’s message of truth; we have

Let Us Rejoice Together!

Jesus stated: “When you see these things oc-curring, know that the kingdom of God isnear.” (Luke 21:31) Modern communicationallows us to see all aspects of the sign, nomatter what we personally experience in ourlocality.

Remember, too, that Jehovah has alreadyset the “day and hour” for the great tribula-tion to begin. (Matt. 24:36) The progressionof events on earth will not alter this date.

Jesus admonished Christians everywhere:“Prove yourselves ready.” (Matt. 24:44) Weshould always be ready. Of course, we cannotengage in theocratic activities all day longevery day. Besides, none of us know what wewill be doing the moment the great tribula-tion begins. Some may be working in a fieldor caring for domestic chores. (Matt. 24:40,41) So, what can we do to prove ourselvesready?

Emmanuel, Victorine, and their six daugh-ters live in an areaofAfricawhere theydonotfeel the full thrust of all the events marking

the sign. So they decided to have a spiritualdiscussion every day to help prove them-selves ready. Emmanuel explains: “It was dif-ficult to find a time convenient to all. Wefinally chose the half hour between six andsix-thirty in the morning. After consideringthe day’s text, we prepare a few paragraphs inone of the publications scheduled for con-gregation study during the week.” Has thisprogram helped them to stay awake? Indeed!Emmanuel is coordinator of the body of el-ders in the congregation. Victorine oftenserves as an auxiliary pioneer and has helpedmany to accept the truth. Their daughters areall progressing well spiritually.

Jesus admonishes us: “Keep looking, keepawake.” (Mark 13:33) Do not allow a distrac-tion to diminish your spiritual alertness.Rather, take note of the fine counsel in ourpublications and at congregation meetings,as Arielle did. Like Emmanuel’s family, try todo something every day to prove yourselfready and “keep on the watch.”

the hope of salvation and eternal life; and wecan also help others to attain the same bless-ings.—Ps.106:4, 5; Jer.15:16; Rom.12:12.

Rejoicing and sharing one’s joy are char-acteristics of true Christians. So it is not sur-prising that Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Iam glad and I rejoice with all of you. Now inthe same way you yourselves also be gladand rejoicewithme.” (Phil. 2:17,18) Here, inthe space of just a few words, Paul twicespeaks of being glad and rejoicing with oneanother.

Christians, of course, need to be careful toavoid any tendency to isolate themselves.Noonewho cuts himself off can rejoicewithfellow believers. So howcanwe follow Paul’sexhortation to “continue rejoicing in theLord” with our brothers?—Phil. 3:1.

Rejoice With Fellow BelieversWhenPaul wrote his letter to the Philippi-

ans, he was probably a prisoner in Rome as aresult of his preaching activities. (Phil.1:7; 4:22) Yet, imprisonment did not dampen hisenthusiasm for the ministry. On the con-trary, he rejoiced to serve Jehovah to the full-est extent possible and tobe “pouredout like

a drink offering.” (Phil. 2:17) Paul’s attitudeshows that joy does not depend on one’s cir-cumstances. Despite confinement, he said:“I will also keep on rejoicing.”—Phil.1:18.

Paul had established the congregation inPhilippi and felt particular affection for hisbrothers there. He knew that sharing the joyhe found in serving Jehovah would be en-couraging for them too. Hence, he wrote:“Now Idesire you toknow,brothers, thatmyaffairs have turned out for the advancementof the good news rather than otherwise, sothat my bonds have become public knowl-edge in association with Christ among allthe Praetorian Guard and all the rest.” (Phil.1:12, 13) Paul’s sharing this encouraging ex-perience was one way of his being glad andrejoicing with his brothers. The Philippians,in turn, must have rejoiced with Paul. Theirdoing so, however, required that they notbecome discouraged because of what Paulwas experiencing. Rather, they needed toimitate his example. (Phil. 1:14; 3:17) ThePhilippians, moreover, could continue men-tioning Paul in their prayers and providinghim with whatever help and support theycould.—Phil.1:19; 4:14-16.

Globe:Courtesy

ofReplogleG

lobes


Do we show the same joyful spirit as Pauldid?Dowe strive to see the positive aspects ofourcircumstances in life andofourChristianministry? When we are associating with ourbrothers, it is good to rejoice about the wit-nessing work.We donot have towait for sen-sational experiences to do this. Maybe wewere able to arouse interest in the Kingdommessage with a particularly effective intro-duction or line of reasoning. Perhaps we hada good conversation with a householderabout a selected Bible verse.Or it may simplyhave been that wewere recognized in the ter-ritory as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and this aloneturned out to be a fine witness. Sharing suchexperiences is awayof rejoicing together.

Many of Jehovah’s people have made andare still making sacrifices to get the preach-ingwork done. Pioneers, traveling overseers,Bethelites, missionaries, and internationalservants expend themselves in full-time ser-vice and rejoice as they do so.Dowe feel gladand rejoice with them? Then let us show ourgratefulness for these dear “fellow workersfor the kingdom of God.” (Col. 4:11) Whenwe are together at congregation meetings orlarger Christian assemblies, we can warmlyencourage them. We can also imitate theirzealous example. And we can create the “op-portunity” to listen to their experiences andupbuilding expressions by showing themhospitality, perhaps sharing a meal withthem.—Phil. 4:10.

Rejoice With Those Facing TrialsEnduring persecution and overcoming

trials strengthened Paul’s determination tostay faithful to Jehovah. (Col. 1:24; Jas. 1:2, 3) Knowing that the brothers in Philippiwould likely face similar trials and would beencouraged by his perseverance gave himreason to be glad and to rejoice with them.Thus, he wrote: “To you the privilege wasgiven in behalf of Christ, not only to put

your faith inhim, but also to suffer inhis be-half. For you have the same struggle as yousaw in mycase and as you now hear about inmycase.”—Phil.1:29, 30.

Similarly today, Christians suffer opposi-tion because of their witnessing. Sometimesthis opposition is violent, butoften it is moresubtle. It might come in the form of false ac-cusations from apostates, hostility from fam-ily members, ridicule from colleagues orschoolmates. Jesus warned that these trialsshould neither surprise us nor discourage us.Rather, they are reasons for rejoicing. Hesaid: “Happy are you when people reproachyou and persecute you and lyingly say everysort of wicked thing against you for my sake.Rejoice and leap for joy, since your reward isgreat in the heavens.”—Matt. 5:11,12.

We should not be scared or terrified whenwe hear that our brothers face harsh perse-cution in certain lands. On the contrary, weshould rejoice over their perseverance. Wecanpray for them, asking Jehovah to sustaintheir faith and endurance. (Phil. 1:3, 4)While we may be able to do little else forthose dear brothers, we can help the ones inour own congregation who are undergoingtrials. We can take an interest in them andsupport them. We can create opportunitiesto rejoicewith thembyoccasionally invitingthem to join us during our Family Wor-ship evening, by sharing with them in thepreaching work, and by spending time to-gether in recreation.

We have many reasons for rejoicing to-gether! Let us resist this world’s isolationistspirit and continue to share our joy with ourbrothers. By doing so, not only will we con-tribute to the love andunityof the congrega-tion but we will enjoy the Christian brother-hood to the full. (Phil. 2:1, 2) Yes, “alwaysrejoice in the Lord,” for Paul urges us: “Oncemore I will say, Rejoice!”—Phil. 4:4.


THROUGHOUT the Bible, we find state-ments indicating that Jehovah wants us

not only to live but also to enjoy life. For in-stance, Psalm 104:14, 15 states that Jehovahis causing “food to go forth from the earth,andwine thatmakes theheartofmortalmanrejoice, to make the face shine with oil, andbread that sustains the very heart of mortalman.” Indeed, Jehovah makes crops grow toyield grain, oil, and wine for our sustenance.But wine also ‘makes the heart rejoice.’ Itgoes beyond what is strictly necessary tomaintain life and adds to our joy. (Eccl. 9:7;10:19) Yes, Jehovah wants us to be joyful, ourhearts filled with “good cheer.”—Acts 14:16,17.

2 There is, therefore, no reason to feelguilty when we once in a while schedulesome time to “observe intently the birds ofheaven” and “the lilies of the field” or to en-joy some other activities that refresh us andenrich our life. (Matt. 6:26, 28; Ps. 8:3, 4) Awholesome life is a “gift of God.” (Eccl. 3:12,13) Viewing leisure time as part of that giftwill move us to use it in a way that will bringpleasure to the Giver.�

Diversity and Limitations3 Those who have a balanced view of rec-

� In this article, the terms “recreation” and “enter-tainment” are used interchangeably to refer to the timewe set aside for leisure activities that bring us pleasure.

1, 2. (a) How does God’s Word indicate that Jeho-vah wants us to enjoy life? (b) Viewing recreation asa “gift of God” will move us to do what?3. Why is it reasonable to allow for diversity in rec-reation?

reation allow for diversity yet also recognizethe need for limitations. Why so? To answer,let us compare entertainment with food.Popular dishes differ from one part of theworld to another. In fact, what people in onearea relish may be unappetizing to peopleelsewhere. In a similar manner, what Chris-tians in one part of the world view as pleas-ant recreation may not be appealing toChristians elsewhere. Even among Chris-tians living in the same area, what one mayview as relaxing (perhaps curling up with agood book), another may view as boring;what one may view as refreshing (perhapssightseeing on a bicycle), another may viewas exhausting. Still, we accept that in suchmatters as food and recreation, there is roomfor diversity and personal preference.—Rom.14:2-4.

4 However, we also realize that allowingfor diversity in recreation is not a license toindulge oneself. To illustrate, consider againthe example of food. Though we may bewilling to eat a variety of foods, we wouldnot deliberately consume food that is rotten.Eating such food would go against commonsense and could endanger our health. Simi-larly, though we may be open to a varietyof forms of wholesome entertainment, wewould not pursue leisure activities that arelife-threatening, violent, or morally rotten.Engaging in such activities would go againstBible principles and would endanger our

4. Why do we need to set limits on the kind of rec-reation we choose? Illustrate.

IS YOUR RECREATIONBENEFICIAL?

“Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord.”—EPH. 5:10.


physical or spiritual health. To make surethat we stay within reasonable limits, we dowell to determine in advance whether somerecreation that appeals to us is beneficial ornot. (Eph. 5:10) Howcanwe do so?

5 For recreation to benefit us and be pleas-ing in Jehovah’s eyes, it needs tomeet specif-ic standards set out in God’s Word. (Ps. 86:11) To determine whether that is the caseregarding a type of recreation you may like,you might consult a simple checklist. Thelist is made up of three questions that can besummed up in the words what, when, andwho. Let us consider them one at a time.

What Does It Include?6 Before engaging in a form of entertain-

ment, the first question to ask yourself is,What?—that is, ‘What is the nature of the lei-

sure activity to which I feelattracted?’ As you seek theanswer, it is useful to keep inmind that there are basicallytwo categories of entertain-ment. To the first, we say no;to the second, maybe. Whatis the first? In this wicked

world, much entertainment is characterizedby activities that flagrantly violate Bible prin-ciples or break God’s laws. (1 John 5:19) TrueChristians say a resolute no to all such enter-tainment. This includes entertainment thatfeatures sadism, demonism, homosexuality,pornography, or violence or that glorifiesother vile, immoral practices. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10;read Revelation 21:8.) No matter where wemay be, we prove to Jehovah that we “abhorwhat is wicked” by refusing to get close tosuch entertainment.—Rom. 12:9; 1 John 1:5, 6.

5. How can we determine whether our recreationmeets God’s standards?6. What entertainment do we need to reject, andwhy?

7 The second category of leisure activityconsists of forms of entertainment that donot center on practices that are expresslycondemned in God’s Word. In such cas-es, before choosing the entertainment, weshould carefully compare the activity withJehovah’s view of what is wholesome, as ex-pressed in Bible principles. (Prov. 4:10, 11)Then we need to make a personal decisionthat leaves us with a good conscience. (Gal.6:5; 1 Tim.1:19) Howcanwe do so? Thinkofthis: Before eating a new dish, we would firstwant to find out what its main ingredientsare. Similarly, before engaging in a form ofrecreation, we need to investigate what itsmain features are.—Eph. 5:17.

8 For instance, you may like sports, andthat attraction is easily understood. Sportscan be fun and exciting. What, though, ifyou are attracted to certain sports because oftheir aggressive competitiveness, excessiverisk taking, high rates of injury, riotouscelebrations, nationalistic fervor, or similar“ingredients”? After examining what is in-volved, youwould likely decide that it wouldbe hard to harmonize your thinking with Je-hovah’s way of thinking and with the mes-sage of peace and love that we preach to oth-ers. (Isa. 61:1; Gal. 5:19-21) On the otherhand, if a certain leisure activity is made upof “ingredients” that are wholesome in Je-hovah’s eyes, then such recreation may wellbe beneficial and refreshing to you.—Gal. 5:22, 23; read Philippians 4:8.

When Do I Pursue It?9 The second question to ask yourself is,

When?—that is, ‘When will I engage in rec-reation? How much time will I spend on

7, 8. How can we evaluate the quality of a certainform of entertainment? Illustrate.9. What is revealed by our answer to the question,‘When will I engage in recreation?’

What


it?’ Our answer to the ques-tion what? reveals muchabout our inclinations—what we find acceptableand what we find unaccept-able.However, the answer tothe question when? reflectsour priorities—what we find

important and what we find unimportant.How, then, can we determine whether thelevel of importance that we attach to our en-tertainment is proper?

10 Jesus Christ told his followers: “You

10, 11. How do Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew6:33 help us in deciding how much time to spendon recreation?

must love Jehovah your God with yourwhole heart and with your whole soul andwith your whole mind and with your wholestrength.” (Mark 12:30) Therefore, our lovefor Jehovah comes first in our life. We dem-onstrate that this is the case by following Je-sus’ admonition: “Keep on, then, seekingfirst the kingdomandhis righteousness, andall these other things will be added to you.”(Matt. 6:33) How can that statement help usin determining how much time and impor-tance to assign to recreation?

11 Note this detail: Jesus admonishedus to‘keep on seeking first the kingdom.’ He didnot tell us to ‘keep on seeking only the king-dom.’ Obviously, Jesus knew that we would

When

How can we follow Jesus’ example in choosing our friends and our leisure activities?


need to seek many things in life in additionto the Kingdom. We need housing, food,clothing, a basic education, employment,recreation, and the list goes on. However,among all the things that we are seek-ing, only one pursuit comes first—Kingdominterests. (1 Cor. 7:29-31) That fundamentaltruth should move us to pursue our second-ary activities, including recreation, in such away that they enable us to carry out our pri-mary activity—caring forKingdom interests.If we do that, limited recreation can be ben-eficial.

12 So, then, when it comes to spendingtime on recreation, we do well to count thecost in advance. (Luke 14:28) We need to de-termine how much of our time a certain lei-sure activity will cost. Next, we must decide

12. How can the principle found at Luke 14:28 beapplied to recreation?

how much of our time it is worth. If pursu-ing a form of recreation will mean neglect-ing such important activities as person-al Bible study, family worship, attendingChristian meetings, or sharing in Kingdompreaching, it is not worth the price. (Mark 8:36) But if an occasional leisure activity ener-gizes us to keep onpursuing Kingdom inter-ests, we may well decide that the time wespend on that type of recreation is worth-while.

Who Are My Companions?13 The third question to ask yourself is,

Who?—that is, ‘Who are the ones I wantto share my leisure activities with?’ It isimportant to consider this aspect of rec-reation. Why? Because the quality of ourrecreation is greatly influenced by the qual-ity of our companions. Just as eating ameal is usually more pleasurable when you

do so in the company ofgood friends, engaging inrecreation is often moreenjoyable when you dosowith good companions.Thus, it is understandablethat many among us, es-pecially young ones, en-joy recreation that isshared with others. How-ever, to make sure thatan activity will be benefi-cial, it is wise to determinein advance what sort ofindividuals to choose ascompanions andwhat sortto avoid.—2 Chron. 19:2;read Proverbs 13:20; Jas.4:4.

13. Why should we carefullyconsider with whom we sharein recreation?


14 Following Jesus’ exam-ple in choosing compan-ions will be very helpful.From creation onward, Je-sus had a love for humans.(Prov. 8:31) While on earth,he showed loving consider-ation for all kinds of people.

(Matt. 15:29-37) However, Jesus drew a linebetween being friendly and being a closefriend. While he was friendly toward peoplein general, he was a close friend only tothosewhomet specific requirements. Speak-ing to his 11 faithful apostles, Jesus stated:“You are my friends if you do what I amcommanding you.” (John 15:14; see alsoJohn 13:27, 30.) The only individuals whomJesus embraced as friends were those whofollowed him and served Jehovah.

15 Hence, whenyou consider whether youshould choose a certain individual as a closefriend or not, it would be wise to keep Jesus’statement in mind. Ask yourself such ques-tions as: ‘Does this individual demonstratein words and deeds that he is obeying thecommands of Jehovah and Jesus? Does hehave the same Bible-based values and mor-als that I have? Will being in his companyencourage me to put the Kingdom first inmy life and to be a loyal servant of Jehovah?’If you are sure that the answers to those

14, 15. (a) What example did Jesus set in choosingthe right companions? (b) What questions shouldwe ask ourselves regarding our companions?

questions are yes, you have found a goodcompanionwithwhomto enjoy your leisureactivities.—Read Psalm 119:63; 2 Cor. 6:14;2 Tim. 2:22.

Our Recreation—Does It Pass the Test?

16 We briefly considered three aspects ofentertainment—quality, quantity, and com-pany. To be beneficial, our entertainmentneeds to match closely the Bible-based stan-dard for each of these aspects. Hence, beforeengaging in a form of recreation, we need toput it to the test. When it comes to quality,wewant to know: ‘What does it include? Is itwholesome or debased?’ (Prov. 4:20-27) Re-garding quantity, we want to find out: ‘Howmuch time would I spend on it? Is theamount appropriate or not?’ (1 Tim. 4:8)And concerning company, we need to deter-mine: ‘With whom will I share in entertain-ment? Are such companions good or bad?’—Eccl. 9:18; 1 Cor.15:33.

17 If a form of entertainment fails to meetthe Bible-based standards in any one ofthese three aspects, it does not pass the test.On the other hand, if we make sure that ourleisure activities meet the Bible-based stan-dards in all three aspects, our recreation willbring honor to Jehovah and benefits to us.—Ps.119:33-35.

18 So, then, when it comes to recreation,let us strive to do the right thing at the righttime and with the right people. Yes, may itbe the heartfelt desire of each one of us tofollow the Bible’s advice: “Whether you areeatingordrinkingordoinganythingelse, doall things for God’s glory.”—1 Cor.10:31.

16. What do we need to determine regarding ourentertainment?17, 18. (a) How can we test ourselves to see wheth-er our entertainment meets the Bible’s standards?(b) What are you personally determined to do whenit comes to your choice of entertainment?

Who

Can You Explain?

Regarding recreation, how can youapply the principles found at . . .˙ Philippians 4:8?˙ Matthew 6:33?˙ Proverbs 13:20?


FEW aspects of life cause more elation,frustration, or worry than our dealings

with theopposite sex. Theneed todeal effec-tively with such emotions is reason enoughfor us to seek divine guidance, but there areother motives for doing so. A Christian whois contentwithbeing singlemay feel that hisfamily or friends are pressuring him to getmarried. Another may want to get marriedbut has not yet found a suitable mate. Someneed direction on how to prepare for the re-sponsibilities of being a husband or a wife.And both single and married Christians facetests regarding sexual morality.

2 Apart from our personal happiness,these issues affect our standing before Jeho-vah God. In chapter 7 of his first letter to theCorinthians, Paul gave guidance on single-ness and marriage. His aim was to moti-vate his readers to “that which is becomingand that which means constant attendanceupon the Lord without distraction.” (1 Cor.7:35) As you consider his counsel on theseimportant matters, try to see your situation—single or married—as a way to serve Jeho-vah more fully.

A Weighty Personal Decision3 Like Jewish society in the first century,

1, 2. Why should a person search out Bible coun-sel on singleness and marriage?3, 4. (a) How do difficulties sometimes arise whenpeople are overly concerned about an unmarriedfriend or relative? (b) How should Paul’s counselhelp a person to have a balanced view of marriage?

many cultures today emphasize marriage asbeing most desirable. If a young man orwoman passes a certain age without gettingmarried, concerned friends and relativesmay feel impelled to give him or her someadvice. In conversation, they may suggestthat he or she search more actively for amate.Theymaydrophints about an eligiblememberof the opposite sex. They may evenuse cunning to get two unmarried people tomeet. These actions sometimes lead to em-barrassment, broken friendships, and hurtfeelings.

4 Paul never pressured others either tomarry or to remain single. (1 Cor. 7:7) Hewas content to serve Jehovah without awife, but he respected the right of others toenjoy marriage. Individual Christians todayalso have the right to decide for themselveswhether to get married or to stay single.Others should not pressure them to takeone course or another.

Making a Success of Singleness5 A notable feature of Paul’s words to the

Corinthians is his positive view of single-ness. (Read 1 Corinthians 7:8.) AlthoughPaul was unmarried, he did not exalt him-self over those who were married, as thecelibate clergy of Christendom do. Rath-er, the apostle highlighted an advantagethat many unmarried ministers of the goodnews enjoy.What is that advantage?

5, 6. Why did Paul recommend singleness?

WISE COUNSEL ONSINGLENESS AND MARRIAGE

“This I am saying . . . to move you to that which is becoming and that whichmeans constant attendance upon the Lord without distraction.”—1 COR. 7:35.


6 A single Christian oftenhas the flexibili-ty to accept assignments in Jehovah’s ser-vice that might be out of reach for a marriedperson. Paul received a special privilege as“an apostle to the nations.” (Rom. 11:13)Read Acts chapters 13 through 20, and fol-low him and his fellow missionaries as theyopen up territories and establish congrega-tions in one place after another. In his ser-vice, Paul endured hardships that few todaywill face. (2 Cor.11:23-27, 32, 33) But his joyin helping many to become disciples madethose difficulties worthwhile. (1 Thess. 1:2-7, 9; 2:19) Would he have accomplishedall that he did had he been married or had afamily? Probably not.

7 Many unmarried Christians use theircurrent circumstances to accomplish muchin behalf of the Kingdom. Sara and Limba-nia, single pioneers in Bolivia, moved to avillage where the people had not received awitness for years. Would the lackof electric-

7. Give an example of unmarried Witnesses whohave used their circumstances to further Kingdominterests.

ity be a problem? They reported: “There isno radio or TV, so the people are not dis-tracted from their main pastime, which isreading.” Some villagers showed the pio-neers copies of publications of Jehovah’sWitnesses that they were still reading butthat were long out of print. Because the sis-ters found interest at almost every door,they had difficulty calling on every house-hold in the territory. One elderly womantold them: “The end must be near be-cause Jehovah’s Witnesses have reached usat last.” Some in that village were soon at-tending congregation meetings.

8 Of course, married Christians also havefine results when preaching the good newsin challenging territories. But some assign-ments open to single pioneers might provedifficult for those who are married or whohave children. Paul thought about the po-tential he observed for advancing the goodnews among the local congregations. He

8, 9. (a) What did Paul have in mind when hespoke favorably of singleness? (b) What advantagesdo unmarried Christians have?

Joy comes to unmarriedChristians who usetheir time to expandtheir ministry


wanted all to have joy, ashedid. For that rea-son, he spoke favorably of serving Jehovahas a single person.

9 A single pioneer sister from the UnitedStateswrote: “Somepeople believe that hap-piness is unattainable for the unmarried.But I have seen that lasting happiness de-pends on a person’s friendship with Jeho-vah. Singleness, though it is a sacrifice, is anamazing gift if you take advantage of it.” Re-garding finding happiness, she wrote: “Sin-gleness can be a springboard to happiness,not a hindrance. I know that Jehovah ex-cludes no one, single or married, from histender affections.” She now happily servesin a land where there is a greater need forKingdom publishers. If you are single, canyou use your freedom to expand your sharein teaching others the truth? You too mayfind singleness to be a priceless gift from Je-hovah.

Single Ones Who Wish to Marry10 After spending some time single, many

of Jehovah’s faithful servants decide to lookfor a marriage partner. Conscious of theneed for guidance, they ask Jehovah forhelpto find a suitable mate.—Read 1 Corinthi-ans 7:36.

11 If you hope to marry someone whoshares your desire to serve Jehovah whole-souled, keep this matter before Him inprayer. (Phil. 4:6, 7) Regardless of how longyou may need to wait, do not despair. Trustin our loving God as your Helper, and hewill support you emotionally in harmonywith your need.—Heb.13:6.

12 A single Christian desiring to get mar-ried may receive a proposal from someone

10, 11. How does Jehovah support those who hopeto marry but have not yet found a suitable mate?12. Why should a Christian weigh a proposal ofmarriage carefully?

of doubtful spirituality or even from an un-believer. If that happens to you, rememberthat the heartache that results from makinga bad choice in a marriage mate can causegreater pain by far than the longing that aperson feelswhile single.Andoncemarried,for better or for worse, you are bound toyour mate for life. (1Cor. 7:27) Donotout ofdesperation make a decision to marry thatyou will later regret.—Read 1 Corinthians7:39.

Prepare for theRealities of Marriage

13 Although Paul recommended servingJehovah as a single person, he did not lookdown on thosewho decided to marry. Rath-er, his inspired counsel assists couples toface the realities of married life and to maketheir unionpermanent.

14 Some couples need to adjust their ex-pectations for the future. As they court,two people may come to see their love asunique, extraordinary, a guarantee of mari-tal bliss. They enter marriage carried alongby dreamy emotion and believe that noth-ing can ever destroy their happiness togeth-er. Such thinking is unrealistic. The roman-tic aspects of married life are delightful, butthey alone do not equip a bride and groomfor the tribulation that comes with everymarriage.—Read 1 Corinthians 7:28.�

15 Many newlyweds are surprised, evendisappointed, when their mates differ withthem on important issues. The two mayfind themselves at oddsonhow they shouldspend money and leisure time, where theywill live, and how often they should visit

� See The Secret of Family Happiness, chapter 2, para-graphs 16-19.

13-15. What possible sources of tribulation in mar-riage should a couple discuss during courtship?


the in-laws. And each one has personalityflaws that can irritate the other. Duringcourtship, it is easy to make light of the im-portance of such matters, but they can laterput great strain on a marriage. A couple dowell to resolve areas of concern before theymarry.

16 To be successful and happy, a couplemust face their challenges unitedly. Theyshould agree onhow to discipline their chil-dren and how to care for aging parents. Thepressure causedby familydifficulties shouldnot push the two apart. By applying Biblecounsel, they will solve many problems, en-dure those that remain, and stay happy to-gether.—1 Cor. 7:10,11.

17 Paul states another reality of marriage

16. Why should a couple agree on how to face thechallenges of married life?17. What concern for “the things of the world”should a couple expect to have?

at 1 Corinthians 7:32-34. (Read.) Marriedpeople are by necessity “anxious for thethings of the world,” such as food, cloth-ing, shelter, and other nonspiritual matters.Why is this so? When single, a brother mayhave poured himself into the ministry. Butas a husband, he finds that he must usesome of that time and energy to care for hiswife and thus gainher approval. The same istrue of the wife toward her husband. In hiswisdom, Jehovah recognizes this need. Heknows that a successful marriage often de-mands someof the timeand energy that thehusband and wife formerly used in His ser-vicewhen they were single.

18 But the lesson goes further. If a couplemust divert some time and energy fromGod’s service to care for each other, shouldtheynotdo likewisewith resources formerly

18. What adjustments regarding social activitiesmay some have to make after marriage?

What adjustments may some have to make after marriage?


used for socializing as single people? Whatwouldbe the effecton awife if a husband re-mained deeply involved in sports with hisfriends? Or how might a husband feel if awife kept devoting much time to hobbieswith her friends? The neglected mate mightsoon feel lonely, unhappy, and unloved.This can be avoided if those marrying do allthey can to strengthen their bond as hus-band and wife.—Eph. 5:31.

Jehovah Requires Moral Cleanness19 Servants of Jehovah are resolved to re-

main morally chaste. Some decide to marryso as to avoid problems in this area. Mar-riage, though, does not furnish automaticprotection against sexual uncleanness. InBible times, a fortified city protected thepeople only if they remained inside itswalls. If a personwentoutside thegatewhenbandits andmarauderswere roamingabout,he could be robbed or killed. Likewise, mar-ried people find protection from immorali-tyonly if they staywithin the sexual boundsthat the Originator of marriage has estab-lished for them.

20 Paul described thosebounds at 1Corin-thians 7:2-5. Sexual relations with her hus-band become the exclusive privilege of thewife; he likewise has the sameprivilegewithher alone. Each is expected to provide theother with the marital “due,” or sexual rela-tions that a married person has the right toreceive.However, some husbands and wivesspend long periods of time apart—takingseparate vacations or being away from eachother because of secular work, thus de-priving each other of the “due.” Imaginethe tragedy if because of the “lack of self-

19, 20. (a) Why are married people not free oftemptation to be immoral? (b) What risk does amarried couple take if they allow themselves to beseparated for long periods of time?

regulation,” a person yields to satanic pres-sure and commits adultery. Jehovah blessesfamily heads who provide for their fami-lies without risking their marriages.—Ps.37:25.

Benefits of ObeyingBible Counsel

21 Decisions involving singleness andmarriage are among themost difficult that aperson will ever make. Imperfection, thesource of most problems in human rela-tions, is present in all people. So even thosefavored and blessed by Jehovah cannot ful-ly escape disappointment, whether singleor married. If you apply the wise counselfound in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, you cankeep such problems to a minimum. In Jeho-vah’s eyes you will “do well,” whether youare single or married. (Read 1 Corinthians7:37, 38.) Having God’s approval is thegreatest goal that you can achieve. With hisfavor, you will continue progressing towardlife in his new world. There, relationshipsbetween men and womenwill be free of thepressures so common today.

21. (a) Why are decisions on singleness and mar-riage difficult to make? (b) Why is the counsel in1 Corinthians chapter 7 useful?

Can You Answer?˙ Why should no one pressure another

to get married?˙ How can you make the best use

of your time as a single servant ofJehovah?

˙ How can a courting couple preparefor the challenges of marriage?

˙ Why does marriage not offer auto-matic protection against sexual im-morality?


I GREW UP on my grandfather’s cottonfarm in the state of Georgia, U.S.A., dur-

ing the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Myfather, who was devastated by the death ofmy mother and newborn brother, left mewith his widowed dad and moved to a dis-tant city for employment. Later, he made at-tempts to have me join him, but these neverworked out.

Grandfather’s older daughters managedthe household. Although he was not a reli-gious man, his daughters were strict South-ern Baptists. Under threat of a beating, I wasforced to attend church every Sunday. Sofrom an early age, I had little regard for re-ligion. I did, however, enjoy school andsports.

The Visit That Changed My LifeOne afternoon in 1941, when I was 15, an

elderly man and his wife came to ourhome.He was introduced as “your uncle TalmadgeRusk.” I had never heard of him but learnedthat he andhiswifewere Jehovah’sWitness-es. What he explained about God’s purpose

for humans to live on the earth forever wasmuch different from what I had heard inchurch. Most of the family rejected—evendespised—what they said. They were neveragain allowed into the home. However, myaunt Mary, only three years older than me,accepted a Bible along with publicationsthat helped to explain it.

Mary was quickly convinced that she hadfound Bible truth and was baptized in 1942as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She also ex-perienced what Jesus had foretold, namely:“Aman’s enemieswill be personsof his ownhousehold.” (Matt. 10:34-36) Family oppo-sition was intense. An older sister, promi-nent in county affairs, conspired with themayor and had Uncle Talmadge arrested.The charge was peddling without a license.Hewas convicted.

Our hometown newspaper reported thatthe mayor, who was also the judge, said tothose in the city court: “The literature thisman isdistributing . . . is asdangerous aspoi-son.” My uncle won the case on appeal, buthe spent ten days in jail in the meantime.

SERVING JEHOVAHHAS BEEN MY

DELIGHT˘

AS TOLD BYFRED RUSK

I experienced early in life the truth of David’s words found at Psalm 27:10:“In case my own father and my own mother did leave me, even Jehovah himself

would take me up.” Let me relate how this came true for me.

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙


How Aunt Mary Helped MeIn addition to speaking to me about her

newfoundbeliefs,Mary beganwitnessing tothe neighbors. I went with her on a Biblestudy that she conducted with a man whohad accepted the book The New World.�Hiswife said that her husband had stayed up allnight reading it. Although I did not wantto be quickly drawn into anything reli-gious, what I was learning appealed to me.However, it was not primarily Bible teach-ings that convinced me that the Witnesseswere God’s people. It was how they weretreated.

For example, on the way home fromhoeing tomatoes one day, Mary and I foundevidence in the smoldering incinerator thather sisters had burned her literature, includ-ing a phonograph and records containingBible messages. My outrage was met withthe condescending response of an aunt,“You will thank us later in life for what wehave done.”

Mary was forced to leave home in 1943because she refused to give up her new-found faith and stoppreaching to theneigh-

� Published in 1942 but now out of print.

bors. By then, I was thrilled to have learnedthat not only does God have a name, Jeho-vah, but he is a loving, compassionate God,not one who burns people in a fiery hell. Ialso learned that Jehovah has a loving orga-nization, although I had not yet attended ameeting.

Later, while I was mowing the lawn, a cardrove up slowly and one of the two men in-side asked me if I was Fred. When I foundout that they wereWitnesses, I said, “Let meget in, and we will drive to a safe place totalk.”Mary had arranged for them to call onme. One of the men was Shield Toutjian, atraveling minister who provided me withencouragement and spiritual direction atthe right time. Family opposition now fo-cused on me as I defended the beliefs of Je-hovah’s Witnesses.

Mary wrote to me from Virginia, whereshe had moved, and said that if I was deter-mined to serve Jehovah, I could come andlivewith her. Right away I decided to go.Ona Friday evening in October 1943, I putsome necessities in a box and tied it in a treesome distance from home. On Saturday, Iretrieved the box, took a back route to aneighbor’s house, and got a ride into town.

On my grandfather’s cottonfarm in Georgia, U.S.A., 1928

Aunt Mary andUncle Talmadge


Traveling to the city of Roanoke, I foundMary in the home of Edna Fowlkes.

Spiritual Growth, Baptism, BethelEdna was a compassionate anointed Wit-

ness—amodern-dayLydia—whohad rented alarge home and taken in, besides Aunt Mary,the wife of Edna’s brother, as well as her twodaughters. These girls—Gladys and GraceGregory—later became missionaries. Gladys,now in her 90’s, still serves faithfully at theJapan branch.

While living in Edna’s home, I attendedmeetings regularly and received training inthe ministry. Having the freedom to studyGod’s Word and attend Christian meetingssatisfied my growing spiritual appetite. OnJune 14, 1944, I was baptized. Mary and theGregory sisters began pioneering and ac-cepted an assignment in northern Virginia.There they were instrumental in forming acongregation in Leesburg. In early 1946, Ibegan pioneering in an adjacent county.That summer we traveled together to thememorable international convention heldin Cleveland, Ohio, August 4-11.

At that convention, Nathan Knorr, whowas taking the lead in the organization, out-

lined plans for expansion at Brooklyn Beth-el. These included building a new residenceand anaddition to the printery.Many youngbrothers were needed. I decided that that iswhere I would like to serve Jehovah. So Iturned in my application, and within a fewmonths, on December 1, 1946, I went toBethel.

About a year later, the printery overseer,Max Larson, stopped at my desk in the Mail-ing Department. He informed me that I wasbeing assigned to the Service Department.In that assignment, I learned much aboutthe application of Bible principles and thefunctions of God’s organization, especiallywhile working with T. J. (Bud) Sullivan, thedepartment overseer.

My father visitedme several times at Beth-el. In later life, he had become religious. Onhis last visit, in 1965, he said, “You maycome tovisit me, but I will never come to seeyou here again.” I did visit him a few timesbefore he died. He was sure he was going toheaven. My hope is that he is in Jehovah’smemory, and if so, at resurrection time hewill be, not where he thought he would be,but here on the earthwith thehopeof livingforever in the restored Paradise.

Mary, Gladys,and Grace

My baptism,June 14, 1944

In the ServiceDepartment at Bethel


Other Memorable Conventionsand Construction

Conventions were always milestones ofspiritual growth. The international ones atNew York’s Yankee Stadium in the 1950’swere especially so. During one session in1958, Yankee Stadiumand the Polo Groundswere packed with 253,922 from 123 lands.One incident at that convention, I will neverforget. While I was assisting in the conven-tion office, Brother Knorr approached me ata fast pace. “Fred,” he said, “somehow I over-looked assigning a brother to speak to all thepioneers nowassembled in a rented banquethall nearby. Would you rush over and givethem a good talk based on what you thinkabout on the way?” I prayed a lot before I ar-rived there, out of breath.

As the number of congregations in-creased dramatically inNewYorkCity in the1950’s and 1960’s, rented facilities for King-dom Halls became inadequate. So from1970 to 1990, three buildings were pur-chased and remodeled in Manhattan to pro-vide suitable meeting places. I was chair-man of the building committees for theseprojects and have many pleasant memoriesof how Jehovah richly blessed the congre-

gations involved in working together tofinance and complete these buildings thatcontinue to serve so well as centers of trueworship.

Changes in LifeOne day in 1957, while I was walking to

work through the park between the BethelHome and the printery, it started to rain. Isaw a lovely blondenew Bethelite girl aheadof me. She did not have an umbrella, so I of-fered to share mine. That’s how I met Mar-jorie, and since our wedding in 1960, wehave beenwalking happily together in Jeho-vah’s service, rain or shine. We celebrat-ed our 50th year of marriage in Septem-ber 2010.

Wehadhardlyunpacked fromourhoney-moon when Brother Knorr told me that Ihad been assigned to be an instructor at Gil-ead School. What a special privilege thatwas! From 1961 to 1965, five longer classeswere made up mainly of branch personnelwho were given special training in branchmanagement. In the fall of 1965, classes re-turned to being five months in length, andonce again the focus was on training mis-sionaries.

With Mary at the 1958international convention

at Yankee Stadium

With Marjorieon our wedding day

Together in 2008


In 1972, I was transferred from GileadSchool to the Writing Correspondence De-partment, where I served as the overseer.Doing research to handle a variety of ques-tions andproblemshas helpedme to under-stand better the teachings of God’s Wordand the application of the lofty principlesof our God in assisting others.

Then, in 1987, I was assigned to a new de-partment called Hospital Information Ser-vices. Seminars were arranged to teach el-ders on Hospital Liaison Committees howto approach doctors, judges, and socialworkers to discuss our Scriptural stand onblood. A big problem was that doctors werearbitrarily giving blood transfusions to ourchildren, often getting court orders to do so.

When alternatives to blood transfusionswere suggested to doctors, the usual replywas that such were not available or were tooexpensive. My response to a surgeon whosaid that would often be, “Hold out yourhand, please.” When he did, I would say,“You know, you possess there one of thebest alternatives to blood.” This compli-ment reminded him of what he was well-aware of—that careful use of the scalpelkeeps blood loss to a minimum.

During the past two decades, Jehovah hasrichly blessed these efforts to educate doc-tors and judges. Their attitudes changed sig-nificantly when they came to understandour position better. They learned that medi-cal researchproves that alternatives to bloodare effective and that there are many co-operative doctors as well as hospitals towhich a patient might be transferred.

Since1996,Marjorie and Ihavebeen serv-ing at the Watchtower Educational Cen-ter in Patterson, New York, located about70 miles (110 km) north of Brooklyn. Here Iworked briefly in the Service Departmentand then for a time shared in teaching

branch personnel and traveling overseers.For the past 12 years, I have again served asthe overseer of Writing Correspondence,which had been transferred from Brooklynto Patterson.

Challenges of Old AgeCaring for my privileges of service at

Bethel has become more difficult as I havereached my mid-80’s. I have battled cancerfor more than ten years. I feel like Hezekiah,to whom Jehovah granted an extension ofhis life. (Isa. 38:5) My wife too has failinghealth, and we work together to cope withher Alzheimer’s disease. Marjorie has been acapable minister of Jehovah, a mentor toyoung ones, and a faithful helper and loyalcompanion to me. She was always a goodstudent of the Bible and a fine teacher of it,and many spiritual children keep in touchwith us.

My aunt Mary died in March 2010 at 87.She excelled as a teacher of God’s Word andhelped others to take their stand for trueworship. She spent many years in the full-time ministry. I am very grateful to her forthe part she played in helping me to learnthe truth of God’s Word and to become likeher, a servant of our loving God, Jehovah.Mary is buried beside her husband, who ear-lier served as amissionary in Israel. I amcon-fident that they are in Jehovah’s memoryawaiting the resurrection.

As I look back over 67 years of serving Je-hovah, I am thankful for the rich blessings Ihave received. It has been my delight to doJehovah’s will! Having trusted in his un-deserved kindness, I fervently hope to sharein the promise of his Son: “Everyone thathas left houses or brothers or sisters or fatherormotheror childrenor lands for the sake ofmy name will receive many times more andwill inherit everlasting life.”—Matt.19:29.


FROM our birth on, we feel the need forcomfort. A baby uses its vocal cords to let

us know when it needs comfort. Perhaps itwants to be held or it is hungry. Even whenwe are older, we often feel the need to becomforted. Especially is this the case whenwe are experiencing difficult situations.

2 Family members and friends can oftengive us a degree of comfort. At times, how-ever, conditions that cause us distress are be-yond human remedies. Only God can giveus comfort regardless of how distressing oursituation may be. His Word assures us: “Je-hovah is near to all those calling upon him,. . . and their cry for help he will hear.” (Ps.145:18, 19) Yes, “the eyes of Jehovah are to-ward the righteous ones, and his ears are to-ward their cry for help.” (Ps. 34:15) But if weare to receiveGod’s support and comfort, wemust place our trust in him. The psalmistDavid made that clear when he sang: “Jeho-vah will become a secure height for anyonecrushed, a secure height in times of distress.And those knowing your name will trust inyou, for you will certainly not leave thoselooking for you, O Jehovah.”—Ps. 9:9,10.

3 Jehovah’s worshippers are precious tohim. Jesus made this clear when he said:“Five sparrows sell for two coins of small val-ue, do they not? Yet not one of them goes

1. Regardless of age, what need do humans have?2. What assurance does Jehovah give that he willcomfort those who trust in him?3. How did Jesus illustrate Jehovah’s love for Hispeople?

forgotten before God. But even the hairs ofyour heads are all numbered. Have no fear;you are worth more than many sparrows.”(Luke 12:6, 7) Through the prophet Jeremi-ah, Jehovah told His ancient people: “With alove to time indefinite I have loved you.That is why I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”—Jer. 31:3.

4 Trusting in Jehovah and in the fulfill-ment of his promises can bring us comfortin times of distress. We should thereforehave the same trust in God as that expressedby Joshua, who declared: “Not one word outof all the good words that Jehovah your Godhas spoken to you has failed. They have allcome true for you. Not one word of themhas failed.” (Josh. 23:14) Moreover, we canbe certain that even if we are temporarilycrushed by trying situations, “God is faith-ful” and will never forsake his loyal servants.—Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

5 The apostle Paul refers to Jehovah as“the God of all comfort.” “To comfort”means to soothe someone who is in distressor who is sorrowing. This is done by easinghis misery or grief and bringing him conso-lation. Jehovah certainly does this. (Read2 Corinthians 1:3, 4.) Our heavenly Fatheris not limited by anything or anyone andtherefore has at his disposalwhatever meansareneeded toprovide comfort for thosewholove him. In turn, we are able to comfort

4. Why can we trust in Jehovah’s promises?5. How is it possible for us to comfort others?

TRUST IN JEHOVAH,“THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT”

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort.”—2 COR. 1:3.


fellow believers “in any sort of tribulation.”We can do so “through the comfort withwhich we ourselves are being comforted byGod.” How well this expresses Jehovah’s un-matched ability to comfort despairing ones!

Coping With the Causes of Distress6 We need comfort in many areas of life.

One of the greatest causes of grief is the lossof a loved one in death, especially a belovedmarriage mate or a child. Comfort may alsobe needed because a person is a victim ofdiscrimination or prejudice. Poor health,advanced age, poverty, marital problems, ordistressing world conditions can give rise toa personal need for comfort.

7 In times of distress, we may need com-fort that soothes our heart, our mind, ouremotions, and both our physical and spiri-tual health. Forexample, consider the heart.God’s Word acknowledges that our heartcan be “broken and crushed.” (Ps. 51:17) Je-hovah is certainly able to deal with this situ-ation, for “he is healing the brokenheartedones, and is binding up their painful spots.”(Ps.147:3) Even in severe situations,God canbring relief to a stricken heart if we pray tohim in full faith and observe his command-ments.—Read 1 John 3:19-22; 5:14,15.

8 Our mind often needs comfort becausevarious trials can cause great mental dis-tress. In our own strength, we likely cannotcope with these tests of faith. However,the psalmist sang: “When my disquietingthoughts became many inside of me, yourownconsolations began to fondlemy soul.”(Ps. 94:19) Moreover, Paul wrote: “Do not beanxiousover anything, but in everything by

6. Give examples of things that can cause distress.7. (a) In grievous situations, what kind of comfortis needed? (b) What can Jehovah do to heal a “bro-ken and crushed” heart?8. When we are distressed mentally, how can Jeho-vah help us?

prayer and supplication along with thanks-giving let your petitions be made known toGod; and the peace of God that excels allthought will guard your hearts and yourmental powers by means of Christ Jesus.”(Phil. 4:6, 7) Reading and meditating on theScriptures can be of great help in copingwith mental distress.—2 Tim. 3:15-17.

9 At times, we may become so discour-aged that we can be in danger of succumb-ing to the effects of negative emotions. Per-haps we feel unable to care for a certainScriptural responsibility or privilege of ser-vice. Here, too, Jehovah can comfort andhelp us. To illustrate: When Joshua wascommissioned to lead the Israelites againstpowerful enemy nations, Moses told thepeople: “Be courageous and strong. Do notbe afraid or suffer a shock before them, be-cause Jehovah your God is the one march-ing with you. He will neither desert you norleave you entirely.” (Deut. 31:6) With Jeho-vah’s backing, Joshuawas able to lead God’speople into the Promised Land and to victo-ry over all their enemies. Earlier at the RedSea, Moses had experienced similar divinesupport.—Ex.14:13,14, 29-31.

10 Distressing events can have a negativeeffect on our physical health. Of course, eat-ing properly, getting sufficient rest and exer-cise, and keeping clean can have a goodeffect on us. A spiritually healthy Bible-based outlook may well affect our body forthe good. Thus, it is helpful when goingthrough some anguish that we bear inmind Paul’s experience and encouragingwords: “We are pressed in every way, but notcramped beyond movement; we are per-plexed, but not absolutely with no way out;we are persecuted, but not left in the lurch;

9. How can we cope with emotional distress?10. If our physical health is affected by distress,what help can we receive?


we are thrown down, but not destroyed.”—2 Cor. 4:8, 9.

11 Some trials can have a detrimental ef-fect on our spiritual health. Here, too, Jeho-vah can come to our rescue. His Word as-sures us: “Jehovah is giving support to allwho are falling, and is raising up all who arebowed down.” (Ps.145:14) For help to coun-teract spiritual illness,we should seek the as-sistance of Christian elders. (Jas. 5:14, 15)And constantly keeping in mind the Scrip-tural hope of everlasting life can help to sus-tain us during tests of our faith.—John 17:3.

Examples of God-Given Comfort12 An inspired psalmist declared: “Re-

member theword toyour servant, for whichyou [Jehovah] have made me wait. This ismy comfort in my affliction, for your ownsaying has preserved me alive.” (Ps. 119:49,50) Today, we have Jehovah’s written Word,which contains many examples of God-given comfort. For instance, Abraham mayhave been quite distressed when he learnedthat Jehovah was going to destroy Sod-

11. How can spiritual illness be counteracted?12. Describe Jehovah’s comforting attitude towardAbraham.

om and Gomorrah. That faithful patriarchasked God: “Will you really sweep away therighteous with the wicked?” Jehovah com-forted Abrahamby assuring him that if only50 righteous people could be found, Hewould not destroy Sodom. Five more times,however, Abraham asked Jehovah: What ifthere are only 45 righteous people? 40? 30?20? 10? Each time, Jehovah very patientlyand kindly assured Abraham that Sodomwould be spared. Although there were noteven ten righteous people in the area, Jeho-vah did preserve Lot and his daughters.—Gen.18:22-32; 19:15,16, 26.

13 Elkanah’s wife Hannah greatly desiredto have a child. But she was barren, and thisdistressed her. She prayed to Jehovah aboutthe matter, and High Priest Eli said to her:“May the God of Israel grant your petition.”This comforted Hannah, “and her face be-came self-concerned no more.” (1 Sam. 1:8,17, 18) Hannah trusted in Jehovah, con-fidently leaving things in his hands. Al-though shedidnot knowwhat the outcomewouldbe,Hannahexperienced inner peace.In time, Jehovah answered her prayer. She

13. How did Hannah show that she trusted in Jeho-vah?

ˇ heart Ps. 147:3; 1 John 3:19-22; 5:14, 15ˇ mind Ps. 94:19; Phil. 4:6, 7ˇ emotions Ex. 14:13, 14; Deut. 31:6ˇ physical health 2 Cor. 4:8, 9ˇ spiritual health Ps. 145:14; Jas. 5:14, 15

HOW TO COPE WITH THINGSTHAT COULD AFFECT OUR . . .


became pregnant and brought a son tobirth, naming him Samuel.—1 Sam.1:20.

14 King David of ancient Israel is anotherexample of an individual comforted byGod. Inasmuch as Jehovah “sees what theheart is,” when he selected David to be a fu-ture king of Israel, he knew that David wassincere and devoted to trueworship. (1 Sam.16:7; 2 Sam. 5:10) Later, however, Davidcommitted adultery with Bath-sheba andtried to cover up the sin by having her hus-bandkilled.WhenDavid came to realize theenormity of his sin, he prayed to Jehovah:“According to the abundance of your mer-cies wipe out my transgressions. Thorough-ly wash me from my error, and cleanse meeven from my sin. For my transgressions Imyself know, and my sin is in front of meconstantly.” (Ps. 51:1-3) David was truly re-pentant, and Jehovah forgave him. How-ever, David had to face the consequences ofhis wrongdoing. (2 Sam.12:9-12) Neverthe-less, Jehovah’s mercy was a source of com-fort to his humble servant.

15 When on earth, Jesus faced manytrying circumstances. God permitted thesetests of faith, and Jesus maintained his in-tegrity as a perfect man who always trustedin Jehovah and upheld His sovereignty.

14. Why did David need comfort, and to whom didhe turn?15. What help did Jehovah give Jesus just before hisdeath?

When about to be betrayed and executed,Jesus prayed to Jehovah: “Let, not my will,but yours take place.” An angel then ap-peared to Jesus and strengthenedhim. (Luke22:42, 43) God gave Jesus the comfort,strength, and support he needed at thattime.

16 Even if we ourselves should face deathbecause of our firm stand as Christians, Je-hovah can and will help us to maintain ourintegrity to him. Furthermore, we are com-forted by the hope of the resurrection. Andhow we look forward to the day when thelast enemy, death, “is to be brought to noth-ing”! (1 Cor. 15:26) God’s loyal servantswho have died, as well as others, are in Jeho-vah’s infallible memory and will be resur-rected. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) Confi-dence in Jehovah’s resurrection promisebrings us comfort and a sure hope duringtimes of persecution.

17 How comforting it is to know that ourloved ones now asleep in mankind’s com-mon grave have the prospect of resuminglife in a wonderful new world free of all thepresent-day causes of distress! And what aprivilege it will be for the “great crowd” ofJehovah’s servants who survive the end ofthis wicked system of things to welcomeand instruct those resurrected to life onearth!—Rev. 7:9,10.

Underneath Are God’s Eternal Arms18 In the words of a powerful and heart-

warming song, Moses assured the people ofIsrael: “A hiding place is the God of ancienttime, and underneath are the indefinitely

16. What can God do about distress we may experi-ence if we face death as integrity keepers?17. How can Jehovah comfort us when a loved onedies?18, 19. How have God’s servants been comfortedwhen being persecuted?

How Would You Answer?˙ What are some things that can cause

us distress?˙ How does Jehovah comfort his

servants?˙ If we are faced with death, what can

comfort us?


lasting arms.” (Deut. 33:27) The prophetSamuel later told the Israelites: “Do not turnaside from following Jehovah, and you mustserve Jehovah with all your heart. . . . Jeho-vah will not desert his people for the sake ofhis great name.” (1 Sam.12:20-22) As long aswe cling to Jehovah in true worship, he willnever forsake us. He will always give us thesupport we need.

19 God is unfailingly giving his peopleneeded help and comfort in these criticallast days. For over a century, thousands ofour fellow believers throughout the worldhave been persecuted and imprisoned justbecause they served Jehovah. Their experi-ences prove that in times of trial, Jehovahdoes indeed comfort his servants. For exam-ple, one of our brothers in the former Soviet

Union was sentenced to 23 years in prisonbecause of his faith. Even so, a way wasfound to get spiritual food to him so that hecould be strengthened and comforted. Hestated: “During all those years, I learned totrust in Jehovah and received strength fromhim.”—Read 1 Peter 5:6, 7.

20 Regardless of what we may yet face, wewill do well to bear in mind the psalmist’scomforting words: “Jehovah will not forsakehis people.” (Ps. 94:14) Although we person-ally need to be comforted, we also have thegrand privilege of bringing comfort to oth-ers. As we shall see in the next article, we canhave a share in comforting mourning onesin this troubled world.

20. Why can we be sure that Jehovah will not aban-don us?

JESUS CHRIST said: “My food is for me todo the will of him that sent me and to fin-

ish his work.” (John 4:34) In carrying out hisGod-given assignment, Jesus reflected his Fa-ther’s magnificent qualities. Among these isJehovah’s great love for people. (1 John 4:7-10) The apostle Paul noted one manifesta-tion of that love when he described Jehovahas “the God of all comfort.” (2 Cor. 1:3) Jesusdemonstrated such love when he did whatwas foretold in Isaiah’s prophecy. (Read Isa-

1. What did Jesus do for mourning ones, and why?

iah 61:1, 2.) Jesus read from that prophecyin the synagogue at Nazareth and appliedits words to himself. (Luke 4:16-21) Duringhis entire ministry, Jesus lovingly comfortedmourning ones, bringing them encourage-ment and peace of mind.

2 All followers of Jesus need to imitate himby comforting those who mourn. (1 Cor.11:1) Paul said: “Keep comforting one anoth-er and building one another up.” (1 Thess. 5:

2, 3. Why do Christ’s followers need to imitatehim in giving comfort?

“COMFORT ALLTHE MOURNING ONES”

“Jehovah has anointed me . . . to comfort all the mourning ones.”—ISA. 61:1, 2.


11) Especially do we need to comfort others,since mankindnow faces “critical times hardto deal with.” (2 Tim. 3:1) More and more,honesthearted people throughout the worldare being confronted by some whose wordsand actions cause grief, heartache, and sad-ness.

3 As Bible prophecy foretold, in these lastdays of this wicked system of things, manyare “lovers of themselves, lovers of money,self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, dis-obedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal,having no natural affection, not open to anyagreement, slanderers, without self-control,fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers,headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers ofpleasures rather than lovers of God.” Suchattitudes are now worse than ever, for ‘wick-ed men and impostors have advanced frombad toworse.’—2 Tim. 3:2-4,13.

4 All of this should not surprise us, sinceGod’s Word makes it clear that “the wholeworld is lying in the power of the wick-ed one.” (1 John 5:19) “The whole world”includes political, religious, and commer-

4. What has happened to world conditions in ourtime?

cial elements, as well as pro-paganda channels. Withoutquestion, Satan the Devil isproperly called “the ruler ofthe world” and “the god ofthis system of things.” (John14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4) Conditionsthroughout the earth con-tinue to deteriorate becauseSatan now has great anger,knowing he has only a shortperiod of time left before Je-hovah takes him out of the

way. (Rev. 12:12) How comforting it is toknow that God’s toleration of Satan and hisevil systemwill soon end, and the issue Satanraised regarding Jehovah’s sovereignty willbe settled!—Gen., chap. 3; Job, chap. 2.

The Good News Is BeingPreached Earth Wide

5 During this difficult period of humanhistory, what Jesus foretold is being ful-filled. He said: “This good news of the king-dom will be preached in all the inhabit-ed earth for a witness to all the nations;and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) This earth-wide witness work regardingGod’s Kingdom is being done on an ever-increasing scale. Today, over 7,500,000 Wit-nesses of Jehovah, associated with morethan 107,000 congregations throughout theearth, are preaching about God’s Kingdom,even as Jesus made it the theme of hispreaching and teaching. (Matt. 4:17) As aresult of our present-day preaching work,great comfort is being given to mourningones. Why, in two recent years, a total of

5. How is the prophecy about the preaching workbeing fulfilled in these last days?

Do you share in comfortingmourning ones?


570,601 individuals were baptized as Jeho-vah’s Witnesses!

6 The great scope of this preaching workcan best be appreciated by noting that Jeho-vah’s Witnesses now translate and distrib-ute Bible literature in over 500 languages.Nothing like this has ever been seen in allhuman history! The existence, work, andgrowthof the earthly partof Jehovah’s orga-nization are truly extraordinary. Withoutthe direction and help of God’s powerfulholy spirit, it would be impossible for such athing to take place in this world that is un-der Satan’s control. Because the good newsis being preached throughout the inhabitedearth, comfort from the Scriptures is nowbeing enjoyed not only byour fellow believ-ers but also by mourning ones who acceptthe Kingdom message.

Comforting Fellow Worshippers7 In this world full of wickedness and suf-

fering, we are sure to encounter some situa-tions that cause distress. We cannot expectGod to remove all sourcesof unhappiness orgrief until he destroys this system of things.Meanwhile, as we face foretold persecution,our integrity to Jehovah is at stake as sup-porters of his universal sovereignty. (2 Tim.3:12) Helped and comforted by our heaven-ly Father, however, we can be like anoint-ed Christians of ancient Thessalonica, whobore persecutions and tribulations with en-durance and faith.—Read 2 Thessalonians1:3-5.

8 There is no doubt that Jehovah provides

6. What do you think about the scope of ourpreaching activity?7. (a) Whycanwe not expect Jehovah to remove alldistressing situations now? (b) How do we knowthat it is possible for us to endure persecution andtribulation?8. What Scriptural evidence is there that Jehovahcomforts his servants?

needed comfort for his servants. For in-stance, when the prophet Elijah’s life wasthreatened by wicked Queen Jezebel, thatprophet lost courage and fled, even sayingthat he wanted to die. But instead of rebuk-ing Elijah, Jehovah comforted him and gavehim the courage to carry out his work as aprophet. (1 Ki. 19:1-21) That Jehovah com-forts his people can also be seen in the expe-rience of the first-century Christian congre-gation. For instance, we read of a periodwhen “the congregation throughout thewhole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria en-tered into a period of peace, being built up.”Moreover, “as it walked in the fear of Jeho-vah and in the comfort of the holy spirit itkept on multiplying.” (Acts 9:31) Howgrate-ful we are that we too have “the comfort ofthe holy spirit”!

9 As Christians, we have been comfortedby learning about Jesus Christ and by walk-ing inhis footsteps. Jesus said: “Cometome,all you who are toiling and loaded down,and I will refresh you. Take my yoke uponyou and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you willfind refreshment for your souls. For myyoke is kindly and my load is light.” (Matt.11:28-30) Learning about Jesus’ upbuildingway of treating people and then followinghis positive example is in itself a great helpin relieving the stress that we may experi-ence.

10 We can also be comforted by fellowChristians. For example, consider howthe elders in the congregation help thosefacing distressing situations. The disci-ple James wrote: “Is there anyone [spiritu-ally] sick among you? Let him call the older

9. Why can learning about Jesus be comfortingto us?10, 11. In the congregation, who may be able togive comfort?


men of the congregation tohim, and let them pray overhim.”Withwhat result? “Theprayer of faith will make theindisposed one well, and Je-hovahwill raise himup. Also,if he has committed sins, itwill be forgiven him.” (Jas. 5:14, 15) Other members ofthe congregation canprovidecomfort as well.

11 Womenoftenfind it eas-ier to talk to other womenabout various problems. Es-pecially can older, more experienced sistersgive much fine advice to younger sisters.These older, mature Christian women mayalready have gone through similar situa-tions in their lives. Their sympathy and fem-inine qualities can be of much help. (ReadTitus 2:3-5.) Of course, elders and otherscan and should “speak consolingly to thedepressed souls” among us. (1 Thess. 5:14,15) And it is good to bear in mind that God“comforts us in all our tribulation, that wemay be able to comfort those in any sort oftribulation.”—2 Cor.1:4.

12 A very important means of being com-forted is to be present at Christian meet-ings, where Bible discussions encourageus. We read that Judas and Silas “encour-aged the brothers with many a discourseand strengthened them.” (Acts 15:32) Be-fore and after our meetings, there is up-building conversation between members ofthe congregation. So even ifwe are sufferingbecause of some distressing situation, let usnot isolate ourselves, for doing so will not

12. Why is it vital that we attend Christian meet-ings?

improve matters. (Prov. 18:1) Instead, we dowell to follow the apostle Paul’s inspiredcounsel: “Let us consider one another to in-cite to love and fineworks, not forsaking thegathering of ourselves together, as somehave the custom, but encouraging one an-other, and all the more so as you behold theday drawing near.”—Heb.10:24, 25.

Draw Comfort From God’s Word13 Whether we are baptized Christians

or are individuals just beginning to learnabout God and his purposes, we can findgreat comfort in the written Word of God.Paul wrote: “All the things that were writtenaforetime were written for our instruction,that through our endurance and throughthe comfort from the Scriptures we mighthave hope.” (Rom. 15:4) The Holy Scrip-tures can comfort us and make us “fullycompetent, completely equipped for everygood work.” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) Knowing thetruth about God’s purposes and having agenuine hope for the future will certainlyprovide great comfort. Let us, therefore,

13, 14. Show how the Scriptures can comfort us.

Both young and old canbe encouraging


make full use of God’s Word and Bible-based publications that can comfort us andbenefit us in many ways.

14 Jesus set us a fine example by using theScriptures to instruct and comfort others.During one of his postresurrection appear-ances, for instance, he ‘fully opened up theScriptures’ to two of his disciples. As hespoke to them, their hearts were deeplytouched. (Luke24:32) Inkeepingwith Jesus’excellent example, the apostle Paul ‘rea-soned from the Scriptures.’ In Beroea, hislisteners “received the word with the great-est eagerness of mind, carefully examiningthe Scriptures daily.” (Acts 17:2, 10, 11) Howappropriate it is that we read the Bible daily,benefiting from it and fromChristianpubli-cations designed to bring us comfort andhope in these troublesome times!

Additional Ways to Comfort Others15 We can help and thus comfort fellow

Christians in various practical ways. For in-stance, wemight do some grocery shoppingfor elderlyor sick fellowbelievers.Wemighthelp others with their chores, thus showingpersonal interest in them. (Phil. 2:4) Per-haps we can compliment fellow worship-pers on their good qualities, such as theirlove, resourcefulness, courage, and faith.

16 In an effort to comfort the elderly, wecan visit them and listen carefully to whatthey tell us about their past experiencesand obvious blessings in Jehovah’s service.Why, this may actually encourage and com-fort us! We might read the Bible or ourBible-based publications with those we vis-it. Perhaps we could consider the current ar-ticle for theweekly Watchtower Studyor thematerial that will be covered during the

15, 16. What are some things we can do to helpand comfort fellow Christians?

Congregation Bible Study for the week. Wemight join them in watching a DVD ona Scriptural theme. Then, too, we mightread or relate some encouraging experienc-es found in our publications.

17 If we notice that a fellow worshipper ofJehovah is in need of comfort, we can men-tionhimorher inour privateprayers. (Rom.15:30; Col. 4:12) As we personally cope withlife’s problems and diligently seek to com-fort others, we can have the same faith andconviction as did the psalmist who sang:“Throwyourburdenupon Jehovahhimself,and he himself will sustain you. Never willhe allow the righteous one to totter.” (Ps. 55:22) Indeed, Jehovah will always be there tocomfort and support us ashis loyal servants.

18 God told his worshippers of ancienttimes: “I—I myself am the One that is com-forting you people.” (Isa. 51:12) Jehovahwill do the same for us and will blessour good deeds and words as we comfortmourning ones. Whether our hope is heav-enly or earthly, each of us can be comfortedby Paul’s words to his spirit-anointed fellowChristians: “May our Lord Jesus Christ him-self and God our Father, who loved us andgave everlasting comfort and good hopeby means of undeserved kindness, comfortyour hearts and make you firm in everygood deed and word.”—2 Thess. 2:16,17.

17, 18. As Jehovah’s loyal servants, why can we besure that he will support and comfort us?

Do You Recall?˙ How widespread is our work of

comforting mourning ones?˙ What are some things we can do to

comfort others?˙ What Scriptural proof is there that

Jehovah comforts his people?


What should I do when I have a questionabout something I read in the Bible or whenI need advice about a personal problem?

Proverbs 2:1-5 urges each of us to “keepsearching for” understanding and discern-ment as though we were looking for “hidtreasures.” This implies that we should exertourselves in researching answers to our Biblequestions and in finding solutions to our per-sonal problems. How can we do this?

Benefit From Theocratic Ministry SchoolEducation, pages 33 through 38, analyzes“How to Do Research” by using the tools thathave been provided by “the faithful and dis-creet slave.” (Matt. 24:45) Page 36 explainshow to use the Watch Tower Publications In-dex, each edition of which is divided into asubject index and a scripture index. Thismakes it possible to search either by keywords or by Bible verses, whereby you willfind a list of references to consult. Be patientin searching for the specific answer or direc-tion that you need. Remember, you are look-ing for “hid treasures,” which takes time andeffort.

Of course, there are some topics and scrip-tures that our publications have not specif-ically addressed. And even where we havecommented on a particular Bible text, wemay not have dealt with the specific ques-tion that you have in mind. Also, some Bi-ble accounts raise questions because not allthe details are spelled out in the Scriptures.Thus, we cannot find immediate answers toevery question that arises. In such a case, weshould avoid speculating about things thatsimply cannot be answered, lest we get in-volved in debating “questions for researchrather than a dispensing of anything by Godin connection with faith.” (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim.

2:23; Titus 3:9) Neither the branch office norworld headquarters is in a position to analyzeand answer all such questions that have notbeen considered in our literature. We can besatisfied that the Bible provides sufficient in-formation to guide us through life but alsoomits enough details so as to require us tohave strong faith in its divine Author.—Seepages 185 to 187 of the book Draw Close toJehovah.

What if you have done all you can to searchout a matter that affects you personally butstill have not found the direction or solutionyou need? Feel free to approach a mature fel-low believer, perhaps one of the local elders.They have considerable Bible knowledge aswell as experience in Christian living. Their

balanced help would be especially fitting ifyou need advice about a personal problem ordecision, for they know you and are close toyou and your situation. And never forget topray to Jehovah specifically about your con-cerns and ask him to guide your thinking bymeans of his holy spirit, “for Jehovah him-self gives wisdom . . . and discernment.”—Prov. 2:6; Luke 11:13.


STUDY ARTICLES:

��

November 28–December 4 ˙ PAGE 3��

Is Your Recreation Beneficial?


��

December 5-11 ˙ PAGE 9��

Wise Counsel AboutSingleness and Marriage


��


Trust in Jehovah,“the God of All Comfort”


��


“Comfort All the Mourning Ones”


34567OCTOBER 15, 2011




34567�

OCTOBER 15, 2011







No matter where we live, Bible principles can help us chooserecreation that is good for us. This article shows us how wecan make wise choices in our recreation.


The decisions we make about singleness and marriage affectour life. They also affect our friendship with God. This articlehelps single and married servants of God to use the counselin 1 Corinthians chapter 7 to make good decisions.


In these last days, many situations cause suffering toJehovah’s servants and others. What are some of thesesituations? Where can we find the comfort we need? Thesetwo articles show how Jehovah and his Witnesses comfortpeople in these troubled times.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

26 Why Is It Important to “Keep on the Watch”?

29 Let Us Rejoice Together!


3

THE Bible makes it clear that Jeho-vah wants us to enjoy our life. For

example, Psalm 104:14, 15 says that Je-hovah makes “food to go forth from theearth, and wine that makes the heartof mortal man rejoice, to make the faceshine with oil, and bread that sustainsthe very heart of mortal man.” It is Je-hovah who gives us the food we need tolive. He makes the crops grow so thatwe can have grain, oil, and wine. Eventhough wine is not necessary to keepliving, it can make “the heart of mortalman rejoice.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7; 10:19) Je-hovah wants us to be joyful. He wantsour hearts to be filled with “good cheer.”—Acts 14:16, 17.

2 So we should not think that it iswrong to use some of our time to “ob-serve intently the birds of heaven” and“the lilies of the field.” Activities likethese can give us energy and make ourlife more enjoyable. (Matthew 6:26, 28;Psalm 8:3, 4) A happy and healthy lifeis a “gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12,13) The time we use for recreation isa part of the gift that God gave us. Sowe should use it in a way that pleasesGod.�

� In this article, the words “recreation” and“entertainment” both refer to the things we en-joy doing to relax.

1, 2. (a) How do we know that Jehovahwants us to enjoy life? (b) Since the time weuse for recreation is a gift from God, whatshould this make us want to do?

VARIETY AND LIMITSIN RECREATION

3 Those with the correctview of recreation knowthat they have the free-dom to make choices.They also know that thereare limits to what they cando for recreation. Why do people makedifferent choices? To help us understandthis, we can compare our choice of rec-reation to our choice of food. People indifferent parts of the world like eatingdifferent types of food. In the same way,Christians living in different parts of theworld enjoy different types of recreation.Even those in the same area may chooseto do different things. For example, oneperson may think that reading a goodbook is relaxing, but another may thinkthat it is boring. Another may like doingphysical things, like riding a bicycle, butothers may not like this kind of activi-ty. Just as people can choose what sort offood they like, they can also choose thetype of recreation they like.—Romans 14:2-4.

4 Even though we have the freedomto make our own choices in recreation,we should not do everything we aretempted to do. Think again about the

3. Why do people make different choices ofrecreation?

4. Why should we set limits on the type ofrecreation we choose? What example helps usto understand this?

Is Your Recreation Beneficial?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Keep on making sure ofwhat is acceptable to theLord.”—EPHESIANS 5:10.

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ OCTOBER 15, 20114

example of food. Wemight like to eat differ-ent types of food. Butwe would not choose toeat food that is rotten.It could make us sick. Inthe same way, we mightlike to try different typesof good recreation. But wewould not do immoral orviolent things or anythingthat would put our life indanger. Things like thesego against Bible princi-

ples. They damage our friendship withJehovah and could damage our health.So we must set limits on the recreationwe choose. We need to think careful-ly about what we would like to do andthen choose recreation that will benefitus and be pleasing to Jehovah. (Ephe-sians 5:10) Howcanwe decide what typeof recreation is good for us?

5 For our recreation to benefit us andplease Jehovah, it must agree with thestandards in the Bible. (Psalm 86:11) To

help you make decisions about recre-ation, you may use a simple checklist.The list has three questions that we canask ourselves. The questions are: what?when? and who? We will talk aboutthem now.

5. How do we know if our recreation pleasesJehovah?

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE?

6 Before choosing any entertainment,we need to ask: What does the activi-ty include? It is good to rememberthat there are two sorts of entertain-ment. The first sort involves things thatwe would never do. The second in-volves things that we might decide to do.What is the first sort of entertainment?A lot of the entertainment in this wick-ed world includes activities that are com-pletely against Bible principles or thatbreak God’s laws. (1 John 5:19) True

Christians should never choose this sortof entertainment. This means anythingthat includes demonism, homosexuali-ty, pornography, or violence. It also in-cludes entertainment that shows peoplecausing physical pain to others for plea-sure, or any other entertainment thatmakes immoral acts seem good. (1 Co-rinthians 6:9, 10; read Revelation 21:8.)No matter where we are, we would nev-er want to choose this sort of entertain-ment. We want to show Jehovah thatwe hate “what iswicked.”—Romans 12:9;1 John 1:5, 6.

7 The second sort of entertainment in-volves activities that we need to thinkcarefully about before we decide. The Bi-ble may not talk about these exact typesof entertainment. But Bible principles

6. What entertainment should we neverchoose? Why do we not choose it?7, 8. What can help us make good decisionsin entertainment? What example can we thinkabout when we make choices about recre-ation?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Laws:Rules in the Bible thattell us what God saysis right and wrong

ˇ Principles:Basic truths from theBible that help us tomake good decisions

Choose recreation thatJehovah approves ofand that benefits you

WHAT


will help us understand what Jehovahthinks is good and right. So before wemake decisions about these types of en-tertainment, we should be sure that theyare not against Bible principles. (Prov-erbs 4:10, 11) Then we need to make adecision that will help us to keep a goodconscience. (Galatians 6:5; 1 Timothy 1:19) How can we make good choices?Think again about food. Before we try anew kind of food, we want to know whatis in it. In a similar way, beforewe chooseour recreation, we want to know aboutit so that we can decide if it is good fora Christian.—Ephesians 5:17.

8 For example, you may like sports.Many people do. Sports can be fun and

exciting. But in some sports the com-petition can become violent or can puta person’s life in danger. Some sportsare dangerous and cause physical inju-ries. In other sports, people celebrate ina wild and violent way and can thinkthat their nation is better than others.What should you do if you like sportsin which these things happen? As youthink about what is involved in these

Jesus chose only thosewho served Jehovah as

his close friends

How does Jesus’example help usto choose goodfriends and goodrecreation?


sports, you would likely decide that yourway of thinking does not agree with Je-hovah’s way of thinking or agree withthe message of peace and love that wepreach to others. (Isaiah 61:1; Galatians5:19-21) But if you are sure that the rec-reation agrees with Jehovah’s principles,then it may benefit you and give you en-ergy.—Galatians 5:22, 23; read Philippi-ans 4:8.

WHEN DO I PARTICIPATEIN RECREATION?

9 The first question we discussed was:What? Our answer to that questionshows what we like and what we ap-prove of. Now the second question is:

When? So we need to ask: When willI participate in recreation, and howmuch time will I use for it? The answerto this second question shows what ourpriorities are, that is, what we think ismore important. So, what can help usto decide how important recreation is inour life?

10 Jesus Christ told his followers: “Youmust love Jehovah your God with yourwhole heart and with your whole souland with your whole mind and withyour whole strength.” (Mark 12:30) Weshow that our love for Jehovah comesfirst in our life by obeying what Jesussaid: “Keep on, then, seeking first the

9. What can you learn from your answer tothe question: When will I participate in recre-ation?10, 11. How do Jesus’ words found at Mat-thew 6:33 help us to decide how much time touse for recreation?

kingdom and his righteousness, and allthese other things will be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33) Jesus’ words can help usto decide how important recreation is inour life and how much time we shoulduse for it.

11 Notice that Jesus told us to keep on“seeking first the kingdom.” He did nottell us to keep on seeking only the King-dom. Jesus knew that we would needto care for many things in life in addi-tion to seeking the Kingdom. We needto use enough time for seeking work,food, housing, clothing, a basic educa-tion, recreation, and other things. Butthese do not come first in our life. TheKingdom comes first. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) When we come to understandwhat should come first, we will put rec-reation and all other activities in secondplace and seek the Kingdom first. If wedo this, recreation can benefit us.

12 Beforewe make decisions about rec-reation, we need to think carefully about“the expense,” or the time it will in-volve. (Luke 14:28) Just as some thingscost money, recreation costs, or usesup, time. We need to decide how muchof our time we will use for recreation.We should not use so much time forrecreation that we do not have enoughtime for important things like person-al Bible study, family worship, attendingChristian meetings, or preaching. (Mark

12. How can Luke 14:28 help us to make deci-sions about our recreation?

The Kingdom shouldcome first in our life

WHEN


8:36) But if recreationwill give us the en-ergy to continue in our service to God,we may decide that to use our time forthat activity will benefit us.

WHO ARE MY FRIENDS?

13 The third question is: Whom do I as-sociate with in my recreation? The an-swer to this question is important be-cause the people we associate with willaffect whether we make good choices.For example, we enjoy eating meals

when we are with other people. Thesame is true about recreation. We en-joy recreation more when we are with

13. Why should we think carefully about thepeople we associate with in our recreation?

good friends. So it is understandablethat many of us, especially young peo-ple, enjoy recreationwith others. But be-fore we choose our recreation, we needto decide who would be a good associateand who would be a bad associate. Thiswill help us to make sure that recreationwill benefit us.—2 Chronicles 19:2; readProverbs 13:20; James 4:4.

14 Following Jesus’ example will helpus make good friends. Jesus has alwaysloved people. (Proverbs 8:31) While hewas on earth, he showed love and re-spect for everyone. (Matthew 15:29-37)But Jesus knew that there was a differ-ence between being friendly and being aclose friend. Although Jesus was friend-ly to all people, he was not close friends

14, 15. (a) How does Jesus’ example help usto choose good friends? (b) When choosingfriends, what questions should we ask our-selves?

WHO


with everyone. His wordsto his 11 faithful apostlesshow us how he chosehis close friends. He said:“You are my friends if youdo what I am command-ing you.” (John 15:14; seealso John 13:27, 30.) Theonly people Jesus chose tobe his close friends werethose who followed himand served Jehovah.

15 Before you decide tochoose someone as yourclose friend, it would be

good to remember what Jesus said. Askyourself these questions: Does this per-son show by what he says and what hedoes that he obeys the commands of Je-hovah and Jesus? Does he love what isgood and hate what is bad? Will he helpme to put the Kingdom first in my lifeand to be a loyal servant of Jehovah? Ifyou answer yes to these questions, youhave a good friend with whom you canspend time in recreation.—Read Psalm119:63; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Timothy2:22.

DOES OUR RECREATIONPASS THE TEST?

16 We have discussed three questionsabout recreation: what? when? andwho? Before we participate in recre-ation, we must think carefully about thequality and quantity of our recreationand about the friends we choose to en-joy it with. For our recreation to bene-fit us, it must agree with the standardsin the Bible. When we think about thequalityof our recreation, we need to ask:

16. What should we ask ourselves about ourrecreation?

What does it include? Is it the kind ofrecreation that Jehovah approves, or isit violent or immoral? (Proverbs 4:20-27)When we think about the quantity, weneed to ask: How much time will I usefor recreation? Is the activity worth thetime I will use for it? (1 Timothy 4:8)

And when we think about the friendswe choose, we need to ask: Whowill joinme in this activity? Will they be goodfriends for me, or will they be bad asso-ciations?—Ecclesiastes 9:18; 1 Corinthi-ans 15:33.

17 If our recreation does not agree withBible standards in any of these threeways, it does not pass the test. But if ourentertainment follows Bible standardsin the three ways we talked about, ourrecreation will honor Jehovah and ben-efit us.—Psalm 119:33-35.

18 So when we are making decisionsabout our recreation, we should do allwe can to do the right thing at the righttime and with the right people. It shouldbe our desire to obey what the Bible tellsus to do: “Whether you are eating ordrinking or doing anything else, do allthings for God’s glory.”—1 Corinthians10:31.

17, 18. (a) How can we test to see if our enter-tainment agrees with the standards in the Bi-ble? (b) What decision will you make aboutyour recreation?

We should dothe right thing at the

right time and withthe right people

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

How can theprinciples in thesescriptures help you tomake good choicesin your recreation?

ˇ Philippians 4:8

ˇ Matthew 6:33

ˇ Proverbs 13:20

9

HAPPINESS, frustration, and wor-ry are emotions, or feelings, that

we often experience in our relationshipswith the opposite sex. Because we ex-perience these different emotions, weneed to ask for God’s guidance. Thereare many reasons we need him to guideus. For example, some Christians whoare happy being single may think thattheir family or friends are trying to pres-sure them to marry. Others may wantto be married but have not found theright person. And some need directionon how to prepare for the responsibil-ities of being a husband or wife. Also,both single and married Christians needto protect themselves from sexual im-morality.

2 These situations can affect our hap-piness. But more important, they can af-fect our friendship with God. In 1 Co-rinthians chapter 7, the apostle Paulgave advice on singleness and marriage.He wanted his readers to do what isright and to continue serving God withtheir whole heart and not be distracted.(1 Corinthians 7:35) Paul’s advice about

1, 2. Why should we learn what the Bible saysabout singleness and marriage?

these important matterscan help you. He wantedsingle and married peo-ple to use their situationas a way to serve Jehovahwell.

A SERIOUS DECISIONTHAT EACH PERSONMAKES

3 Jewish people in thefirst century believed thatit was very important to get married.Many people today think the same. If aperson does not get married by a cer-tain age, family and friends may wor-ry and think that they need to givethis person advice about getting mar-ried. Family and friends may say thathe or she should do more to find some-one to marry. Or family and friends maysuggest someone whom they think heor she could marry. And some arrangefor two people to meet each other be-cause they think they should get mar-ried. When people do these things, theycould cause embarrassment and dam-age friendships. They could hurt thefeelings of those involved.

4 Paul did not tell others that theyshould marry or that they should staysingle. (1 Corinthians 7:7) He wascontent to serve Jehovah without a

3, 4. (a) What can happen if friends and fam-ily try to pressure someone to marry? (b) Howcan Paul’s words help us to have the rightthinking about marriage?

Wise Counsel AboutSingleness and Marriage

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“This I am saying . . . tomove you to that whichis becoming and thatwhich means constantattendance upon the Lordwithout distraction.”—1 CORINTHIANS 7:35.

Whether you are singleor married, serve Jehovahwith your whole heart


wife, but he did not crit-icize people who wantedto get married. Christianstoday have the right to de-cide for themselves if theyshould marry or stay sin-gle. Others should not tellthem which choice theyshould make.

SUCCESS ASA SINGLE PERSON

5 Paul’s words to theCorinthians help us un-derstand that singleChristians can serve Godwell. (Read 1 Corinthians

7:8.) Some religious leaders of Christen-dom who do not marry think that theyare better than others who do marry.But Paul did not think like that. Eventhough he was not married, he did notthink that he was better than those whowere married. Paul explained that sin-gle Christians may be able to serve Godin ways that married Christians cannot.What does this mean?

6 A single Christian can often acceptassignments in Jehovah’s service that amarried person may not be able to ac-cept. Paul was given a special honor tobe sent as “an apostle to the nations.”(Romans 11:13) In Acts chapters 13 to20, we can read about Paul’s experienc-es. Paul traveled with other missionariesto preach in new areas, and they startedmany new congregations. He endureddifficult situations in his ministry thatmany of us today will not experience.(2 Corinthians 11:23-27, 32, 33) But Paulwas willing to endure all these difficul-

5, 6. Why did Paul encourage Christians toremain single?

ties to make disciples, and this broughthim much joy. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-7, 9;2:19) If Paul had been married, he mightnot have been able to do everything thathe did.

7 Many single Christians use their sit-uation to do more in the preachingwork. Sara and Limbania are single pio-neer sisters in Bolivia. They moved to avillage where no one had preached formany years. There was no electricity inthat village, and the sisters said that themain interest of the people was read-ing, since they were not busy watch-ing television or listening to the radio.Some people were still reading old mag-azines and books of Jehovah’s Witness-es that were not even being printed any-more. At nearly every door, the sistersmet people who wanted to learn aboutthe Bible, so it took a long time to finish

the territory. One older woman told thesisters: “The end must be near becauseJehovah’s Witnesses have reached us atlast.” Soon people in the village startedattending congregation meetings.

8 It is true that married Christianshave good results when they preachin difficult territories. But some assign-ments that single pioneers could ac-cept would be difficult for Christians

7. How did two single Witnesses use their sit-uation to preach about the Kingdom?8, 9. (a) Why did Paul say that it was good toserve God as a single person? (b) What aresome benefits of serving Jehovah as a singleperson?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Courting:The time that a coupleuse to get to knoweach other to decide ifthey should marry

ˇ Sexual immorality:Breaking God’s lawsabout sexual relations

ˇ Counsel:Advice or instructionfrom the Bible

Being single can be anopportunity for happiness

who are married or who have children.When Paul wrote to the congregations,he knew that there was still a lot of workto do to preach the good news. And hewanted everyone to experience the joyof making disciples, just as he had ex-perienced it. That is why Paul said thatit was good to serve Jehovah as a singleperson.

9 A pioneer sister in the United Statesexplained how she feels about being sin-gle. She said that some people think thatit is impossible for single people to behappy. But she knows that having afriendship with Jehovah brings real hap-piness. Even though being single is asacrifice, she believes that if a personuses his situation in a good way, it canbe a wonderful gift. Being single doesnot stop a person from being happy. It isan opportunity for happiness. She said:“I know that Jehovah excludes no one,single or married, from his tender affec-tions.” This sister is nowserving Jehovahin a country where there is a great needfor people to preach the good news. Ifyou are single, can you do more to teachthe truth to others? If you can, then be-ing single will be like a precious giftfrom Jehovah.

SINGLE PEOPLEWHO WANT TO MARRY

10 After being single for some time, aWitness of Jehovah may decide to getmarried. Because he knows he needsguidance, he asks Jehovah for help tofind someone whom he can marry andbe happy with.—Read 1 Corinthians7:36.

11 If you want to marry a person whoserves Jehovah with his whole heart,continue to pray to Jehovah about yourdesire. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Even if it

seems that you are waiting a long time,do not get discouraged. Jehovah knowswhat you need, and if you trust in him,he will help you to cope with your situ-ation.—Hebrews 13:6.

10, 11. How does Jehovah help those whohave not yet found the right person to marry?

The choice you makeabout marriage

will affect the restof your life

Single Christiansare happy whenthey do more toteach the truthto others


12 What if someone who does not havea strong relationship with God or some-onewho is not one of Jehovah’s Witness-es asks you to marry? Maybe you havea strong desire to get married. But if youmake a bad choice, the emotional painyou feelwill beworse than the lonelinessyou felt when you were single. Remem-ber that you must stay married to theperson you choose to marry. The choiceyou make now will affect the rest of yourlife. (1 Corinthians 7:27) Do not marrysomeone just because you feel that thisis your only opportunity to get married.Youmay regret that decision later.—Read1 Corinthians 7:39.

PREPARE FOR MARRIAGE

13 Paul said that it was good to serveJehovah as a single person, but he didnot think that he was better than thosewho decided to marry. Paul wanted tohelp married couples, and the counselhe wrote helps them to understand whatto expect after they get married and howto stay married.

14 Some couples may need to changetheir ideas about what marriage will belike. When they are courting, the cou-ple may think that their love is very spe-cial. They think that they are the onlypeople ever to feel this way. They be-gin their married life with these feelingsand believe that they will never be un-happy in their marriage. But real life isnot like this. It is not possible to be hap-py all the time. It is true that roman-tic moments can bring joy. But they are

12. If someone asks you to marry, whatshould you carefully think about before youanswer?13-15. What possible difficulties should a cou-ple talk about before they get married?

not enough to solve the problems anddifficulties that every couple experienc-es in marriage.—Read 1 Corinthians 7:28.� (See footnote.)

15 After they are married, some cou-ples are surprised or even disappointedwhen they do not agree on important

matters. For example, they may disagreeon how they should use their money. Orthey may disagree on what they shoulddo for recreation, where they will live,and how often to visit their families.And each has imperfections that can ir-ritate the other person. When two peo-ple are courting, they could think thatthey do not need to talk about these im-portant things. But if they do not talkabout them, these situations could causedifficulties later. So it is better for thecouple to talk about thembefore theygetmarried.

16 To have a happy marriage, a couplemust agree on how they care for theirresponsibilities. They should agree onhow to discipline their children. Andas their parents get older, they need toagree on how they will care for them.Every family has difficult situations. Buta couple should not let these difficul-

� For more information, see the book TheSecret of Family Happiness, chapter 2, para-graphs 16-19.

16. Why should a couple agree on how theywill solve difficulties?

Talk about possibleproblems before you

get married


ties divide them. The Bible’s advice willhelp them solve problems, endure theproblems that they cannot easily solve,and stay happy together.—1 Corinthians7:10, 11.

17 Paul explains more about marriedlife at 1 Corinthians 7:32-34. (Read.)Married people are “anxious for thethings of the world.” These are thingslike food, clothing, housing, and otherbasic needs. Why are married people“anxious for the things of the world”?For example, when a brother was sin-gle, maybe he used a lot of time and en-ergy in the ministry. But after he getsmarried, he must use some of that timeand energy to care for his wife. Andthe wife does the same for him. Jeho-vah understands that both husband andwife want their mate to be happy. He

17. Why are married couples “anxious for thethings of the world”?

knows that the couple may not havethe same time and energy for his ser-vice as they did when they were single.Now they may need to use some of thattime and energy to make their marriagestrong.

18 But what about the time that thecouple used for recreation and otheractivities when they were single? If acouple must take some time and ener-gy from Jehovah’s service to keep theirmarriage strong, they should do thesame with the time and energy that theyused for recreation when they were sin-gle. If a husband used the same amountof time on sports with his friends as hedid before he was married, how wouldhis wife feel? Or how would the hus-band feel if his wife used the sameamount of time for activities with her

18. What changes may a married couple needto make in how they use recreation time?

What changesmay some haveto make aftermarriage?


friends as she did beforeshe was married? Both ofthem might feel lonely,unhappy, and unloved. Toavoid this, a couple mustdo everything they canto make their marriagestrong.—Ephesians 5:31.

JEHOVAH REQUIRESUS TO BE MORALLYCLEAN

19 Servants of Jehovahdo everything they can tostay morally clean. Somedecide to marry to avoidimmorality. But just be-ing married is not enoughto protect a person fromsexual immorality. A mar-ried person still needs to

be careful to stay morally clean. In Bi-ble times, a city was protected by large,strong walls. If a person stayed insidethe city, he would be safe. But outsidethe walls it could be dangerous becauseof robbers and criminals. The limits thatJehovah has made for married peopleare like that strong wall around a city.Married people can be protected fromsexual immorality only if they obey thelaws and limits that Jehovah has madefor marriage.

20 Paul explained what those limitsare at 1 Corinthians 7:2-5. Sexual rela-tions with her husband are the right ofthe wife only. And sexual relations withhis wife are the right of the husbandonly. God says that each one should

19, 20. (a) Why do married people need toprotect themselves from immorality? (b) Whatdanger is there if a married couple are separat-ed for a long time?

give the marital “due,” or sexual rela-tions that married people have the rightto receive. If couples are away fromeach other for a long time, they can-not give this “due.” Some husbands andwives go on separate vacations. Othersare away from their marriage mate for along time because of their work. Satancould use these situations to ruin mar-riages. If a man and wife do not consid-er the sexual needs of each other, oneof them could be tempted to commitadultery. Jehovah will bless family headswho care for their families and who donot put their marriage in danger.—Psalm37:25.

OBEY THE BIBLE’S COUNSEL

21 Decisions about singleness andmarriage are very difficult to make.Whether you decide to remain single ordecide to marry, there will be problemsbecause everyone is imperfect. Andeven though Jehovah blesses his peo-ple, sometimes they will be disappoint-ed about things that happen in theirlife. But the wise counsel that Paulgave in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 canhelp you avoid many of the problems wehave talked about. Whether we are sin-gle or married, we can please Jehovah.(Read 1 Corinthians 7:37, 38.) The great-est blessing in our life is to have God’sapproval. We can have his approval nowand also in the future when we live inthe new world that God has promised.Then, men and women will not have thepressures and problems that they havetoday.

21. (a) Why are decisions about singlenessand marriage difficult to make? (b) Howcan the counsel in 1 Corinthians chapter 7help us?

WHAT IS

YOUR ANSWER?

ˇ Why should we notpressure single peopleto get married?

ˇ How can a singleservant of Jehovahuse his situation inthe best way?

ˇ How can a couplewho are courting pre-pare for some of thedifficulties in marriage?

ˇ Why do marriedpeople need to pro-tect themselves fromimmorality?

15

FROM the time we are born, weneed comfort. A baby cries to let us

know when it needs comfort. Perhaps itwants someone to hold it or it is hun-gry. Even when we are older, we oftenneed someone to comfort us. This hap-pens especially when we are in difficultsituations.

2 Our family and friends can give ussome comfort. But they cannot help usin all situations that make us suffer.There are times when only God can giveus comfort. His Word promises us: “Je-hovah is near to all those calling uponhim, . . . and their cry for help he willhear.” (Psalm 145:18, 19) The Bible alsosays that “the eyes of Jehovah are to-ward the righteous ones, and his earsare toward their cry for help.” (Psalm 34:15) But if we want God to comfort us,we must trust in him. David said: “Jeho-vah will become a secure height for any-one crushed, a secure height in times ofdistress. And those knowing your namewill trust in you, for you will certainlynot leave those looking for you, O Jeho-vah.”—Psalm 9:9, 10.

3 Jehovah’s worshippers are preciousto him. Jesus said: “Five sparrows sell fortwo coins of small value, do they not?Yet not one of them goes forgotten be-fore God. But even the hairs of your

1. What does everyone need?2. What promise does Jehovah give to thosewho trust in him?3. What did Jesus say to help us understandhow much Jehovah loves us?

heads are all numbered.Have no fear; you areworth more than manysparrows.” (Luke 12:6, 7) Jehovah told the Is-raelites: “With a love totime indefinite I haveloved you. That is whyI have drawn you withloving-kindness.”—Jere-miah 31:3.

4 If we trust in Jehovah and his prom-ises, we can have comfort in times of suf-fering. We should have the same trustin God that Joshua had. He said: “Notone word out of all the good words thatJehovah your God has spoken to youhas failed. They have all come true foryou. Not one word of them has failed.”(Joshua 23:14) And we can be sure that

even if we are suffering because of dif-ficult situations now, “God is faithful”and will never leave his loyal servants.—Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

5 The apostle Paul calls Jehovah “theGod of all comfort.” “To comfort” means

4. Why can we trust in Jehovah’s promises?

5. Why are we able to comfort others?

Trust in Jehovah,“the God of All Comfort”

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Blessed be the Godand Father of our LordJesus Christ, the Fatherof tender mercies andthe God of all comfort.”—2 CORINTHIANS 1:3.

No one cancomfort us betterthan Jehovah can!


to bring peace or relief tosomeone who is suffering.It means to relieve some-one’s sadness. Jehovahcertainly does this. (Read2 Corinthians 1:3, 4.) Ourheavenly Father is not lim-ited by anything or any-one. So he can do what-ever is needed to comfortthose who love him. Be-cause we have been com-forted by God, we areable to comfort our broth-ers “in any sort of tribula-tion.” No one can comfortus better than Jehovahcan!

THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING

6 We need comfort in many situationsin life. One of the greatest causes of suf-fering is the death of someone we love,especially a husband, a wife, or a child.Others may need comfort because theyhave suffered as a result of prejudice.Also, bad health, old age, poverty, prob-lems between husband and wife, andwickedness in the world can make ussuffer.

7 In times of trouble, we suffer inmany ways. We need comfort becauseour heart, our mind, our emotions, ourhealth, and even our faith may suf-fer. For example, think about the heart.God’s Word says that our heart can be“broken and crushed.” (Psalm 51:17) Je-hovah can certainly help us in this sit-uation. He “is healing the brokenheart-

6. What are some of the causes of suffering?7. (a) In times of trouble, what do we need?(b) What can Jehovah do to heal a “broken andcrushed” heart?

ed ones, and is binding up their pain-ful spots.” (Psalm 147:3) Even in verydifficult situations, God can bring reliefto our troubled heart if we pray to him,have faith in him, and obey his com-mandments.—Read 1 John 3:19-22; 5:14, 15.

8 Because we experience differentkinds of trials, our mind sometimesneeds comfort. We need help whenwe have these tests. The writer ofPsalm 94:19 said: “When my disquiet-ing thoughts became many inside ofme, your own consolations began to fon-dle my soul.” Also, Paul wrote: “Do notbe anxious over anything, but in every-thing by prayer and supplication alongwith thanksgiving let your petitions bemade known to God; and the peace ofGod that excels all thought will guardyour hearts and your mental powers bymeans of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7) When our mind needs comfort, weneed to read the Bible and think deep-ly about what it says. This will give usgreat comfort.—2 Timothy 3:15-17.

9 Sometimes, we may become so dis-couraged that we feel full of negativeemotions. Perhaps we think that we can-not do something that according to theBible is our responsibility or that we can-not care for an assignment in the con-gregation. In this situation too, Jehovahcan comfort and help us. For example:When Jehovah told Joshua to lead the Is-raelites against powerful enemy nations,Moses told the people: “Be courageousand strong. Do not be afraid or suf-

8. How can Jehovah help us when our mindneeds comfort?

9. What can help us when we have negativeemotions?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Prejudice:Unfair or unjusttreatment

ˇ Trial:Suffering, tribulation,a difficult situationthat tests a person’sfaith

ˇ Negative emotions:Feelings such asfear, anxiety, ordiscouragement

fer a shock before them, because Jeho-vah your God is the one marching withyou. He will neither desert you nor leaveyou entirely.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) WithJehovah’s help, Joshua was able to lead

God’s people into the Promised Landand to conquer all their enemies. Moseshad received the same kind of help fromJehovah at the Red Sea.—Exodus 14:13,14, 29-31.

10 Bad situations can affect our health.Of course, it helps whenwe eat right, getenough rest, exercise regularly, and keepour home and body clean. Also, if wethink about what the Bible says aboutthe future, that may help our health. Sowhen we are suffering because of a trial

10. If bad situations affect our health, whatcan help us?

or problem, it is helpful to rememberthat Paul too suffered and to think ofhis encouraging words: “We are pressedin every way, but not cramped beyondmovement; we are perplexed, but notabsolutely with no way out; we are per-secuted, but not left in the lurch; we arethrown down, but not destroyed.”—2 Co-rinthians 4:8, 9.

11 Some trials can affect our faith. Je-hovah can help us with this too. HisWord promises us: “Jehovah is givingsupport to all who are falling, and is rais-ing up all who are bowed down.” (Psalm145:14) If we feel that our faith is get-ting weak, we should ask for the helpof the elders. (James 5:14, 15) And con-stantly thinking of our hope of everlast-ing life can give us strength during testsof our faith.—John 17:3.

EXAMPLES OFCOMFORT FROM GOD

12 The writer of Psalm 119 said toJehovah: “Remember the word to yourservant, for which you have made me

11. What can we do if we feel that our faith isgetting weak?12. How did Jehovah comfort Abraham?

HOW TO COPE WITH THINGS

THAT COULD AFFECT OUR . . .

ˇ heart Psalm 147:3; 1 John 3:19-22; 5:14, 15

ˇ mind Psalm 94:19; Philippians 4:6, 7

ˇ emotions Exodus 14:13, 14; Deuteronomy 31:6

ˇ health 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9

ˇ faith Psalm 145:14; James 5:14, 15

We can get comfortfrom God if we prayto him and havefaith in him


wait. This is my comfort in my afflic-tion, for your own saying has preservedme alive.” (Psalm 119:49, 50) Today, wehave Jehovah’s written Word, the Bible,which has many examples of how Godgave comfort to his servants. For exam-ple, Abraham was very worried when heheard that Jehovah was going to destroySodom and Gomorrah. He asked God:“Will you really sweep away the righ-teous with the wicked?” Jehovah com-forted Abraham by promising him notto destroy Sodom if there were 50 righ-teous people in it. But Abraham askedJehovah five more times: What if thereare only 45 righteous people? 40? 30?

20? 10? Jehovah patiently and kindlypromised Abraham that the city wouldnot be destroyed even if there were onlyten righteous people there. Even thoughtherewere not even ten righteous peoplethere, Jehovah saved the lives of Lot andhis daughters.—Genesis 18:22-32; 19:15,16, 26.

13 Elkanah’s wife Hannah really want-ed to have a child. But she was not ableto have children, and this upset her. Sheprayed to Jehovah about this, and HighPriest Eli said to her: “May the God ofIsrael grant your petition.” This comfort-ed Hannah, “and her face became self-

13. How did Hannah show that she trusted inJehovah?

concerned no more.” (1 Samuel 1:8, 17,18) Hannah trusted that Jehovah wouldtake care of the problem for her. Eventhough she did not know what wouldhappen, she had inner peace. In time,Jehovah answered her prayer. She be-came pregnant and gave birth to a son.She named him Samuel.—1 Samuel 1:20.

14 Another example of someone whowas comforted by God is King David. Je-hovah “sees what the heart is.” Sowhen he chose David to be king of Is-rael, he knew that David wanted to dowhat was right and that he loved trueworship. (1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Samuel 5:10) But later, David committed adul-tery with Bath-sheba and tried to hidethis sin from others by having her hus-band killed. When David was helpedto understand how serious his sin real-ly was, he prayed to Jehovah: “Accord-ing to the abundance of your mercieswipe out my transgressions. Thoroughlywash me from my error, and cleanse meeven from my sin. For my transgressionsI myself know, and my sin is in frontof me constantly.” (Psalm 51:1-3) Davidtruly repented of his sin, and Jehovahforgave him. But David still had to suf-fer the results of what he did. (2 Samu-el 12:9-12) But Jehovah’s mercy comfort-ed David.

15 When on earth, Jesus experiencedmany difficult situations. God permittedthese tests, but Jesus was always faith-ful. He was a perfect man who alwaystrusted in Jehovah and obeyed him asRuler. Just before he was betrayed and

14. Why did David need comfort? Whom didhe ask for comfort?

15. What help did Jehovah give Jesus just be-fore his death?

When your mindneeds comfort, thinkdeeply about theScriptures

killed, Jesus prayed to Jehovah: “Let, notmy will, but yours take place.” An an-gel then appeared to Jesus and strength-ened him. (Luke 22:42, 43) God gave Je-sus the comfort, strength, and help heneeded at that time.

16 Jehovah can and will help us to befaithful to him even if our life is in dan-ger because of our faith. We are alsocomforted by the hope of the resurrec-tion. And how we hope for the day whenthe last enemy, death, “is to be broughtto nothing”! (1 Corinthians 15:26) Jeho-vah’s loyal servants who have died,along with others who have died, are inhis memory. Jehovah’s memory cannotfail. He will resurrect them. (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15) Our faith in the resurrec-tionpromise gives us comfort and stronghope during times of persecution.

17 It is so comforting to know that ourloved ones who have died will be resur-rected to life in a wonderful new world.There will be no more causes of suffer-ing.And it will be an honor for the “greatcrowd” of Jehovah’s servants who sur-vive the end of this system to welcomeand teach those who are resurrected!—Revelation 7:9, 10.

UNDERNEATH AREGOD’S ETERNAL ARMS

18 Moses wrote a strengthening andcomforting song to the people of Isra-el. In this song, he said: “A hiding placeis the God of ancient time, and under-neath are the indefinitely lasting arms.”

16. How can Jehovah help us if our life is indanger because of our faith?17. How can Jehovah comfort us when some-one we love dies?18, 19. How has God comforted his servantswhen they were being persecuted?

(Deuteronomy 33:27) Theprophet Samuel later toldthe Israelites: “Do notturn aside from followingJehovah, and you mustserve Jehovah with allyour heart. . . . Jehovahwill not desert his peoplefor the sake of his greatname.” (1 Samuel 12:20-22) As long as we serveJehovah faithfully, he willnever leave us. He will al-ways give us the help weneed.

19 God is giving help and comfort tohis people in these critical last days.In modern times, many of our brothersaround the world have been persecut-ed and put in prison just because theyserved Jehovah. Their experiences provethat Jehovah really comforts his servantsin times of trial. For example, one of ourbrothers in the Soviet Union was sen-tenced to 23 years in prison because ofhis faith. But even in prison, he still re-ceived Bible literature that strengthenedand comforted him. He said: “During allthose years, I learned to trust in Jehovahand received strength from him.”—Read1 Peter 5:6, 7.

20 No matter what may happen to usin the future, it will be good for us toremember the comforting words: “Jeho-vah will not forsake his people.” (Psalm94:14) Even though we personally needcomfort, we can also comfort others. Inthe next article, we will learn how wecan comfort those who suffer in thistroubled world.

20. Why can we be sure that Jehovah will notabandon us?

WHAT IS

YOUR ANSWER?

ˇ What are some thingsthat can cause ussuffering?

ˇ How does Jehovahcomfort his servants?

ˇ If our life is indanger, what cancomfort us?


JESUS CHRIST said:“My food is for me

to do the will of himthat sent me and to fin-ish his work.” (John 4:34) Jehovah gave Jesus awork to do. When Jesusdid this work, he showedthe same love for people

that his Father showed. (1 John 4:7-10)The apostle Paul talked about one waythat Jehovah shows love when he calledHim “the God of all comfort.” (2 Corin-thians 1:3) Jesus showed the same lovein his ministry on the earth, as Isaiahhad prophesied he would. (Read Isaiah61:1, 2.) Jesus applied Isaiah’s proph-ecy to himself. (Luke 4:16-21) Duringhis ministry, Jesus comforted mourn-ing ones and gave them encourage-ment and peace.

2 All followers of Jesus need to com-fort those who mourn. (1 Corinthi-ans 11:1) Paul said: “Keep comfortingone another and building one anotherup.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) People needcomfort because we are living in “crit-ical times hard to deal with.” (2 Tim-othy 3:1) More and more, good peo-ple throughout the world have to liveamong those who say and do thingsthat cause suffering and sadness.

1. What did Jesus do for mourning ones?Why?2, 3. Why do followers of Jesus need to com-fort others?

3 As Bible prophecy tells us, in theselast days of this wicked system ofthings, many are “lovers of themselves,lovers of money, self-assuming, haugh-ty, blasphemers, disobedient to par-ents, unthankful, disloyal, having nonatural affection, not open to anyagree-ment, slanderers, without self-control,fierce,without love of goodness, betray-ers, headstrong, puffed up with pride,

lovers of pleasures rather than loversof God.” And exactly as the Bible says,the way wicked people think and actis going “from bad to worse.”—2 Timo-thy 3:2-4, 13.

4 This does not surprise us, for God’sWord tells us that “the whole world islying in the power of the wicked one.”(1 John 5:19) “The whole world” in-cludes the political, religious, and com-mercial parts of this world, as well asthe ways that Satan uses to spread hisideas. There is no doubt that Satan theDevil is “the ruler of the world” and“the god of this system of things.” (John14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Conditions on

4. What has happened to conditions on earthin our time?

“Comfort Allthe Mourning Ones”

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Jehovah has anointedme . . . to comfort allthe mourning ones.”—ISAIAH 61:1, 2.

All followers of Jesusneed to comfort those

who suffer

20


earth continue to get worse because Sa-tan is now very angry. He knows thathe has only a short time left. (Revela-tion 12:12) It is so comforting to knowthat God will not allow Satan and hiswicked system to continue much lon-ger and that the issue of Jehovah’ssovereignty will be resolved!—Genesis,chapter 3; Job, chapter 2.

THE GOOD NEWS IS BEINGPREACHED IN ALL THE EARTH

5 Jesus prophesied: “This good newsof the kingdom will be preached in allthe inhabited earth for a witness toall the nations; and then the endwill come.” (Matthew 24:14) Just as Je-sus said, Jehovah’s people around theworld are preaching the good newsabout God’s Kingdom. Today, morethan 7,500,000 Witnesses of Jehovah inmore than 107,000 congregations aredoing this work. Jesus preached andtaught aboutGod’sKingdom, and Jeho-vah’sWitnesses do the same. (Matthew

4:17) Through this work, they give com-fort tomanymourning ones. In just tworecent years, 570,601 were baptized asJehovah’s Witnesses!

6 Jehovah’s Witnesses now trans-

5. How is the prophecy about the preachingwork coming true in these last days?6. What do you think about the growth of ourpreaching work?

late and distribute Bibleliterature in more than500 languages. No onehas ever done a work likethis before! Even thoughthey are in a world con-trolled by Satan, Jeho-vah’s people are active inHis service and keep in-creasing. That would beimpossible without thehelp and direction ofGod’s holy spirit. Be-cause the good news isbeing preached through-out the earth, people whoaccept the Kingdom mes-sage can have the same comfort that Je-hovah’s people have.

OTHERS IN THECONGREGATIONCAN COMFORT US

7 Because we live in a world full ofwickedness, we all will suffer in someway. We should not expect God totake awayeverything that makes us un-happy before he destroys this system ofthings. While we wait for that day, per-secution will test whether we are faith-ful to Jehovah and support his sover-eignty. (2 Timothy 3:12) But with thehelp and comfort from our heavenly Fa-ther, we can be like anointed Christiansin ancient Thessalonica, who showed“endurance and faith” during persecu-tions and tribulations.—Read 2 Thessa-lonians 1:3-5.

7. (a) Why can we not expect Jehovah to endall causes of unhappiness now? (b) How do weknow that it is possible for us to endure perse-cution and tribulation?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Mourning ones:Those who are sador depressed or whoare suffering

ˇ The issue ofJehovah’s sovereignty:The question ofwhether Jehovah hasthe right to rule

ˇ Sympathy:Feeling sorry forthose who suffer

Jehovah’s Witnessescomfort many throughthe preaching work

8 Jehovah certainly gives his servantsthe comfort that they need. For exam-ple, when wicked Queen Jezebel want-ed to kill the prophet Elijah, he becameafraid and fled. He even said that hewanted to die. But instead of criticizingElijah, Jehovah comforted him and gavehim the courage to continue his work asa prophet. (1 Kings, chapter 19) Anoth-er example of how Jehovah comforts hispeople is the help he gave to the congre-

8. How does the Bible show that Jehovahcomforts his servants?

gation in the time of the apostles. TheBible says that the congregation through-out the whole of Judea and Galilee andSamaria entered into a period of peace,being built up. And “as it walked in thefear of Jehovah and in the comfort of theholy spirit it kept on multiplying.” (Acts9:31) We too are very grateful to have thecomfort of the holy spirit!

9 AsChristians, we have been comfort-ed by learning about Jesus Christ and byfollowing his example. Jesus said: “Come

9. Why can learning about Jesus comfort us?

Do youcomfort

mourningones?


to me, all you who are toiling and load-ed down, and I will refresh you. Take myyoke upon you and learn from me, forI am mild-tempered and lowly in heart,and you will find refreshment for yoursouls. For my yoke is kindly and my loadis light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) When welearn about the kind and loving way thatJesus treated people and then try to doas he did, we can get some relief fromthe stress that we may feel.

10 We can also get comfort from othersin the congregation. For example, thinkabout how the elders can help thosewhose faith is gettingweak. Jameswrote:“Is there anyone sick among you? Lethim call the older men of the congrega-tion to him, and let them pray over him.”And what is the result of their help? “Theprayer of faith will make the indisposedone well, and Jehovah will raise him up.Also, if he has committed sins, it will beforgiven him.” (James 5:14, 15) But elders

are not the only ones in the congrega-tion who can give us comfort.

11 Women often find it easier to talk toother women about their problems. Old-er and more experienced sisters espe-cially can give very good advice to youn-ger sisters. These older Christian womenmay have experienced similar situationsin their lives. By listening and caring,they can be a great help to the youngersisters. (Read Titus 2:3-5.) Of course, el-

10, 11. Who in the congregation can givecomfort?

ders and others can and should “speakconsolingly to the depressed souls”among us. (1 Thessalonians 5:14, 15)And it is good to remember that God“comforts us in all our tribulation, thatwe may be able to comfort those inany sort of tribulation.”—2 Corinthians1:4.

12 Avery important way to get comfortis to be at Christian meetings. The infor-mation from the Bible that we hear at themeetings encourages us. We read thatJudas and Silas “encouraged the broth-ers with many a discourse and strength-ened them.” (Acts 15:32) Before and afterour meetings, there is encouraging con-versation amongmembers of the congre-gation. So even if we are suffering be-cause of a problem, it is better to spendtime with fellow Christians. Staying byourselves will only make things worse.(Proverbs 18:1) Instead, we should dowhat the apostle Paul said: “Let us con-sider one another to incite to love andfine works, not forsaking the gatheringof ourselves together, as some have thecustom, but encouraging one another,and all the more so as you behold theday drawing near.”—Hebrews 10:24, 25.

THE BIBLE GIVES US COMFORT

13 Whether we are baptized Chris-tians or we are just beginning to learnabout God and his purposes, we canget great comfort from the Bible. Paulwrote: “All the things that were writ-ten aforetime were written for our in-struction, that through our enduranceand through the comfort from the

12. Why is it important to be at the meetings?

13, 14. In what ways can the Scriptures com-fort us?

We get comfort atChristian meetings


Scriptures we might have hope.” (Ro-mans 15:4) The Bible can comfort usand make us “fully competent, com-pletely equipped for every good work.”(2 Timothy 3:16, 17) We can getknowledge of the truth about God’spurposes and a true hope for the fu-ture by reading and studying the Bi-ble and our publications. If we dothat, we can enjoy the comfort and oth-

er benefits that the hope from the Bi-ble gives us.

14 Jesuswas a fine example in the wayhe used the Scriptures to instruct andcomfort others. After his resurrection,Jesus appeared to two of his disciples.Jesus fully opened up the Scriptures tothem. No doubt this comforted them.(Luke 24:32) The apostle Paul followedJesus’ excellent example and used the

Both youngand old canencourage

others


Scriptures to reason with people. In Be-roea, those who listened to him “re-ceived the word with the greatest ea-gerness of mind, carefully examiningthe Scriptures daily.” (Acts 17:2, 10, 11)So it is very important that we readthe Bible every day and that we allowit along with our publications to helpus! They give us comfort and hope inthese troubled times.

ADDITIONAL WAYSTO COMFORT OTHERS

15 There are many thingswe can do tohelp and comfort our brothers. For ex-ample, we may help older or sick onesdo their grocery shopping. We mayhelp others with things that they needto do around the house. This showsthat we are interested in them. (Phi-lippians 2:4) We can tell our brothershow much we admire their abilities and

their good qualities, such as love, cour-age, and faith.

16 One thing we can do to comfort theelderly is to visit themand listen as theytell us about their past experiences andblessings in Jehovah’s service. As a re-sult, they may encourage and comfortus! We might read the Bible or our pub-lications with those we visit. Maybe wecould study with them the article inThe

15, 16. What are some things we can do tohelp and comfort our brothers?

Watchtower or the infor-mation for the Congrega-tion Bible Study for themeeting that week. Wemight watch one of ourDVDs with them. Andwe might read or tellsome encouraging expe-riences from our publica-tions.

17 If we know that abrother or sister needscomfort, we pray forthem. (Romans 15:30;Colossians 4:12) When we suffer be-cause of difficult situations, and alsowhen we try to comfort others, we canhave the same faith as David: “Throwyour burden upon Jehovahhimself, andhe himself will sustain you. Never willhe allow the righteous one to totter.”(Psalm 55:22) Jehovah will always com-fort and help us. He will never dis-appoint his loyal servants.

18 God told his worshippers of thepast: “I—I myself am the One that iscomforting you people.” (Isaiah 51:12)Jehovah will do the same for us andwill bless our efforts to comfort others.Whatever our hope is, each of us can becomforted by Paul’s words to anointedChristians of his time: “May our LordJesus Christ himself and God our Fa-ther, who loved us and gave everlast-ing comfort and good hope by meansof undeserved kindness, comfort yourhearts and make you firm in every gooddeed and word.”—2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17.

17, 18. Why can we be sure that Jehovah willhelp and comfort his loyal servants?

If you know of someonewho needs comfort,pray for him

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

ˇ How widespread is ourpreaching work?

ˇ What are some thingswe can do to comfortothers?

ˇ How does theBible show thatJehovah comfortshis people?

“WHATwill be the sign of your pres-ence and of the conclusion of the

system of things?” (Matthew 24:3) Wecan read Jesus’ answer to his disciples’question in Matthew chapter 24, Markchapter 13, and Luke chapter 21. Theexplanation he gave about the sign wasclear and detailed. His followers wouldeasily see the things that were part of thesign. Jesus told his disciples: “Keep onthe watch.”—Matthew 24:42.

But if the sign was going to be soclear, why did Jesus say to “keep on thewatch”? There are two possible reasons.One reason is that distractions mightmake some ignore the sign. Their faithcould become weak, and they may stopwatching for the sign. Another reason isthat if part of the sign is not happen-ing right where a Christian lives, he maynot think that it affects him. So he mightthink that the final part of Jesus’ prophe-cy, the “great tribulation,” is not yet com-ing and that he does not need to keepon the watch.—Matthew 24:21.

“THEY TOOK NO NOTE”

Jesus reminded his followers aboutthe people who lived in Noah’s day.The people must have noticed that Noahwas preaching and building the ark. Andthey also would have known about the

violence around them. But most “tookno note.” (Matthew 24:37-39) People to-day have a similar attitude about warn-ings. For example, many do not obey thespeed limit when they drive. Authoritiesoften have to put speed bumps on theroads of city streets to force people todrive slowly. In the same way, a Chris-tian may see the sign of the last days butnot allow this to affect the way he lives.This happened to Arielle, a teenager inWest Africa.

Arielle enjoyed watching women’shandball on television. When her schoolstarted a handball team, the desire toplay made her forget that it could bea danger to her friendship with God.She joined the team as the goalkeeper.What happened? She explains: “Someof my teammates had boyfriends whoused drugs and smoked. They madefun of me for being different.” Ariellethought that being with these peoplewould not affect her. But after a while,the game started to affect even her wor-ship. She says: “Handball filled my mindand heart. During Christian meetings,my thoughts often wandered from theKingdom Hall to the handball court.” Iteven affected her Christian qualities. In-stead of playing to enjoy the game, win-ning was now the most important thing.

Why Is ItImportant to“Keep on the

Watch”?


She practiced a lot because she lovedto win. This caused her stress. She evenlost friends when handball became soimportant to her.

But something happened during onegame that made her think about her sit-uation. The other team was awarded apenalty shot. Arielle was ready to de-fend the goal. She said: “Before I real-ized it, I had prayed to Jehovah to helpme block the shot!” This made her real-ize how much the game had harmed herfriendship with Jehovah. What did shedo about this situation?

She said: “I had seen our DVD YoungPeople Ask—What Will I Do With MyLife?� (See footnote.) I decided to watchit again and this time to take it serious-ly.” Arielle knew that she had the sameproblem as Andr

é, the young man in the

DVD. She thought about what the el-der suggested to Andr

é. He told Andr

é

to read and think about Philippians 3:8.So that is what Arielle did. She said thatthinking about this scripture convincedher to quit the team.

This made a big difference to Arielle.She changed her attitude about competi-tion, so she was not stressed anymore.She felt happier and closer to her Chris-tian brothers and sisters. Activities inthe congregation became more impor-tant to her. She said: “I concentratedat the meetings and enjoyed them again.My ministry also improved. Now I reg-ularly serve as an auxiliary pioneer.”

If distractions are causing you to ig-nore the sign Jesus gave us, then youneed to take action, just as Arielle did.You could try some of the following

� A modern-day drama about a Christianyouth’s struggle to do what Jehovah says isright.

things. Do research in the Watch TowerPublications Index. The index can be likea map to hidden treasures. It shows youwhere you can find good counsel andexperiences of others who have been insimilar situations. You will benefit morefrom the meetings if you prepare welland take notes. And if you sit near thefront of the hall, you may concentratebetter. When the speaker asks questionsof the audience, try to give a commentearly. And keep on the watch bycompar-ingwhat is happening in the world todaywith the sign that Jesus gave and withother prophecies about “the last days.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Peter 3:3, 4; Reve-lation 6:1-8.

“PROVE YOURSELVES READY”

The sign of the last days is happeningin “all the inhabited earth.” (Matthew24:7, 14) Millions of people today are suf-fering because of diseases, food short-ages, earthquakes, and other events thatwere prophesied in the Bible. Comparedto people who live in areas with theseproblems, many others live in areas ofpeace and quiet. If you have not been af-fected by things that are part of the sign,should you think that the great tribula-tion is still a long way off? It would notbe wise to allow such an idea to growin our mind.

Think of Jesus’ prophecy about “pes-tilences and food shortages.” (Luke 21:11) Remember that Jesus did not say thatthese things would be equally bad in allplaces at the same time. Instead, he saidthat they would happen “in one placeafter another.” So we cannot expect tosee the same things happening every-where at the same time. And just afterJesus mentioned that some would suffer

28

because of food shortages, he warnedthat others needed to be careful aboutovereating: “Pay attention to yourselvesthat your hearts never become weigheddown with overeating.” (Luke 21:34) Soall Christians will not experience everypart of the sign. Jesus said: “When yousee these things occurring, know thatthe kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31) By means of modern technology, liketelevision and the Internet, we can seeall parts of the sign even if we are notexperiencing these things where we live.

Remember that Jehovah has alreadyset the “day and hour” when the greattribulation will begin. (Matthew 24:36)Nothing that happens on earth canchange the “day and hour” that Jehovahhas decided.

Jesus warned Christians everywhere:“Prove yourselves ready.” (Matthew 24:44) We should always be ready. Ofcourse we cannot be doing congregationactivities all the time. And none of usknow what we will be doing at the timewhen the great tribulation begins. Somemaybe working in a field or caring for re-sponsibilities at home. (Matthew 24:40,41) So, what can we do to be ready?

Emmanuel, Victorine, and their sixdaughters live in an area of Africa wherethey do not experience all the things thatare part of the sign of the last days. Butthey wanted to be ready, so they decid-ed to have a Bible discussion every day.Emmanuel explains: “It was difficult tofind a time convenient to all. We final-ly chose the half hour between six andsix-thirty in the morning. After consid-ering the day’s text, we prepare a fewparagraphs in one of the publicationsscheduled for congregation study dur-ing the week.” Has this helped themto keep on the watch? Yes, it has! Em-manuel is coordinator of the body of el-ders in the congregation. Victorine oftenserves as an auxiliary pioneer, and shehas helped many to learn the truth. Andtheir daughters are all active in the con-gregation.

Jesus warns us: “Keep looking, keepawake.” (Mark 13:33) Do not let any-thing distract you from keeping on thewatch. Instead, obey the good counselwe receive at the meetings and in ourpublications, just asArielle did.And likeEmmanuel’s family, try to do somethingevery day to show that you are ready andto “keep on the watch.”

Emmanuel andhis family have aBible discussion

every day. Ithelps them to“keep on the

watch”

29

IT IS more and more difficult to be hap-py and joyful. For many it is difficult

to think of positive, or good, things tosay to others. Life in big cities can some-times make people feel lonely and thinkthat they do not want to be with others.

Professor Alberto Oliverio said thatloneliness is very common today andthat life in big cities can make some feelisolated, or lonely. Because they feel iso-lated, they may not be interested in theirworkmates, their neighbors, or thosewhowork in the stores where they shop.The loneliness that the professor talkedabout can cause depression.

But the situation among Christianbrothers and sisters is different. Theapostle Paul wrote: “Always be rejoic-ing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16) There aremany reasons to be joyful and to rejoicewith our brothers. We worship Jehovah,the Most High God. We understand thetruth from the Bible. We have the hopeof living forever. Andwe canhelp othersto have these same blessings.—Psalm106:4, 5; Jeremiah 15:16; Romans 12:12.

True Christians rejoice and sharetheir joy with one another. That is whyPaul wrote to the Philippians: “I am gladand I rejoice with all of you. Now in thesame way you yourselves also be gladand rejoice with me.” (Philippians 2:17,18) Here, in just two verses, Paul spoketwice about being happy and rejoicingwith one another.

Christians must be careful not to iso-late themselves. A person who sepa-rates himself from his brothers cannot

rejoice with them in the congregation.Paul encourages us to “continue rejoic-ing in the Lord” with our brothers. Howcan we do this?—Philippians 3:1.

REJOICE WITH OUR BROTHERS

When Paul wrote to the Philippians,he was probably a prisoner in Rome be-cause of his preaching work. (Philippi-ans 1:7; 4:22) Even though he was inprison, he was still active and zealousin the ministry. He rejoiced because heused his life to do everything he could toserve Jehovah, just as when people gave“a drink offering,” they poured out thewhole drink as a sacrifice. (Philippians2:17) Paul’s attitude shows us that ourjoy does not depend on our situation.Even though he was in prison, Paul said:“I will also keep on rejoicing.”—Philip-pians 1:18.

Paul had started the congregation inPhilippi, so he had special affection forthe brothers there. He knew that hecould encourage them by telling themabout the joy he felt in serving Je-hovah. That is why he wrote: “Now Idesire you to know, brothers, that my af-fairs have turned out for the advance-ment of the good news rather than oth-erwise, so that my bonds have becomepublic knowledge in association withChrist among all the Praetorian Guardand all the rest.” (Philippians 1:12, 13)When Paul told the Philippians this ex-perience, they were encouraged. He re-joiced with his brothers in Philippi, andthey rejoiced with him. The Philippians

Let Us Rejoice Together!


needed to remember their reasons forrejoicing and not become discouragedbecause Paul was in prison. They need-ed to imitate Paul’s attitude. (Philippi-ans 1:14; 3:17) The Philippians couldhelp Paul by praying for him and by giv-ing him whatever help he needed.—Phi-lippians 1:19; 4:14-16.

Do we have the same joyful attitudethat Paul had? Can we try to think ofthe good things that happen to us inour life and in our ministry? Whenwe are with our brothers, we can talkabout good experiences in the ministry.We do not have to wait until we havean exciting or a special experience to do

this. For example, maybe someone lis-tened to the Kingdom message becauseof a good introduction we used or be-cause of the way we reasoned with him.Maybe we had a good conversation withsomeone about a Bible verse. Or may-be while we were in the ministry, peo-ple recognized us as Jehovah’s Witness-es, and this was a good witness to them.When we tell our brothers experienceslike these, it is a way that we can rejoicetogether.

Many of Jehovah’s people have madesacrifices to preach the good news, andmany today are still making sacrifices.Pioneers, traveling overseers, Bethel-

Glo

be:

Courtesy

ofRep

logle

Glo

bes


ites, missionaries, and international ser-vants rejoice as they continue to workhard in their full-time service. Do werejoice with them? We can show thatwe appreciate their work and that weare happy to be their “fellow workersfor the kingdom of God.” (Colossians 4:11) We can do this by encouragingthem when we are together at congre-gation meetings or assemblies. And wecan think about their zeal and imitatetheir example. We can make opportu-nities to listen to their experiences andencouraging words by showing hospi-tality, maybe eating a meal with them.—Philippians 4:10.

REJOICE WITHTHOSE ENDURING TRIALS

When Paul endured persecution andtrials, it made him stronger and moredetermined to stay faithful to Jehovah.(Colossians 1:24; James 1:2, 3) He knewthat the brothers in Philippi would pos-sibly have similar trials. It gave him joyto know that by enduring his trials, hecould encourage his brothers. That iswhy he said: “To you the privilege wasgiven in behalf of Christ, not only to putyour faith in him, but also to suffer inhis behalf. For you have the same strug-gle as you saw in my case and as younow hear about in my case.”—Philippi-ans 1:29, 30.

Today people also oppose us becauseof our preaching work. Sometimes thisopposition is violent, but often it isnot. For example, it could be that apos-tates tell lies about us, or family mem-bers are angry with us. Or maybe peo-ple we work with or we attend schoolwith make fun of us. Jesus said that

we should not be surprised or discour-aged because of these trials. Instead,we should consider them as reasonsto rejoice. He said: “Happy are youwhen people reproach you and perse-cute you and lyingly say every sort ofwicked thing against you for my sake.Rejoice and leap for joy, since your re-ward is great in the heavens.”—Matthew5:11, 12.

We should not be afraid when wehear that our brothers in some coun-tries are suffering cruel persecution. In-stead, we should rejoice because theyare enduring. We can pray for them andask Jehovah to help them to keep theirfaith strong and to endure. (Philippi-ans 1:3, 4) Maybe this is all we can dofor our dear brothers who are sufferingpersecution. But in our own congrega-tion, there are brothers whom we canhelp when they experience trials. Wecan show them by our actions that wecare about them. For example, we couldsometimes invite them to join us for ourfamilyworship or workwith them in theministry or enjoy time together in rec-reation. We can use these opportunitiesto rejoice with one another.

We have many reasons to rejoice to-gether! We do not want to have theworld’s attitude and isolate ourselvesfrom others. Instead, we want to bewith our brothers and share our joy withthem. By doing this, we will help tomake the congregation a place of loveand unity. And we will enjoy being apart of the Christian brotherhood. (Phi-lippians 2:1, 2) Paul encourages us: “Al-ways rejoice in the Lord. Once moreI will say, Rejoice!”—Philippians 4:4.


˛ What should I do when I have a questionabout something I read in the Bible or whenI need advice about a personal problem?

Proverbs 2:1-5 encourages us to “keep search-ing for” understanding and discernment as ifwe were looking for hidden treasures. Thishelps us to understand that we need to makean effort to find answers to our Bible questionsand to try to find solutions to our personal prob-lems. How can we do this?

The book Benefit From Theocratic MinistrySchool Education has a chapter called “How toDo Research” on pages 33 to 38. It explains howwe can find answers to our questions by usingthe publications that “the faithful and discreetslave” gives us. (Matthew 24:45) Page 36 ex-plains that we can use the Watch Tower Publi-cations Index. The index has a list of subjects anda list of scriptures. If we have a question about aword or Bible verse, we can search for that wordor verse in the Index, and it will show whicharticles or books may contain the answer to ourquestion. You may need to be patient to findan answer to your question. Remember that itis like looking for hidden treasures, so it willtake time and effort.

Of course, there are some subjects and scrip-tures that our publications have not discussed.And at times, the publications may have talkedabout the verse you are interested in, but maybethis still does not answer your question. Also,some Bible accounts do not explain all the de-tails, so we may have questions about these ac-counts. We should not expect to find answersimmediately to every question. If there is no an-swer to our questions in the publications, thenwe should not try to guess the answer. If we dothat, we could become involved in argumentsabout “questions for research rather than a dis-pensing of anything by God in connection with

faith.” (1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9)The brothers who work at the branch offices orat the world headquarters cannot answer everyquestion about subjects that have not been ex-plained in the publications. But we can be surethat the Bible gives us enough information toguide our life. And the things we do not yet un-derstand give us an opportunity to show thatwe have strong faith in God and in his Word.—See pages 185 to 187 of the book Draw Closeto Jehovah.

But what if you have done everything youcan to research something that is important toyou but you have not yet found a solution? Youcould talk to a mature Christian, maybe one ofthe local elders. They have a good knowledge

of the Bible and have served Jehovah for manyyears. If you need advice about a personal prob-lem or decision, they would be able to help yousince they are nearby, and they know you andyour situation. And never forget to pray to Je-hovah and tell him everything that is troublingyou. Ask him to guide your thinking with hisholy spirit, and he will give you the wisdomand discernment you need.—Proverbs 2:6; Luke11:13.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS


December 26–January 1“Do Not Lean Upon

Your Own Understanding”PAGE 6 SONGS TO BE USED: 133, 23

January 2-8For Life and Peace,Walk in Accord With the Spirit


January 9-15“Temporary Residents”

in a Wicked WorldPAGE 16 SONGS TO BE USED: 40, 85

January 16-22Help Men to Progress SpirituallyPAGE 24 SONGS TO BE USED: 123, 95

January 23-29Train Others to Reach OutPAGE 28 SONGS TO BE USED: 45, 10

34567NOVEMBER 15, 2011



34567�

NOVEMBER 15, 2011



Are you fully benefiting from God’s provisionof prayer? Learn how prayer can assist you asyou face distressing situations, make impor-tant decisions, or struggle to resist tempta-tions.


The apostle Paul told Christians in Romewhat to set their minds on so as to reap lifeand peace. Learn how you can benefit fromthe counsel he gave them.


As shown in this article, faithful men of oldlived as “temporary residents.” So did Jesus’early followers. But what about true Chris-tians today? Learn what it means to live astemporary residents in this wicked world.


There is a need for menwho can take the leadin spiritual matters. Jesus helped many mento accept the good news and then qualify forprivileges of service. By studying his meth-

ods, we will learn how we can help the menwe meet in the ministry and how we can as-sist baptized men in the congregation toreach out for responsibility in Jehovah’s orga-nization.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Jehu ChampionsPure Worship

15 “Disabled Nowbut Not Forever!”


22 Do You Find Joyin “the Privilege ofKindly Giving”?


THE WATCHTOWER ˙ NOVEMBER 15, 2011 3

JEHU was a champion of pure worship. Incarrying out this role, he was energetic,

prompt, relentless, zealous, and courageous.Jehu manifested qualities that we would dowell to imitate.

Jehu received a commissionwhen the na-tion of Israel was in a bad state. The countrywas under the wicked influence of Jezebel,widow of Ahab and mother of the rulingking, Jehoram. She promoted the Baal cultat the expense of Jehovah’s worship, killedGod’s prophets, and corrupted the peo-ple with her “fornications” and “sorceries.”(2 Ki. 9:22; 1 Ki. 18:4, 13) Jehovah de-creed the eliminationof thewhole house ofAhab, including Jehoram and Jezebel. Jehuwas to spearhead that action.

The Scriptures introduce Jehu as he satwithmilitary chiefswhen the Israeliteswerefighting the Syrians at Ramoth-gilead. Jehuwas a high-ranking officer, if not the com-mander of Israel’s army. The prophet Elishasent one of the sons of the prophets to

anoint Jehu as king and to instruct him tokill every male of the apostate house ofAhab.—2 Ki. 8:28; 9:1-10.

When Jehu’s fellow officers asked aboutthe purpose of this visit, Jehu was reluctantto say. But when pressed, he told them thetruth, and he and his companions began toconspire against Jehoram. (2 Ki. 9:11-14)Likely, there had been underlying resent-ment and resistance to the policies of theruling house and to Jezebel’s influence. Inany case, Jehu made a studied effort to findthe best way to carryout his commission.

King Jehoram had been wounded in bat-tle and had withdrawn to the city of Jezreel,hoping to recuperate. Jehu knew that if hisplan was going to succeed, no word of itmust reach Jezreel. “Do not let anyone goout in escape from the city to go and makereport in Jezreel,” said Jehu. (2 Ki. 9:14, 15)Perhaps he anticipated at least some resis-tance from troops loyal to Jehoram. Jehuwanted to rule out the possibility of such re-sistance.

A FURIOUS DRIVE!Touse the elementof surprise, Jehu drove

in his chariot from Ramoth-gilead to Jezre-el, a distance of 45 miles (72 km). As hesped toward his destination, awatchman ona tower saw “the heaving mass of Jehu’smen.” (2 Ki. 9:17) Very likely, Jehu took aconsiderable force with him in order to besure of accomplishing his purpose.

JEHUCHAMPIONSPURE WORSHIP

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Perceiving that courageous Jehu was inone of the chariots, the watchman ex-claimed: “It is withmadness that he drives.”(2 Ki. 9:20) If Jehu normally drove in a simi-lar way, his haste on this particular missionmust have made it a furious drive indeed.

After refusing to say anything to two mes-sengers sent to him, Jehu met King Jehoramandhis ally Ahaziah, the kingof Judah, eachin his own chariot. Jehoram’s question, “Is

there peace, Jehu?” was met by the retort:“What peace could there be as long as thereare the fornications of Jezebel your motherand her many sorceries?” Alarmed by thisresponse, Jehoram turned to flee. But Jehuwas too fast forhim!Drawing a bow, he shotan arrow through Jehoram’s heart, and theking fell dead in his chariot. Although Aha-ziah managed to escape, Jehu later trackedhim down and had him killed too.—2 Ki. 9:22-24, 27.

The next member of Ahab’s house to beeliminated was wicked Queen Jezebel. Jehurightly referred to her as “this accursedone.” As Jehu drove into Jezreel, he saw herlooking down from a palace window. With-out wasting words, Jehu commanded thecourt officials to throw Jezebel down fromthe window. Jehu then had his horses tram-ple this corrupter of all Israel. Thereafter,Jehuproceeded to eliminatedozensofothermembers of the house of wicked Ahab.—2 Ki. 9:30-34; 10:1-14.

Though the thought of violence is un-pleasant, we should realize that in thosedays, Jehovah used his servants to carry outhis judgments. The Scriptures state: “It wasfrom God that the downfall of Ahaziah oc-curred by his coming to Jehoram; and whenhe came, he went out with Jehoram toJehu the grandson of Nimshi, whom Jeho-vah had anointed to cut off the house ofAhab.” (2 Chron. 22:7) As he threw Jeho-ram’s body from his chariot, Jehu recog-nized that this act fulfilled Jehovah’s prom-ise to exact punishment for Ahab’s murderof Naboth. Moreover, Jehu had been com-manded to “avenge the bloodof [God’s] ser-vants” shed by Jezebel.—2 Ki. 9:7, 25, 26;1 Ki. 21:17-19.

Today, no servant of Jehovah uses physi-cal force against opponents of pureworship.“Vengeance ismine,”God says. (Heb.10:30)

Critics have often questioned whethercharacters mentioned in the Scriptures ac-tually existed. So is there any extra-Biblicalevidence regarding Jehu?

At least three documents from ancientAssyria mention this king of Israel by name.One of these purports to show Jehu, or per-haps one of his emissaries, bowing beforeAssyrian King Shalmaneser III and offeringtribute. The accompanying inscriptionreads: “The tribute of Jehu (Ia-u-a), son ofOmri (Hu-um-ri); I received from him silver,gold, a golden saplu-bowl, a golden vasewith pointed bottom, golden tumblers,golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, (and)wooden puruhtu [the meaning of the latterword being unknown].” Jehu was not a di-rect “son of Omri,” but this expression wasused to designate successive kings of Israel,likely because of Omri’s fame and his build-ing of Israel’s capital, Samaria.

The Assyrian king’s claim regarding thetribute Jehu supposedly paid cannot becorroborated. Even so, he mentions Jehuthree times—on a stela, on a statue of Shal-maneser, and in the Assyrian royal annals.These references leave little doubt as to thehistorical reality of this Bible character.

Jehu in Secular History


But to rid the congregation of potentiallycorrupting influences, Christian elders mayhave to act with courage similar to that ofJehu. (1 Cor. 5:9-13) And all members ofthe congregation need to be determined toavoid the company of disfellowshipped in-dividuals.—2 John 9-11.

JEHU TOLERATED NORIVALRY TOWARD JEHOVAH

Jehu’s motive for carrying out his com-mission is evident from his subsequentwords to faithful Jehonadab: “Do go alongwith me and look upon my toleration of norivalry toward Jehovah.” Jehonadab accept-ed that invitation, got into Jehu’s chariot,and rode with him to Samaria. There, Jehu“acted slyly, for the purpose of destroyingtheworshipers of Baal.”—2 Ki.10:15-17,19.

Jehu announced that he intended to hold“a great sacrifice” for Baal. (2 Ki. 10:18, 19)“This is a clever playonwords on the part ofJehu,” says one scholar. While the term em-ployedhere “generallymeans ‘sacrifice,’ it isalso usedof the ‘slaughter’ of apostates.” Be-cause Jehu did not want any Baal worship-pers to miss this event, he assembled all ofthem in the house of Baal and had themdress in distinctive attire. “As soon as he fin-ished rendering up the burnt offering,”Jehu had 80 armed men slaughter Baal’sdevotees. He then had the house of Baal de-molished and its site set aside for privies,making it unfit for worship.—2 Ki. 10:20-27.

It is true that Jehu spilled much blood.Yet, the Scriptures present him as a coura-geous man who freed Israel from the op-pressive dominationof Jezebel and her fam-ily. If any leader of Israel was to succeed indoing this, he had to be a man of cour-age, determination, and zeal. “It was roughwork and was executed with relentless thor-oughness,” comments one Bible dictionary.

“Gentler measures probably would havefailed to eradicate Baalworship from Israel.”

No doubt you can see that circumstanc-es faced by Christians today require thatthey manifest certain qualities possessed byJehu. For instance, how should we react iftempted to engage in any activity that Jeho-vah condemns? We should be prompt, cou-rageous, and dynamic in rejecting it. Whenit comes to our godly devotion, we cannottolerate any rivalry toward Jehovah.

TAKE CARE TOWALK IN JEHOVAH’S LAW

The end of this story provides a warning.Jehu ‘did not turn aside from following thegolden calves in Bethel and Dan.’ (2 Ki. 10:29) How is tolerance of idolatry possible inthe case of one who seemed so zealous forpureworship?

Jehu may have believed that the indepen-dence of the kingdom of Israel from Judahrequired the religious separation of the twokingdoms. Hence, like former kings of Isra-el, he attempted to keep them separate byperpetuating calf worship. But this wouldshow a lack of faith in Jehovah, who hadmade him king.

Jehovah commended Jehu because ‘heacted well in doing what was right in God’seyes.’ Nevertheless, Jehu “did not take careto walk in the law of Jehovah the God of Is-rael with all his heart.” (2 Ki.10:30, 31) Con-sidering everything else that Jehu did earli-er, you might find this surprising and sad.Yet, it does provide a lesson for us. We cannever take our relationship with Jehovahfor granted. Every day, we need to cultivateloyalty to God through study of his Word,meditation on it, and heartfelt prayer to ourheavenly Father. Let us, therefore, exerciseutmost care to keep onwalking in Jehovah’slaw with all ourheart.—1 Cor.10:12.


CYNTHIA’S� employer has already shutdown portions of his company and has

laid off several employees. Cynthia feels thatshewill be thenext tobe let go.Whatwill shedo if she loses her job? How will she pay herbills? A Christian sister named Pamela wantsto move where the need for Kingdom pro-claimers is greater, but should she? A youngman named Samuel has a concern of anoth-er sort. He was exposed to pornography at anearly age. Now in his 20’s, Samuel has astrong temptation to go back to that habit.Howcan he resist the pull?

2 Whom do you lean upon when facingdistressing situations, making important de-cisions, or resisting temptations? Doyou relysolely on yourself, or do you “throw yourburden upon Jehovah”? (Ps. 55:22) “Theeyes of Jehovah are toward the righteousones,” states the Bible, “and his ears are to-ward their cry for help.” (Ps. 34:15) How im-portant it is, then, that we trust in Jehovahwith all our heart and that we do not leanupon our own understanding!—Prov. 3:5.

3 Trusting in Jehovah with a completeheart involves doing things his way, accord-ing to his will. Central to doing so is our


1, 2. (a) What situations may confront us?(b) When dealing with distress, making a decision,or resisting a temptation, whom should we leanupon, and why?3. (a) What does trusting in Jehovah involve?(b) Why may some be inclined to lean upon theirown understanding?

continually approaching him in prayer andmaking heartfelt requests for his guidance.However, leaning completely upon Jehovahpresents a challenge for many. For example, aChristian sister named Lynn admits, “Learn-ing to put my complete confidence in Jeho-vah has been an ongoing struggle for me.”Why? “I have no relationship with my fa-ther,” she says, “and I have a mother whodidnot care for me emotionally or physically. SoI very quickly learned to look after myself.”Lynn’s background made it difficult for herto trust anyone fully. Personal ability andsuccess can also cause a person to be self-reliant. Relying on his experience, an eldermay begin to care for matters involving thecongregation without first approaching Godinprayer.

4 Jehovah expects us to make a sincere ef-fort to live up to our prayers and to act in har-mony with his will. How, then, can webalance throwing our cares on himwith put-ting forth personal effort to resolve difficultproblems? When it comes to making deci-sions,what cautionmustwe exercise?Why isprayer important whenwe are trying to resisttemptations? We will consider these ques-tions by reflecting on Scriptural examples.

When in Distress5 Concerning King Hezekiahof Judah, the

Bible says: “He kept sticking to Jehovah. He

4. What will be discussed in this article?5, 6. How did Hezekiah respond when he wasthreatened by the king of Assyria?

“DO NOT LEAN UPON YOUROWN UNDERSTANDING”

“Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not leanupon your own understanding.”—PROV. 3:5.


did not turn aside from following him, buthe continued keeping his commandmentsthat Jehovah had commanded Moses.” Yes,“in Jehovah the God of Israel he trust-ed.” (2 Ki. 18:5, 6) How did Hezekiah re-spond when King Sennacherib of Assyriasent his representatives—including Rabsha-keh—to Jerusalem along with a heavy mili-tary force? The powerful Assyrian army hadalready seized a number of fortified cities ofJudah, andSennacheribhadnow set his eyeson Jerusalem.Hezekiahwent to thehouse ofJehovah and began praying: “O Jehovah ourGod, save us, please, out of his hand, thatall the kingdoms of the earth may knowthat you, O Jehovah, are God alone.”—2 Ki.19:14-19.

6 Hezekiah acted in harmony with hisprayer. Evenbefore going up to the temple topray, he instructed the people not to re-spond to Rabshakeh’s taunts. Hezekiah alsosent a delegation to Isaiah the prophet, seek-ing his advice. (2 Ki.18:36; 19:1, 2) Hezekiahtook steps that he could rightly take. On thisoccasion, he did not try to work out a solu-tion thatwasoutof harmonywith Jehovah’swill by seeking support from Egypt or fromneighboringnations. Rather than leanuponhis own understanding, Hezekiah trusted inJehovah. After Jehovah’s angel struck down185,000 of Sennacherib’s men, Sennacherib“pulled away” and returned to Nineveh.—2 Ki.19:35, 36.

7 Hannah, the wife of the Levite Elkanah,also leaned upon Jehovah when she was indistress over not being able to bear a child.(1 Sam. 1:9-11, 18) The prophet Jonah wasdelivered from the belly of a great fish afterhe prayed: “Out of my distress I called out toJehovah, and he proceeded to answer me.

7. What comfort can we derive from the prayers ofHannah and Jonah?

Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help. Youheard my voice.” (Jonah 2:1, 2, 10) Howcomforting it is to know that no matter howdire our situation is, we can call out to Jeho-vahwith a “request for favor”!—Read Psalm55:1,16.

8 The examples of Hezekiah, Hannah, andJonah also teach us a vital lesson about whatwe should not fail to remember as we praywhile under duress. All three felt emotionalpain when they were in sore straits. Yet,their prayers show that they were not con-cerned about just themselves and getting re-lief from their problems. God’s name, hisworship, and the doing of his will were mat-ters of utmost importance to them. Hez-ekiah was pained that reproach was be-ing heaped upon Jehovah’s name. Hannahpromised to give in service at the tabernaclein Shiloh the very son she had so desired.And Jonah said: “What I have vowed, I willpay.”—Jonah 2:9.

9 When we pray for deliverance from atroublesome situation, it is wise to examineour motives. Are we concerned exclusivelywith getting relief from the problem, or dowe keep Jehovah and his purpose in mind?Personal suffering can easily cause us to getso caught up in our own situation that con-cern over spiritual matters fades into thebackground. When praying to God for help,let us keep our mind focused on Jehovah,the sanctification of his name, and the vin-dication of his sovereignty. Doing so canhelp us to maintain a positive outlook evenif the solution that we hope for fails to ma-terialize. The answer to our prayers may bethat we need to endure the situation withGod’s help.—Read Isaiah 40:29; Philippi-ans 4:13.

8, 9. What concerns were expressed in the prayersof Hezekiah, Hannah, and Jonah, and what do welearn from this?


When Making Decisions10 How do you make weighty decisions in

life? Do you perhaps decide first and thenpray to Jehovah to bless the decision youhave made? Consider what Jehoshaphat,king of Judah, did when the combinedforces of the Moabites and the Ammonitescameup against him towagewar. Judahwasin no position to take a stand against them.What actionwas Jehoshaphat to take?

11 “Jehoshaphat became afraid and set hisface to search for Jehovah,” says the Bible.He declared a fast for all Judah and collectedthe people together “to inquire of Jehovah.”Then he stood up in the congregation of Ju-dah and of Jerusalemandprayed. Inpart, hepleaded: “O our God, will you not executejudgment upon them? For in us there is nopowerbefore this large crowd that is comingagainst us; and we ourselves do not knowwhat we ought to do, but our eyes are to-ward you.” The true God heard Jehosha-phat’s prayer and provided a miraculousdeliverance. (2 Chron. 20:3-12, 17) Whenmaking decisions, especially those that mayaffect our spirituality, should we not rely onJehovah rather than lean upon our own un-derstanding?

12 What should we do when confrontedwith situations that may seem easier to re-solve—perhaps because past experience al-lows us to think of a solution quickly? Anaccount involving King David provides in-sight in this regard. When the Amalekitesraided the city of Ziklag, they carried off Da-vid’s wives and children as well as those ofhis men. David inquired of Jehovah, saying:“Shall I chase after this marauder band?” Je-

10, 11. What did Jehoshaphat do when confrontedwith a situation that he did not know how to han-dle?12, 13. What example did King David set in mak-ing decisions?

hovah replied: “Go in chase, for you willwithout fail overtake them, and you willwithout fail make a deliverance.” Davidcomplied, and he “got to deliver all thatthe Amalekites had taken.”—1 Sam. 30:7-9,18-20.

13 Sometime after the Amalekite raid, thePhilistines came up against Israel. Davidagain inquired of Jehovah and received aclear answer. God said: “Go up, for I shallwithout fail give the Philistines into yourhands.” (2 Sam. 5:18, 19) Shortly thereafter,the Philistines once more came up againstDavid. What would he do this time? Hecould have reasoned: ‘I have faced a similarsituation twice before. Let me go up againstGod’s enemies, as I did then.’ Or would Da-vid seek Jehovah’s direction? David did notrelyonhis past experience.He againwent toJehovah in prayer. How glad he must havebeen that he did! The instructions he re-ceived this timewere different. (2 Sam. 5:22,23) When faced with a familiar situation orproblem, we must exercise caution that wedo not rely solelyonpast experience.—ReadJeremiah 10:23.

14 Being imperfect, all of us—even experi-enced elders—need to be on guard againstfailing to look to Jehovah for directionwhen making decisions. Consider how Mo-ses’ successor, Joshua, and the older menof Israel responded when approached byshrewd Gibeonites who disguised them-selves and pretended to have come from adistant land. Without inquiring of Jehovah,Joshua and others went ahead and madepeace with the Gibeonites, concluding acovenant with them. Even though Jeho-vahultimately supported the agreement, he

14. What lesson can we draw from the way thatJoshua and the older men of Israel dealt with theGibeonites?


made sure that this failure to seek his direc-tion was recorded in the Scriptures for ourbenefit.—Josh. 9:3-6,14,15.

When Struggling to Resist Temptations15 Having “sin’s law” within our mem-

bers, we need to put up a strong fight againstsinful inclinations. (Rom. 7:21-25) This is afight that can be won. How? Jesus toldhis followers that prayer is vital in resist-ing temptation. (Read Luke 22:40.) Even ifwrong desires or thoughts persist after wehave prayed to God, we need to “keep onasking God” for wisdom to cope with thistrial.We are assured that “he gives generous-ly to all and without reproaching.” (Jas. 1:5)James alsowrites: “Is there anyone [spiritual-ly] sick among you? Let him call the oldermen of the congregation to him, and letthemprayoverhim, greasinghimwithoil inthenameof Jehovah. And the prayer of faithwill make the indisposed one well.”—Jas. 5:14,15.

16 Prayer is essential in resisting tempta-tion, but we must be cognizant of the needto pray at the right time. Consider the caseof a certain young man mentioned at Prov-erbs 7:6-23. During the twilight hours, he iswalking down a street where an immoralwoman is known to live. Misled by her per-suasiveness and seduced by the smoothnessof her lips, he goes after her, like a bull thatcomes to the slaughter. Why had this youngman gone there? Since he was “in want ofheart,” that is, inexperienced, he was likelystruggling with wrong desires. (Prov. 7:7)When would prayer have benefited him themost? Of course, praying to resist tempta-tion at any time during his encounter would

15. Explain why prayer is important in resistingtemptation.16, 17. When seeking help to resist temptation,when is the best time to pray?

have been valuable. But the best time forhim to pray would have been when he firsthad the idea of walking down that street.

17 Today, a man may be trying hard to re-sist viewing pornography.However, supposehe were to visit Internet sites where heknows there are provocative pictures or vid-eos. Would not his case be similar to that ofthe young man referred to in Proverbs chap-ter 7? What a dangerous path to begin walk-ing down! To resist temptation to view por-nography, a person needs to seek Jehovah’shelp inprayer before starting to godown thatroute on the Internet.

18 It is not easy to resist temptation or

18, 19. (a) Why can resisting temptation be chal-lenging, but how can you meet the challenge suc-cessfully? (b) What is your determination?

In resisting temptation,when is prayer most beneficial?


overcome bad habits. “The flesh is againstthe spirit in its desire,” wrote the apos-tle Paul, “and the spirit against the flesh.”Therefore, “the very things that [we] wouldlike to do [we] do not do.” (Gal. 5:17) Tomeet this challenge,weneed topray fervent-ly whenwrong thoughts or temptations firstcome tomind and thenact inharmony withour prayers. “No temptation has taken youexcept what is common to men,” and withJehovah’s help, we can remain faithful tohim.—1 Cor.10:13.

19 Whether we are dealing with a difficultsituation, making a weighty decision, ortrying to resist temptation, Jehovah has giv-en us a wonderful gift—the precious provi-sion of prayer. By means of it, we demon-

strate our reliance on him. We should alsokeepon askingGod forhis holy spirit, whichguides and strengthens us. (Luke 11:9-13)And by all means, let us trust in Jehovah andnot lean upon our own understanding.

Do You Recall?˙ What did you learn from Hezekiah,

Hannah, and Jonah about trustingin Jehovah?

˙ How do the examples of David andJoshua emphasize the need for cau-tion when making decisions?

˙ When especially should we prayabout temptations?

“DISTRACTED driving is an epidemic andit seems to be getting worse every

year.” That was the assessment of the U.S.secretary of transportation. Cell phones areamong the devices that can distract the mo-torist from the one thing he or she is sup-posed to be doing—driving. Over one third

1, 2. (a) What serious situation has resultedfrom a person’s being distracted while driving?(b) What danger can result from being distractedspiritually?

of the people interviewed in one survey saidthat they had been hit or nearly hit by a ve-hiclewith a driver using a cell phone.Multi-tasking while driving may seem to be expe-dient, but the result can be disastrous.

2 The same could be true of our spiritualwell-being. Just as a distracted driver oftenfails to notice signs of danger, a person whois distracted spiritually can easily fall intoharm’s way. If we allow ourselves to driftaway from our Christian course and theo-

FOR LIFE AND PEACE,WALK IN ACCORD WITH

THE SPIRIT“Walk, not in accord with the flesh, but in accord

with the spirit.”—ROM. 8:4.


cratic activities, the result could be the ship-wreck of our faith. (1 Tim. 1:18, 19) Theapostle Paul warned of this danger when hecautioned his fellow Christians in Rome:“Theminding of the flesh means death, butthe minding of the spirit means life andpeace.” (Rom. 8:6) What did Paul mean bythat?Howcanwe avoid “themindingof theflesh” and pursue “the minding of thespirit”?

They “Have No Condemnation”3 In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote

about a struggle he himself experienced—aconflict between his flesh and his mind.(Read Romans 7:21-23.) Paul was not in-dulging in self-justification or self-pity, asthough he were so heavily laden with sinthat he could not help himself. After all,he was a mature, spirit-anointed Christian,chosen to be “an apostle to the nations.”(Rom. 1:1; 11:13) Why, then, did Paul writeabout his personal struggle?

4 Paul was honestly acknowledging thaton his own, he was incapable of doingGod’s will to the extent that he himself de-sired. The reason? “All have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God,” he said. (Rom. 3:23) As a descendant of Adam, Paul was sub-ject to the effects of sin on the imperfectflesh. We can relate to him because all of usare imperfect and have to face similar strug-gles every day. Moreover, there are manydistractions that could divert our attentionand take us off ‘the cramped road leadinginto life.’ (Matt. 7:14)However, the situationwas not hopeless for Paul, and it is notfor us.

5 Paul wrote: “Who will rescue me . . . ?

3, 4. (a) What personal struggle did Paul writeabout? (b) Why should we be interested in Paul’s sit-uation?5. Where did Paul find help and relief?

Thanks to God through Jesus Christ ourLord!” (Rom. 7:24, 25) Then, he addressedthose “in union with Christ Jesus”—anoint-ed Christians. (Read Romans 8:1, 2.) Bymeans of his holy spirit, Jehovah adoptsthemas sons, calling them to be “joint heirswith Christ.” (Rom. 8:14-17) God’s spirit,coupled with their faith in Christ’s ransomsacrifice, enables them to come off victori-ous in the struggle that Paul described andthus “have no condemnation.” They are setfree “from the lawof sin and of death.”

6 While Paul’s remarks were addressed toanointed Christians, what he said aboutGod’s spirit and Christ’s ransom sacrificecan benefit all servants of Jehovah regard-less of the hope they entertain. AlthoughPaul was inspired to offer such counsel toanointed Christians, it is vital that all ser-vants of God understand what he wrote andendeavor to benefit from it.

How God “CondemnedSin in the Flesh”

7 In the 7th chapter of Romans, Paul ac-knowledged the power of sin on the imper-fect flesh. In the 8th chapter, he comment-ed on the power of holy spirit. The apostleexplained how God’s spirit can help Chris-tians in their struggle against the power ofsin so that they can live in harmony with Je-hovah’s will and gain his approval. Paulpointed out that by means of God’s spiritand the ransom sacrifice of his Son,God hasaccomplished something that the MosaicLaw could not.

8 The Law, with its many command-ments, condemned sinners. Moreover,

6. Why should all of God’s servants take note ofPaul’s words?7, 8. (a) In what sense was the Law “weak throughthe flesh”? (b) What has God accomplished bymeans of his spirit and the ransom?


Israel’s high priests serving under the Lawwere imperfect and could not offer an ade-quate sacrifice for sin. Hence, the Law was“weak through the flesh.” But “by sendinghis own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh”and offering him as a ransom, God “con-demned sin in the flesh,” thus overcomingthe “incapability on the part of the Law.”Asa result, anointed Christians are countedrighteous on the basis of their faith in Jesus’ransom sacrifice. They are urged to “walk,not in accord with the flesh, but in accordwith the spirit.” (Read Romans 8:3, 4.) In-deed, they must do so faithfully to the endof their earthlycourse inorder to be granted“the crown of life.”—Rev. 2:10.

9 In addition to “the Law,” Paul men-tioned “the law of that spirit” and “the lawof sin and of death.” (Rom. 8:2) What arethese laws? Theword “law”here doesnot re-fer to certain rules, such as those in the Mo-saic Law. One reference work suggests: “TheGreek term for law here means an inwardprinciple of action—either good or evil—op-erating with the regularity of a law. The

9. What is the meaning of the word “law” as usedat Romans 8:2?

term also designates a standard for a per-son’s life.”

10 The apostle Paul wrote: “Through oneman sin entered into the world and deaththrough sin, and thus death spread to allmen because they had all sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) As descendants of Adam, all of us aresubject to the law of sin and of death. Oursinful flesh constantly urges us to do thingsthat are displeasing to God, with only deathin view. In his letter to the Galatians, Paulcalled such acts and traits “the works of theflesh.” Then he added: “Those who practicesuch things will not inherit God’s king-dom.” (Gal. 5:19-21) People of this kind arethe same as those who walk in accord withthe flesh. (Rom. 8:4) Their “inward princi-ple of action” and their ‘standard for life’are totally fleshly. But are those who com-mit fornication, engage in idolatry, practicespiritism, or get involved in other gross sinsthe only ones who walk in accord with theflesh? No, for the works of the flesh also in-clude what some might consider mere per-sonality flaws, such as jealousy, fits of anger,

10. How are we subject to the law of sin and ofdeath?

Do you walk in accord with the flesh or in accord with the spirit?


contentions, and envies. Who can say thathe has totally freed himself from walking inaccord with the flesh?

11 How happy we can be that Jehovah hasmade it possible for us to overcome thelaw of sin and of death! Jesus said: “Godloved the world so much that he gavehis only-begotten Son, in order that every-one exercising faith in him might not bedestroyed but have everlasting life.” By ac-ceptingGod’s love andbyexercising faith inthe ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we canbe freed from the condemnation resultingfrom our inherited sin. (John 3:16-18) Wemay, therefore, be inclined to exclaim, asdid Paul: “Thanks to God through JesusChrist our Lord!”

12 Our situation is similar to being curedof a serious illness. If we hope to recover ful-ly, wemust dowhat the doctor tells us to do.Though exercising faith in the ransom canfree us from the law of sin and of death, weare still imperfect and sinful. More is in-volved in attaining good spiritual health

11, 12. What provision has Jehovah made to helpus overcome the law of sin and of death, and whatmust we do to enjoy God’s favor?

and enjoying God’s favor and blessing. Inconnectionwith fulfilling “the righteous re-quirement of the Law,” Paul also brings outthe matter of walking in accord with thespirit.

Walk in Accord With the Spirit—How?13 When we walk, we are moving progres-

sively toward a certain destination or goal.Thus, walking in accord with the spirit callsfor steady spiritual advancement—not spiri-tual perfection. (1Tim.4:15)Daybyday andto the best of our ability, we must endeavorto walk, or live our lives, in accord with theleading of the spirit. “Walking by spirit”leads to God’s approval.—Gal. 5:16.

14 In his letter to the Romans, Paul nextspoke of two kinds of people with conflict-ing mind-sets. (Read Romans 8:5.) Here theflesh is not necessarily the physical body. Inthe Bible, the word “flesh” is sometimesused to denote the sinful and imperfect na-ture of the fallen flesh. This nature is whatcauses the conflict between theflesh and the

13. What does it mean to walk in accord with thespirit?14. What is the inclination of those “in accord withthe flesh”?


mind that Paul mentioned earlier. Unlikehim, however, those who “are in accordwith the flesh” do not even put up a fight.Instead of considering what God requires ofthem and accepting the help he has provid-ed, they are inclined to “set their minds onthe things of the flesh.” They often focus onthe satisfying of their bodily comforts andphysical desires. In contrast, the inclinationof those who are “in accord with the spirit”is to set their minds on “the things of thespirit”—spiritual provisions and activity.

15 Read Romans 8:6. To do anything—whether it is good or bad—one must setone’s mind on it. People who constantly settheir minds on the things of the flesh soondevelop a mental attitude or inclinationthat is totally focused on the things of theflesh. Their sentiments, interests, and affec-tions usually become completely occupiedwith such things.

16 With what things are most people oc-cupied today? The apostle John wrote:“Everything in the world—the desire of theflesh and the desire of the eyes and theshowy display of one’s means of life—doesnot originate with the Father, but originateswith the world.” (1 John 2:16) These desiresinvolve such things as promiscuity, promi-

15, 16. (a) How does setting one’s mind on some-thing affect one’s mental attitude? (b) What can wesay about the mind-set of most people today?

nence, and possessions. Books, magazines,newspapers, movies, TV shows, and the In-ternet are flooded with material of this sort,primarily because that is what most peo-ple set their minds on and really want.However, “the minding of the flesh meansdeath”—spiritually now and physically inthe near future. Why? “Because the mind-ing of the flesh means enmity with God, forit is not under subjection to the law of God,nor, in fact, can it be. So those who arein harmony with the flesh cannot pleaseGod.”—Rom. 8:7, 8.

17 On the other hand, “the minding ofthe spiritmeans life and peace”—everlastinglife in the future as well as inner peace andpeace with God now. How can we pursue“themindingof the spirit”? By regularly set-ting our minds on the things of the spiritand allowing a spiritual inclination and atti-tude to develop in us. As we do this, we havea mind-set that is “under subjection to thelaw of God” and is “in harmony with” histhoughts.Whenwe are faced with a tempta-tion, we will not be uncertain about thecourse we should pursue. We will be movedto make the correct choice—one that is inaccord with the spirit.

18 Therefore, it is vital to set our minds onthe things of the spirit. We do this by ‘brac-ing up our minds for activity,’ buildingour life around a spiritual routine that in-cludes regular prayer, Bible reading andstudy, meeting attendance, and the Chris-tian ministry. (1 Pet. 1:13) Rather than al-lowing the things of the flesh to distract us,let us set our minds on the things of thespirit. Thus we will go on walking in accordwith the spirit. Doing so will bring us bless-ings, for themindingof the spiritmeans lifeand peace.—Gal. 6:7, 8.

17, 18. Howcanwe pursue the minding of the spir-it, and what will be the result of our doing so?

Can You Explain?˙ What was the “incapability on the

part of the Law,” and how did Godovercome it?

˙ What is “the law of sin and of death,”and how can we be freed from it?

˙ What must we do to cultivate “theminding of the spirit”?


I WAS born in 1974 in Paris, France. Mybirth was difficult, and later I was diag-

nosedwith cerebral palsy. I had limited limbmovement, and my speech was hard to un-derstand. I also developed epilepsy and wasprone to infections.

When I was two years old, my familymoved to Melbourne, Australia. Two yearslater, Dad walked out onMum and me. Thatwas the first time that I recall feeling close toGod.Mum, one of Jehovah’sWitnesses, reg-ularly took me to Christian meetings, whereI learned that God loved me and cared forme. That knowledge, along with Mum’slove and reassurance, helped me to feel safedespite our changed circumstances.

Mum also taught me how to pray to Jeho-vah. Actually, I have found praying to be alot easier than talking. During prayer, I donot have to struggle to verbalize the words,but I “hear” them clearly formed in mymind. And because my speech is difficult tounderstand, it is reassuring to know that Je-hovah understands everything, whether I

say it silently in my mind or with stumblingspeech.—Ps. 65:2.

Coping With SetbacksBy the time I was five, my palsy had ad-

vanced to the point that I needed heavy cali-per splints to walk. I really wobbled morethan I walked! By age 11, I could not evenwalk. Later, I could not get in and out of bedwithout the aid of an electric hoist to lift meinto my motorized wheelchair, which I ma-neuver using a hand lever.

I admit that at timesmydisabilities getmedown. But then I remember our family mot-to: “Don’t worry about the things you can’tdo. Just get on with the things you can do.”This has helped me to succeed at horsebackriding, sailing, canoeing, camping, and evendriving a car around a track! I express my ar-tistic nature throughpainting, sewing, quilt-ing, embroidering, and making ceramics.

Because of my severe disabilities, somehave questioned my ability to worship Godas an intelligent adult. When I was 18, aschoolteacher urged me to leave home to

“DISABLED NOWBUT NOT FOREVER!”

˘

AS TOLD BYSARA VAN DER MONDE

People often tell me, “Sara, you have such a lovely smile. Why are youalways so happy?” I tell them that I have a special hope. It is summed up

in these words, “I am disabled now but not forever!”

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙


“escape” my mother’s religion. She even of-fered to help me find accommodations.However, I told her that I would never leavemy faith and would leave home only when Iwas ready to be more independent.

Not long after the episode with my teach-er, I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Wit-nesses. Two years later, I moved into a smallapartment. Here I enjoy a happy balance ofsupport and independence.

An Unexpected ProposalOver the years, I have faced other tests of

faith. One day I was completely flooredwhena fellow student—also disabled—askedme to marry him. At first, I was flattered.Like most young women, I yearn to have apartner in life. Yet, having a disability incommon is no guarantee of a happy mar-

riage. Moreover, the young man did notshare my faith. Our beliefs, activities, andgoals were completely different. So howcould we make a life together? I was also de-termined to obey God’s clear direction tomarry only a fellow believer. (1 Cor. 7:39)Therefore, I kindly told the young man thatI could not accept his offer.

Even today, I know I made the rightchoice. And there is no doubt in my mindthat I will be happy in God’s promised newworld. (Ps. 145:16; 2 Pet. 3:13) Meanwhile, Iam determined to remain loyal to Jehovahand to be content with my current circum-stances.

I yearn for the day when I can leap frommy wheelchair and run like the wind. ThenI will cry out, “I was disabled, but now I amsound in health—forever!”

“THEY are in the world,” said Jesus of hisdisciples. But he explained: “They are no

part of the world, just as I am no part of theworld.” (John 17:11, 14) Thus, Jesus clearlyindicated the position of his true follow-ers with respect to “this system of things,”whose god is Satan. (2Cor. 4:4) Although liv-ing in this wicked world, they would be nopart of it. Their situation in this system

1. What did Jesus say about the position of his fol-lowers with regard to the world?

would be that of “aliens and temporary resi-dents.”—1 Pet. 2:11.

They Lived as “Temporary Residents”2 From earliest times, faithful servants of

Jehovah stood out as different from those inthe ungodly world in which they lived. Be-fore the Flood, Enoch and Noah “walked

2, 3. Why can it be said that Enoch, Noah, andAbraham and Sarah lived as “strangers and tempo-rary residents”?

“TEMPORARY RESIDENTS”IN A WICKED WORLD

“In faith all these . . . publicly declared that they were strangersand temporary residents in the land.”—HEB. 11:13.


with the true God.” (Gen. 5:22-24; 6:9) Bothof them were courageous preachers of Je-hovah’s judgments against Satan’s wickedworld. (Read 2 Peter 2:5; Jude 14, 15.) Be-cause they walked with God in an ungodlyworld, Enoch “pleased God well” and Noah“proved himself faultless among his con-temporaries.”—Heb.11:5; Gen. 6:9.

3 At God’s invitation, Abraham and Sarahgave up the comforts of city life in Ur of theChaldeans and accepted the challenge of liv-ing as nomads in a foreign land. (Gen.11:27,28; 12:1) The apostle Paul wrote: “By faithAbraham, when he was called, obeyed ingoing out into a place he was destined to re-ceive as an inheritance; and he went out, al-thoughnot knowingwhere hewas going. Byfaith he resided as an alien in the land of thepromise as in a foreign land, and dwelt intents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs withhim of the very same promise.” (Heb. 11:8, 9) Concerning such faithful servants of Je-hovah, Paul said: “In faith all these died, al-though they did not get the fulfillment ofthe promises, but they saw themafar off andwelcomed them and publicly declared thatthey were strangers and temporary residentsin the land.”—Heb.11:13.

A Warning to the Israelites4 Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites,

became numerous and were eventually or-ganized into a nation with a law code and aland. (Gen. 48:4; Deut. 6:1) The people of Is-rael were never to forget that the real Ownerof their land was Jehovah. (Lev. 25:23) Theywere like tenants obliged to respect theOwn-er’s wishes. Moreover, they were to remem-ber that “not by bread alone does man live”;they were not to let material prosperitycause them to forget Jehovah. (Deut. 8:1-3)

4. What warning were the Israelites given beforethey became residents in their land?

Before settling in their land, the Israeliteswere given this warning: “It must occur thatwhen Jehovah your God will bring you intothe land that he swore to your forefathersAbraham, Isaac and Jacob to give you, greatand good-looking cities that you did notbuild, and houses full of all good things andthat you did not fill, and cisterns hewn outthat you did not hew out, vineyards and ol-ive trees that youdidnot plant, andyou shallhave eaten and become satisfied, watch outfor yourself that you may not forget Jeho-vah.”—Deut. 6:10-12.

5 This warning was not unfounded. In Ne-hemiah’s day, a group of Levites recalledwith shame what occurred after the Israel-ites took possession of the Promised Land.After the people of Israel occupied comfort-able houses and had an abundance of foodand wine, “they began to eat and to be satis-fied and to grow fat.” They rebelled againstGod, even killing the prophets he sent towarn them. Jehovah therefore abandonedthem to their enemies. (Read Nehemiah9:25-27; Hos. 13:6-9) Later, under Romandomination, the faithless Jews went so far asto kill the promisedMessiah! Jehovah reject-ed them and transferred his favor to a newnation, spiritual Israel.—Matt. 21:43; Acts 7:51, 52; Gal. 6:16.

“No Part of the World”6 As shown earlier in this article, the Head

of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ,made it clear that his followerswouldbe sep-arate from the world, Satan’s wicked systemof things. Shortly before his death, Jesus toldhis disciples: “If you were part of the world,

5. Why did Jehovah reject Israel, and to what newnation did he transfer his favor?6, 7. (a) How would you explain what Jesus saidabout the position of his followers with regard tothe world? (b) Why were true Christians not to be-come a part of Satan’s system?


the world would be fond of what is its own.Now because you are no part of the world,but I have chosen you out of the world, onthis account the world hates you.”—John15:19.

7 As Christianity spread, were Christiansto come to terms with the world, conform-ing to its practices and becoming a part of it?No.Wherever they lived, theywere to distin-guish themselves fromSatan’s system. Some30 years after Christ’s death, the apostle Pe-ter wrote to Christians living in differentparts of the Romanworld: “Beloved, I exhortyou as aliens and temporary residents tokeep abstaining from fleshly desires, whichare the very ones that carry on a conflictagainst the soul. Maintain your conduct fineamong the nations.”—1 Pet.1:1; 2:11,12.

8 Confirming that early Christians con-ducted themselves as “aliens and tempo-rary residents” in the Roman world, his-torian Kenneth Scott Latourette wrote:“It is one of the commonplaces of historythat in its first three centuries Christianity

8. How did one historian describe the relationshipof early Christians to the world?

met persistent and often severe persecution. . . The accusations varied. Because they re-fused to participate in pagan ceremonies theChristians were dubbed atheists. Throughtheir abstention from much of the com-munity life—the pagan festivals, the publicamusements which to Christians were shotthrough and through with pagan beliefs,practices, and immoralities—they were de-rided as haters of the human race.”

Not Using the World to the Full9 What is the situation today? With regard

to “the present wicked system of things,” wemaintain the same stance as did the earlyChristians. (Gal. 1:4) Because of this, we aremisunderstood by many and are even hatedby some. Yet, we certainly are not “haters ofthe human race.” Out of love for fellow hu-mans, we go from house to house, makingevery effort to contact each occupant withthe “good news of [God’s] kingdom.” (Matt.22:39; 24:14) We do this because we are con-vinced that Jehovah’sKingdomgovernmentunder Christ will shortly put an end to im-

9. As true Christians, how do we give proof that weare not “haters of the human race”?

The early Christiansabstained from

violent and immoralentertainment


perfect human rulership, replacing it with arighteous new system of things.—Dan. 2:44;2 Pet. 3:13.

10 In view of the imminent end of thepresent system of things, as Jehovah’s ser-vants we realize that this is no time to settledown in this dying world.We heed the apos-tle Paul’s words: “This I say, brothers, thetime left is reduced. Henceforth let those . . .who buy [be] as those not possessing, andthose making use of the world as those notusing it to the full; for the scene of thisworld is changing.” (1 Cor. 7:29-31) But howdo present-day Christians make use of theworld? They do this by using modern tech-nology and means of communication tospread Bible knowledge worldwide in hun-dreds of languages. They make limited useof the world to earn a living. They purchasenecessary goods and services made availablein the world. However, they avoid usingthe world to the full in that they keep world-ly possessions andoccupations in the properplace.—Read 1 Timothy 6:9,10.

11 Vigilant Christians refrain from usingthe world to the full with regard to high-er education. Many people in this worldconsider higher education an indispensablestepping-stone to prestige and an affluentlife. But we Christians live as temporary resi-dents and pursue different goals. We avoid“minding lofty things.” (Rom. 12:16; Jer.45:5) Since we are Jesus’ followers, we heedhis warning: “Keep your eyes open andguard against every sort of covetousness, be-cause evenwhen a personhas an abundancehis life does not result from the thingshe possesses.” (Luke 12:15) Consequently,young Christians are encouraged to pursuespiritual goals, getting only as much educa-

10, 11. (a) How do we make limited use of theworld? (b) What are some ways in which vigilantChristians refrain from using the world to the full?

tion as is required to meet their basic needswhile focusing on preparing themselves toserve Jehovah ‘with their whole heart, soul,strength, and mind.’ (Luke 10:27) By doingso, they can become “rich toward God.”—Luke 12:21; read Matthew 6:19-21.

Avoid Being Weighed Downby the Anxieties of Life

12 Jehovah’s servants differ frompeople ofthe world in their attitude toward materialthings. In this regard, Jesus told his follow-ers: “Never be anxious and say, ‘What are weto eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘Whatare we to put on?’ For all these are the thingsthe nations are eagerly pursuing. For yourheavenly Father knows you need all thesethings. Keep on, then, seeking first the king-dom and his righteousness, and all theseother things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:31-33) From personal experience, many ofour fellow believers have found that ourheavenly Father supplies the things theyneed.

13 “Godliness with contentment is greatgain.” (1 Tim. 6:6, New International Ver-sion) That is the very opposite of the view-point of people in today’s world. For exam-ple, when young people get married, manyof them expect to ‘have it all’ right away—ahouse or an apartment fully furnished andwell-equipped, a nice car, and the latest elec-tronic devices. However, Christians who liveas temporary residents do not let their de-sires go beyond what is reasonable and pos-sible for them. Indeed, it is commendablethat many forgo certain material comfortsin order to devote more time and energy toJehovah’s service as zealous Kingdom pub-lishers. Others serve as pioneers, at Bethel,

12, 13. How does our heeding Jesus’ words record-ed at Matthew 6:31-33 distinguish us from people inthe world?


in the traveling work, or as missionaries.How much all of us appreciate the whole-hearted service of our fellow worshippers ofJehovah!

14 In his parable of the sower, Jesus saidthat “the anxietyof this systemof things andthe deceptive power of riches” can choke theword of God in our hearts and cause us to be-come unfruitful. (Matt. 13:22) Our livingcontentedly as temporary residents in thissystemof things helps us to avoid falling intothis trap. Instead, it enables us to keep oureye “simple,” or “in focus,” looking “all oneway” toward God’s Kingdom and keeping itsinterests first in our lives.—Matt. 6:22, ftn.

“The World Is Passing Away”15 A fundamental reason why we as true

Christians consider ourselves to be “aliensand temporary residents” in this world isour conviction that its days are numbered.(1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:7) This outlook deter-mines our choices in life, our desires, andour aspirations. The apostle John counseledfellow believers not to love the world or thethings in the world because “the world ispassing away and so is its desire, but hethat does the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:15-17.

16 The Israelites were told that if theyobeyed Jehovah, they would become his“special property out of all other peoples.”(Ex.19:5) When faithful, Israel differed fromall other nations in worship and way of life.Similarly today, Jehovah has separated forhimself a people who are markedly differentfrom Satan’s world. We are told: “Repudiate

14. What lesson can we draw from Jesus’ parable ofthe sower?15. What words of the apostle John determine theoutlook and conduct of true Christians toward thepresent world?16. Howcanwe show that we have been set apart asa distinct people?

ungodliness and worldly desires and . . . livewith soundness of mind and righteousnessand godly devotion amid this present sys-tem of things, while we wait for the hap-py hope and glorious manifestation of thegreat God and of the Savior of us, Christ Je-sus, who gave himself for us that he mightdeliver us from every sort of lawlessness andcleanse for himself a people peculiarly hisown, zealous for fine works.” (Titus 2:11-14) This “people” is made up of anoint-ed Christians and millions of Jesus’ “othersheep,” who aid and support them.—John10:16.

17 “The happy hope” of the anointed isthat of reigning with Christ in heaven. (Rev.5:10) When the hope of eternal life on earthis fulfilled for the other sheep, they will nolonger be temporary residents in a wickedworld. They will have beautiful homes andan abundance to eat and drink. (Ps. 37:10,11; Isa. 25:6; 65:21, 22) Unlike the Israelites,they will never forget that all of this is fromJehovah, “the God of the whole earth.” (Isa.54:5) Neither the anointed nor the othersheep will regret having lived as temporaryresidents in this wicked world.

17. Why will the anointed and their companionsnever regret having lived as temporary residents inthis wicked world?

How Would You Answer?˙ In what way did faithful men of

old live as temporary residents?˙ How did the early Christians con-

duct themselves with regard tothe world?

˙ How do true Christians limit theiruse of the world?

˙ Why will we never regret having livedas temporary residents in this wickedworld?


Is it possible to determine the exact timeof day that the impalement of Jesus Christtook place?

This question arises because of a seemingdiscrepancy between the inspired accountsof Jesus’ death recorded by the Gospel writ-er Mark and by the apostle John. Markstates: “It was now the third hour, and they[soldiers] impaled him.” (Mark 15:25) Ac-cording to John, “it was about the sixthhour” when Pilate handed Jesus over to theJews to be impaled. (John 19:14-16) Bible ex-positors have offered various explanations inan effort to resolve this seeming contradic-tion. However, sufficient Scriptural informa-tion is not available to explain the differencebetween the two accounts. Still, consideringhow people viewed time back in those dayscan be helpful.

In the first century of our Common Era,the Jews divided the daylight into 12 hours,counting from sunrise. (John 11:9) “Thethird hour” extended therefore fromeight o’clock to nine o’clock in the morningand “the sixth hour” ended about noon. Ofcourse, the sun rose and set at differenttimes during the year. Consequently, thelength of the daylight period varied, accord-ing to the season. Moreover, the hour ofthe day was determined by observing theposition of the sun. Hence, references totime were approximate. The Christian GreekScriptures generally refer to events occur-ring at the third, sixth, or ninth hour—oftenmeaning about that time. (Matt. 20:3, 5;Acts 10:3, 9, 30) More specific reference,such as “the seventh hour,” was made onlywhen the timing was essential to the devel-opment of the account being related.—John4:52.

The Gospel accounts harmonize with re-gard to the timing of events during Jesus’ lastday on earth. All four indicate that the priestsand older men met after dawn and then hadJesus taken to the Roman Governor PontiusPilate. (Matt. 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66;John 18:28) Matthew, Mark, and Luke all re-port that from the sixth hour, when Jesus wasalready on the stake, darkness fell over theland “until the ninth hour.”—Matt. 27:45, 46;Mark 15:33, 34; Luke 23:44.

One significant factor that may have abearing on the timing of Jesus’ impalement isthis: Scourging or whipping was considereda part of the impalement process. Sometimesthe scourging was so terrible that the victimdied under it. In Jesus’ case, it must havebeen sufficiently severe to make it neces-sary for another man to carry the torturestake after Jesus started out bearing it alone.(Luke 23:26; John 19:17) If the scourging wasviewed as the start of the impalement proce-dure, some time would have to elapse beforethe nailing of Jesus to the torture stake tookplace. Different individuals might thereforegive different times for the impalement, de-pending on the stage of the overall processduring which they personally took note ofthe time.

The apostle John wrote his account de-cades after the other Gospel writers. Hetherefore had access to their accounts. True,John included a time that appears to varyfrom that given by Mark. However, this pro-vides clear evidence that John did not simplycopy Mark’s account. Both John and Markwere inspired by God. Although sufficientScriptural information is not available to ex-plain the difference, we can trust the Gospelaccounts.



EARLY Christians in Philippi were knownfor their generous support of true wor-

ship. In his inspired letter to them, the apos-tle Paulwrote: “I thankmyGod always uponevery remembrance of you in every suppli-cation of mine for all of you, as I offer my

supplication with joy, because of the contri-bution you have made to the good newsfrom the first day until this moment.” (Phil.1:3-5) Paul well remembered when Lydiaand her household were baptized and shehospitably insisted that he and his preach-ing companions stay in her house.—Acts 16:14,15.

Not long thereafter, the newly formedcongregation in Philippi twice sent provi-sions to Paul during his stay of several weekswith fellow believers inThessalonica, nearly100 miles (160 km) away. (Phil. 4:15, 16) Afew years later, while the Philippians and

Do You Find Joyin “the Privilege ofKindly Giving”?

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLDWIDE WORKMany set aside, or budget, an amount that

they place in the contribution boxes labeled“Worldwide Work.”

Each month, congregations forward theseamounts to the office of Jehovah’s Witnessesthat serves their respective countries. Voluntarydonations of money may also be sent directlyto Watchtower Bible and Tract Society ofNew York, Inc., AttentionTreasurer’s Office,25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York11201-2483, or to the branch office of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses that serves your country.(Voluntary donations specified in the sectionsbelow can also be sent to the branch office ofJehovah’s Witnesses that serves your country.)Checks sent to the above address should bemade payable to “Watchtower.” Jewelry or oth-er valuables may be donated as well. A briefletter stating that such items are an outright giftshould accompany these contributions.

CONDITIONAL-DONATIONTRUST ARRANGEMENT

Money may be placed in trust with WatchTower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvaniafor use worldwide. However, upon request the

funds will be returned. For more information,please contact the Treasurer’s Office by writingto the address noted above or by telephoning(718) 560-7500.

CHARITABLE PLANNINGIn addition to outright gifts of money, there

are other methods of giving to benefit Kingdomservice worldwide. These include:

Insurance: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Soci-ety of Pennsylvania may be named as the bene-ficiary of a life insurance policy or a retirement/pension plan.

Bank Accounts: Bank accounts, certificates ofdeposit, or individual retirement accounts maybe placed in trust for or made payable on deathto Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Penn-sylvania, in accord with local bank requirements.

Stocks and Bonds: Stocks and bonds may bedonated to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Societyof Pennsylvania as an outright gift or Watch Tow-er Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania may benamed as a Transfer on Death beneficiary.

Real Estate: Salable real estate may be do-nated either by making an outright gift or, inthe case of residential property, by reserving a

WAYS IN WHICH SOME CHOOSE TO GIVE


other Macedonian brothers were experienc-ing afflictionand “deeppoverty,” theyheardabout the need of persecuted Christians inJerusalem and wanted to help them. Paultestified that this was really “beyond theiractual ability.” Yet, he wrote: “They . . . keptbegging us with much entreaty for the privi-lege of kindly giving.”—2 Cor. 8:1-4; Rom.15:26.

Some ten years after the Philippiansfirst embraced Christianity, they were stilldisplaying the same generous spirit. Hav-ing heard that Paul was imprisoned inRome, they sent Epaphroditus 800 miles

(1,287 km) over land and sea carrying sup-plies to the apostle. Clearly, the Philippianswanted to provide for Paul so that he couldkeep on strengthening the brothers andpreaching, even while he was imprisoned.—Phil.1:12-14; 2:25-30; 4:18.

Today, true Christians consider it a priv-ilege to support the Kingdom-preachingand disciple-making work. (Matt. 28:19, 20)TheypromoteKingdominterests bycontrib-uting time, effort, and funds. The accompa-nying box presents some ways in which youcan share in supporting this God-given ac-tivity.

life estate to the donor, who can continue tolive therein during his or her lifetime. Contactthe branch office in your country before deed-ing any real estate.

Gift Annuity: A gift annuity is an arrange-ment whereby one transfers money or securitiesto a designated corporation that is used by Je-hovah’s Witnesses. In exchange, the donor, orsomeone designated by the donor, receives aspecified annuity payment every year for life.The donor receives an income-tax deduction forthe year in which the gift annuity is established.

Wills and Trusts: Property or money maybe bequeathed to Watch Tower Bible and TractSociety of Pennsylvania by means of a legallyexecuted will, or Watch Tower Bible and TractSociety of Pennsylvania may be named as bene-ficiary of a trust agreement. A trust benefiting areligious organization may provide certain taxadvantages.

As the term “charitable planning” implies,these types of donations typically require someplanning on the part of the donor. To assist indi-viduals desiring to benefit the worldwide workof Jehovah’s Witnesses through some form ofcharitable planning, a brochure has been pre-

pared in English and Spanish entitled CharitablePlanning to Benefit Kingdom Service World-wide. The brochure was written to provide infor-mation on a variety of ways that gifts may bemade either now or through a bequest at death.After reading the brochure and conferring withtheir own legal or tax advisers, many have beenable to help support our religious and humani-tarian activities worldwide and maximize theirtax benefits while doing so. This brochure maybe obtained by requesting a copy directly fromthe Charitable Planning Office.

For more information, you may contact theCharitable Planning Office, either in writing orby telephone, at the address listed below, oryou may contact the branch office that servesyour country.

Charitable Planning OfficeWatch Tower Bible and Tract Society of

Pennsylvania100 Watchtower DrivePatterson, New York 12563-9204Telephone: (845) 306-0707


DURING a preaching tour throughoutGalilee, Jesus and his disciples boarded

a boat to withdraw into a lonely place. Butcrowds followed them on foot. Those whocame that day numbered “about five thou-sand men, besides women and young chil-dren.” (Matt. 14:21) On another occasion,a crowd approached Jesus, desiring to behealed and to hear him speak. Includedwere “four thousand men, besides womenand young children.” (Matt. 15:38) Evident-ly, many men were among the people whocame to Jesus and showed interest in histeaching. In fact, he expected many othersto respond, for after providing a miraculouscatch of fish, Jesus told his disciple Simon:“Fromnowonyou will be catchingmen [or,people] alive.” (Luke 5:10)His discipleswereto lower their nets into the sea of mankindandcould expect that their ‘catch’would in-clude many men.

2 Today, men likewise show interest inthe Scriptural message we preach and re-spond to it. (Matt. 5:3) However, many menhold back and fail to progress spiritually.How can we help them? Although Jesus didnot develop a special ministry to seek outmen, he certainly addressed issues that con-cerned the men of his day. Using his exam-ple, let us examine how we can help mendeal with three common concerns today:(1) making a living, (2) fear of popular opin-ion, and (3) feelings of inadequacy.

1, 2. (a) How did men respond to Jesus’ preach-ing? (b) What will be considered in this article?

Making a Living3 “Teacher,” said a scribe to Jesus, “I will

follow you wherever you are about to go.”However, when Jesus told him that “the Sonof man has nowhere to lay down his head,”the scribe had second thoughts. The un-certainty of where his next meal wouldcome fromor where hewould live apparent-ly did not sit well with the scribe, for there isno indication that he became a follower ofChrist.—Matt. 8:19, 20.

4 Menoftenputmaterial security aheadofspiritual pursuits. Getting higher educationand securing a well-paying job are prioritiesfor many of them. According to their way ofthinking, the reward of making money ismore urgent and practical than any benefitsthat might come from studying the Scrip-tures and seeking a close relationship withGod. What the Bible teaches may appeal tothem, but “the anxieties of this system ofthings and the deceptive power of riches”choke whatever interest they may have.(Mark 4:18, 19) Consider how Jesus helpedhis disciples to adjust their priorities.

5 Andrew and his brother Simon Peterwere partners in a fishing business. So wereJohn, his brother James, and their father,Zebedee. Business was good enough to re-quire the help of hired men. (Mark 1:16-20)

3, 4. (a) What is a major concern for many men?(b) Why do some men put earning a living ahead ofspiritual pursuits?5, 6. What helped Andrew, Peter, James, and Johnto adjust their priorities regarding sharing in thepreaching work and making a living?

HELP MEN TOPROGRESS SPIRITUALLY

“From now on you will be catching [people] alive.”—LUKE 5:10.


When Andrew and John first learned aboutJesus from John the Baptizer, they were con-vinced that theyhad found theMessiah.An-drew shared the news with his brother Si-monPeter, and perhaps Johndid sowith hisbrother James. (John 1:29, 35-41) In the fol-lowing months, all four spent time with Je-sus as he preached in Galilee, Judea, and Sa-maria. Then the four disciples returned tothe fishing business. They had an interest inspiritual matters, but the ministry was nottheir number one concern.

6 Some time later, Jesus invited Peter andAndrew to come after him and become“fishers of men.” How did the two respond?“At once abandoning the nets, they fol-lowed him.” It was the samewith James andJohn. “At once leaving the boat and their fa-ther, they followed him.” (Matt. 4:18-22)What helped these men take up the full-timeministry?Was it an emotional, spur-of-the-moment decision? Hardly! Over theprevious months, these men listened to Je-sus, saw himperform miracles, observed hiszeal for righteousness, and witnessed theamazing response to his preaching. As a re-sult, their faith in Jehovah and their trust inhim became stronger!

7 Howcanwe imitate Jesus in helping ourBible students to build their trust in Jeho-vah? (Prov. 3:5, 6) The way we teach has aconsiderable bearing on this. When teach-ing,we canhighlight God’s promise to blessus abundantly if we put Kingdom interestsfirst. (Read Malachi 3:10; Matthew 6:33.)Although we can use various scriptures toemphasize how Jehovah provides for hispeople, not to be overlooked is the effect ofthe example we ourselves set. Sharing expe-riences from our own life can accomplish

7. How can we help Bible students to build trust inJehovah’s ability to provide for his people?

much in helping our students develop reli-ance on Jehovah. We can also share encour-aging experiences that we read about in ourliterature.�

8 Developing strong faith requires morethan reading and hearing about how othershave experienced Jehovah’s blessing. A Bi-ble student also needs to experience Je-hovah’s goodness personally. The psalmistsang: “Taste and see that Jehovah is good,O you people; happy is the able-bodied manthat takes refuge in him.” (Ps. 34:8) Howcanwe assist the student to see that Jehovah isgood? Suppose a student who has financialworries is also trying to overcome a bad hab-it, such as smoking, gambling, or heavydrinking. (Prov. 23:20, 21; 2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Tim.6:10) Would not teaching the student topray for God’s assistance in overcoming abad habit help him to experience Jehovah’s

� See Yearbooks of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as lifestories published in The Watchtower and Awake!

8. (a) Why is it important for a Bible student to“taste and see that Jehovah is good”? (b) How canwe assist our student to experience Jehovah’s good-ness personally?

Do you make opportunitiesto reach men with the good news?

goodness? Consider also what can happenwhen we encourage the student to give pri-ority to spiritual things by making time forweekly Bible study and preparing for and at-tending Christian meetings. Why, as he per-sonally experiences Jehovah’s blessing onhis efforts, his faith will grow stronger!

Fear of Popular Opinion9 Because of peer pressure, some men

may hesitate to follow Christ fully. Nicode-mus and Joseph of Arimathea kept theirinterest in Jesus secret because they wereafraid of what other Jews might say or do ifthey foundout. (John3:1, 2; 19:38) This fearwas not imaginary. The religious leaders’hatred for Jesus eventually became so greatthat anyonewho confessed faith inhimwasexpelled from the synagogue.—John 9:22.

10 In some places today, if a man takes toomuch interest in God, the Bible, or reli-gion, he may be harassed by his workmates,friends, or relatives. In other places, it mayeven be dangerous to talk about chang-ing one’s religion. Peer pressure can be es-pecially difficult when a man is active-ly serving in the military, in politics, orin the local community. For example, aman in Germany admitted: “What you Wit-nessespreach about theBibleis true. But if I became aWitness today, by tomorroweveryone would know aboutit. What would they think atwork, in the neighborhood,and at the club my family

9, 10. (a) Why did Nicodemusand Joseph of Arimathea keeptheir interest in Jesus secret?(b) Why do some men today hesi-tate to follow Christ?

and I belong to? I could not put up withthat.”

11 Although none of Jesus’ apostles werecowards, they all struggledwith fearofman.(Mark 14:50, 66-72) How did Jesus helpthem to progress despite intense pressurefrom their peers? Jesus took steps to preparehis disciples for the opposition they wouldlater face. “Happy are you whenever menhate you,” he said, “and whenever they ex-clude you and reproach you and cast outyour name as wicked for the sake of the Sonof man.” (Luke 6:22) Jesus warned his fol-lowers that they should expect reproach.Any reproach was “for the sake of the Son ofman.” Jesus also assured them that Godwould back them up as long as they reliedon Him for help and strength. (Luke 12:4-12) Moreover, Jesus invited new ones to as-sociate freely with his disciples and makefriends with them.—Mark 10:29, 30.

12 We too need to assist Bible students toovercome fear of man. A challenge is ofteneasier to face when it is anticipated. (John15:19) For instance, why not help the stu-

11. How did Jesus help his disciples to cope withfear of man?12. In what ways can we help new ones to over-come fear of man?

How can you prepareyour Bible student

to face trials?


dent to prepare simple, reasonable, Bible-based replies to the questions and objec-tions his fellow employees and others maybring up? In addition to our being his per-sonal friend, we can introduce him to othermembers of the congregation, especiallythosewithwhomhemight have somethingin common.Above all, we should teachhimto pray regularly and from the heart. Thiscanhelphim todrawclose toGod and makeJehovah his Refuge and Rock.—Read Psalm94:21-23; James 4:8.

Feelings of Inadequacy13 Certain men hold back from getting in-

volved in spiritual matters because they donot read well or cannot express themselvesfluently or are just shy. Some men are un-comfortable sharing their views or feelingsin a public setting. The thoughtof having tostudy, comment at Christian meetings, orshare their faith with others may seem over-whelming to them. “When I was young,”admits a Christian brother, “I would quicklywalk up to the door, pretend to ring thedoorbell, and quietly walk away, hoping noone would hear or see me. . . . The thoughtof going from door to door made me physi-cally ill.”

14 Think of the lack of confidence Jesus’disciples must have experienced when theycould not heal a demon-possessed boy. Theson’s father came to Jesus and said: “[Myson] is an epileptic and is ill, for he falls of-ten into the fire and often into the water;and I brought him to your disciples, buttheycould not cure him.” Jesus expelled thedemon, thus curing the boy. The discipleslater approached Jesus and asked: “Why is it

13. How can feelings of inadequacy hold someback from getting involved in spiritual matters?14. Why could Jesus’ disciples not heal a demon-possessed boy?

we could not expel it?” Jesus answered: “Be-cause of your little faith. For truly I say toyou, If you have faith the size of a mustardgrain, you will say to this mountain, ‘Trans-fer from here to there,’ and it will transfer,and nothing will be impossible for you.”(Matt. 17:14-20) Faith in Jehovah is neededin order to overcome mountainlike obsta-cles. What happens if a person loses sight ofthis and begins to focus on his own abili-ties? Failure to succeed will result in a lackofconfidence.

15 A fine way to help someone strugglingwith feelings of inadequacy is to encouragehim to focus on Jehovah instead of on him-self. Peter wrote: “Humble yourselves . . . un-der the mighty hand of God, that he mayexalt you in due time; while you throw allyour anxiety upon him.” (1 Pet. 5:6, 7) Thisrequires that we help our Bible student todevelop spirituality. A spiritually inclinedperson keenly values spiritual things. Heloves God’s Word and manifests “the fruit-age of the spirit” in his life. (Gal. 5:22, 23)He is a man of prayer. (Phil. 4:6, 7) More-over, he looks to God for the courage andstrength needed to face any situation or tofulfill any assignment successfully.—Read2 Timothy 1:7, 8.

16 Some students may also need practicalassistance with their reading, conversation,

15, 16. How may we be able to help a Bible studentto overcome feelings of inadequacy?

How Would You Answer?˙ How can men be helped to give

spiritual pursuits priority?˙ How can we help new ones to cope

with peer pressure?˙ What may help some to overcome

feelings of inadequacy?


or speaking abilities. Others may feel un-worthy of serving God because of the badacts theycommitted before coming to knowJehovah. In either case, our loving, patientassistance may be just what they need. “Per-sons in health do not need a physician,”said Jesus, “but the ailing do.”—Matt. 9:12.

‘Catch’ More Men17 It is ourdesire thatmanymoremenwill

respond to the deeply satisfying messagethat is found only in the Bible. (2 Tim. 3:16,17) So howcanwe reachout tomoremen inour ministry? By spending more time wit-

17, 18. (a) How might we reach out to more menin our ministry? (b) What will we study next?

nessing in the evenings, on weekend after-noons, or during holidays when more menare at home. We can ask to speak with theman of the house whenpossible. Let us wit-ness informally to male workmates whenappropriate and reach out to unbelievinghusbands in the congregation.

18 As we preach to everyone we meet, wecan be confident that those with apprecia-tive hearts will respond favorably. Let us pa-tiently help all who show a sincere interestin the truth. How, though, canwe help bap-tized men in the congregation to reach outand qualify for responsibility in God’s orga-nization? The next article will address thisquestion.

CONCLUDING his Gospel account, theapostle John wrote: “There are, in fact,

many other things also which Jesus did,which, if ever theywerewritten in full detail,I suppose, the world itself could not containthe scrolls written.” (John 21:25) Among allthe things that Jesus accomplished duringhis short but dynamic ministry was the lo-cating, training, and organizing of menwhowould take the lead afterhis earthly sojourn.When he returned to heaven in 33 C.E., Je-sus left behind the foundation of a remark-able congregation that would quickly num-ber into the thousands.—Acts 2:41, 42; 4:4;6:7.

1. During his earthly ministry, how did Jesus laythe foundation for a remarkable congregation?

2 With more than seven million activeKingdom proclaimers in over 100,000 con-gregations worldwide today, there continuesto be a need for men to take the lead in spiri-tual matters. For instance, Christian eldersare greatly needed. Those who reach out forthis privilege of service are to be commend-ed, for they are “desirous of a fine work.”—1 Tim. 3:1.

3 However, men do not automaticallyqualify for privileges in the congregation.Mere secular education or life experiencedoesnot prepare aman for this kindofwork.To serve properly in such a capacity, a man

2, 3. (a) Why is there a pressing need for baptizedmen to reach out? (b) What will be considered inthis article?

TRAIN OTHERS TO REACH OUT“Everyone that is perfectly instructed will be like his teacher.”—LUKE 6:40.


must qualify spiritually. More than abilitiesor accomplishments, he must have spiritualqualities. How can men in the congregationbe helped to qualify? “Everyone that is per-fectly instructedwill be likehis teacher,” saidJesus. (Luke 6:40) In this article, we will con-sider some of the ways in which the MasterTeacher, Jesus Christ, helped his disciples toqualify for greater responsibility, and we willsee what lessons we can draw from what hedid.

“I Have Called You Friends”4 Jesus treated his disciples as friends,

not as inferiors. He spent time with them,took them into his confidence, and ‘madeknown to them all the things he had heardfrom his Father.’ (Read John 15:15.) Imag-ine how thrilled they were when Jesus an-swered their question: “What will be thesign of your presence and of the conclusionof the system of things?” (Matt. 24:3, 4)He also shared with his followers his pri-vate thoughts and feelings. On the night ofhis betrayal, for instance, Jesus took Peter,James, and John into the garden of Geth-semane, where he prayed earnestly from histroubled heart. The three apostles may nothave heard what Jesus was saying in prayer,but they must have sensed the gravity of theoccasion. (Mark 14:33-38) Think, too, of theimpact that the transfiguration must havehad earlier on the three. (Mark 9:2-8; 2 Pet.1:16-18) The intimate friendship that Jesusforged with his disciples was an anchor forthem as they later cared for weighty assign-ments.

5 Like Jesus, Christian elders today be-friend and help others. They cultivate awarm, close relationship with their fellow

4. How did Jesus show himself to be a real friend tohis disciples?5. What are some ways in which Christian elderscan make themselves available to others?

believers by taking time to show person-al interest in them. While elders recog-nize the importance of confidentiality, theyare not secretive. Elders trust their brothersand share with them Scriptural truths theythemselves have learned. Byno means do el-ders treat as inferior a ministerial servantwho may be comparatively young. Instead,they thinkof himas a spiritualmanwith po-tential who is performing a valuable servicein behalf of the congregation.

“I Set the Pattern for You”6 Although Jesus’ disciples had apprecia-

tion for spiritual things, their thinking wassometimes influenced by their backgroundand culture. (Matt. 19:9, 10; Luke 9:46-48;John 4:27) However, Jesus did not lecture orthreaten his disciples. He neither burdenedthem with unreasonable demands nor ad-vised them to do one thing while he himselfdid something else. Rather, Jesus taughtthem by example.—Read John 13:15.

7 What kind of model did Jesus leave forhis disciples? (1 Pet. 2:21) He kept his lifesimple so that he could freely minister toothers. (Luke 9:58) Jesus was modest and al-ways based his teaching on the Scriptures.(John 5:19; 17:14, 17) He was approachableandkind. Lovewas the motivation for every-thing he did. (Matt. 19:13-15; John 15:12) Je-sus’ example had a positive influence on hisapostles. For instance, James did not cowerin the face of death but until he was execut-ed, loyally served God. (Acts 12:1, 2) Johnfaithfully followed in Jesus’ footsteps formore than 60 years.—Rev.1:1, 2, 9.

8 Elders who are self-sacrificing, humble,and loving provide the kind of example that

6, 7. Describe the example Jesus set for his disciplesand the effect this had on them.8. What example do elders set for younger menand others?


younger men need. (1 Pet. 5:2, 3) Moreover,elders who are exemplary in faith, in teach-ing, in Christian living, and in the ministryexperience the satisfaction of knowing thatothers can imitate their faith.—Heb.13:7.

‘Giving Them Orders,Jesus Sent Them Forth’

9 After zealously engaging in his ministryfor about two years, Jesus expanded thepreaching activity by sending out his 12apostles to preach. First, though, he gavethem instructions. (Matt. 10:5-14) Whenabout to feed a crowd of thousands miracu-lously, Jesus toldhis discipleshowhewantedthem to organize the people and distributethe food. (Luke 9:12-17) Clearly, then, Jesustrained his disciples by giving them clearand specific direction. This pattern of train-ing, coupled with the powerful influence ofholy spirit, later equipped the apostles to or-ganize the extensive preaching work thattook place in 33 C.E. and thereafter.

10 Today, spiritual instruction beginswhen a man accepts a Bible study. We mayneed to helphim to readwell.Our assistancecontinues as we conduct Bible studies withhim. When he starts to attend Christianmeetings regularly, his spiritual training willprogress as he participates in the TheocraticMinistry School, becomes an unbaptizedpublisher, and so forth. After baptism, histraining can include such things as helpingwith Kingdom Hall maintenance. In time, abrother can be helped to see what he needsto do to qualify as a ministerial servant.

11 When giving a baptized brother an as-signment, an elder gladly explains the rel-evant organizational procedures and pro-vides needed instruction. The brother being

9. How do we know that Jesus trained his disciplesto carry out the evangelizing work?10, 11. In what ways can progressive training beprovided for new ones?

trainedmust understand what is expected ofhim. If he is struggling with what he is askedto do, a loving elder does not quickly con-clude that he is not qualified. Rather, the el-der kindly points out the specific areas ofconcern and reviews the goals and proce-dures. Seeing men respond positively tosuch efforts and thus experience the joy thatcomes from serving others is a source ofhappiness to the elders.—Acts 20:35.

“The One Listening to Counsel Is Wise”12 Jesus trained his disciples by providing

personal counsel tailored to their needs. Forexample, he rebuked James and John forwanting to call down fire from heaven onsome Samaritans who had not received him.(Luke 9:52-55) When the mother of Jamesand John approached Jesus on their behalfto ask that they be granted favored positionsin the Kingdom, Jesus addressed the broth-ers directly, saying: “This sitting down at myright hand and at my left is not mine to give,but it belongs to those for whom it has beenprepared by my Father.” (Matt. 20:20-23) Atall times, Jesus gave counsel that was clear,practical, and solidly based on godly princi-ples. He taught his disciples to reason onsuch principles. (Matt. 17:24-27) Jesus alsorecognized the limitations of his followersand did not expect perfection from them.His counsel was motivated by genuine love.—John 13:1.

13 Everymanwho reaches out for responsi-bility in the Christian congregation needscounsel or Scriptural advice at one time oranother. “The one listening to counsel iswise,” states Proverbs 12:15. “I found thatmy biggest challenge was dealing with myown imperfections,” says one young brother.

12. What made Jesus’ counsel effective?13, 14. (a) Who needs counsel? (b) Give examplesof what personal counsel an elder may offer tosomeone who is not progressing spiritually.

“The advice of an elder put this into properperspective for me.”

14 If elders observe that some question-able conduct is retarding a man’s spiritualprogress, they take the initiative to readjusthim in a spirit of mildness. (Gal. 6:1) Attimes, counsel is needed because of somepersonality trait. If a brother seems some-what self-sparing, for example, an elder mayfind it helpful to point out that Jesus was azealous Kingdom proclaimer who commis-sionedhis followers tomake disciples. (Matt.28:19, 20; Luke 8:1) If a brother appears am-bitious, an elder might show him how Jesushelped His disciples to see the dangers ofseeking prominence. (Luke 22:24-27) Whatif a brother has a tendency to be unforgiv-ing? The illustration of the slave who re-fused to forgive a small debt even thoughhe himself had been forgiven much morewould make a powerful point. (Matt. 18:21-35) When counsel is needed, it is good forthe elders to provide it at the earliest oppor-tunity.—Read Proverbs 27:9.

“Be Training Yourself”15 The elders take the lead in training men

to reach out, but others can support their ef-

15. How can a man’s family help him to serve oth-ers?

forts. For instance, a man’s family can andshould help him to reach out. And if he al-ready is an elder, he will benefit from thesupport of a loving wife and unselfish chil-dren. Their willingness to share him withthe congregation is essential if he is to suc-ceed in shouldering his responsibility. Theirself-sacrificing spirit brings him joy and isgreatly appreciated by others.—Prov. 15:20;31:10, 23.

16 Although others can help and supporthim, the primary responsibility for reachingout rests with the man himself. (Read Gala-tians 6:5.) Of course, a brother does nothave to be a ministerial servant or an elderin order to help others and have a fullshare in the ministry. However, reachingout for privileges in the congregation doesmean striving to meet the qualifications setout in the Scriptures. (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Ti-tus 1:5-9; 1 Pet. 5:1-3) So if a man de-sires to serve as a ministerial servant or anelder but has not yet been appointed tobe one, he should give attention to areaswhere he needs to make spiritual advance-ment. This calls for regular Bible reading, dil-igent personal study, serious meditation,

16. (a) The primary responsibility to reach outrests with whom? (b) How can a man reach out forprivileges in the congregation?

What training can youprovide your Bible student ashe seeks to make progress?


heartfelt prayer, and zealous participation inthe Christian ministry. In such ways, he canpersonally apply Paul’s counsel to Timothy:“Be training yourself with godly devotion asyour aim.”—1 Tim. 4:7.

17 But what if a man is not reaching out be-cause of anxiety or feelings of inadequacy?He would do well to consider how much Je-hovah God and Jesus Christ do for us. In-deed, Jehovah “daily carries the load for us.”(Ps. 68:19) So our heavenly Father can help abrother to take on responsibility in the con-gregation. A brother who is not serving as aministerial servantor an elder will alsofind itbeneficial to consider the fact that there is agreat need for mature men to accept privi-leges of service in God’s organization. Re-flecting on such points may move a brotherto put forth effort to overcome negative feel-ings. He can pray for holy spirit, bearing inmind that its fruitage includes peace andself-control—qualities needed to dispel anxi-

17, 18. What can a baptized brother do if anxiety,feelings of inadequacy, or a lackof motivation holdshim back?

ety or feelings of inadequacy. (Luke 11:13;Gal. 5:22, 23) And one can be fully confidentthat Jehovah blesses all who reach out with aproper motive.

18 Could it be that a lack of motivation ispreventing a baptized man from reachingout? What can help a brother who lacks thedesire to serve? The apostle Paul wrote:“[God], for the sake of his good pleasure, isacting within you in order for you both towill and to act.” (Phil. 2:13) The desire toserve is God-given, and Jehovah’s spirit canstrengthen a person to render sacred service.(Phil. 4:13) Moreover, a Christian can praythat God will make him do what is right.—Ps. 25:4, 5.

19 Jehovahblesses the efforts of older mento train others. His blessing is also experi-enced by those who respond and reach outfor privileges in the congregation. The Scrip-tures assure us that among God’s people“seven shepherds, yes, eight dukes”—therequired number of capable men—will beraised up to take the lead in Jehovah’s orga-nization. (Mic. 5:5) What a blessing it is thatso many Christian men are being trainedand are humbly reaching out for privilegesof service to Jehovah’s praise!

19. Of what does the raising up of “seven shep-herds, yes, eight dukes” assure us?

How can men showthat they are reaching out?

How Would You Answer?˙ How did Jesus help his disciples to

qualify for greater responsibility?˙ How can elders imitate Jesus as

they help men in the congregationto take the lead?

˙ What part does a man’s family playin helping him to reach out?

˙ What can a man himself do to reachout for privileges?

STUDY ARTICLES:

��

December 26–January 1 ˙ PAGE 3��

“Do Not Lean UponYour Own Understanding”


��

January 2-8 ˙ PAGE 9��

For Life and Peace,Walk in Accord With the Spirit


��


“Temporary Residents”in a Wicked World


��


Help Men to Progress Spiritually


��


Train Others to Reach Out


34567NOVEMBER 15, 2011




34567�

NOVEMBER 15, 2011


This publication is not for sale. Itis provided as part of a worldwideBible educational work supportedby voluntary donations.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripturequotations are from themodern-language New WorldTranslation of the Holy Scriptures—With References.




How can you benefit from God’s gift of prayer? Learn how prayercan help you when you are experiencing difficult situations, makingimportant decisions, or struggling to resist temptations.


The apostle Paul told Christians in Rome what was required of them ifthey were to receive life and peace. Learn how you can benefit from thecounsel he gave them.


Faithful men of the past lived as “temporary residents.” The firstdisciples of Jesus did the same. But what about true Christians today?Learn what it means to live as temporary residents in this wicked world.


There is a need for brothers to care for the congregations. Jesus helpedmany men to accept the good news. He trained them to continuehis work. We can learn from Jesus’ example. We can help the men wemeet in the ministry, and we can help brothers to have a desire toserve others in the congregation.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

14 “Disabled Now but Not Forever!”

3

CYNTHIA’S� employer has alreadydismissed some of the workers

from his company. (See footnote.) NowCynthia is worried that she too may loseher job. How will she pay her bills? An-other sister, Pamela, wants to move toan area where there is a great need topreach the good news. But should shemove to that area? Samuel has a differ-ent kind of problem. He looked at por-nographywhenhewas very young.He isnow in his 20’s and feels a strong temp-tation to start looking at pornographyagain. How can he fight this temptation?

2 When you are experiencing difficultsituations, making important decisions,or fighting temptations, in whom doyou trust? Do you trust only yourself?Or do you “throw your burden upon Je-hovah”? (Psalm 55:22) The Bible says:“The eyes of Jehovah are toward therighteous ones, and his ears are towardtheir cry for help.” (Psalm 34:15) So itis very important that we trust in Jeho-vah with all our heart and that we do notlean on our own understanding!—Prov-erbs 3:5.

3 We show that we trust in Jehovah


1, 2. (a) What are some problems that wemay experience? (b) In whom should we trustwhen we are experiencing difficult situations,making important decisions, or fighting temp-tations? Why?3. (a) What does it mean to trust in Jehovah?(b) Why do some lean on their own under-standing?

with all our heart whenwe do what he requires ofus. We have to pray regu-larly to him so that hewill help and guide us.But many people think itis hard to trust in Jeho-vah. For example, a sis-ter named Lynn said thatit has been a struggle forher to trust in Jehovah completely.Why?She said: “I have no relationship withmy father, and I have a mother who didnot care for me emotionally or physical-ly. So I very quickly learned to look af-ter myself.” Because of this, it is hard forher to trust anyone. Other people may

rely on their own ability and success in-stead of trusting in Jehovah. For exam-ple, an elder who has a lot of experiencemight trust himself too much instead ofpraying to God before he cares for mat-ters in the congregation.

4 When we pray for Jehovah to helpus, he expects us to try our best and

4. What will we study about in this article?

“Do Not Lean UponYour Own Understanding”

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Trust in Jehovah withall your heart and donot lean upon yourown understanding.”—PROVERBS 3:5.

We showthat we trust in

Jehovah when wedo things his way

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ NOVEMBER 15, 20114

follow his direction. Howdo you know when youshould allow Jehovah tosolve a difficult problemand when you should tryto solve it yourself? Whatshould we be carefulabout when we are mak-ing decisions? Why do weneed to pray when we arefighting temptations? Wewill answer these ques-tions by discussing some

Bible examples.

WHEN WE ARE SUFFERING

5 The Bible says about King Hezeki-ah of Judah: “He kept sticking to Jeho-vah. He did not turn aside from follow-ing him, but he continued keeping hiscommandments that Jehovah had com-manded Moses.” King Hezekiah trustedin Jehovah, the God of Israel. (2 Kings18:5, 6) Once, King Sennacherib of As-syria and his powerful army had cap-tured some strong cities of Judah, andnext he wanted to attack Jerusalem. SoKing Sennacherib sent his army to Je-rusalem and sent Rabshakeh and twoother messengers to insult and frightenthe people of Jerusalem. What did Hez-ekiah do? Hezekiah went to the templeof Jehovah and began to pray: “O Jeho-vah our God, save us, please, out of hishand, that all the kingdoms of the earthmay know that you, O Jehovah, are Godalone.”—2 Kings 19:14-19.

6 Hezekiah asked Jehovah for helpbut also did something about the prob-lem. For example, even before he went

5, 6. What did Hezekiah do when King Sen-nacherib said that he would attack Jerusalem?

to the temple to pray, he told his peoplenot to respond to Rabshakeh’s insults.Hezekiah also sent some of his mento the prophet Isaiah to ask for his ad-vice. (2 Kings 18:36; 19:1, 2) And Heze-kiah only did things that he knew wouldplease Jehovah. He did not try to gethelp from Egypt or from other nations.He knew that Jehovah did not want himto do that. So Hezekiah did not leanon his own understanding. He trustedin Jehovah. After Jehovah’s angel killed

185,000 of Sennacherib’s men, Sen-nacherib and his army returned to Nin-eveh.—2 Kings 19:35, 36.

7 Here are two more examples. Han-nah, the wife of the Levite Elkanah,was very sad because she could nothave a child. But she relied on Jeho-vah and prayed to him about her sit-uation. (1 Samuel 1:9-11, 18) Jonah, aprophet of Jehovah, disobeyed Jehovahand was swallowed by a big fish. But Jo-nah prayed: “Out of my distress I calledout to Jehovah, and he proceeded to an-swer me.Out of the bellyof Sheol I criedfor help. You heard my voice.” Jehovah

7. What comfort can we receive from theprayers of Hannah and Jonah?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ To lean upon our ownunderstanding meansto think that we knowbest and that we canignore Jehovah

ˇ Temptation:A desire to do whatwe know is wrong

No matterhow difficult

our situation is,we should pray toJehovah and ask

him for help


saved him. (Jonah 2:1, 2, 10) It is verycomforting to know that no matter howdifficult our situation is, we can pray toJehovah and ask him to help us.—ReadPsalm 55:1, 16.

8 The examples of Hezekiah, Han-nah, and Jonah help us to understandwhat we should pray for when weare suffering. Even though all three ofthem suffered because of difficult situ-ations, their prayers show us that theydid not care only about themselvesand their own problems. The most im-portant things to them were to honorGod’s name, to worship God the rightway, and to do what he required ofthem.Hezekiahwas sad because peoplewere dishonoring God’s name. Hannahpromised Jehovah that if he would giveher a son, she would arrange for him toserve at the tabernacle in Shiloh. AndJonah said: “What I have vowed, I willpay.”—Jonah 2:9.

9 When we are praying for help be-cause of a difficult situation, we shouldthink about our reasons for praying. Dowe pray only about solutions to our ownproblems? Or do we remember Jehovahand his purpose in our prayers? Whenwe are suffering, we could become soworried about our ownproblems that Je-hovah’s purpose and our worship of himbecome less important to us. When wepray to Jehovah for help, we should re-member to pray for the sanctification ofhis name and the vindication of his sov-ereignty. If we remember these thingsin our prayers, it will help us to have

8, 9. What was important to Hezekiah, Han-nah, and Jonah when they prayed? What canwe learn from their example?

a positive attitude even if we do notget the solution we wanted. SometimesJehovah answers our prayers by givingus the strength we need to endure theproblem. He may not immediately takethe problem away.—Read Isaiah 40:29;Philippians 4:13.WHEN WE AREMAKING DECISIONS

10 How do you make important deci-sions in your life? Do you first decidewhat you want to happen and only thenask Jehovah to make it happen thatway? Jehoshaphat, a king of Judah, isa good example of a person who madea decision in the right way. The Moab-ites and the Ammonites started a waragainst the land of Judah. But Judah wasnot powerful enough to fight them. Sowhat did Jehoshaphat do?

11 The Bible says: “Jehoshaphat be-came afraid and set his face to searchfor Jehovah.” To show how serious thesituation was, he told all the people ofJudah not to eat for a period of timeand he gathered them together to askfor Jehovah’s guidance. Then he stoodup among the people of Judah and ofJerusalem and prayed: “O our God, willyou not execute judgment upon them?For in us there is no power before thislarge crowd that is coming against us;and we ourselves do not know whatwe ought to do, but our eyes are to-ward you.” The true God heard Jehosh-aphat’s prayer, and He fought for themand saved them. (2 Chronicles 20:3-12,17) When we need to make an impor-tant decision, especially a decision that

10, 11. What did Jehoshaphat do when hehad to make a difficult decision?


could affect our relationship with Jeho-vah, we should rely on him and not onour own understanding.

12 What should we do when we havea problem that may seem easy for us tosolve? Maybe we think we can find a so-lution quickly because we have been insimilar situations before. The exampleof King David helps us to understandwhat we should do in these situations.When the Amalekites attacked the cityof Ziklag, they took away the wives andchildren of David and of his men. Da-vid prayed to Jehovah and asked: “Shall

I chase after this marauder band?” Je-hovah answered: “Go in chase, for youwill without fail overtake them, and youwill without fail make a deliverance.”David obeyed, and he got back all thatthe Amalekites had taken.—1 Samuel30:7-9, 18-20.

13 Sometime after the Amalekites at-tacked Ziklag, the Philistines attackedIsrael. David again asked Jehovah whathe should do. God gave him this clearanswer: “Go up, for I shall without fail

12, 13. When making decisions, what can welearn from King David’s example?

give the Philistines into your hands.”(2 Samuel 5:18, 19) A little while lat-er, the Philistines fought against Davidagain. What would David do this time?He could have thought that he knewwhat to do because he had been in thissituation twice before. He could havedecided to fight God’s enemies. But Da-vid did not rely on himself and on hispast experience. So he again prayed toJehovah. This time Jehovah gave him adifferent answer. David must have beenhappy that he asked Jehovah to directhim! (2 Samuel 5:22, 23) We may thinksome problems are easy to solve, but wemust be careful not to rely on ourselvesand our past experience.—Read Jeremi-ah 10:23.

14 We are imperfect. So all of us, evenif we are experienced elders, must neverforget to ask Jehovah to direct us whenwe make decisions. Joshua and the old-er men of Israel did not ask Jehovahfor direction when the Gibeonites cameto ask Joshua not to fight against them.Even though the Gibeonites were fromthe nearby city of Gibeon, they madethemselves look as if they came fromsomewhere far away. Joshua and theolder men did not ask Jehovah for direc-tion, and they made an agreement notto fight against the Gibeonites. It is truethat Jehovah did not cancel the agree-ment. But he had this account put in theBible so that we would know that Josh-ua and the older men did not ask for hisdirection. We should always ask Jeho-vah to direct us before we make deci-sions.—Joshua 9:3-6, 14, 15.

14. What can we learn from the account ofJoshua and the Gibeonites?

When makingdecisions, weshould always lookfor Jehovah’sguidance and notrely on our ownunderstanding


WHEN WE AREFIGHTING TEMPTATIONS

15 Because we all are sinners, we needto do everything we can to fight againstour sinful desires. (Romans 7:21-25) Butwe can win the fight. How? Jesus toldhis followers that they must pray forhelp to fight temptation. (Read Luke 22:40.) Even though we pray, we may stillhave wrong desires or thoughts. If so, we

15. Why is prayer important to help us fighttemptation?

need to “keep on asking God” for wis-dom to help us fight temptations. The Bi-ble tells us that God gives wisdom “gen-erously to all and without reproaching.”(James 1:5) James tells us something elsethat can give us strength to fight wrongdesires. He says a person can “call theolder men of the congregation to him,and let themprayoverhim, greasing himwith oil in the name of Jehovah. And theprayer of faith will make the indisposedone well.”—James 5:14, 15.

To fighttemptation,when willprayer benefitus the most?


16 We cannot be suc-cessful in resisting temp-tation if we do not pray.But we need to remem-ber to pray at the righttime. Think about whathappened to the youngman mentioned at Prov-erbs 7:6-23. One eveninghe walked down a streetwhere he knew an im-moral woman lived. Sheinvited the young man toher home. He could notresist the temptation, andhe followed her, just likea bull that is taken to the

slaughter. Why did the young man goto that street? The Bible says that hewas “in want of heart.” He was probablystruggling with wrong desires. (Prov-erbs 7:7) When would it have been theright time for him to pray? Of course, itwould have been good if he had prayedat any time while the womanwas speak-ing to him. But the best time for himto pray would have been when he firsthad the idea of walking down thatstreet.

17 Today, a man may be trying to avoidlooking at pornography. But what if hewent to Internet sites where he knowsthere are sexual videos or pictures?This would be the same situation asthe young man in Proverbs chapter 7.It would be like walking down a roadwith many dangers. To resist the temp-tation to look at pornography, we needto ask for Jehovah’s help in prayer. If wefeel the desire to look at pornography,

16, 17. When we need help to resist tempta-tion, when is the best time to pray?

we need to stop and pray before we goto Internet sites that we know are dan-gerous.

18 It is not easy to fight against temp-tation or bad habits. The apostle Paulsaid: “The flesh is against the spirit inits desire, and the spirit against theflesh.” So the very things that we wouldlike to do, we do not do. (Galatians 5:17) To win this fight, we need to praywith all our heart when wrong thoughtsor temptations first come to our mind.Then we need to work hard to avoid

those wrong things. Remember that “notemptation has taken you except what iscommon to men.” With Jehovah’s help,we can stay faithful to him.—1 Corinthi-ans 10:13.

19 Prayer is a wonderful gift that canhelp us when we are experiencing dif-ficult situations, making important de-cisions, or fighting temptations. Whenwe pray to Jehovah, we show that werely on him. We should also keep ask-ing God for his holy spirit to guide usand to give us strength. (Luke 11:9-13)Let us always trust in Jehovah and notlean on our own understanding.

18, 19. (a) Why is it hard to fight temptation?How can we win the fight? (b) What are youdetermined to do?

We need to prayfor Jehovah’s help

when wrong thoughtsor temptations firstcome to our mind

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ What did you learnabout trusting in Jeho-vah from Hezekiah,Hannah, and Jonah?

ˇ How do the examplesof David and Joshuashow us that we needto be careful whenmaking decisions?

ˇ Why is it important topray at the right time?

9

AGOVERNMENT official in theUnited States said that the prob-

lem of people who are distracted whiledriving is getting worse every year.For example, they can get distractedif they use a mobile phone whilethey are driving. Many have reportedthat they have been in an accident,or have almost been in an accident, be-cause the driver of another car was us-ing a phone while driving. People maythink that they are saving time if theyuse their mobile phones while driving,but doing this can cause a serious ac-cident.

2 A driver who is distracted may notnotice dangers on the road. A similarthing could happen in our relationshipwith Jehovah. If we allow things to dis-tract us from serving God and main-taining good conduct, it could be dan-gerous. Paul said that our faith couldbe ruined just like a ship can be ru-ined in a shipwreck. (1 Timothy 1:18,19) The apostle Paul warned about thisdanger when he wrote to his broth-ers in Rome: “The minding of the fleshmeans death, but the minding of thespirit means life and peace.” (Romans8:6) What did Paul mean by that? Howcan we avoid “the minding of the flesh”and work hard at “the minding of thespirit”?

1, 2. (a) What is the danger of being distract-ed while driving? (b) What is the danger of be-ing distracted from our worship of Jehovah?

THEY “HAVENO CONDEMNATION”

3 In his letter to the Ro-mans, Paul wrote about astruggle that he had ex-perienced in his life. Hesaid that he felt as if hismind and his body werefighting against each oth-er. (Read Romans 7:21-23.) Paul did nottalk about this to make excuses for hisactions or because he felt sorry for him-self. He did not mean that it was im-possible for him to do what was right.He was a mature, anointed Christianand was chosen to be sent as “an apos-tle to the nations.” (Romans 1:1; 11:13) So why did Paul write about thisstruggle?

4 Paul was saying that he could notdo God’s will the way he really want-ed to do it. Why not? He said: “All havesinned and fall short of the glory ofGod.” (Romans 3:23) Like all of Adam’schildren, Paul was imperfect and hadwrong desires. We can understand howhe felt. We too struggle every day be-cause ofour imperfection andwrong de-sires. And there are many distractionsthat could affect our worship of God andtake us off the narrow road leading tolife. (Matthew 7:14) But Paul’s situationwas not hopeless, and neither is ours.

3, 4. (a) What personal struggle did Paulwrite about? (b) Why should we be interestedin Paul’s situation?

For Life and Peace,Walk in Accord With the Spirit

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Walk, not in accordwith the flesh, butin accord with thespirit.”—ROMANS 8:4.


5 Paul asked whowould rescue him fromthis struggle, and thenhe said: “Thanks to Godthrough Jesus Christ ourLord!” (Romans 7:24, 25)Then, Paul spoke toanointed Christians, theones who are “in unionwith Christ Jesus.” (ReadRomans 8:1, 2.) Jeho-vah adopts them as sonsthrough his holy spir-it. He makes them “jointheirs with Christ.” (Ro-mans 8:14-17) God’s holy

spirit and the faith they have in the ran-som sacrifice of Jesus help them to winthe fight that Paul talked about. So Godno longer condemns them for their im-perfection. They are set free “from thelaw of sin and of death.”

6 Even though Paul was talking toanointed Christians, what he said aboutGod’s holy spirit and the ransom sacri-fice of Jesus can benefit all of Jehovah’sservants, whether they have the hope tolive in heaven or to live on earth. Eventhough the counsel Paul gave was in-spired by God, it is important that allof God’s servants understand and obeywhat he wrote.

HOW GOD “CONDEMNEDSIN IN THE FLESH”

7 In Romans chapter 7, Paul explained

5. From where did Paul get help and relief?6. Why should all of God’s servants want tounderstand Paul’s words?7, 8. (a) In what way was the Law “weakthrough the flesh”? (b) What has God donethrough his holy spirit and the ransom sacri-fice?

that imperfect humans are under thepower of sin. In chapter 8, he talkedabout the power of holy spirit. He ex-plained that God’s holy spirit can helpChristians in their struggle against thepower of sin. It canhelp them to dowhatJehovah wants and to have his approv-al. Paul showed that God used his holyspirit and the ransom sacrifice of Jesusto do something that the Law of Mosescould not.

8 The Law condemned sinners be-cause it was not possible for people toobey all the commandments of the Law.Israel’s high priests serving under theLaw were imperfect and could not offersacrifices to remove sin, so the Law was“weak through the flesh.” God sent hisSon as a human “in the likeness of sin-ful flesh,” and his ransom “condemnedsin in the flesh.” The sacrifice of Jesuswas able to save people from sin. Be-cause anointed Christians have faith inJesus’ sacrifice, Jehovah can view themas righteous. Paul’s counsel encouragesanointed Christians to “walk, not in ac-cord with the flesh, but in accord withthe spirit.” (Read Romans 8:3, 4.) Theymust continue to do this until the endof their life on earth. If they are faith-ful, they will receive “the crown of life.”—Revelation 2:10.

9 Paul also talked about “the law ofthat spirit” and “the law of sin and ofdeath.” (Romans 8:2) What are theselaws? The word he used in this versedoes not refer to rules, like the ones inthe Lawof Moses. A reference book saysthat the Greek word for “law” in this

9. What is the meaning of the word “law”used at Romans 8:2?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ If we walk in accordwith the spirit, wefollow the guidanceof God’s holy spiritin our thinking andconduct

ˇ If we walk in accordwith the flesh, weallow sinful desires tocontrol our thoughtsand actions


verse means the good or bad things thatpeople do and that control them like alaw. It can also mean the guidelines thatthey choose to live by.

10 The apostle Paul wrote: “Throughone man sin entered into the worldand death through sin, and thus deathspread to all men because they hadall sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Because weare all children of Adam, the law ofsin and of death controls us. Our sin-ful desire is to do things that do notplease God. But these things lead todeath. In his letter to the Galatians, Paulsaid that these sinful actions and hab-its are “works of the flesh.”And he said:“Those who practice such things willnot inherit God’s kingdom.” (Galatians5:19-21) The people who do these thingswalk “in accord with the flesh.” They fol-low their fleshly desires. (Romans 8:4)They are guided by what their imper-fect flesh tells them to do. But are peoplewho commit sins like fornication, idol-atry, spiritism, and other sins the onlyones who are following their fleshly de-sires? No. “The works of the flesh” men-tioned in Galatians also include thingsthat many could think are just personalweaknesses. This would include thingslike jealousy, fits of anger, contentions,and envies. We must never think thatwe do not need to fight against our im-perfect flesh.

11 We are happy that Jehovah hasmade it possible for us to be free fromthe law of sin and of death! Jesus said:

10. How does the law of sin and of death con-trol us?11, 12. What has Jehovah done to free usfrom the law of sin and of death? What mustwe do to have God’s approval?

“God loved the world somuch that he gave hisonly-begotten Son, in or-der that everyone exer-cising faith in him mightnot be destroyed but haveeverlasting life.” If we livein a way that shows thatwe love God and we havefaith in the ransom sac-rifice of Jesus, we canbe freed from the pun-ishment that results fromsin. (John 3:16-18) We willfeel as Paul did whenhe said: “Thanks to Godthrough Jesus Christ ourLord!”

12 Our situation is similar to beingcured of a serious illness. We can re-cover completely only if we do what thedoctor tells us to do.Our faith in the ran-som can free us from the law of sin andof death, but we are still imperfect andsinful. To continue to have a strong re-lationshipwith Jehovah andhave his ap-proval, there is something that we needto do. If we want to recover from thesickness of imperfection, Paul tells usthat we must walk in accord with thespirit.

HOW CAN WEWALK IN ACCORDWITH GOD’S SPIRIT?

13 When we walk somewhere, wecontinue moving toward that place. Towalk in accord with the spirit, weneed to progress in the truth. (1 Tim-othy 4:15) Even though we cannot do

13. What does it mean to walk in accord withGod’s spirit?

CAN YOU

EXPLAIN?

ˇ What was the Lawof Moses not ableto do? How did Godovercome this?

ˇ What is “the law ofsin and of death”?How can we be freedfrom it?

ˇ What must we do todevelop “the mindingof the spirit”?

12

this perfectly, each day we do our bestto follow the guidance of God’s spirit.If we are “walking by spirit,” we willplease God.—Galatians 5:16.

14 In his letter to the Romans, Paulnext spoke about people who have twoopposite ways of thinking. (Read Ro-mans 8:5.) Here the word “flesh” isnot just the physical body. In the Bible,“flesh” can sometimes refer to our im-perfections. Our imperfections causethe struggle between the flesh andthe mind that Paul talked about. Paulfought against his flesh, or imperfec-tions. But many people today do noteven try to fight their wrong desires,so they live “in accord with the flesh.”They do not think about what Godwants them to do, and they do not askhim to help them win the fight. Theyoften “set their minds on the things ofthe flesh” and allow their fleshly de-sires to control them. But people whoare living “in accord with the spirit” al-low Jehovah to guide them.

14. How do people who live “in accord withthe flesh” think and act?

15 (Read Romans 8:6.) Before peopledo good things or bad things, they firstset their mind on the things they wantto do. If people set their mind on thethings of the flesh, the result will bethat they will want to do the thingsof the flesh. Their thoughts, interests,and feelings will usually be on thesethings.

16 What are most people interest-ed in today? The apostle John wrote:“Everything in the world—the desire ofthe flesh and the desire of the eyes

15, 16. (a) How can setting our mind onsomething affect what we think about?(b) What are most people today interested in?

Even though we areimperfect, we can

progress in the truthwhen we walk in accord

with the spirit

Do you walkin accord withthe flesh or in

accord withthe spirit?

13

and the showy display of one’s meansof life—does not originate with the Fa-ther, but originates with the world.”(1 John 2:16) The desires John wroteabout are things like immorality, want-ing to be important and well-known,and wanting more material things.Books, magazines, movies, TV pro-grams, and the Internet promote thesedesires all the time. These are thethings that most people have set theirmind on because these are the thingsthat they really want. Paul said that“the minding of the flesh meansdeath.” It could cause us to lose our re-lationship with God, and in the futurewe could lose our life. Why? “Becausethe minding of the flesh means enmi-ty with God, for it is not under sub-jection to the law of God, nor, in fact,can it be. So those who are in harmo-ny with the flesh cannot please God.”—Romans 8:7, 8.

17 “The minding of the spirit meanslife and peace.” It means everlasting life

17, 18. How can we allow God’s spirit toguide us? What is the result if we do so?

in the future as well as peace in ourhearts and minds and peace with Godnow. How can we show we are mindingthe spirit? If we always follow the guid-ance of God and his holy spirit, we willgrow in a way of thinking that agreeswith his way of thinking. We want ourthinking to be “under subjection to thelaw of God.” Then, when we are in asituation where we need to resist temp-tation, we will know what we shoulddo. We will have the desire to make theright choice. We will make a choice thatis guided by God’s spirit.

18 It should be our desire to set ourmind on the things of God. We wantto make Christian activities the mostimportant part of our life. These activ-ities include regular prayer, Bible read-ing and study, meeting attendance, andthe ministry. (1 Peter 1:13) Instead ofletting our sinful desires control us, weshould follow God’s way of thinkingand allow his spirit to guide us. If we dothis, we will have many blessings, andwe will have everlasting life and peace.—Galatians 6:7, 8.

14

I WAS born in 1974 in Paris, France. There were problems duringmy birth, and later the doctors told my parents that I had cere-

bral palsy. I had limited movement, and when I spoke, it was hardfor people to understand me. In time, I also became an epileptic, andit was easy for me to get infections.

When I was two years old, my family moved to Melbourne, Aus-tralia. Two years later, my father left my mother and me. That wasthe first time that I remember feeling that God was my Friend. Mumwas one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and regularly took me to Christianmeetings. There I learned that God loved me and cared for me. God’scomfort along with Mum’s love helped me to feel safe, even thoughour situation had changed.

Mum also taught me how to pray to Jehovah. Actually, it is mucheasier for me to pray than to talk. When I pray, I do not have tostruggle to say the words, but the words are clear in my mind. Andbecause it is difficult for people to understand me when I talk, it com-forts me to know that Jehovah understands everything I say, wheth-er I say it in my mind or struggle to say it out loud.—Psalm 65:2.

HOW I ENDURED MORE PROBLEMS

At the age of five, I could no longer walk without the help of heavysplints. And even with them, it was very difficult to walk straight.By the age of 11, I could no longer walk. Later, I could not get inand out of bed without the help of a machine to lift me into my mo-torized wheelchair. I control my wheelchair with a hand lever.

Sometimes my disabilities discourage me. But then I rememberthat in my family, we always say that we should not worry about thethings we cannot do, but we should continue to do the things wecan do. This has helped me to do well at horseback riding, sailing,

LIFE STORY

“DISABLED NOW BUTNOT FOREVER!”AS TOLD BYSARA VAN DER MONDE

People often tell me, “Sara, you have such a lovely smile. Why areyou always so happy?” I tell them that I have a special hope. I say,“I am disabled now but not forever!”


canoeing, camping, and even driving a car around a track! I showmy love of art by painting, sewing, quilting, embroidering, and mak-ing ceramics.

Because of my serious disabilities, some people have doubted myability to make my own decision to worship God. When I was 18, aschoolteacher told me to leave home so that I would not have to fol-low my mother’s religion. The teacher even offered to help me finda place to live. But I told her that I would never leave my religion

and that I would leave home only whenI was ready to be more independent.

Soon after that, I was baptized as oneof Jehovah’s Witnesses. Two years later,I moved into a small apartment. Here Iam happy because I have both help andindependence.

AN OFFER I DID NOT EXPECT

In my life, many things have hap-pened that have tested my faith. Oneday I was completely surprised when adisabled schoolmate asked me to mar-ry him. At first, this made me feel goodabout myself. Just like most young wom-en, I would like to get married. But noone can say that two people will have ahappy marriage just because they bothhave a disability. More important, theyoung man did not worship Jehovah.Our beliefs, activities, and goals werecompletely different. Howcould we havea happy life together? I want to obeyGod’s command to marry only someonewho serves Jehovah. (1 Corinthians 7:39)

So I kindly told the young man that I could not accept his offer ofmarriage.

Even today, I know I made the right choice. And I have no doubtthat I will be happy in the new world that God promises. (Psalm145:16; 2 Peter 3:13) Until then, I will do everything I can to con-tinue to be loyal to Jehovah and to be content with my situation.

I often think about the day when I can leap from my wheelchairand run as fast as I can. On that day, I will be able to say, “I wasdisabled, but now I have perfect health that will last forever!”

16

JESUS said this abouthis disciples: “They are

in the world.” But he alsosaid: “They are no part ofthe world, just as I am nopart of the world.” (John17:11, 14) His words clear-ly show how true Chris-tians should view thisworld. Satan is the god of“this system of things,” or

world. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Christians livein the world, but they are no part of it.That iswhy the Bible says that Christiansare like “aliens,” or foreigners. Theyare “temporary residents” in this world.—1 Peter 2:11.

THEY LIVED AS“TEMPORARY RESIDENTS”

2 Faithful servants of Jehovah have al-ways been different from people in theworld. Two examples are Enoch andNoah. The Bible says that they “walkedwith the true God.” (Genesis 5:22-24;6:9) They bravely preached that Jeho-vah condemned Satan’s wicked world.(Read 2 Peter 2:5; Jude 14, 15.) Theydid what was right even though thepeople around them were wicked. Forthis reason we read that Enoch “pleasedGod well” and that Noah was “faultless

1. What did Jesus say about true Christiansand this world?2, 3. Why can we say that Enoch, Noah, andAbraham and Sarah lived as “strangers andtemporary residents”?

among his contemporaries.”—Hebrews11:5; Genesis 6:9.

3 We can also learn from the exam-ple of Abraham and Sarah. They obeyedGod when he asked them to leave theircomfortable home in the city of Ur ofthe Chaldeans. They were willing to livewithout a home in a foreign land. (Gen-esis 11:27, 28; 12:1) The apostle Paulwrote: “By faith Abraham, when he wascalled, obeyed in going out into a placehe was destined to receive as an inher-itance; and he went out, although notknowing where he was going. By faithhe resided as an alien in the land of thepromise as in a foreign land, and dweltin tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirswith him of the very same promise.”(Hebrews 11:8, 9) Paul also said aboutthese servants of Jehovah: “In faith allthese died, although they did not getthe fulfillment of the promises, but theysaw them afar off and welcomed themand publicly declared that they werestrangers and temporary residents in theland.”—Hebrews 11:13.

A WARNINGTO THE ISRAELITES

4 Abraham had many descendants.God organized them into the nation ofIsrael and gave them laws and a land.(Genesis 48:4; Deuteronomy 6:1) Thepeople of Israel had to remember thatthe land was not theirs but belonged to

4. What warning did Jehovah give the Israel-ites before he gave them their land?

“Temporary Residents”in a Wicked World

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“In faith all these . . .publicly declared thatthey were strangersand temporaryresidents in the land.”—HEBREWS 11:13.


Jehovah. (Leviticus 25:23) Even thoughthey used the land, they had to obeyJehovah’s rules. Also, the Israelites hadto remember that “not by bread alonedoes man live” and that all their goodthings came from Jehovah. (Deuteron-omy 8:1-3) That is why before Jehovahgave them their land, he warned them:“It must occur that when Jehovah yourGod will bring you into the land thathe swore to your forefathers Abraham,Isaac and Jacob to give you, great andgood-looking cities that you did notbuild, and houses full of all good thingsand that you did not fill, and cisternshewn out that you did not hewout, vine-yards and olive trees that you did notplant, and you shall have eaten and be-come satisfied, watch out for yourselfthat you may not forget Jehovah.”—Deu-teronomy 6:10-12.

5 The Israelites did exactly what Jeho-vah had warned them not to do. Whenthey entered the Promised Land and be-gan to live in comfortable houses andhad plenty of food and wine, they for-got Jehovah. In the time of Nehemiah,a group of Levites spoke with shameabout what had happened, as we readat Nehemiah 9:25-27. (Read.) They saidthat people “began to eat and to be sat-isfied and to grow fat.” The Israelites re-belled against God, and they killed theprophets he sent to warn them. SoJehovah allowed their enemies to ruleover them. (Hosea 13:6-9) Later, whenthe Romans ruled over Israel, the Isra-elites even killed the Messiah who waspromised by God! So Jehovah no longerwanted them as his people. He chose a

5. Why did Jehovah no longer want the Isra-elites to be his people? What new nation didhe choose?

new nation, “the Israelof God.”—Galatians 6:16;Matthew 21:43; Acts 7:51, 52.

CHRISTIANS ARE “NOPART OF THE WORLD”

6 In the beginning ofthis article, we learnedthat Jesus, theHead of theChristian congregation,said that his followersshould be no part of Sa-tan’s world. Just before hedied, Jesus told his disci-ples: “If you were partof the world, the worldwould be fond of what isits own. Now because youare no part of the world,but I have chosen you outof the world, on this account the worldhates you.”—John 15:19.

7 After some time, there were Chris-tians living in many places around theworld where the Romans ruled. Chris-tians had to continue to be no part ofthe world. They had to reject the way oflife of the people around them. Wher-ever they lived, they had to be differ-ent. About 30 years after Jesus died, theapostle Peter wrote to the first Chris-tians: “Beloved, I exhort you as aliensand temporary residents to keep ab-staining from fleshly desires, which arethe very ones that carry on a conflictagainst the soul. Maintain your conductfine among the nations.”—1 Peter 1:1; 2:11, 12.

6, 7. (a) How would you explain what Jesussaid about his followers and this world? (b) Ac-cording to Peter, why did true Christians haveto continue to be no part of the world?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Temporary resident:Christians are “tempo-rary residents” becauseeven though they areliving in the world, theyare no part of it

ˇ World:The people and thewicked system that areruled by Satan. The Biblealso calls it the present“system of things”

ˇ Material things:Money andpossessions

18

8 Christians lived as “aliens and tem-porary residents” in the Roman world oftheir time. One historian wrote that theysuffered severe persecution and that thishappened often. He said that they wereaccused of not believing in God becausethey did not participate in false religiousceremonies. They were called “haters ofthe human race” because they did notjoin the people around them in enter-tainment and festivals that were full offalse worship and sexual immorality.

WE DO NOT USETHE WORLD TO THE FULL

9 Just like the first Christians, we tooare no part of “the present wicked sys-

8. What did one historian say that shows thatthe first Christians were no part of the world?9. How do we show that we are not “haters ofthe human race”?

tem of things.” (Galatians 1:4) Becauseof this, many do not understand the waywe live. Some people even hate us. Butwe are not “haters of the human race,” assome may think. We show that we lovepeople by going from house to houseand telling everyone the good news ofGod’s Kingdom. (Matthew 22:39; 24:14)We preach about Jehovah’s Kingdom be-cause we believe that it will soon destroyall imperfect human governments. ThisKingdom, with Christ as King, will thenbring a righteous new world.—Daniel 2:44; 2 Peter 3:13.

10 Because Satan’s world will endsoon, we know that now is not the timeto try to have a comfortable life. The

10, 11. (a) How do we make use of the world?(b) In what ways do Christians not use theworld to the full?

The firstChristians did

not get involvedin violent

and immoralentertainment


apostle Paul said: “The time left is re-duced.” He then said that those who buyshould be “as those not possessing, andthose making use of the world as thosenot using it to the full; for the scene ofthis world is changing.” (1 Corinthians7:29-31) Today, how do we make use ofthe world? For example, we use mod-ern technology and means of commu-nication. These help us to teach peoplein many lands about the Bible, and wedo it in many languages. We also workand earn the money that we need to live.And we buy necessary things for ourdaily lives. But we do not use the worldto the full. This means that money, thethings we have, and our job are not themost important things in our life.—Read1 Timothy 6:9, 10.

11 Another way Christians do not usethe world to the full is by not giving toomuch importance to the education thatthis world offers. Many people in thisworld think that a person has to go to auniversity, get a good job, and earn a lotof money. But as temporary residents,we do not think like them. We do notmake an effort to get “lofty things,” thatis, the things that would make us impor-tant in this world. (Romans 12:16; Jere-miah 45:5) We obey the warning Jesusgave us: “Keep your eyes open and guardagainst every sort of covetousness, be-cause even when a person has an abun-dance his life does not result from thethings he possesses.” (Luke 12:15) Soyoung Christians should remember thatthe most important thing is to serve Je-hovah. They should get enough educa-tion to care for their basic needs so thatthey will be able to serve Jehovah withtheir whole heart, soul, strength, and

mind. (Luke 10:27) If they do that, theycan become “rich toward God.”—Luke12:21; read Matthew 6:19-21.

DO NOT BE ANXIOUSABOUT MATERIAL THINGS

12 Another difference between us andpeople in the world is the way we thinkabout material things. Jesus said: “Neverbe anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What arewe to put on?’ For all these are the thingsthe nations are eagerly pursuing. Foryour heavenly Father knows you needall these things. Keep on, then, seekingfirst the kingdom and his righteousness,and all these other things will be addedto you.” (Matthew 6:31-33) Many of ourbrothers and sisters know fromwhat hashappened in their own lives that whatJesus said is true. Our heavenly Fatheralways gives us the things we need.

13 It is good to be content with whatwe have. (1 Timothy 6:6) That is the op-posite of how people in the world think.For example, when young people getmarried, many of them want to haveeverything immediately. They want ahouse or an apartment, furniture, a nicecar, and new electronics. But Christianswho live as temporary residents controltheir desires, and they will not buy morethan what is possible for them to have.It is good to see that many do not spendtime and money buying all these things,so that they can use more time and ener-gy in Jehovah’s service. Some are able toserve as pioneers, at Bethel, in the trav-eling work, or as missionaries. We are

12, 13. Why does obeying the words of Jesusat Matthew 6:31-33 make us different frompeople in the world?


grateful for the work thatour brothers do as theyserve Jehovah with theirwhole heart.

14 In one of his par-ables, Jesus said that “theanxiety of this systemof things and the decep-tive power of riches” cancause us to slow down inour service to God. (Mat-thew 13:22) This will nothappen if we are contentto live as temporary res-idents in this world. Wewill keep our eye “simple”by giving all our attentionto serving God and bykeeping his Kingdom first

in our lives.—Matthew 6:22.

“THE WORLD IS PASSING AWAY”

15 An important reason why trueChristians live as “aliens and tempo-rary residents” is that they believe thatSatan’s world will end soon. (1 Peter2:11; 2 Peter 3:7) We show that we be-lieve this by the way we live our life.This includes the decisions we make,the things we want, and the goals wehave. The apostle John told Christiansnot to love the world or the things inthe world because “the world is pass-ing away and so is its desire, but he thatdoes the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:15-17.

16 Jehovah told the Israelites that if

14. What can we learn from one of the par-ables of Jesus?15. What did John say about this world?16. How do we show that we are part of the“people” that Jehovah has separated from theworld?

they obeyed him, they would becomehis “special propertyout of all other peo-ples.” (Exodus 19:5) When the Israelitesobeyed God, their worship and way oflife were different from that of other na-tions. Today, too, Jehovah’s people areseparate from Satan’s world. The Bibletells us to “repudiate ungodliness andworldly desires and to live with sound-ness of mind and righteousness andgodly devotion amid this present systemof things, while we wait for the happyhope and glorious manifestation of thegreat God and of the Savior of us, ChristJesus, who gave himself for us that hemight deliver us from every sort of law-lessness and cleanse for himself a peo-ple peculiarly his own, zealous for fineworks.” (Titus 2:11-14) Jehovah’s “peo-ple” includes the anointed Christiansand millions of “other sheep,” who helpthem.—John 10:16.

17 “The happy hope” of the anointedis that of ruling with Christ in heav-en. (Revelation 5:10) The hope of theother sheep is to live forever on earth.When this hope is fulfilled, the othersheep will no longer be temporary res-idents in a wicked world. They will havebeautiful homes and many good thingsto eat and drink. (Psalm 37:10, 11; Isa-iah 25:6; 65:21, 22) They will not for-get Jehovah as the Israelites did. Theywill always remember that all they haveis from Jehovah, “the God of the wholeearth.” (Isaiah 54:5) The anointed andthe other sheep will always be happythat they lived as temporary residentsin this wicked world.

17. Why will the anointed and the other sheepalways be happy that they lived as temporaryresidents in this wicked world?

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ In what way did faithfulmen of the past live astemporary residents?

ˇ How did the first Chris-tians live in the worldof their time?

ˇ How do true Christiansnot use the world tothe full?

ˇ Why will we be happythat we lived as tempo-rary residents in thiswicked world?

21

JESUS and his disciples had been busypreaching in Galilee. One day, they

went by boat to rest in a quiet place.But many people followed them alongthe shore. There were “about five thou-sand men, besides women and youngchildren.” (Matthew 14:21) At anothertime, a crowd came to Jesus becausethey wanted him to heal them and theywanted to hear him teach. In the crowd,there were “four thousand men, besideswomen and young children.” (Matthew15:38) Many men were among the peo-ple who came to Jesus and wanted tolearn more about what he was teaching.But Jesus knew that many others wouldaccept the truth, because after the mir-acle when he filled the disciples’ netswith fish, he said: “From now on youwill be catching men alive.” (Luke 5:10)Jesus meant that their preaching waslike their fishing. He could help themfind many people who would accept thetruth. These would include many men.

2 There are also men today who likethe message that we preach. They arehappy for us to study the Bible withthem. (Matthew 5:3) Some men startlearning about God but do not progressin the truth. How can we help them? Inhis ministry, Jesus did not preach in adifferent way to men. But he wanted tohelp them because there are some situ-ations that worry men especially. In this

1, 2. (a) What did many men do when theyheard Jesus preach? (b) What will we learnabout in this article?

article, we will learn howJesus helped men andhow we can imitate him.We will talk about threesituations: (1) if a man isanxious about money,(2) if a man is afraid ofwhat others think, and(3) if a man thinks that he is not as goodas others.

IF A MAN IS ANXIOUSABOUT MONEY

3 A man who was an expert on theLaw of Moses said to Jesus: “Teacher, Iwill follow you wherever you are aboutto go.” Jesus then told him that “the Sonof man has nowhere to lay down hishead.” But the Bible does not say thathe became a follower of Jesus. So may-be the man was anxious about where hewould live and what he would eat.—Mat-thew 8:19, 20.

4 Many men think that having mon-ey and a job is more important thanstudying the Bible and obeying what itteaches. To get a university degree anda well-paid job is more important tothem. They know that they need moneyto live every day. So they think that mon-ey and a job can benefit them more thanstudying the Bible and becoming God’sfriend. They may like what the Bible

3, 4. (a) What do many men think is impor-tant? (b) Why do some men think that moneyand a job are more important than acceptingthe truth?

Help Men toProgress Spiritually

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“From now on you willbe catching men alive.”—LUKE 5:10.


teaches, but “the anxietiesof this system of thingsand the deceptive powerof riches” stop them fromlearning more about Godor obeying what he says.(Mark 4:18, 19) But Jesushelped his disciples de-cide what was most im-portant, and we can imi-tate his example.

5 Simon Peter and hisbrother Andrew were

fishermen. They worked with John, hisbrother James, and their father, Zebe-dee. Their fishing business was doingwell, and they employed other men.(Mark 1:16-20) When Andrew and Johnfirst learned about Jesus from Johnthe Baptizer, they were sure that Jesuswas the Messiah. Andrew then told hisbrother Simon Peter about Jesus, andperhaps John told his brother James.

(John 1:29, 35-41) During the months af-ter this, Jesus preached inGalilee, Judea,and Samaria, and these four discipleswent with him. Then they returned totheir fishing business. They liked learn-ing the things that Jesus taught, but atthat time they did not think that the

5, 6. What helped Andrew, Peter, James, andJohn to decide what was the most importantwork for them?

preaching work was the most importantwork for them.

6 Later, Jesus invited Peter and An-drew to follow him and become “fish-ers of men.” What did Peter and Andrewdo? “At once abandoning the nets, theyfollowed him.” James and John did thesame. “At once leaving the boat and theirfather, they followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-22) What helped these men decideto start preaching full-time? They hadthought carefully about this decision.They had traveled with Jesus for somemonths and had listened to him teach.They also saw his miracles and the zealhe had for what was right. They saw thatpeople really liked what he taught. Be-cause of the things they learned, theirfaith in Jehovah and trust in him becamestronger.

7 How can we imitate Jesus and helpour Bible students to learn to trust inJehovah? (Proverbs 3:5, 6) We can helpthem by the way we teach. When westudywith them, we can teach them thatJehovah promises to bless us if we putthe Kingdom first. (Read Malachi 3:10;Matthew 6:33.) We can use the Bibleto show them that Jehovah always caresfor his people. But we should not for-get that we can also teach our studentsby our own example. When we tell Bi-ble students how Jehovah has helped us,this can help them learn to trust in himtoo. We can also show them experienc-es from our books and magazines.�—Seefootnote.

� See Yearbooks of Jehovah’s Witnesses as wellas life stories published in The Watchtower andAwake!

7. How can we help Bible students to learn totrust in Jehovah?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ To progress spiritually,or progress in thetruth, means to believethe truth and live bywhat we learn

ˇ To be anxious meansto worry unnecessarilyabout something

If a man is anxiousabout money, helphim to see thatJehovah is good


8 To have strong faith, it is not enoughfor a Bible student to read and hear howJehovah has blessed others. He needs toexperience, or see, in his own life thatJehovah is good. Psalm 34:8 says: “Tasteand see that Jehovah is good, O you peo-ple; happy is the able-bodied man thattakes refuge in him.” How can we helpa student to see that Jehovah is good?What if the student has money prob-lems? He mayalso be trying to overcomea bad habit, like smoking, gambling, ordrinking too much. (Proverbs 23:20, 21;

8. (a) Why is it important for a Bible studentto “taste and see that Jehovah is good”?(b) How can we help a Bible student to see thatJehovah is good?

2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Timothy 6:10) Wecan teach him to pray to God for helpto stop his bad habit. When his life im-proves, he will see that Jehovah is good.Then we can encourage him to put wor-ship of Jehovah first in his life. We canteach him that he needs to study the Bi-ble every week and prepare for meet-ings and attend them. When the studentsees that Jehovah is blessing his efforts,his faith will be stronger, and he willbe less anxious about other things, likemoney.

IF A MAN IS AFRAIDOF WHAT OTHERS THINK

9 Some men worry about what otherpeople might think about them, so theymay not become followers of Jesus. Forexample, Nicodemus and Joseph of Ar-imathea did not tell other people thatthey were Jesus’ disciples because theywere afraid of what other Jews might sayor do. (John 3:1, 2; 19:38) There was areason why they were afraid. The reli-gious leaders hated Jesus so much thatanyone who believed in him was no lon-ger allowed to come to the synagogue.—John 9:22.

10 In some places today, it may be dif-ficult for a man to show that he is in-terested in God, the Bible, or religion.His workmates, friends, and family maycriticize him or try to cause him trouble.In other places, it may be dangerous for

9, 10. (a) Why did Nicodemus and Joseph ofArimathea not tell others that they were Jesus’disciples? (b) Why are some men today afraidto be followers of Jesus?

Do you make opportunities to reachmen with the good news?


a person to tell others that he wants tochange his religion. And a man who isserving in themilitary, in politics, or is inan important position in the area wherehe lives may get a lot of criticism fromothers if he talks about religion. For ex-ample, a man in Germany said: “Whatyou Witnesses preach about the Bible istrue. But if I became a Witness today, bytomorrow everyone would know aboutit. What would they think at work, in theneighborhood, and at the club my fam-ily and I belong to? I could not put upwith that.”

11 Jesus’ apostles showed courage. Butsometimes they were afraid of what oth-ers might think about them. (Mark 14:

11. How did Jesus help his disciples not to beafraid of what others thought about them?

50, 66-72) How did Jesus help his disci-ples to progress in the truth even whenpeople opposed them? Jesus preparedthem for the opposition that wouldcome. He said: “Happy are you when-ever men hate you, and whenever theyexclude you and reproach you and castout your name as wicked for the sake ofthe Son of man.” (Luke 6:22) He warnedhis followers that they should expect op-position. But he told them that this op-position was “for the sake of the Son ofman.” And he reminded them that Godwould always care for them if they askedHim for help and strength. (Luke 12:4-12) Jesus also invited those who beganfollowing him to associate with his dis-ciples and to be their friends.—Mark 10:29, 30.

How can youprepare a Bible

student foropposition?


12 We too need to help Bible studentsnot to be afraid of what others mightthink about them. One way we can dothis is to help a student know what todo when people oppose him. (John 15:19) For example, workmates and oth-ers may not agree with his new beliefs,or they may have questions about whathe believes. We can help him to pre-pare simple answers from the Bible. Wecan be his friend, and we can introducehim to others in the congregation. May-be he and some of the brothers have sim-ilar situations or interests, and they canbecome friends. It is very important toteach him to pray regularly and from hisheart. This will help him become Jeho-vah’s friend. Jehovahwill be like a strongrock and a place of refuge for him, sohe will not need to be afraid of what peo-ple might think about him.—Read Psalm94:21-23; James 4:8.

IF A MAN THINKS THAT HE ISNOT AS GOOD AS OTHERS

13 Some men may think that they can-not do what others in the congregationcan do. Maybe they do not read well, orthey feel that they cannot explain theirthoughts well. Maybe they are shy, orthey do not like to talk about their be-liefs in front of other people. So it isvery hard for them to study, commentat the meetings, or preach to others.One brother explained that when hewas young, preaching was hard for him.He said that he would go to the door,pretend to ring the doorbell, and then

12. How can we help a Bible student not to beafraid of what others might think about him?13. If a brother thinks that he is not goodenough, how can this hold him back fromspeaking about the truth?

quietly walk away and hope that noone would hear or see him. He said:“The thought of going from door to doormade me physically ill.”

14 Think how Jesus’ disciples musthave felt when they could not cure a boy

who was possessed by a demon. Theyprobably thought that they could neverdo what Jesus wanted them to do. Thefather of the boy came to Jesus and said:“Lord, have mercy on my son, becausehe is an epileptic and is ill, for he fallsoften into the fire and often into the wa-ter; and I brought him to your disciples,but they could not cure him.” When Je-sus expelled the demon, the boy wascured. Later, the disciples came to Je-sus and asked him: “Why is it we couldnot expel it?” Jesus answered them: “Be-cause of your little faith. For truly I say toyou, If you have faith the size of a mus-tard grain, youwill say to this mountain,‘Transfer from here to there,’ and it willtransfer, and nothing will be impossiblefor you.” (Matthew 17:14-20) A personwho has faith in Jehovah will be able todo things that may seem impossible. But

14. Why could Jesus’ disciples not cure theboy who was possessed by a demon?

If a man is afraidof what others

might think, help himto see that Jehovah

can be a placeof refuge for him

if he trusts in his ownabilities, he will fail, andthenhe may feel that he isnot good enough to serveJehovah.

15 If a Bible studentfeels that he cannot serveJehovah as well as others,we can encourage himnot to think of his ownabilities but to have faiththat Jehovah will helphim. Peter wrote: “Hum-ble yourselves, therefore,under the mighty handof God, that he may ex-alt you in due time; whileyou throw all your anxietyupon him.” (1 Peter 5:6, 7)We need to help a student

to love Jehovah and to have a desire tobe guided by him. This means that hemust love what he learns from the Bi-ble and show “the fruitage of the spir-it” in his life. (Galatians 5:22, 23) Prayerneeds to be very important to him. (Phi-lippians 4:6, 7) And he understands thatit is God who will give him the courageand strength to do what He asks of him.—Read 2 Timothy 1:7, 8.

16 Some students may need help toimprove their reading and speakingabilities. Others may feel that they arenot good enough to serve Jehovah be-cause of some bad things they did be-fore they knew him. In both cases,we can help a student by showing himlove and being patient with him. Jesussaid: “Persons in health do not need a

15, 16. How can we help a Bible student whofeels that he cannot serve Jehovah as well asothers can?

physician, but the ailing do.”—Matthew9:12.

HELP MORE MEN TOLEARN ABOUT JEHOVAH

17 Only the Bible has a message thatcan make people truly happy, and wewant to help as many men as possibleto accept it. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) Howcan we find more men in our preachingwork? We can try to preach in the eve-nings, on weekend afternoons, or dur-ing holidays when more men may be athome. And if possible, we can ask tospeak with the man in the family. Whenappropriate, we can witness to male

workmates. Some sisters in the congre-gation are married to men who are notWitnesses, and we can try to help thesemen to have an interest in the truth.

18 We want to help as many people aspossible to learn the truth. Those whoare searching for the truth will listento the message we preach. We need tobe patient and continue helping all whowant to know the truth. But what canhelp baptized men to have the desire tocare for responsibilities in the congre-gation? The next article will answer thisquestion.

17, 18. (a) How can we talk to more men inour preaching work? (b) What will we studyabout in the next article?

If a man feels thathe is not as good asothers, help him to

have faith in Jehovah

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

ˇ How can we helpmen to decide whatis most importantin life?

ˇ How can we helpBible students notto be afraid of whatpeople think aboutthem?

ˇ How can we helpsomeone who feelsthat he cannot serveJehovah as well asothers can?


27

AT THE end of his account about Je-sus’ life, the apostle John wrote:

“There are, in fact, many other thingsalso which Jesus did, which, if ever theywere written in full detail, I suppose, theworld itself could not contain the scrollswritten.” (John 21:25) Jesusworked hardin the ministry during the short time hewas on earth. During that time, he need-ed to find men whom he could train tocontinue his work after he returned toheaven. In the year 33, he had trainedjust a small group, but it quickly grewto become a congregation of thousandsof preachers.—Acts 2:41, 42; 4:4; 6:7.

2 Today, there are more than sev-en million people who are preachingthe good news in over 100,000 congre-gations around the world. There is aneed for brothers to take the lead inthose congregations. For example, thereis a great need for elders. Brothers whoare “reaching out,” or trying to do moreto serve others in the congregation, are“desirous of a fine work.”—1 Timothy3:1.

3 There are things that a brotherneeds to do before he can qualify to haveresponsibilities in the congregation. Ed-ucation, experience, and abilities arenot what prepare a man for this work.

1. What did Jesus do during his ministry totrain preachers who would become a largecongregation?2, 3. (a) Why is there a need for brothers toserve in the congregations? (b) What will westudy about in this article?

His life must be in agree-ment with what the Biblerequires for brothers whoserve in the congregation.How can we help broth-ers to progress in thetruth and to qualify for re-sponsibilities? “Everyonethat is perfectly instruct-ed will be like his teacher,” said Jesus.(Luke 6:40) In this article, we will talkabout some ways that Jesus trained hisdisciples and what we can learn fromthis training.

“I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS”

4 Jesus did not think that he was bet-ter than his disciples. They were his

friends. He wanted to be with them, andhe trusted them. He said to them: “Allthe things I have heard from my FatherI have made known to you.” (Read John15:15.) Think of how happy the disci-ples must have been when he answeredtheir question: “What will be the sign of

4. How was Jesus a good friend to his disci-ples?

Train Others to Reach Out

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“Everyone that isperfectly instructedwill be like his teacher.”—LUKE 6:40.

There is a greatneed for brotherswho can care for

the congregations


your presence and of theconclusion of the sys-tem of things?” (Matthew24:3, 4) He also want-ed them to know what hewas thinking and feeling.For example, on the nightwhen he was arrested, Je-sus took Peter, James, andJohn into the garden ofGethsemane. He neededto pray at that difficulttime. The three apostlesmay not have heard whathe said in his prayer,but they knew that hewas suffering very much.(Mark 14:33-38) Another

time, he strengthened them when “hewas transfigured before them.” (Mark 9:2-8; 2 Peter 1:16-18) The strong friend-ship between Jesus and his disciplesgave them the strength they needed tocontinue the important work they hadto do.

5 Like Jesus, elders today help theirbrothers and sisters and want to betheir friends. They love them and showthem that they are sincerely interest-ed in them. Sometimes there are situa-tions that the elders cannot talk about.But they do talk to their brothers aboutthe things they have learned from God’sWord. Elders trust their brothers. Theynever think that they are more impor-tant than a ministerial servant who isyounger than they are. Elders under-stand that even young ministerial ser-vants have progressed in the truth andcan keep progressing. They know thatthese young men love Jehovah and are

5. How do elders help others?

serving with them to care for the con-gregation.

“I SET THE PATTERN FOR YOU”

6 Even though Jesus’ disciples lovedGod’s Word, at times their thinking wasaffected by the way they grew up andused to live. (Matthew 19:9, 10; Luke 9:46-48; John 4:27) But Jesus never criti-cized them or got angry with them. Hedid not ask them to do anything thatwas too difficult for them. And he nev-er asked them to do something thathe himself would not do. Jesus taughthis disciples by his good example.—ReadJohn 13:15.

7 How was Jesus an example for hisdisciples? (1 Peter 2:21) He lived a sim-ple life so that he could use his time toserve others. (Luke 9:58) Jesus taughtothers what he had learned from Jeho-vah and did not teach his own ideas.(John 5:19; 17:14, 17) He was kind, andit was easy for people to talk to him.

His actions showed that he loved oth-ers. (Matthew 19:13-15; John 15:12) Je-sus’ good example helped his apostles.It helped James to be courageous and to

6, 7. How was Jesus a good example for hisdisciples? How did his example help them?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Serve God: WorshipJehovah and do his will

ˇ Serve others: Work inthe congregation andin field service as aministerial servant oran elder

ˇ Reach out: Makean effort to serveothers and tomeet Scripturalqualifications

The Bible describeswhat kind of mana brother shouldbe if he desiresto serve others

in the congregation


serve God until James himself was exe-cuted. (Acts 12:1, 2) And John was faith-ful for more than 60 years.—Revelation1:1, 2, 9.

8 Elders can be a good example foryounger men by being humble, by show-ing love, and by using their time and en-ergy to help others. (1 Peter 5:2, 3) Also,elders are happy to be a good example sothat the brothers can imitate their strongfaith, the way they teach, the way theylive as Christians, and how they preach.—Hebrews 13:7.

JESUS GAVE HIS DISCIPLESORDERS AND SENT THEMOUT TO PREACH

9 After Jesus had preached for twoyears, he also sent his 12 apostles out topreach. But first he gave them instruc-tions. (Matthew 10:5-14) Another time,before Jesus fed thousands of peoplewith only a little bit of food, he gave in-structions to his disciples. He told themhow to organize the people so that every-one could have food. (Luke 9:12-17) Je-sus trained his disciples by telling themexactly what they should do and howthey should do it. Because of the trainingthat Jesus gave them and the help theyreceived from the holy spirit, the apos-tles organized a great preaching workthat began in the year 33.

10 Today, we start teaching a manwhen we study the Bible with him. Wemay need to help him to learn to readwell. As we continue to study with him,

8. How can elders be a good example foryounger men and others?9. How do we know that Jesus trained his dis-ciples for the preaching work?10, 11. How can elders and others train mento serve in the congregation?

we also help him in other ways.When hestarts to attend meetings, he will learnwhat he needs to do to participate in theTheocratic Ministry School and becomean unbaptized publisher. After he is bap-tized, the brothers will give him othertraining. For example, theycan train himto repair the Kingdom Hall. Also, the el-ders can help him to understand whathe needs to do to be a ministerial ser-vant.

11 When the elders give a baptizedbrother a responsibility in the congrega-tion, they want to help him do it well.They explain the way that the brothersdo this work in the congregations andshow him clearly what he needs to do. Ifthe work is sometimes hard for him, theelders do not immediately decide thathe is not able to do it. But they kindlyexplain again what he needs to do andhow to do it. The elders enjoy helpinga brother care for his responsibilities be-cause they know that serving others inthe congregation will bring him happi-ness.—Acts 20:35.

“THE ONE LISTENINGTO COUNSEL IS WISE”

12 Another way Jesus trained his dis-ciples was by giving them the counselthey needed at the right time. For exam-ple, when James and John wanted fireto come down from heaven to destroysome Samaritans, Jesus told them thatthey were wrong to want that to hap-pen. (Luke 9:52-55) Another time, themother of James and John asked Jesusif they could have important positions inhis Kingdom. But Jesus knew that it wasJames and John themselves who want-ed these positions, so he said to them:

12. Why was Jesus’ counsel helpful?


“This sitting down at my right hand andat my left is not mine to give, but it be-longs to those for whom it has been pre-pared by my Father.” (Matthew 20:20-23) Jesus always gave counsel that wasclear and that would help people knowhow to act in different situations. It wasalways based on God’s Word. He want-ed his disciples to learn to think and actin agreement with God’s Word. (Mat-thew 17:24-27) Jesus knew that his dis-ciples were not perfect and that therewere some things that they could not do.He gave them counsel because he lovedthem very much.—John 13:1.

13 Every brother who wants to serveothers in the congregation will needcounsel from the Bible at some time inhis life. Proverbs 12:15 says: “The one

13, 14. (a) Who needs counsel? (b) What aresome examples of counsel that elders may givea brother?

listening to counsel is wise.” One youngbrother said that he used to feel that hewas not good enough to serve. He saidthat an elder helped him to understandthat he did not need to be perfect toserve.

14 If the elders notice that a broth-er’s conduct is preventing him from pro-gressing, they will immediately try tohelp him “in a spirit of mildness.” Theywant him to be able to serve others inthe congregation. (Galatians 6:1) At oth-er times, elders need to give counsel tohelp someone adjust his attitude. Forexample, maybe the elders notice thata brother sometimes seems to do lessthan he could. They can encouragehim to think about Jesus’ example. Je-sus worked hard in the preaching workand told his disciples to follow his ex-ample. (Matthew 28:19, 20; Luke 8:1)Maybe a brother wants to be more im-

What trainingcan you provide

your Biblestudent as he

seeks to makeprogress?


portant than others. The elders could ex-plain that Jesus taught his disciples thatthey should not desire to be the great-est. (Luke 22:24-27) Or maybe it is dif-ficult for a brother to forgive others. Theelders could help him by using the il-lustration of the slave who did not wantto forgive others even though others hadforgiven him much. (Matthew 18:21-35)When the elders need to give counsel,they should give it as soon as possible.—Read Proverbs 27:9.

“BE TRAINING YOURSELF”

15 The elders make efforts to trainbrothers to serve in the congregation.But others can also help. For example,a brother’s own family can help him toserve. And if a brother is already an el-der, his wife and children can supporthim as he works hard in the congrega-tion. They understand that he must usesome of his time and energy for others.It makes him happy when his family iswilling to make sacrifices so that he cancare well for his responsibilities. We arethankful for the sacrifices that the fam-ilies of elders make.—Proverbs 15:20; 31:10, 23.

16 Even though others can help him,it is the brother who needs to show thathe has a desire to serve others. (ReadGalatians 6:5.) It is true that a broth-er does not need to be a ministerial ser-vant or an elder to help others and todo his best in the preaching work. But ifa brother desires to serve as a ministeri-al servant or an elder, he must first work

15. How can a brother’s family help him toserve others?16. (a) Who needs to show that he has the de-sire to serve others? (b) What does a brotherneed to do if he desires to serve as a ministeri-al servant or an elder?

hard to qualify. The Bible describes whatkind of man he should try to be. (1 Tim-othy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3) Soif a brother desires to serve as a minis-terial servant or an elder but is not serv-ing as one yet, he should think aboutsome things that he can do to qualify.What can help him? He needs to readand study the Bible regularly, meditate,and pray. And he needs to do his bestin the preaching work. If he does thesethings, he will be following the counselPaul gave to Timothy: “Be training your-self with godly devotion as your aim.”—1 Timothy 4:7.

17 But what if a brother feels that heis not good enough to be a ministerialservant or an elder? It is good for him

to remember how much Jehovah and Je-sus help us. Jehovah promises that hewill carry the load for us. (Psalm 68:19)So Jehovah will help a brother to acceptresponsibilities in the congregation. If abrother is not a ministerial servant oran elder, it would be good for him to re-member that there is a great need forbrothers who can care for the congre-gations. It is also good for him to prayfor Jehovah’s holy spirit because this willhelp him to have peace and self-control.

17, 18. What can a brother do if he feels thathe is not good enough or if he does not havethe desire to serve?

God can helpa brother to have the

desire and strengthto serve others


It can help him to stopfeeling that he is not goodenough. (Luke 11:13; Ga-latians 5:22, 23) We canbe sure that Jehovah willbless brothers who wantto serve others unself-ishly.

18 Maybe a brother doesnot have the desire toserve. What can helphim? The apostle Paulwrote: “God is the onethat, for the sake of hisgood pleasure, is actingwithin you in order foryou both to will and toact.” (Philippians 2:13) ItisGod whohelps a personto have the desire and thestrength to serve othersand to do His will. (Philip-pians 4:13) And a Chris-

tian can pray to God for his help to dowhat is right.—Psalm 25:4, 5.

19 Jehovah will bless the efforts of el-ders who train others. He also blesses

brothers who have the desire to serveothers in the congregation. The Bibleshows that we can be sure that God’speople will have enough brothers to care

19. What does it mean that Jehovah will raiseup “seven shepherds, yes, eight dukes”?

for the congregations. It says that Jeho-vah will raise up “seven shepherds, yes,eight dukes of mankind.” (Micah 5:5)Today, there are many humble brotherswho have the desire to serve others andwho are being trained to care for the con-gregations. This brings praise to Jehovahand many blessings to us.

Jehovah blessesbrothers whowant to serveothers unselfishly

WHAT ARE YOUR

ANSWERS?

ˇ What are some waysthat Jesus trained hisdisciples?

ˇ How can eldersimitate Jesus asthey help brothersto serve others inthe congregation?

ˇ How can a brother’sfamily help him toserve others in thecongregation?

ˇ What does a brotherneed to do to showthat he desires toserve in the congrega-tion?

How can men show thatthey are reaching out?


January 30–February 5Is He a Good Example for Youor a Warning?


February 6-12Why Be Guided by God’s Spirit?PAGE 13 SONGS TO BE USED: 71, 63

February 13-19Faithful Ones of Old—Guided by God’s Spirit


February 20-26Guided by God’s Spiritin the First Century and Today


34567DECEMBER 15, 2011



34567�

DECEMBER 15, 2011



Some people mentioned in the Bible are goodexamples for us, but they may also serve aswarning examples. This article will help usto examine Solomon from both standpoints.What can we learn from him that will help uslive as Christians?


There is a powerful force in the universe thatcan guide us successfully through life in thiswicked world. What is it, why should we wantto be guided by it, and what can we do to ben-efit fully from its influence?


Many servants of God in the past were filledwith holy spirit. In what ways did God’s spiritoperate upon them? Studying how Jehovah di-rected them will be of great encouragement tous in our service.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

3 Making AdjustmentsHas Been Rewarding

27 Do Not Let Illness -Rob You of Joy

31 Do You Remember?

32 Subject Index forThe Watchtower 2011


THE WATCHTOWER ˙ DECEMBER 15, 2011 3

ATTHAT time inparts of theUnited States,white and black Jehovah’s Witnesses

had to have separate congregations, circuits,and districts. In 1937 my father becamecompany servant (nowcalled coordinator ofthe body of elders) of the black congre-gation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Henry

Nichols was company servant of the whiteone.

I have pleasant memories of when I was ayouth sitting on our back porch at night andlistening to Father and Brother Nichols talk.While I did not understand everything theywere talking about, I enjoyed being at Fa-ther’s side as the two discussed how best tocarryon the preaching work under the exist-ing circumstances.

Earlier, in 1930, tragedy hit our family.Mother, who was just 20 years old, died. Fa-ther was left to take care of my four-year-oldsister, Doris, and me, only two years old. Al-though Father had only recently been bap-tized, he made good spiritual progress.

Examples That Shaped My LifeIn1933, Fathermet awonderfulChristian

sister named Lillie Mae Gwendolyn Thom-as, and they soon married. Both Father andMother set a goodexample forDoris andmein loyally serving Jehovah.

Congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesseswere asked in 1938 to support a resolution

MAKINGADJUSTMENTS

HAS BEENREWARDING

˘

AS TOLD BYJAMES A. THOMPSON

When I was born in the southern United States in 1928,segregation of whites and blacks was the law. Breaking it could

lead to imprisonment or worse.

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

My father and Brother Nichols seta fine example for me

4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ DECEMBER 15, 2011

that elders in local congregations be ap-pointed from our headquarters in Brook-lyn, New York, instead of being electedlocally.When some in Chattanooga hesitat-ed to accept the change, Father declaredhis unconditional support of the organiza-tional adjustment. His example of loyalty—along with Mother’s wholehearted co-operation—has helped me to this day.

Baptism and Full-Time MinistryIn 1940 several in our congregation rent-

ed a bus and traveled to the conventionheldinDetroit,Michigan. A few inour bus groupgot baptized there. Some wondered why Idid not, as I had been preaching sincethe age of five and was very active in theministry.

When they asked me about it, I replied, “Idon’t understand all that is involved in bap-tism.” Father overheard me and was sur-prised. From then on, he made extra efforttohelp meunderstandwhat baptismmeansand its importance. On a very cold day fourmonths later, October 1, 1940, I was bap-tized in a pond outside of Chattanooga.

At age 14, I beganpioneering during sum-mer vacations from school. I preached insmall towns inTennessee and the neighbor-ing state of Georgia. I would get up early,pack a lunch, and catch a 6:00 a.m. trainor bus to the territory. I returned about6:00 p.m. The food I packed was oftengone long before lunchtime. Although Ihad money, I could not enter a local storeto purchase any more food because I wasblack. One time, I entered a store to get anice-cream cone and was asked to leave.A white woman kindly brought one outto me.

As I entered high school, the civil rightsmovement was picking up momentum inthe South.Organizations suchas the NAACP

(National Association for the Advancementof Colored People) encouraged student ac-tivism. We were urged to become members.Several black schools, including mine, madeit a goal to have 100-percent membership. Iwas pressured to “support our race,” as it wasput. But I refused, explaining that God is im-partial and does not favor one race over an-other. So I look to God to solve such injus-tices.—John 17:14; Acts 10:34, 35.

Shortly after finishing high school, I de-cided to move toNew YorkCity.On theway,however, I stopped in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania, to visit with friends whom I hadmet earlier at a convention. The congrega-tion there was the first racially mixed onethat I attended. During his visit, the travel-ing overseer took me aside and said that Iwas being assigned a part on the next meet-ing. That made it easier for me to decide tostay there.

Among the friends I made in Philadel-phia was a young sister named GeraldineWhite—Gerri, as I came to call her. She knewthe Bible well and was adept at communi-cating with householders in the door-to-door ministry. Especially important to mewas that she shared my goal of becoming apioneer.Wewere married on April 23,1949.

With Gerri, ready for Gilead, 1952


Invited to GileadOur goal from the start was to attend Gile-

ad School and serve as missionaries in a for-eign country. We were happy to adjust ourcircumstances to qualify for Gilead. Shortly,we were asked to move to Lawnside, NewJersey; then to Chester, Pennsylvania; andfinally to Atlantic City, New Jersey. While inAtlantic City, we qualified to apply for Gile-ad, having been married for two years. Butour invitation was put on hold. What wasthe reason?

During the early part of the 1950’s, manyyoung men were being drafted to serve inthe military and fight in the conflict goingon in Korea. The draft board in Philadelphiaseemed prejudiced against Jehovah’s Wit-nesses because of our neutrality. Finally, I

was informed by a judge that a backgroundcheck on me by the FBI had substantiatedmy neutral stand. So on January 11, 1952,the Presidential Appeal Board granted me a4-D classification as a minister.

In August of that year, Gerri and I receivedan invitation to attend the 20th class of Gile-ad, which started in September. During ourstudies, we anticipated receiving a foreignassignment. My sister, Doris, had graduatedfrom the 13th class of Gilead and was serv-ing in Brazil. How surprised Gerri and I wereto receive an assignment to the circuit work—visiting black congregations in the south-ern state of Alabama! That disappointed ussomewhat, for our hearts had been set onserving in a foreign land.

The first congregation we visited was inHuntsville. Upon arriving, we went to thehome of a Christian sister with whom wewere to stay. As we were unloading ourthings, we overheard her say on the tele-phone, “The children are here.” We wereonly 24 and looked even younger. The nick-name The Children stuck as we served thatcircuit.

The South was often referred to as the Bi-ble Belt because most people there heldthe Bible in high regard. So we frequentlyopened conversations with this three-pointpresentation:

(1) A brief comment on world condi-tions.

(2) The remedy the Bible provides.(3) What the Bible says we must do.Then we offered an appropriate Bible

study aid. Because of the success of this ap-proach, I was assigned a part at the 1953New World Society Assembly in New York.There I demonstrated that three-point pre-sentation.

Soon, in the summer of 1953, I was as-signed to serve black circuits in the South as

After attending Gilead, we were assignedto the traveling work in the South

district overseer. Our territory covered thewhole area from Virginia to Florida and asfar west as Alabama and Tennessee. Yes, trav-eling overseers needed to be adaptable. Forexample, we often stayed in homes that hadno indoor plumbing and bathed in a tin tubbehind the kitchen stove. Happily, that wasthe warmest part of the house!

The Challengeof Racial Segregation

Serving in the South required fore-thought and ingenuity to get things done.Blacks were not allowed to use Laundro-mats. So Gerri would go there and explainthat the clothes were for “Mrs. Thompson.”Many seemed to think that she was a ser-vant and that “Mrs. Thompson” was thelady of the house. When district overseerswere showing the film The New World Soci-ety in Action, I would telephone the shopand reserve a large screen for “Mr. Thomp-son.” Later, I went to the shop and picked itup. We were always polite and generally ful-filled our ministry without trouble.

Therewas another formof prejudice, a re-gional one, against those from the North. Alocal newspaperonce reported that JamesA.

Thompson, Jr., of theWatchtower Bible andTract Society of New York would be speak-ing at an assembly. Some read this to meanthat I was from New York, and our contractfor the use of a school auditorium was can-celed. So I went to the school board and ex-plained that I had gone to school in Chat-tanooga. We were then granted permissionfor our circuit assembly.

Racial tension was heating up in themid-1950’s, and sometimes there was vio-lence. In 1954, some Witnesses tookoffensewhen no black speakers were on the pro-gram at a number of district assemblies. Weencouragedourblackbrothers to bepatient.The following summer, I was assigned as aspeaker. Thereafter, more black brothers inthe South were on the programs.

In time, racial violence in the South di-minished, and congregations gradually be-gan to integrate. This required reassigningpublishers to different congregations aswellas adjusting congregation territories andthe responsibilities of brothers having over-sight. Some, both blacks and whites, did notfavor the new arrangement. The majority,however, were impartial, as is our heavenlyFather. In fact, many were close friends re-gardless of color. Our family had experi-enced that in the 1930’s and 1940’s while Iwas growing up.

A New AssignmentIn January 1969, Gerri and I received an

invitation to go to Guyana, South America,and we happily accepted it. First we went toBrooklyn, New York, where I received train-ing to take oversight of the preaching workin Guyana. We arrived there in July 1969.After 16 years in the traveling work, it was abig adjustment to be situated in one place.Gerri spent most of her days in the field

Traveling overseers and their wives preparingfor an integrated district convention, 1966

6

ministry as amissionary, and Iworked at thebranch office.

My work involved everything from cut-ting the grass and handling literature needsfor the 28 congregations to correspondingwith headquarters in Brooklyn. I was work-ing 14 to 15hours eachday. Itwas hard workfor both of us, but we enjoyed our assign-ment. When we arrived, there were 950publishers in Guyana; today there are over2,500.

Although we enjoyed pleasant temper-atures and exotic fruits and vegetables,our true joy was that humble people whoyearned for Bible truth were learning aboutGod’sKingdom.OftenGerriwould conduct20 weekly Bible studies, and many withwhom we studied progressed to baptism.Some, in time, became pioneers, congrega-tion elders, and even went to Gilead to be-come missionaries themselves.

Challenges,Especially of Health

In 1983 my parents in the United Statesneeded assistance. Doris, Gerri, and I had afamily meeting. Doris, who had served for35 years as a missionary in Brazil, chose to

return and look after them. Why take twomissionaries out of the field, she said, whenone can do the job? Since the death of ourparents, Doris has stayed in Chattanoogaand serves as a special pioneer.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in1995 and had to return to the United States.We settled in Goldsboro, North Carolina,because it was about halfway between myfamily in Tennessee and Gerri’s in Pennsyl-vania. My cancer is now in remission, andwe serve in a Goldsboro congregation as in-firm special pioneers.

As I look back over 65 years in the full-time ministry, I am truly grateful that Jeho-vah has blessed Gerri and me for makingadjustments to serve him. How true arethe words of David: “With someone loy-al [Jehovah] will act in loyalty”!—2 Sam.22:26.

Missionary service in Guyana was a joy

AREyounot convinced that you canbene-fit from what is written in the Bible?

Therein you find examples of faithful menand women whose life course and qualitiesyou would like to imitate. (Heb. 11:32-34)However, you have likely noted warning ex-amples also—men and women whose deedsor attitudes you dowell to avoid.

2 Actually, some individuals mentionedin the Bible stand out both as good exam-ples of the course to follow and as warningsof what to shun. Think of David, a humbleshepherd and then a powerful king. Youfind in him a good example of one wholoved truth and trusted in Jehovah. Yet, Da-vid was guilty of serious wrongs, such asthose involving Bath-sheba, Uriah, and anill-advised census. Let us, though, focus onhis son—aking andalso aBiblewriter—Solo-mon. We will first note two ways in whichhewas a good example.

“The Wisdom of Solomon”3 The Greater Solomon, Jesus Christ,

spoke favorably of King Solomon, settinghim before us as a good example. Jesus toldsome doubting Jews: “The queen of thesouth will be raised up in the judgmentwith this generation and will condemn it;because she came fromtheendsof the earthto hear the wisdom of Solomon, but, look!

1, 2. In what ways can you benefit from Bible ex-amples?3. Why can we say that Solomon set a good exam-ple for us?

something more than Solomon is here.”(Matt. 12:42) Yes, Solomon was famous forhis wisdom, and he urged us to acquire it.

4 At the start of Solomon’s kingship, Godappeared to him in a dreamand invited himtomake a request. Aware of his limited expe-rience, Solomon requested wisdom. (Read1 Kings 3:5-9.) Pleased that the king askedfor wisdom rather than for riches and glory,God gave Solomon “a wise and understand-ing heart”—as well as prosperity. (1 Ki. 3:10-14) As Jesus mentioned, Solomon’s wisdomwas so outstanding that the queen of Shebaheard of it and made a long trip to experi-ence it forherself.—1 Ki.10:1, 4-9.

5 We personally do not expect to receivewisdom miraculously. Solomon said that“Jehovah himself gives wisdom,” but hewrote that we should strive to gain that god-ly quality: “Pay attention to wisdom withyour ear, that you may incline your heart todiscernment.” Related to that, he used ex-pressions such as “call out for,” “keep seek-ing for,” and “keep searching for” wisdom.(Prov. 2:1-6) Clearly, we can gainwisdom.

6 It would be good to ask, ‘Am I takingto heart Solomon’s example of treasuringdivine wisdom?’ Economic uncertaintieshave moved many to concentrate on theirjob and finances or have influenced deci-

4, 5. How did Solomon gain his wisdom, but howis our acquiring of wisdom different?6. In what ways may we show that we are benefit-ing from Solomon’s good example as to wisdom?

IS HE A GOOD EXAMPLEFOR YOU OR A WARNING?

“The God of Jacob . . . will instruct us about his ways,and we will walk in his paths.”—ISA. 2:3.


sions about the type and amount of educa-tion to seek. What about you and yourfamily? Do your choices indicate that youare treasuring and seeking divine wisdom?Would adjusting your focus or goals allowyou to acquire more wisdom? Really, gain-ing and applying wisdom is for your lastinggood. Solomon wrote: “In that case youwill understand righteousness and judg-ment and uprightness, the entire course ofwhat is good.”—Prov. 2:9.

Elevating True WorshipBrought Peace

7 Early in his reign, Solomon took steps toreplace the tabernacle, in use since Moses’day, with a magnificent temple. (1 Ki. 6:1)We may call it Solomon’s temple, but it wasnot his idea or his way to make a name forhimself as an architect or awealthy benefac-tor. In fact, it was David who first proposedbuilding a temple,whereuponGodgaveDa-vid detailed plans for the temple and its fur-nishings. And David made a great contribu-

7. How did God come to have a grand temple?

tion to finance the work. (2 Sam. 7:2, 12, 13;1 Chron. 22:14-16) Still, it fell on Solomonto carry out this building project that wenton for seven and a half years.—1 Ki. 6:37, 38;7:51.

8 Thus Solomon set a good example forus of persevering in good works, and hekept the right focus. When the templewas finished and the ark of the covenantwas placed in it, Solomon offered a publicprayer. In part, he prayed to Jehovah: “[Mayyour] eyes . . . prove tobeopened toward thishouse night and day, toward the place ofwhich you said, ‘My name will prove to bethere,’ to listen to the prayer with whichyour servant prays toward this place.” (1 Ki.8:6, 29) Israelites and foreigners could praytoward this structure on which God’s namewas called.—1 Ki. 8:30, 41-43, 60.

9 What resulted from Solomon’s elevat-ing of true worship? After celebrating thetemple’s inauguration, the people were “re-joicing and feeling merry of heart over allthe goodness that Jehovah had performedfor David his servant and for Israel.” (1 Ki.

8, 9. (a) We find in Solomon what good exampleas to persevering in good works? (b) What resultedfrom Solomon’s elevating of true worship?

Solomon applied God-given wisdom

8:65, 66) In fact, remarkable peace andprosperity marked Solomon’s 40-year reign.(Read 1 Kings 4:20, 21, 25.) Psalm 72 re-flects that and gives us insight into theblessings we will enjoy under the rule ofthe Greater Solomon, Jesus Christ.—Ps. 72:6-8,16.

Solomon’s Warning Example10 Why, though, can we say that Solo-

mon’s life course is also awarningexample?You may think first of his foreign wives andconcubines. We read: “It came about in thetime of Solomon’s growing old that hiswives themselves had inclined his heart tofollow other gods; and his heart did notprove to be complete with Jehovah.” (1 Ki.11:1-6) Undoubtedly, you are determinednever to imitate his foolish course. But isthat the only warning we find in Solomon’slife? Consider some details of his life thatare easily overlooked, and see what warningyou find.

11 Solomonreigned for 40years. (2Chron.9:30) Hence, what can you conclude from1 Kings 14:21? (Read.) According to thatverse, upon Solomon’s death his son Reho-boam became king at age 41, his mother be-ing “Naamah the Ammonitess.” This meansthat before Solomon became king, he mar-ried a foreigner from an enemy nation thatserved idol gods. (Judg. 10:6; 2 Sam. 10:6)Did sheworship them?Even if she did at onetime, she may have turned away from idolsand may have become a true worshipper, asdid Rahab and Ruth. (Ruth 1:16; 4:13-17;Matt. 1:5, 6) Still, Solomon likely came tohave Ammonite in-laws and relatives whodid not serve Jehovah.

10. What failing on Solomon’s part may readilycome to mind?11. We can conclude what about Solomon’s firstmarriage?

12 And things definitely took a bad turnafter he became king. Solomon formed “amarriage alliance with Pharaoh the king ofEgypt and [took] Pharaoh’s daughter and[brought] her to the City of David.” (1 Ki.3:1) Did this Egyptian woman imitate Ruthby taking up true worship? Nothing indi-cates that she did so. Rather, in time Solo-mon built a house for her (and perhaps herEgyptian maids) outside the City of David.Why? The Scriptures say that he did so be-cause it was not fitting for a false worship-per to dwell near the ark of the covenant.—2 Chron. 8:11.

13 Solomon may have seen political ad-vantages in marrying an Egyptian princess,yet couldhe justify it? Long before,God hadforbidden the marrying of pagan Canaan-ites, even listing certain peoples. (Ex. 34:11-16) Did Solomon reason that Egypt was notone of those listed nations? Even if he rea-soned that way, would such rationalizing bevalid? Actually, his course ignored the clearrisk that Jehovah had mentioned—that ofturning an Israelite from true worship tofalse.—Read Deuteronomy 7:1-4.

14 Willwe let Solomon’s course be awarn-ing example for us? A sister might attemptto rationalize forming a romantic link thatignores God’s directive to marry “only inthe Lord.” (1 Cor. 7:39) With similar ratio-nalizing, one might share in extracurricularsports or clubs at school, underreport tax-able income, or tell untruths when asked toreveal actions that could be embarrassing.The point is, Solomon must have used im-perfect reasoning to get around what Godcommanded, and that same danger existsfor us.

12, 13. Solomon made what poor decision early inhis reign, and how might he have reasoned?14. How might we benefit from taking to heart Sol-omon’s warning example?


15 It is interesting that after mentioningSolomon’s marriage to that foreign prin-cess, the Bible relates that God granted hisrequest for wisdom, and He also added rich-es. (1 Ki. 3:10-13) Solomon had ignoredGod’s instructions, yet there is no indica-tion that Jehovah quickly rejected him asking or strongly disciplined him. That ac-cords with the fact that God realizes that weare imperfect humans, made from dust. (Ps.103:10, 13, 14) Remember though: Our ac-tions can have consequences now or per-haps down the line.

So Many Wives!16 In the Song of Solomon, the king said

admiringly of a certain virgin that she wasmore beautiful than 60 queens and 80 con-cubines. (Song of Sol. 6:1, 8-10) If that refersto Solomon’s situation, he had acquiredthat many women at that point in his reign.Even if most or all of them were true wor-shippers, God’s direction through Moseswas that a king of Israel should “not multi-ply wives forhimself, that his heart may notturn aside.” (Deut. 17:17) Again, though, Je-hovah did not simply turn away from Solo-mon. In fact, God still blessed Solomon, us-ing him to compose the Bible book Song ofSolomon.

17 Does this suggest that Solomon couldignore God’s direction with impunity orthat we can do so? No. Rather, it shows thatGod’s forbearance can go on for some time.Yet, that one of God’s people can ignore hisdirection with no immediate negative con-sequence does not mean that there will be

15. How did Jehovah show mercy in dealing withSolomon, but what should we remember aboutthat?16. In taking many wives, what was Solomon ig-noring?17. What reality should we not ignore?

no sad outcome eventually. Recall what Sol-omon wrote: “Because sentence against abad work has not been executed speedily,that is why the heart of the sons of men hasbecome fully set in them to do bad.” Headded: “I am also aware that it will turn outwell with those fearing the true God, be-cause they were in fear of him.”—Eccl. 8:11,12.

18 If only Solomon had kept heeding thatdivine truth! Yes, he had done much goodand had long enjoyed divine blessings. Butover time, he tookone false step after anoth-er. A bad pattern developed. How true whatthe apostle Paul was later inspired to write:“Do not be misled: God is not one to bemocked. For whatever a man is sowing, thishe will also reap”! (Gal. 6:7) In time, Sol-omon reaped sad fruitage from ignoringGod’s direction. We read: “King Solomonhimself loved many foreign wives alongwith the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite,Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittitewomen.” (1Ki.11:1) Manyof those likely re-mained attached to false gods, and Solo-mon was not immune. He went astray andlost the favor of our patient God.—Read1 Kings 11:4-8.

Learn From His Example—Good and Bad

19 Jehovah kindly inspired Paul to write:“All the things that were written afore-time were written for our instruction, thatthrough our endurance and through thecomfort from the Scriptures we might havehope.” (Rom. 15:4) Those written things in-clude many good examples, men and wom-en of outstanding faith. Paul could say:

18. How did Solomon’s case illustrate the truth wefind at Galatians 6:7?19. Why can you say that the Bible contains manygood examples?


“Whatmore shall I say? For the timewill failme if I go on to relate about Gideon, Barak,Samson, Jephthah, David as well as Samu-el and the other prophets, who throughfaith defeated kingdoms in conflict, effect-ed righteousness, obtained promises, . . .from a weak state were made powerful.”(Heb. 11:32-34) We can and should benefitfrom the good examples found in the Scrip-tures, following or imitating what is pre-sented in those fine Biblical accounts.

20 Certain Bible accounts, however, in-clude warning examples. We can find someof those in the lives of men and womenwhom Jehovah at one point accepted andused as his servants. As we read the Bible, wecannotewhere andhow someofGod’s peo-ple went astray and thus became warningexamples. We can discern that some gradu-ally developed wrong attitudes or tenden-cies, which eventually produced sad conse-quences. How can we draw lessons from

20, 21. Why are you determined to benefit fromwarning examples found in God’s Word?

such accounts? We may want to ask our-selves such questions as: ‘How did that de-velop? Might such a trend develop in mycase? What can I do to avoid that and in-stead to benefit from this warning exam-ple?’

21 We certainly should consider these ex-amples seriously, for Paul was inspired towrite: “These thingswentonbefalling themas examples, and they were written for awarning to us upon whom the ends of thesystems of things have arrived.”—1 Cor.10:11.

Are you benefiting fromthe warning example

involving Solomon?

What Have You Learned?˙ Why can you find both good

examples and warning examplesin the Bible?

˙ How did Solomon allow a badpattern to develop in his life?

˙ How can you benefit fromSolomon’s warning example?


HAVE you ever used a compass to findyour way?Acompass is a simple device

with only one moving part—a magneticneedle pointing toward the north. Becauseof an invisible force known as magnetism,the needle of the compass aligns itself withthe magnetic field surrounding the earthbetween its poles. For centuries, explorersand travelers have used the compass toguide their wayover land and sea.

2 There is another invisible force that iseven more essential for our guidance. Whatis it? The one described in the opening vers-esof theBible. Speakingofwhat Jehovahac-complished aeons ago, Genesis states: “Inthe beginning God created the heavens andthe earth.”As he did so, he sent forth a pow-erful force, for the creation account adds:“God’s active force was moving to and fro.”(Gen. 1:1, 2) What was at work? Holy spirit—the dynamic force behind creation. Weowe our existence to Jehovah’s use of thisspirit to produce all his works.—Job 33:4; Ps.104:30.

3 As living, breathing humans, should weexpectGod’s active force tohave any furthereffect on our lives? God’s own Son knewthatwe should, for Jesus said tohis disciples:“The spirit . . . will guide you into all thetruth.” (John 16:13) How are we to under-

1. Illustrate how an invisible force can guide a per-son.2, 3. (a) What powerful force did Jehovah useaeons ago? (b) Why should we expect God’s invisi-ble active force to guide our lives today?

stand what this spirit is, and why should wewant to be guided by it?

The Nature of Holy Spirit4 Likely, some of the people you talk to in

the ministry believe in what the King JamesVersion and some other Bible translationscall the Holy Ghost. Trinitarians wronglythink that this is a spirit person equal withGod the Father. (1 Cor. 8:6) It is noteworthy,however, that throughout The Webster Bible,an amended King James Version originallypublished in 1833, American lexicographerNoah Webster replaced “Holy Ghost” with“Holy Spirit.” Webster did so because heknew that in the Scriptures this expressiondid not mean “an apparition.”�

5 What, then, is the true nature of holyspirit? A footnote at Genesis 1:2 in theNew World Translation of the Holy Scrip-tures—With References states: “Besides beingtranslated ‘spirit,’ ru�ach [Hebrew] is alsotranslated ‘wind’ and by other words thatdenote an invisible active force.” (Comparefootnotes at Genesis 3:8; 8:1.) Just as wind isinvisible but exerts force, so the immaterial,impersonal holy spirit is unseen but pro-duces effects. This spirit is energy from God

� In the preface of his Bible, Webster wrote: “When-ever words are understood in a sense different from thatwhich they had when introduced, and different fromthat of the original languages, they do not present to thereader the Word of God.”

4, 5. (a) What do Trinitarians wrongly think thatthe holy spirit is? (b) How would you explain thetrue nature of holy spirit?

WHY BE GUIDED BYGOD’S SPIRIT?

“You are my God. Your spirit is good; may it lead me.”—PS. 143:10.


projected and exerted onpeople or things toaccomplish his will. Is it hard to believe thatsuch a marvelous force emanates from theholy Source, Almighty God? Not at all!—Read Isaiah 40:12,13.

6 Can Jehovah continue to use his spirit toguide us through life? He promised thepsalmist David: “I shall make you have in-sight and instruct you in the way you shouldgo.” (Ps. 32:8) Did David want that? Yes, forhe appealed to Jehovah: “Teach me to doyour will, for you are my God. Your spirit isgood; may it lead me.” (Ps. 143:10) Weshould have the same desire and willingnessto be guided by God’s spirit. Why so? Con-sider four reasons.

We Are Not Qualifiedto Guide Ourselves

7 First, we should want to be guided byGod’s spirit because we are not capable ofguiding ourselves. “To guide” means “to di-rect in a course or show the way to be fol-lowed.” However, Jehovah did not create uswith the ability to do that for ourselves, espe-cially not in our imperfect condition. Hisprophet Jeremiah wrote: “O Lord, I am con-scious that a man’s way is not in himself:man has no power of guiding his steps.” (Jer.10:23, The Bible in Basic English) And whynot? Jeremiah heard God’s analysis of whywe are impaired when it comes to directingourselves. Speaking of the person we are in-side, Jehovah said: “The heart is more treach-erous than anything else and is desperate.Who can know it?”—Jer.17:9; Matt.15:19.

8 Would it not be foolhardy for an inexpe-rienced person to set off alone, without a

6. What significant appeal did David make to Jeho-vah?7, 8. (a) Why are we not able to guide ourselves in-dependentof God? (b) Illustratewhy we dare not tryto find our own way through this wicked system ofthings.

skilled guide and not so much as a compass,hiking deep into an uncharted wilderness?Not knowing how to survive inhospitableconditions in the wild and not having theexpertise tofindhisway safely tohis destina-tion, he would be putting his life in jeopar-dy. So, too, the personwho thinks he can di-rect his course through this wicked worldwithout allowing God to show him the rightway is placing his life in grave danger. Theonly chance we have of traversing this sys-tem of things successfully is to make thesame prayerful request to Jehovah that Da-vid did: “Let my steps take hold on yourtracks, in which my footsteps will certainlynot be made to totter.” (Ps.17:5; 23:3) How isit possible to receive such guidance?

9 If we are humble and willing to dependon Jehovah, he will impart to us his holy

9. As depicted on page 17, how can God’s spiritserve as a sure guide for us?


spirit as a sure guide for our steps. How willthat active force help us? Jesus explained tohis disciples: “The helper, the holy spirit,which the Father will send in my name, thatone will teach you all things and bring backto your minds all the things I told you.”(John 14:26) As we regularly and prayerfullystudy God’s Word, including all the sayingsof Christ, holy spirit will increase our com-prehension of Jehovah’s deep wisdom, sothat we can follow his will closely. (1 Cor. 2:10) Additionally, at any unexpected turn inthe road to life, the spirit will show us theway to go. It will bring to mind Bible princi-ples that we have already learned and helpus to grasp how they apply in directing ournext step.

Jesus Was Guided by God’s Spirit10 A second reason why we should want to

be guided by holy spirit is that God led hisown Son by it. Before coming to earth,the only-begotten Son of God knew of the

10, 11. What expectation did the only-begottenSon of God have regarding holy spirit, and what didhe experience?

prophecy: “Upon him the spirit of Jehovahmust settle down, the spirit of wisdom andofunderstanding, the spiritof counsel andofmightiness, the spirit of knowledge and ofthe fear of Jehovah.” (Isa. 11:2) Just imaginehow eager Jesus was to receive the help ofGod’s spirit while residing in the environ-ment that he faced here on earth!

11 Jehovah’s words came true. The Gospelrecord states what happened immediately af-ter Jesus’ baptism: “Now Jesus, full of holyspirit, turned away from the Jordan, and hewas led aboutby the spirit in thewilderness.”(Luke 4:1) There, while Jesus was fasting,praying, and meditating, Jehovah likely in-structed and enlightened his Son about whatlay ahead for him. God’s active force was atwork on Jesus’ mind and heart, guiding histhinking and decisions. As a result, Jesusknew what to do in each situation, and hedid exactly what his Father wanted himto do.

12 Knowing the value of the effects ofGod’s spirit in his own life, Jesus impressedon his disciples the importance of their ask-ing for and being led by holy spirit. (ReadLuke 11:9-13.) Why is that so necessary forus? Because it can transformour thinking, sothat it resembles the mind of Christ. (Rom.12:2; 1Cor. 2:16) By letting God’s spirit guideour lives, we can think as Christ does and im-itate his example.—1 Pet. 2:21.

The World’s SpiritWould Lead Us Astray

13 The third reason for wanting God’s spir-it to guide us is that without it we could be

12. Why is it necessary that we ask for God’s spiritto lead us?13. What is the world’s spirit, and what does it pro-duce?

God’s spirit was animpelling force in Jesus’ life

led astray by the unholy spirit that is at workin the lives of most people today. The worldhas its own powerful, impelling force that fo-ments a course totally opposite of what holyspirit can produce in us. Rather than foster-ing in people the mind of Christ, the world’sspirit causes their thinking and actions to re-semble those of the ruler of the world, Satan.(Read Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3.) When aperson gives in to the world’s spirit and takesup practicing the works of the flesh, graveconsequences result, preventing him frominheriting God’s Kingdom.—Gal. 5:19-21.

14 Jehovah has equipped us to resist thespirit of the world. The apostle Paul said to“go on acquiring power in the Lord and inthe mightiness of his strength . . . that youmaybe able to resist in thewickedday.” (Eph.6:10,13) Bymeansofhis spirit, Jehovah forti-fies us towithstand Satan’s efforts to misleadus. (Rev. 12:9) The spirit of the world isstrong, and we cannot avoid it altogether.However, we do not have to be corrupted byit. Holy spirit is even stronger, and it willhelp us!

15 Of thosewho forsookChristianity in thefirst century, the apostle Peter said: “Aban-doning the straight path, they have beenmisled.” (2 Pet. 2:15) How very thankful wecan be that we have received, “not the spiritof the world, but the spirit which is fromGod”! (1Cor. 2:12)With thehelp of its influ-ence and by taking full advantage of all of Je-hovah’s provisions to keep us on the rightpath spiritually, we can succeed in resist-ing the satanic spirit of this wicked world.—Gal. 5:16.

Holy Spirit Produces Good Fruitage16 A fourth reason for wanting God’s spirit

to work within us is that it produces healthy

14, 15. Howcanwe succeed in resisting the spirit ofthe world?16. What fruitage can holy spirit produce in us?

fruitage in the lives of those who are led byit. (Read Galatians 5:22, 23.) Who amongus would not want to be more loving, joyful,and peaceable? Who of us would not liketo abound in long-suffering, kindness, andgoodness? Who of us would not benefitfromdeveloping greater faith,mildness, andself-control? God’s spirit produces in us finequalities that benefit us and those withwhom we live and serve. Cultivating thisfruitage is a constant work in progress, sincethere is no limit to the amount of the spirit’sfruitage that we need and are permitted toproduce.

17 We are wise to take stock of ourselves tobe sure that our words and actions give evi-dence that we are directed by holy spirit andare producing its fruitage. (2 Cor. 13:5a; Gal.5:25) If we see that we need to cultivatesome aspects of the fruitage of the spirit, wecan cooperate with holy spirit to a greaterdegree in producing such qualities. We dothis by studying each aspect as it is revealedthrough the pages of the Bible and discussedin our Christian publications. Thus we candiscern how the spirit’s fruitage should bemanifested in our everyday life and thenwork to cultivate it to a greater extent.�As weobserve the results of the operation of God’sspirit in our own life as well as in the lives ofour fellow Christians, we clearly see why wemust be guided by it.

Are You Yielding to God’s Spirit?18 As God’s “master worker” in the cre-

ationof the physical universe, Jesus knewall

� For a discussion of each aspect, see the subject“Fruitage of God’s Spirit” and the heading “List by As-pect” in the Watch Tower Publications Indexes.

17. Howcanwe cultivate an aspect of the fruitage ofthe spirit to a greater extent?18. How is Jesus a model for us in responding toGod’s spirit?


about the earth’s magnetic field, which hu-mans use to navigate the earth. (Prov. 8:30;John 1:3) However, there is no evidence inthe Bible that Jesus ever used that force toguide his way when he was on earth. The Bi-ble does report that as a human, he experi-enced what a powerful force God’s holy spir-it was in his life. He welcomed its influence,and when it impelled him, he yielded andacted accordingly. (Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:14)Are you of that sort?

19 God’s active force still operates on will-ing minds and hearts to move and guidethem. How can you let it work upon you tolead you in the right direction? Pray con-stantly to Jehovah that he send you his spiritand help you yield to its influence. (Read

19. What must we do for holy spirit to become theguiding force in our life?

Ephesians 3:14-16.) Work in harmony withyour prayers by searching out the counselfound in God’s written Word, the Bible—aproduct of holy spirit. (2 Tim. 3:16,17) Obeythe wise instructions it offers, and then re-spond eagerly to the leading of holy spirit.Act with faith in Jehovah’s ability to guideyou properly through life in this wickedworld.

God’s spirit operates on minds and hearts to move and guide them

Did You Get the Main Points?˙ How can holy spirit affect our lives?˙ What are four reasons why we

should want to be guided byGod’s spirit?

˙ How can we do our part to ben-efit fully from the leading of holyspirit?



THOUGH it has been in evidence sincethe days of Abel, “faith is not a posses-

sion of all people.” (2 Thess. 3:2) So whydoes a personhave this quality, andwhat en-ables him to be faithful? To a large extent,faith follows the things heard from God’sWord. (Rom. 10:17) It is an aspect of thefruitage of God’s holy spirit. (Gal. 5:22,23) Therefore, to demonstrate and exercisefaith, we need holy spirit.

2 It would be a mistake to conclude thatmen and women of faith are born that way,that faith comes naturally. The exemplaryservantswe read about in theBiblewere peo-ple “with feelings like ours.” (Jas. 5:17) Theyhaddoubts, insecurities, andweaknesses but“weremade powerful” byGod’s spirit to facechallenges. (Heb.11:34) By considering howJehovah’s spirit operated on them, we todaywill be encouraged to continue inour courseof faithfulness, living as we do at this timewhen our faith is under attack.

God’s Spirit Empowered Moses3 Of all humans alive in 1513 B.C.E., Mo-

ses was “by far the meekest.” (Num. 12:3)This mild-tempered servant was entrustedwith enormous responsibility in the nationof Israel. God’s spirit empowered Moses toprophesy, judge, write, lead, and perform

1, 2. What is needed in order to demonstrate faith,and what encouragement will we find by consider-ing faithful ones of old?3-5. (a) How do we know that Moses acted withthe help of holy spirit? (b) What does Moses’ exam-ple teach us about Jehovah’s giving his spirit?

miracles. (Read Isaiah 63:11-14.) Yet, at onepoint, Moses lamented that the load wassimply too heavy. (Num. 11:14, 15) So Jeho-vah took “away some of the spirit” that wasupon Moses and put it on 70 others to helpcarry the workload. (Num. 11:16, 17) Al-though Moses’ load seemed too heavy, hehad, in fact, not been carrying it alone—nei-ther would the 70whowere appointed to as-sist him carry it alone.

4 Moses had been given holy spirit suf-ficient for the task. After the change, Mosesstill had all the spirit that he needed. Mosesdid not have too little, and the 70 older mendid not have too much. Jehovah supplies asmuch of his spirit as we need, according toour circumstances. “He does not give thespirit by measure” but gives “from out of hisfullness.”—John 1:16; 3:34.

5 Are you enduring trials? Are legitimatedemands on your time increasing? Are youstriving toprovide for the spiritual andphys-ical needs of your family while coping withrising expenses or anxieties over health? Areyou carrying weighty responsibilities in thecongregation? Be assured that by means ofhis spirit, God can give you the strengthyou need to cope with any situation.—Rom.15:13.

Holy Spirit Made Bezalel Qualified6 The experience of Moses’ contemporary

6-8. (a) What did God’s spirit enable Bezalel andOholiab to do? (b) What shows that Bezalel andOholiabwere guided by God’s spirit? (c) Why is Bez-alel’s experience particularly encouraging?

FAITHFUL ONES OF OLD—GUIDED BY GOD’S SPIRIT

“The Sovereign Lord Jehovah himself has sent me, even his spirit.”—ISA. 48:16.


Bezalel reveals much about the way God’sspirit can operate. (Read Exodus 35:30-35.)Bezalel was appointed to take the lead inmaking the necessary furnishings for thetabernacle. Did he have knowledge of craftsprior to this vast project? Possibly, but in alllikelihood his most recent job was that ofmaking bricks for the Egyptians. (Ex. 1:13,14) So how would Bezalel fulfill his compli-cated task? Jehovah “proceeded to fill himwith the spirit of God in wisdom, in under-standing and in knowledge and in everysort of craftsmanship and for designing de-vices . . . to make ingenious products ofevery sort.” Whatever natural aptitude Bez-alel may have had was enhanced by holyspirit. The same is true of Oholiab. Bezaleland Oholiab must have learned well, forthey not only performed their duties butalso taughtotherswhat todo.Yes,Godput itinto their hearts to teach.

7 Another testimony that Bezalel andOholiab were guided by God’s spirit is theamazing durability of their work. Their pro-ductions were still in use some 500 yearslater. (2 Chron. 1:2-6) Unlike modern-daymanufacturers, Bezalel and Oholiab had nointerest in leaving their signature or trade-mark on their work. All credit went to Jeho-vah for their accomplishments.—Ex. 36:1, 2.

8 Today, we may be faced with dauntingtasks requiring special skills, such as build-ing, printing, organizing conventions, ad-ministering disaster relief, and communi-cating with doctors and hospital personnelabout our Scriptural position on the use ofblood. At times, these deeds are performedby skilled workers, but more often they arecarried out by volunteers without muchbackground in a specific field. God’s spiritmakes their efforts succeed. Have you heldback from accepting an assignment in Jeho-

vah’s service, feeling that others were morequalified than you? Remember, Jehovah’sspirit can enhance yourknowledge and abil-ities and help you to fulfill any assignmenthe gives you.

Joshua SucceededWith the Help of God’s Spirit

9 God’s spirit also guided a contempo-rary of Moses and Bezalel. Shortly after theExodus, the Amalekites launched an un-provoked attack on God’s people. The timehad come for the Israelites to repel thethreat. Although totally unaccustomed towar, the Israelites had to engage in their firstmilitary action as a freed people. (Ex. 13:17;17:8) Someone was needed to lead the fight-ing force. Whowould it be?

10 Joshuawas chosen. But if hehad to statehis previous work experience to qualify forthat mission, what could he have listed?Slave laborer? Straw mixer? Manna gather-er? True, Joshua’s grandfather Elishama waschieftain of the tribe of Ephraim and appar-ently led 108,100 men of one of the three-tribe divisions of Israel. (Num. 2:18, 24;1 Chron. 7:26, 27) Yet, Jehovah directedthrough Moses that, neither Elishama norhis sonNun, but Joshuawas to lead the forcethat would vanquish the enemy. The battlelasted the greater part of a day. With Josh-ua’s implicit obedience and his keen appre-ciation for the guidance of God’s holy spirit,Israel proved victorious.—Ex.17:9-13.

11 Later Joshua, “full of the spirit of wis-dom,” succeeded Moses. (Deut. 34:9) Holyspirit did not produce in him the ability to

9. In what circumstance did the Israelites findthemselves after the Exodus, and what questionarose?10. Why did the Israelites under Joshua prove victo-rious in combat?11. How can we succeed in sacred service as Joshuadid?


prophesy or to perform miracles as it had inMoses, but it did enable Joshua to lead Isra-el in the military campaign that broughtabout the conquest of Canaan. Today, wemay feel inexperienced or underqualified tocarry out certain aspects of our sacred ser-vice. Yet, like Joshua, we are assured of suc-cess if we adhere closely to divine instruc-tion.—Josh.1:7-9.

“Jehovah’s Spirit Enveloped Gideon”12 After Joshua’s death, Jehovah contin-

ued to demonstrate how his power canstrengthen faithful ones. The bookof Judgesis replete with accounts of humans who“from a weak state were made powerful.”(Heb. 11:34) By means of holy spirit, Godimpelled Gideon to fight in behalf of Hispeople. (Judg. 6:34) The army Gideon as-sembled, however, was outnumbered by theMidianite menace 4 to 1. In Jehovah’s eyeseven that small Israelite regimentwas far toonumerous. He twice decreed that Gideonscale back the army until the enemy out-numbered Israelite fighters 450 to 1. (Judg.7:2-8; 8:10) These were odds that Jehovah fa-vored. If a stunning victorywas to take place,who could brag that it was wrought by hu-man effort or wisdom?

13 Gideon and his troops were almostready. Had you been part of that little band,would you have felt secure in the knowledgethat your company had now beenpruned ofits fearful and less-than-vigilant ones? Orwould you have had a twinge of trepidationas you contemplated how matters mightworkout? We do not have to guess how Gid-eon felt. He did what he was told to do!(Read Judges 7:9-14.) Jehovah did not re-

12-14. (a) That 300 men could rout the over-whelming Midianite horde reveals what? (b) Howdid Jehovah reassure Gideon? (c) We receive whatdivine reassurance today?

proach Gideon for having asked for a signas evidence that God would be with him.(Judg. 6:36-40) Rather, he strengthenedGid-eon’s faith.

14 Jehovah’s power to save is infinite. Hecan deliver his people from any predica-ment, even doing so by using those who ap-pear weak or helpless. Sometimes we mayfeel outnumbered or in desperate straits. Wedo not expect miraculous affirmation suchas Gideon received, but we can draw abun-dant guidance and reassurance from God’sWord and through his spirit-directed con-gregation. (Rom. 8:31, 32) Jehovah’s lovingpromises fortify our faith and convince usthat he really is our Helper!

“Jehovah’s Spirit NowCame Upon Jephthah”

15 Consider another example. When theIsraelites had to confront the Ammonites inbattle, Jehovah’s spirit “came upon Jeph-thah.” Eager for victory to Jehovah’s praise,Jephthah made a vow that proved costly. Hevowed that if God gave Ammon into Jeph-thah’s hand, the first one to come out of thedoor when he returned home would be Je-hovah’s. As Jephthah returned from subdu-ing Ammon, his daughter came running tomeet him. (Judg. 11:29-31, 34) Did thiscome as a surprise to Jephthah? Not likely,forhe had but one child.He fulfilled his vowbydevotinghis daughter to exclusive serviceat Jehovah’s sanctuary at Shiloh. Being a loy-alworshipperof Jehovah, Jephthah’s daugh-ter was convinced that her father’s vowshould be carried out. (Read Judges 11:36.) Jehovah’s spirit gave both of them thestrength they needed.

16 How had Jephthah’s daughter devel-oped such a spirit of self-sacrifice? No doubt

15, 16. Why did Jephthah’s daughter have a fineattitude, and how is this encouraging to parents?


her faith was built up as she observed her fa-ther’s zeal and godly devotion. Parents, yourexample does not gounnoticed by your chil-dren. Your decisions communicate that youbelieve what you say. Your children ob-serve how your fervent prayers and effectiveteaching combine with your example ofwhat it means to serve Jehovah with a com-plete heart. As your children do so, they willlikely develop a strong desire to make them-selves available to Jehovah for his service.This is a cause for rejoicing.

“Jehovah’s Spirit BecameOperative Upon” Samson

17 Consider another example. When Israelfell captive to the Philistines, “in time Jeho-vah’s spirit started to impel” Samson todeliv-er Israel. (Judg. 13:24, 25) Samson was em-powered to perform deeds of astonishing,incomparable strength.When the Philistinespersuaded Samson’s fellow Israelites to cap-ture him, “Jehovah’s spirit became operativeupon him, and the ropes that were upon hisarms came to be like linen threads that havebeen scorched with fire, so that his fettersmelted off his hands.” (Judg. 15:14) Evenfrom the physically weakened state brought

17. What did Samson do by means of God’s spirit?

on by his own poor judgment, Samson wasmade powerful “through faith.” (Heb. 11:32-34; Judg.16:18-21, 28-30) Jehovah’s spirit op-eratedonSamson in auniquewaybecause ofunusual circumstances. Still, these historicalevents are of great encouragement to us.How so?

18 We rely on the same holy spirit thatSamson did. We do so as we carry out thework Jesus gave his followers, namely, “topreach to the people and to give a thoroughwitness.” (Acts 10:42) This assignment callsfor skills that may not come naturally. Howgrateful we are that Jehovah uses his spirit toenable us to accomplish the wide variety oftasks that we are entrusted with! Thus, as

18, 19. (a) Samson’s experience provides what as-surance for us? (b) How have you benefited fromconsidering the examples of faithful ones in this ar-ticle?

Parents, your zealous exampleresonates with your children

Why are you encouragedto know how God’s spirit

operated upon . . .˙ Moses? ˙ Bezalel?˙ Joshua? ˙ Gideon?˙ Jephthah? ˙ Samson?


we carry out our commis-sion, we can say as did theprophet Isaiah: “The Sov-ereign Lord Jehovah him-self has sent me, even hisspirit.” (Isa. 48:16) Yes, it isGod’s spirit that has sentus! We set our hearts tothe work with the assurancethat Jehovah will enhanceour qualifications as he didforMoses, Bezalel, and Josh-ua. We take up “the swordof the spirit, that is, God’sword,” confident that hewill empower us as he em-powered Gideon, Jephthah,and Samson. (Eph. 6:17,18) By leaning on Je-hovah for his help in overcoming obstacles,

we can be as mighty spiritu-ally as Samson was physi-cally.

19 Clearly, Jehovah bless-es those who take a boldstand for true worship. Aswe respond to the opera-tion of God’s holy spirit,our faith abounds. It will bea pleasure, therefore, to re-view also some of the excit-ing events recorded in theChristian Greek Scriptures.That will reveal how Jeho-vah’s spirit operated uponhis faithful servants in thefirst century, both before

and after Pentecost 33 C.E. These accountswill be considered in the following article.

God’s spirit canmake us as mighty

spiritually as Samsonwas physically

PENTECOST. What thrilling events thatone word brings to mind! (Acts 2:1-4)

The outpouring of holy spirit on that occa-sion in the first century marked a mo-mentous change in God’s dealings with hisservants. In the preceding article, we consid-ered some of the ways in which God’s spiritenabled faithful ones of old to carry out dif-ficult and detailed assignments. But what is

1. What points will we consider in this study?

the difference between the way God’s spiritoperated in pre-Christian times and the wayit worked in the first century? And how doChristians benefit from the action of God’sholy spirit today? Let us see.

“Look! Jehovah’s Slave Girl!”2 Mary was present in that large upper

room in Jerusalem when the promised holy

2. How had Mary seen the effect of holy spirit?

GUIDED BY GOD’S SPIRITIN THE FIRST CENTURY

AND TODAY“All these operations the one and the same spirit performs.”—1 COR. 12:11.


spirit was poured out. (Acts 1:13, 14) Yet, formore than three decades prior to that event,she had seen the effect of Jehovah’s spirit inremarkable ways. Jehovah had transferredhis Son’s life from heaven to earth, causingconception in Mary’s womb while she wasstill a virgin. What had been begotten in herwas “by holy spirit.”—Matt.1:20.

3 Why had Mary been favored with thatunparalleled privilege? After the angel ex-plained Jehovah’s will concerning her, Maryexclaimed: “Look! Jehovah’s slave girl! Mayit take place with me according to your dec-laration.” (Luke 1:38) In stating matters thatway, Mary revealed a heart attitude that Godhad already noted. Her immediate responseindicates that shewas ready to accept hiswillin the matter. She did not raise any questionabout how people in the community wouldview her pregnancyor what possible effect itcould have on her relationship with herfiance. By referring to herself as the lowliestof servants, Mary showed that she trustedcompletely in Jehovah as her Master.

4 Have you at times felt somewhat over-whelmed by challenges or responsibilities inGod’s service? Each of us does well to askhimself: ‘Do I completely trust in Jehovah towork matters out in harmony with his will?Am I truly demonstrating a willing spirit?’Be assured that God gives his spirit to thosewho trust in himwith all their heart and rec-ognize his sovereignwill.—Acts 5:32.

Peter Was Helped by Holy Spirit5 Like Mary, the apostle Peter had person-

ally experienced the powerful operation ofGod’s holy spirit prior to Pentecost 33 C.E.Jesus had given him and the other apostlesauthority to expel demons. (Mark 3:14-16)

3, 4. What attitude did Mary display, and howmight we imitate her?5. In what ways had Peter seen holy spirit at workbefore Pentecost 33 C.E.?

And although the Scriptures do not providemany details, it seems likely that Peter usedthat authority. God’s power was also mademanifestwhen Jesus invitedPeter towalk to-ward him over the Sea of Galilee, and Pe-ter did so. (Read Matthew 14:25-29.) Ob-viously, Peter relied on holy spirit to helphim perform mighty deeds. Soon that spiritwould act on Peter and his fellow disciplesin new ways.

6 At the Festival of Pentecost 33 C.E., Peterand others were given the miraculous abili-ty to communicate in the languages spokenby the sojourners visiting Jerusalem. There-after, Peter took the lead in addressing theassembly. (Acts 2:14-36) Yes, this man whoon occasion was impetuous or fearful wasimbued with courage to give a bold witnessdespite threats and persecution. (Acts 4:18-20, 31) He received knowledge by divinerevelation. (Acts 5:8, 9) And hewas even em-powered to perform a resurrection.—Acts9:40.

7 Even prior to Pentecost, Peter got thesense of many truths that Jesus taught.(Matt. 16:16, 17; John 6:68) But there wereaspects of Jesus’ teachings that remainedunclear to him before Pentecost. For in-stance, Peter had not discerned that Christwould be resurrected as a spirit on the thirdday; nor had Peter grasped that the King-dom would be in heaven. (John 20:6-10;Acts 1:6) The concept of humans becomingspirit creatures and ruling in a heavenlyKingdom was foreign to Peter. Once hehimself was baptized with holy spirit andgiven the heavenly hope, he could graspthe meaning of Jesus’ teachings on thosepoints.

6. By means of God’s spirit, what could Peter doduring and after Pentecost 33 C.E.?7. What teachings of Jesus became clear to Peteronly after his anointing?


8 Insight previously unattainable to Jesus’disciples became available after the out-pouring of holy spirit. By inspiration, thewriters of the Christian Greek Scriptures setout—for our benefit—amazing facets of Je-hovah’s purpose. (Eph. 3:8-11, 18) Today,both spirit-anointed ones and those of the“other sheep” feed together spiritually, as-similating these same truths. (John 10:16)Do you cherish the knowledge and under-standingofGod’sWord that holy spirit thusmakes available to you?

Paul Became “Filled With Holy Spirit”9 A year or so after Pentecost 33 C.E.,

someone else received God’s gift of the holyspirit. That was Saul, who became known asPaul. The spirit operated onhim inways thatbenefit us today. The apostle Paul was in-spired to write 14 books of the Bible. And aswas trueof Peter,God’s spirit enabledPaul tounderstand and write with clarity about thehope of immortality and incorruptibility inthe heavens. By holy spirit, Paul effectedcures, expelled demons, and even raised thedead! However, the power received throughholy spirit had a more important purpose,one that all of God’s servants today experi-ence, though not miraculously.

10 Paul, who was “filled with holy spirit,”spoke boldly against a sorcerer. What an ef-fect that had on the principal administratorof Cyprus, who was listening to the wholeconversation! That proconsul accepted thetruth, “as he was astounded at the teachingof Jehovah.” (Acts 13:8-12) Clearly, Paulknew well the importance of God’s holyspirit when it comes to speaking the truth.

8. Both the anointed and the “other sheep” havewhat knowledge available?9. Paul was able to accomplish what by means ofholy spirit?10. How did holy spirit affect Paul’s ability tospeak?

(Matt. 10:20) He later entreated the congre-gation in Ephesus to make supplication forhim that “ability to speak” might be givenhim.—Eph. 6:18-20.

11 Not only did holy spirit enable Paul tospeakbut, at times, it forbade himto speak incertain localities. As he embarked on hismissionary journeys, Paul was guided byGod’s spirit. (Acts 13:2; read Acts 16:6-10.)Jehovah still guides the preaching work bymeansof his spirit. Like Paul, all of Jehovah’sobedient servants strive to declare the truthwith boldness and zeal. Even though God’sdirection is not as obvious today as it was inPaul’s time, we can be sure that Jehovah isusing his holy spirit to make sure that de-serving ones hear the truth.—John 6:44.

“Varieties of Operations”12 Do accounts of Jehovah’s blessing on

the first-century congregation of anointedones provide significant encouragement toGod’s dedicated servants today? Without adoubt! Bear inmind Paul’s inspired words to

11. How was Paul guided by God’s spirit?12-14. Does God’s spirit work on all his servants inthe same way? Explain.

God’s spirit enabled Paul toovercome the influence of wicked spirits


the congregation in Corinth concerning themiraculous gifts of the spirit in his day:“Now there are varieties of gifts, but there isthe same spirit; and there are varieties ofministries, and yet there is the same Lord;and there are varieties of operations, and yetit is the sameGodwhoperformsall the oper-ations in all persons.” (1 Cor. 12:4-6, 11) Yes,holy spirit can operate in different ways ondifferent servants of God for a purpose.Indeed, the holy spirit is available bothto Christ’s “little flock” and to his “othersheep.” (Luke 12:32; John 10:16) Yet, it doesnot always operate in the same way on eachmember of the congregation.

13 Elders, for instance, are appointed byholy spirit. (Acts 20:28) But not all spirit-anointed ones serve as overseers in the con-gregation. What are we to conclude fromthis? Simply that God’s spirit operates in dif-ferent ways on members of the congrega-tion.

14 The spirit that instills in anointed ones“a spirit of adoption,” or a sense of sonship,is the same spirit by which Jehovah raisedhis only-begotten Son from the dead to im-mortal life in heaven. (Read Romans 8:11,15.) It is the same spirit by which Jehovahbrought the entire universe into existence.(Gen. 1:1-3) By that same holy spirit, Jeho-vah qualified Bezalel for special workon thetabernacle, empowered Samson to performdeeds requiring outstanding strength, andenabled Peter towalkonwater. Let us, there-fore, not confuse having God’s spirit withbeing anointed with God’s spirit, the lat-ter being just one special operation of thespirit. Spirit anointing depends on God’schoice.

15 God’s holy active force has been operat-ing in various ways upon his faithful ser-

15. Will baptism with holy spirit continue indef-initely? Explain.

vants for as long as he has had faithful ser-vants, yes, for thousands of years before spir-it anointing began. At Pentecost 33C.E., thatnew operation began, but it will not contin-ue forever. Baptismwith spirit will cease, butholy spirit will continue to operate on God’speople so that they may do his will for alleternity.

16 What in particular is now taking placeon earth by means of Jehovah’s holy spirit?Revelation 22:17 answers: “The spirit andthe bride keep on saying: ‘Come!’ And letanyone hearing say: ‘Come!’ And let any-one thirsting come; let anyone that wishestake life’s water free.” Moved by God’s spir-it, Christians today extend Jehovah’s life-giving invitation to “anyone that wishes” toaccept life’s water. Anointed Christians aretaking the lead in doing this. Yet, those ofthe other sheep join in extending this in-vitation. Both classes cooperate with thesame holy spirit in accomplishing this work.Those of both classes have symbolized theirdedication to Jehovah by being baptized “inthenameof the Father andof the Sonandofthe holy spirit.” (Matt. 28:19) And all ofthem yield to the action of God’s spiritin their lives, allowing it to produce in themits fruitage. (Gal. 5:22, 23) Like the anointed,the other sheep allow God’s spirit to helpthem. With its help, they do their utmost tomeasure up to Jehovah’s requirements ofholiness.—2 Cor. 7:1; Rev. 7:9,14.

Keep Asking for Holy Spirit17 Sowhether your God-given hope is that

of everlasting life in heaven or on earth,Jehovah can supply you with “power be-yond what is normal” in order for you to

16. What are God’s servants doing now by meansof his spirit?17. How might we give proof that we have God’sspirit?


maintain your integrity and receive your re-ward. (2 Cor. 4:7) Your continued preachingof the good news of the Kingdom may drawridicule. But remember that “if you are be-ing reproached for the name of Christ, youare happy, because the spirit of glory, eventhe spirit of God, is resting upon you.”—1 Pet. 4:14.

18 Holy spirit is God’s free gift to thosewho sincerely seek it. It can enhance notonly your abilities but also your desire to doyour best in his service. “God is the one that,for the sake of his good pleasure, is actingwithin you in order for you both to will andto act.” The precious gift of holy spirit, cou-pled with our earnest efforts to keep “a tightgrip on the word of life,” will allow us to“keep working out [our] own salvation withfear and trembling.”—Phil. 2:12,13,16.

19 With complete confidence in God’s

18, 19. How will Jehovah help you by means of hisholy spirit, and what is your determination in thisregard?

spirit, then, pour your heart into every as-signment, become skilled at what you aregiven to do, and look to Jehovah for assis-tance. (Jas. 1:5) He will give you what youneed to understand his Word, cope withlife’s problems, and preach the good news.“Keep on asking, and it will be given you;keep on seeking, and you will find; keep onknocking, and it will be opened to you,” andthis includes receiving holy spirit. (Luke 11:9, 13) Indeed, keep on supplicating Jehovahthat you may be like faithful ones—both an-cient and modern—who were guided byGod’s holy spirit.

Today, holy spirit is available to aidChristians, whatever their hope

Can You Explain?˙ Like Mary, what attitude can we

display that will bring blessings?˙ In what sense was Paul guided by

God’s spirit?˙ How are God’s servants guided by

God’s spirit today?


PICTURE yourself waking up wishing thatthe day would end before it has even be-

gun. You have to copewith physical or emo-tional pain yet another day. You may evenfeel like Job,who said: “I would prefer deathto all my sufferings.” (Job 7:15, The New En-glish Bible) What if such a condition per-sists, even for years?

That was the case with Mephibosheth,the son of King David’s friend Jonathan.When Mephibosheth was five years old, he“had a fall and was lamed.” (2 Sam. 4:4)Emotional distress must have increased thepainof his disabilitywhenhewas later false-ly accused of betraying the king and thensuffered a material loss. Yet, he consistentlyshowed himself to be a wonderful examplein coping with infirmity, slander, and dis-appointments, not letting such rob him ofjoy.—2 Sam. 9:6-10; 16:1-4; 19:24-30.

The apostle Paul is another example. Heoncewrote about “a thorn in theflesh”withwhich he had to contend. (2 Cor. 12:7) Thethorn he mentioned might have been along-term disability, or it could have beenthe people who challenged his apostleship.Whatever the case, the problem lingered,andhehad to dealwith thephysical or emo-tional pain it brought.—2 Cor.12:9,10.

Debilitating chronic illnesses or emotion-al stresses plague some of God’s servants to-day. At the age of 18, Magdalena was diag-nosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, adisease inwhich the body’s immune defens-es seem to attack its own organs. “I wasterrified,” she says. “As time went by, mycondition worsened and was aggravated bydigestive disorders, mouth ulcers, and thy-roid problems.” Izabela, on the other hand,has to put up with conditions that are not soobvious. She explains: “From childhood Ihave suffered from depression. This has re-sulted in panic attacks, breathing problems,and stomach cramps. I am generally left ex-hausted.”

Facing RealitySickness and infirmity can upset your life.

When that happens, it helps to sit down andhonestly appraise your situation. Acceptingyour limitationsmaynot be easy.Magdalenasays: “My disease is progressive. I oftenfeel too exhausted to get out of bed. Theunpredictable nature of my disease makesplanning ahead very difficult. My greatestfrustration is that I canno longerdoasmuchas I used to do in Jehovah’s service.”

Zbigniew explains: “As the years go by,rheumatoid arthritis saps my energy,

Do NotLet Illness Rob

You of Joy

damaging one joint after another. At times,when the inflammation is severe, I am un-able to perform the simplest of tasks. Thatleaves me feeling dejected.”

Some years ago, Barbara was diagnosedwith a progressive brain tumor. “My bodyhas undergone sudden changes,” she com-ments. “I feel listless, experience frequentheadaches, and encounter concentrationproblems. Because of my newfound limita-tions, I had to reevaluate everything.”

All these individuals are dedicated ser-vants of Jehovah. For them, doing hiswill takes priority. They put their completetrust in God and benefit from his support.—Prov. 3:5, 6.

Jehovah Helps—How?We should avoid thinking that a personal

affliction is evidence of God’s displeasure.(Lam. 3:33) Think of what Job had to gothrough despite being “blameless and up-right.” (Job 1:8) God does not try anyone

with evil things. (Jas. 1:13) All illnesses—in-cluding the chronic and the emotional—area dismal legacy from our first parents, Adamand Eve.—Rom. 5:12.

Jehovah and Jesus, however, will not leavethe righteous ones without help. (Ps. 34:15)Especially at difficult moments in our lives,we come to appreciate that God is ‘our ref-uge and our stronghold.’ (Ps. 91:2) So, then,when coping with conditions that have noeasy solution, what can help you to main-tain joy?

Prayer: Following the pattern of God’sfaithful servants of old, you can throw yourburden on our heavenly Father in prayer.(Ps. 55:22) In doing so, you can experience“the peace of God that excels all thought.”That inner peace “will guard yourhearts andyour mental powers.” (Phil. 4:6, 7) By re-lying on God through prayer, Magdalenacopes with her debilitating disease. She says:“Pouring out my heart to Jehovah brings re-lief and restores my joy. Now I really under-

They KeepPreaching DespiteChronic Illness

“I can no longer walk bymyself, so my wife or someother brothers and sistersaccompany me in the minis-try. I memorize presenta-tions and Bible scriptures.”—Jerzy, visually impaired.

“In addition to doing tele-phone witnessing, I writeletters and regularly corre-spond with a few interestedones. While in the hospital,I always put the Bible andpublications next to my bed.That has helped me to strikeup many good conversa-tions.”—Magdalena,diagnosed with systemiclupus erythematosus.

“I like the door-to-doorministry, but when I am notfeeling up to it, I engage intelephone witnessing.”—Izabela, suffers fromclinical depression.

28

stand what it means to rely on God day byday.”—2 Cor.1:3, 4.

In response to your prayers, Jehovah cangive you strength by means of his holyspirit, his Word, and the Christian brother-hood. You would not expect God to removeyour infirmity miraculously. Yet, you cancount on him to give you the wisdom andstrength needed to cope with each adversity.(Prov. 2:7)He can fortify you, giving you “thepower beyond what is normal.”—2 Cor. 4:7.

Family: A loving and compassionate at-mosphere at home can help you to endureillness. Bear in mind, though, that yourlovedones also suffer. Theymay feel as help-less as you feel. Still, they are there for you,even in trying times. Praying together willhelp you keep a calm heart.—Prov.14:30.

Barbara says regarding her daughter andother young sisters in the congregation:“They support me in the ministry. Their zealwarms my heart.” Zbigniew finds his wife’ssupport invaluable. “She looks after most of

the household chores. She also helps me getdressed and often carries my bag to theChristian meetings and in the ministry.”

Fellow believers: When we are in companywith our fellow believers, we are encouragedand consoled. But what if you cannot at-tend meetings because of your illness? Mag-dalena comments: “The congregation hasmade sure that I benefit from the meetingsby means of audio recordings. My fellowworshippers often call me to see what elsethey can do to help. They also send me en-couraging letters. The thought that they re-member me and are concerned about mywell-being helps me to endure.”

Izabela, who suffers from depression, re-lates: “Within the congregation, I havemany ‘fathers’ and ‘mothers,’ those who lis-ten and try tounderstand me. The congrega-tion ismy family—here iswhere I experiencepeace and joy.”

Those who suffer various trials do well toavoid ‘isolating themselves.’ Rather, they

“I enjoy making return visitsand helping out on Biblestudies. On my better days,I like to witness from houseto house.”—Barbara, whohas a brain tumor.

“I carry only a very lightmagazine bag. I stay out aslong as my aching joints al-low.”—Zbigniew, rheumatoidarthritis patient.


treasure their associationwith the congrega-tion. (Prov. 18:1) They thus become a hugesource of encouragement to others. Youmayhesitate at first to let the brothers and sistersknow of your needs. Yet, your fellow believ-ers will appreciate your frankness. It will af-ford them an opportunity to extend “un-hypocritical brotherly affection.” (1 Pet. 1:22) Why not let them know that you need aride to the meeting, would like to work withthem in the ministry, or want to have aheart-to-heart conversation? Of course, weshould not be demanding but be apprecia-tive of their help.

Be positive: The key to coping with chron-ic illness without losing joy is often inyour own hands. A gloomy disposition anddespondent feelings can lead to negativethinking. The Bible states: “The spirit ofa man can put up with his malady; butas for a stricken spirit, who can bear it?”—Prov.18:14.

Magdalenanotes: “Iworkhard to avoid fo-cusing on my problems. I try to enjoy thedays when I do feel better. I find encourage-ment in reading the life stories of people

who have remained faithful despite chron-ic illness.” Izabela is strengthened by thethought that Jehovah loves and values her.She says: “I feel needed, and I have someoneto live for. I also have a wonderful prospectfor the future.”

Zbigniew says: “My illness teaches me hu-mility and obedience. It teaches me to showinsight and good judgment as well as to for-give from the heart. I have learned to enjoyserving Jehovahwithout feelingsof self-pity.In fact, I have been motivated to keep onmaking spiritual progress.”

Keep in mind that Jehovah carefully notesyour endurance. He feels for you inyour suf-fering and cares for you. He will not “forgetyour work and the love you showed for hisname.” (Heb. 6:10) Take to heart the prom-ise he makes to all who fear him: “I will byno means leave you nor by any means for-sake you.”—Heb.13:5.

If on occasion you do feel down, focus onthe wonderful hope of living in the newworld. The time is fast approaching whenyourowneyeswill see on the earth the bless-ings of God’s Kingdom!

Young and old can be sources of encouragement


˙ Who was Olivetan, and why should hiswork interest us?Frenchman Pierre Robert was known bythat name. During the Reformation in the16th century, he translated the Bible intoFrench. He preferred “overseer” to “bishop”and “congregation” to “church.” In places,he rendered God’s name “Jehovah.”—9/1,pages 18-20.˙ What did God mean in telling the Levites:“I am your share”?Each of Israel’s other tribes got an allotmentof land, but the Levites had Jehovah as their“share.” (Num. 18:20) They would not inher-it land, but they received a special privilegeof service. Still, Jehovah cared for their basicmaterial needs. Today, those who have theprivilege of advancing Kingdom interests canbe confident that the necessities of life will beprovided.—9/15, pages 7-8, 13.˙ How do we know when ancient Jerusa-lem fell to the Babylonians?Classical historians give mixed, conflictingdetails about the Babylonian kings and theirreigns. Yet, scholars agree that Cyrus II con-quered Babylon in 539 B.C.E., a pivotal date.The Jews were released, and they arrived intheir homeland by 537 B.C.E. The Bible saysthat their exile was 70 years long. So Jerusa-lem must have fallen in 607 B.C.E. (2 Chron.36:21, 22; Jer. 29:10; Dan. 9:1, 2)—10/1, pag-es 26-31.˙ What can help a Christian decide wheth-er some type of recreation is beneficial ornot?In determining if a type of recreation will bebeneficial and be pleasing in God’s eyes, it isuseful to ask: What does it include? When will

I pursue it? Who will my companions be?—10/15, pages 9-12.˙ Why would it be wrong to have an abor-tion?God considers life sacred and views a humanembryo as a distinct, living being. (Ps. 139:16) Killing an unborn child is murder, asshown by the fact that under the Law a per-son would be called to account for injur-ing an unborn child. (Ex. 21:22, 23)—11/1,page 6.˙ How can the account at Proverbs 7:6-23help us avoid viewing pornography?That passage tells of a young man whowalked in an area where an immoral womanwas known to live. She seduced him. Today,we do well to avoid Internet sites that con-tain provocative images, and it is importantto seek God’s help in prayer before evenencountering such images on the Internet.—11/15, pages 9-10.˙ How do we know whether the earth willsurvive 2012?Because of cycles in an ancient Maya calen-dar, some feel that the world will end in theyear 2012. But that is not possible, for Jeho-vah created the earth to be inhabited. The Bi-ble says that the earth will endure perma-nently. (Eccl. 1:4; Isa. 45:18)—12/1, page 10.˙ Which Bible writers were present at Pen-tecost 33 C.E.?It seems that six of the writers of the ChristianGreek Scriptures were present. Three apostleswere there—Matthew, John, and Peter. Twoof Jesus’ half brothers were too—James andJude. And it is likely that the young man Markwas present.—12/1, page 22.

Do You Remember?

Have you carefully read the recent issues of The Watchtower?Well, see if you can answer the following questions:


BIBLEChanges Lives, 2/1, 4/1, 5/1, 7/1, 8/1, 10/1, 11/1Delight in God’s Word? 5/15For Young People, 1/1, 3/1, 5/1, 7/1, 9/1, 11/1Olivetan—‘Humble Translator,’ 9/1Six Bible Prophecies Fulfilled, 5/1Times of Day, 5/1When Written, 6/1Which Writers of Christian Scriptures Present

at Pentecost? 12/1Zamora’s Quest for Accuracy, 12/1

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND QUALITIESAppreciate Your Blessings? 2/15Bible Question, Personal Problem? 10/15Cultivate Spirituality as Couple, 11/1Discern Evidence of God’s Guidance, 4/15Dwell on What Jehovah Has Done for You, 1/15Family Worship, 8/15Honest in Dishonest World, 4/15How Can Family Be Happy? 10/1How Children Change a Marriage, 5/1How Choose Good Friends? 12/1How Fathers Stay Close to Sons, 11/1Internet Use, 8/15“Keep on the Watch,” 10/15Like Phinehas When Facing Challenges, 9/15“Make Your Way Successful,” 6/15Moral Values in Children, 2/1Never Forsake Fellow Believers, 3/15Not Deceive Self With False Reasoning, 3/15Not Let Illness Rob You of Joy, 12/15‘Obey Better Than Sacrifice,’ 2/15Parents Teach Children About Sex? 11/1Rejoice Together! 10/15Taxes, 9/1Teach Children to Be Respectful, 2/15Teach Your Children, 2/1, 4/1, 6/1, 8/1, 10/1,

12/1‘Time to Love, Time to Hate,’ 12/1Treating Mate With Respect, 8/1What Makes Marriage Last? 2/1Worth the Effort! (Family Worship), 2/15Youths Get Baptized? 6/15

JEHOVAHCreate the Devil? 3/1Draw Close to God, 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 6/1,

7/1, 8/1, 9/1, 10/1, 11/1, 12/1Dwell in One Place? 8/1Five Lies Exposed! 10/1Have an Organization? 6/1Know Adam and Eve Would Sin? 1/1Laws Benefit Us, 11/1Laws That Govern Universe, 7/1Name in Valley (Switzerland), 1/15Purpose for Earth, 4/1Really Care About You? 1/1Value One Race? 7/1What Should Children Learn? 8/1Who Is God? 2/1Why Allow Evil, Suffering? 5/1Why Fed Israelites Quail? 9/1Why Learn From? 1/1

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSESAccept Medical Treatment? 2/1A Letter From . . . , 3/1, 6/1, 9/1, 12/1Annual Meeting, 8/15Cause for Rejoicing (organization), 3/15Defend Good Name (Russia), 5/1“Defiance That Commands Respect” (Nazi

Germany), 10/1Figures in Annual Report, 8/15Gilead Graduations, 2/1, 8/1Legal Struggle Ends in Victory! (Russia), 7/15“Let God’s Kingdom Come!” District

Conventions, 6/1

“Privilege of Kindly Giving” (contributions), 11/15Russia’s District Conventions, 3/1Simplified English Edition

(Watchtower magazine), 7/15

JESUS CHRISTDie on a Cross? 3/1Expression “You Yourself Said It,” 6/1Following Christ, Perfect Leader, 5/15How Many Messianic Prophecies? 8/15Time of Day Impaled, 11/15Trial, 4/1Where From; How Lived; Why Died, 4/1Who Is Jesus Christ? 3/1

LIFE STORIESBible Reading—Lifelong Source of Strength

(M. Leroy), 9/15“Disabled but Not Forever!” (S. van der Monde),

11/15Dreamed of Life on Wheels (Z. Dimitrova), 6/1Feared Death—Now Await ‘Life in Abundance’

(P. Gatti), 7/15Found Many Good Things (A. Bonno), 4/15Like Jephthah’s Daughter (J. Soans), 12/1Making Adjustments Has Been Rewarding

(J. Thompson), 12/15Serving Jehovah My Delight (F. Rusk), 10/15Serving Jehovah Under Trials

(M. de Jonge-van den Heuvel), 1/15‘Wonderful Overseer, Dear Friend’ (J. Barr), 5/15

MISCELLANEOUSAbraham Own Camels? 6/15All Faithful Christians Go to Heaven? 6/1Apostles to Carry Staffs, Wear Sandals, 3/15Barabbas, 4/1Bible’s View of Sex, 11/1‘Bring the Scrolls, Parchments,’ 6/15Building Projects of Nebuchadnezzar, 11/1“Coccus Scarlet Material,” 12/1Earth Survive 2012? 12/1East Asian in Ancient Italy, 1/1End of Poverty, 6/1Endured Despite Disappointments (Samuel), 1/1Everlasting Life Boring? 5/1Festival of Dedication (Joh 10:22), 9/1Gambling, 3/1Garden of Eden, 1/1Gehenna a Place of Fiery Torment? 4/1Give Your Life Meaning, 7/1Gleaning, 2/1God’s Kingdom a Condition of Heart? 3/1“Good News of the Kingdom,” 3/1Hope for the Dead, 6/1House Abram Might Have Lived In, 1/1“Household of Caesar” (Php 4:22), 3/1How Jewish Religious Leaders Viewed Common

People, 7/1How Recognize True Worship? 8/1How Temple Services Were Financed, 11/1“I Have Believed” (Martha), 4/1Infant Baptism, 10/1Jehu Champions Pure Worship, 11/15Keeping Time at Night, 8/1“Kicking Against the Goads” (Ac 26:14), 8/1“Lady, Even Ladies” (Ec 2:8), 3/15“Land Flowing With Milk and Honey,” 3/1Levirate Marriage, 3/1Living Within One’s Means, 6/1Man Agreeable to Jehovah’s Heart, 9/1Money (Bible times), 5/1Money Changers in Temple, 10/1Names on Ancient Seals, 5/1Natural Disasters—Punishment From God? 12/1Olive Trees Appreciated, 10/1Peter Lodged With Tanner, 6/1Pope “Peter’s Successor”? 8/1Prepared for Most Important Day of Year? 2/1

“Seven Species” of the Good Land, 9/1Significance of Name Caesar, 7/1Stood Up for God’s People (Esther), 10/1Took Comfort in God (Elijah), 7/1Water Supply in Israel During Dry Season, 1/1What Crimes Merited Death Like Jesus’? 4/1What Is Armageddon? 9/1What Is God’s Kingdom? 7/1When Jerusalem Destroyed? 10/1, 11/1Who Can Interpret Prophecy? 12/1Who Rules World? 9/1Why Moses Angry With Aaron’s Sons

(Le 10:16-20), 2/15Why Satan Used Serpent, 1/1Why Solomon Import Timber From Lebanon? 2/1

STUDY ARTICLESAre You Allowing God’s Spirit to Lead You? 4/15Are You Known by Jehovah? 9/15Are You Letting Jehovah Be Your Share? 9/15Christian Families—“Keep Ready,” 5/15Christian Families—“Stay Awake!” 5/15“Comfort All the Mourning Ones,” 10/15Complete Trust in Jehovah Inspires Confidence,

5/15“Do Not Lean Upon Your Own Understanding,”

11/15Do You Hate Lawlessness? 2/15Empowered to Fight Temptation and Cope With

Discouragement, 1/15Empowered to Overcome Any Trial, 1/15Faithful Ones of Old—Guided by God’s Spirit,

12/15For Life and Peace, Walk in Accord With the Spirit,

11/15“Fruitage of the Spirit” Glorifies God, 4/15Gaining God’s Approval Leads to Everlasting Life,

2/15God Recommends His Love to Us, 6/15God’s Rest—Have You Entered Into It? 7/15God’s Rest—What Is It? 7/15Guided by God’s Spirit in the First Century and

Today, 12/15“Have Regard for Those Who Are Working Hard

Among You,” 6/15Help Men to Progress Spiritually, 11/15Holy Spirit—At Work in Creation! 2/15Is He a Good Example for You or a Warning? 12/15Is Your Recreation Beneficial? 10/15Jehovah Is My Share, 9/15Jehovah—“The God Who Gives Peace,” 8/15Keep Awake, as Jeremiah Did, 3/15Love Righteousness With All Your Heart, 2/15Make Decisions That Honor God, 4/15Make the Most of Your Singleness, 1/15‘O the Depth of God’s Wisdom!’ (Ro 11), 5/15Prove Yourself Ready! 3/15Pursue Peace, 8/15Receive God’s Spirit, Not the World’s, 3/15Respect Marriage as a Gift From God, 1/15“Run . . . That You May Attain It,” 9/15Run the Race With Endurance, 9/15Serving Jehovah With All Seriousness, 4/15“Shepherd the Flock of God in Your Care,” 6/15“Take Refuge in the Name of Jehovah,” 1/15“Temporary Residents” in a Wicked World, 11/15There Is Good News That All Need, 6/15They Found the Messiah! 8/15They Waited for the Messiah, 8/15Train Others to Reach Out, 11/15Trust in Jehovah as the End Draws Near, 3/15Trust in Jehovah, “the God of All Comfort,” 10/15Who Is Most Important Person in Your Life? 5/15Why Be Guided by God’s Spirit? 12/15Will You Follow Jehovah’s Loving Guidance? 7/15Will You Heed Jehovah’s Clear Warnings? 7/15Wise Counsel on Singleness and Marriage, 10/15

SUBJECT INDEX FOR THE WATCHTOWER 2011Indicating date of issue in which article appears

STUDY ARTICLES:

��

January 30–February 5 ˙ PAGE 3��

Is He a Good Example for Youor a Warning?


��

February 6-12 ˙ PAGE 9��

Why Be Guided by God’s Spirit?


��


Faithful Ones of Old—Guided by God’s Spirit


��


Guided by God’s Spiritin the First Century and Today


34567DECEMBER 15, 2011




34567�

DECEMBER 15, 2011







The Bible tells us about people who did good things thatwe want to imitate but also bad things that are a warning for us.Solomon is one of these people. This article will help us tounderstand what lessons we as Christians can learn from hisexample.


There is a powerful force in the universe that can guide us inthis wicked world. What is it? Why should we want to be guidedby it? What can we do to benefit from its influence?


Many of God’s servants in the past were guided by holy spirit.In what ways did God’s spirit operate on them? Our study ofhow Jehovah directed them will greatly encourage us to continuein our service to God.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

27 Making Adjustments Has Been Rewarding

YOU certainly agree that you canbenefit from what is written in the

Bible. You can read about faithful menand women whom you should imitate.(Hebrews 11:32-34) You can also readabout men and women whose waysof thinking and acting you should notcopy. Their examples are a warning foryou.

2 In fact, some people mentioned inthe Bible can be both a good exampleand an example of what to avoid. Thinkabout David, who was a humble shep-herd and later became a powerful king.He is a good example of someone wholoved truth and trusted in Jehovah. ButDavid was also guilty of serious sins,such as the adultery with Bath-shebaand the murder of Uriah; he also un-wisely counted the people. In this arti-cle, we will study the example of Da-vid’s son Solomon, who was a king anda writer of parts of the Bible. We willfirst talk about two ways in which hewas a good example for us to imitate.

“THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON”

3 The Greater Solomon, Jesus Christ,spoke of King Solomon as a good ex-ample for us to imitate. Jesus told someJews: “The queen of the south will beraised up in the judgment with this gen-eration and will condemn it; because

1, 2. In what ways can you benefit from Bibleexamples?3. Why can we say that Solomon is a good ex-ample for us?

she came from the endsof the earth to hear thewisdom of Solomon, but,look! something morethan Solomon is here.”(Matthew 12:42) Solomonwas famous for his wis-dom, and he encouragedus to become wise too.

4 When Solomon be-came king, God appeared to him in adream and told him to ask for whateverhe wanted. Solomon said that he want-ed wisdom. He knew that he had a lotto learn. (Read 1 Kings 3:5-9.) God waspleased that the king asked for wisdom.So God gave Solomon not only “a wiseand understanding heart” but also whathe had not asked for, “riches and glo-ry.” (1 Kings 3:10-14) Jesus said that Sol-omon’s wisdom was so great that whenthe queen of Sheba heard about it, shetraveled a long distance to meet Solo-mon and listen to his wisdom.—1 Kings10:1, 4-9.

5 The wisdom God gave Solomon wasa miracle. Today, we do not expectto become wise the same way Solo-mon did. He said that “Jehovah himselfgives wisdom,” but he also wrote thatwe should work hard to become wise.He said: “Pay attention to wisdom withyour ear, that you may incline your heart

4, 5. How did Solomon become wise? Howis the way we become wise different from theway Solomon did?

Is He a Good Examplefor You or a Warning?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“The God of Jacob . . .will instruct us abouthis ways, and we willwalk in his paths.”—ISAIAH 2:3.

3

to discernment.” Solomon also said thatwe should “call out for,” “keep seekingfor,” and “keep searching for” wisdom.(Proverbs 2:1-6) Clearly, this means thatwe can gain wisdom, or become wise.

6 It is good for us to ask ourselves, DoI love wisdom as Solomon did? Manypeople give a lot of attention to moneyand their job because of economic prob-lems. Or they allow the economy to in-fluence their decisions on the type ofeducation and on how much educationthey should get. What about you andyour family? Do your choices show thatyou are “searching for” wisdom like atreasure? Do you need to change theway you think about money and edu-cation so that you can work harder to

6. How can we imitate Solomon’s goodexample?

gain wisdom? The wisdom we gain willbenefit us forever. Solomon wrote: “Inthat case you will understand righteous-ness and judgment anduprightness, theentire course of what is good.”—Prov-erbs 2:9.

THERE WAS PEACE WHENSOLOMON PUT TRUEWORSHIP FIRST

7 Soon after Solomon became king,he wanted to replace the tabernacle thathad been used since the time of Mo-ses. So he had the people build a beau-tiful temple. (1 Kings 6:1) We call it Sol-omon’s temple, but he did not build it tobecome famous. It was not even his ideato build the temple. In fact, it was Davidwho first had the idea. And it was Godwho gave David the detailed plans forthe temple and the things in it. Davidalso gave a lot of money to the buildingproject. (2 Samuel 7:2, 12, 13; 1 Chron-icles 22:14-16) But it was Solomon’s re-sponsibility to complete the building ofthe temple, which took seven and a halfyears.—1 Kings 6:37, 38; 7:51.

8 Solomon is a good example of notgiving up in doing good works and ofkeeping the most important things infirst place. When the temple was fin-ished and the ark of the covenant wasput in it, Solomon said a public prayer.In his prayer, he asked Jehovah to lis-ten to the prayers of his servants, whoprayed toward the temple. (1 Kings 8:6,29) Israelites and foreigners could praytoward this temple, which was built to

7. How was a beautiful temple built for God?8, 9. (a) What good example of not givingup in doing good works is Solomon for us?(b) What happened when Solomon put trueworship first?

What can welearn from

Solomon abouthow to gain

wisdom?

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ DECEMBER 15, 20114

bring honor to God’s name.—1 Kings 8:30, 41-43, 60.

9 What happened when Solomon puttrue worship first? After the dedica-tion of the temple, the people were “re-joicing and feeling merry of heart overall the goodness that Jehovah had per-formed for David his servant and for Is-rael.” (1 Kings 8:65, 66) During the40 years that Solomon ruled, the peo-ple had many good things and theyhad peace. (Read 1 Kings 4:20, 21, 25.)Psalm 72 tells us about that and helps usbetter understand the blessings we willhave under the rule of the Greater Sol-omon, Jesus Christ.—Psalm 72:6-8, 16.

SOLOMON’S EXAMPLEIS A WARNING

10 Why can we say that Solomon’s lifeis also a warning for us? The first thingyou may think of is his foreign wivesand concubines. We read: “It cameabout in the time of Solomon’s grow-ing old that his wives themselves hadinclined his heart to follow other gods;and his heart did not prove to be com-plete with Jehovah.” (1 Kings 11:1-6)Of course, you do not want to makethe same foolish mistake that he did.But there are some other things in Sol-omon’s life that we might easily forgetand that can also be a warning for us.Let us talk about some of them.

11 Solomon ruled for 40 years.(2 Chronicles 9:30) So, what can welearn from 1 Kings 14:21? (Read.) Ac-cording to that verse, when Solomondied, his son Rehoboam became king

10. What serious mistake did Solomon make?11. What lesson can we learn from Solomon’sfirst marriage?

at age 41. His mother was “Naamahthe Ammonitess.” This means that be-fore Solomon became king, he mar-ried a foreigner from an enemy na-tion that worshipped false gods. (Judges10:6; 2 Samuel 10:6) We do not knowif she continued to worship these falsegods or if she became a true worship-per, as Rahab and Ruth did. (Ruth 1:16; 4:13-17; Matthew 1:5, 6) But now,because of this marriage, Solomon like-ly had Ammonite in-laws and relativeswho did not serve Jehovah.

12 Solomon’s situation got worse afterhe became king. Solomon “proceeded toform a marriage alliance with Pharaohthe king of Egypt and to take Pharaoh’sdaughter and bring her to the City ofDavid.” (1 Kings 3:1) Did this Egyptianwoman become a worshipper of Jeho-vah, as Ruth did? The Bible does not say

12, 13. What serious mistake did Solomonmake in the beginning of his rule? What ex-cuses may he have used?


that. Instead, the Bible tells us that Sol-omon built a house for her and possi-bly her Egyptian maids outside the Cityof David. Why? Because she was a falseworshipper, and false worshippers werenot to live near the ark of the covenant.—2 Chronicles 8:11.

13 Solomon may have thought thatthe marriage to a princess was a goodthing because it would strengthen the

friendship between Israel and Egypt.But this was not right. A long time be-fore that, God had commanded his peo-ple not to marry Canaanites. He evengave them a list of the Canaanite na-tions they should avoid. (Exodus 34:11-16) Might Solomon have thought that hecould marry an Egyptian because Egyptwas not on that list? Even if he used thisas an excuse, would God accept it? Sol-omon did not pay attention to the factthat Jehovah said it would be dangerousto marry someone from another nation.Someone who did not worship Jehovahcould make an Israelite start worship-ping false gods.—Read Deuteronomy 7:1-4.

14 Will we allow Solomon’s exampleto be awarning for us? A sister might tryto make excuses for disobeying God’scommand to marry “only in the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 7:39) Or we might make

14. How can we allow Solomon’s example tobe a warning for us?

excuses about other matters. For ex-ample, someone may make excuses tojoin in sports or clubs in school whenhe really is not required to join them.Or someone may make excuses not topay taxes on all the money he earnedor to tell lies when asked about some-thing he did that could be embarrass-ing. The important thing to rememberis that we could be in danger of mak-ing excuses to disobey God, just as Sol-omon must have done.

15 It is interesting that even thoughSolomon had already married that for-eign princess, God still gave him thewisdom that he asked for and also rich-es. (1 Kings 3:10-13) Solomon had dis-obeyed God’s commands, but Jehovahshowed him mercy. Jehovah did not im-mediately reject him as king or punishhim. This is because God knows thatwe are imperfect humans, made fromdust. (Psalm 103:10, 13, 14) But remem-ber that what we do can affect us nowor maybe later in our life.

SO MANY WIVES!

16 In the Song of Solomon, King Sol-omon praised a girl by saying that shewas more beautiful than 60 queens and80 concubines. (Song of Solomon 6:1,8-10) This could have been the numberof wives and concubines that he had atthat time. Even if most of those wom-en or all of them were true worshippers,Solomon was still disobeying God’scommand. God had said through Mo-ses that a king of Israel should “not mul-

15. How did Jehovah show Solomon mercy?What should we remember?16. What command did Solomon disobeywhen he married many women?

We could be in dangerof making excuses todisobey God


tiply wives for himself, that his heartmay not turn aside.” (Deuteronomy 17:17) But again Jehovah did not reject Sol-omon. In fact, God still blessed Solo-mon and used him to write the Biblebook Song of Solomon.

17 Does this mean that Solomon coulddisobey God and not suffer bad conse-quences or that we can do the same?No. It just shows that God is very pa-tient. The truth is that someone may dis-obey God’s commands and not imme-diately suffer the consequences. But thisdoes not mean that there will be no sadresults later. Remember what Solomonwrote: “Because sentence against a badwork has not been executed speedily,that is why the heart of the sons of menhas become fully set in them to do bad.”He continued: “I am also aware that itwill turn out well with those fearing thetrue God, because they were in fear ofhim.”—Ecclesiastes 8:11, 12.

18 Sadly, Solomon did not pay atten-tion to this truth. He had done goodthings and had received many blessingsfrom Jehovah. But as time passed, hestarted to make one mistake after an-other. He got into the habit of dis-

17. What truth should we remember?18. How does Solomon’s example show thatthe words at Galatians 6:7 are true?

obeying Jehovah’s com-mands. It is just as theapostle Paul wrote: “Donot be misled: God isnot one to be mocked.For whatever a man issowing, this he will alsoreap.” (Galatians 6:7) Lat-er in his life, Solomonsuffered the sad results ofdisobeying God. The Bi-ble says: “King Solomonhimself loved many for-eign wives along with thedaughter of Pharaoh, Mo-abite, Ammonite, Edom-ite, Sidonian and Hittitewomen.” (1 Kings 11:1)Many of those womenprobably never stoppedworshipping their falsegods, and that had an in-fluence on Solomon. He“began to do what wasbad in the eyes of Jeho-vah” and no longer had the approval ofour patient God.—Read 1 Kings 11:4-8.

LEARN FROM THE GOODAND THE BAD THINGS HE DID

19 Jehovah inspired Paul to write: “Allthe things that were written aforetimewere written for our instruction, thatthrough our endurance and through thecomfort from the Scriptures we mighthave hope.” (Romans 15:4) Those thingsthat “were written for our instruc-tion” include many examples of menand women who had great faith. Paulsaid about these servants of Jehovah:

19. What good examples does the Bible have?

What we do canhave consequencesnow or maybelater in our life

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Examples:Lessons we can learnby studying aboutpeople in the Bible.We should imitatetheir good actions andavoid repeating theirmistakes

ˇ Excuses:What we think arereasons why doingsomething bad is notwrong

ˇ Wisdom:The ability to useknowledge andunderstanding tosolve problems,avoid dangers, andmake good choices


“What more shall I say?For the time will failme if I go on to relateabout Gideon, Barak,Samson, Jephthah, Da-vid as well as Samu-el and the other prophets,who through faith de-feated kingdoms in con-flict, effected righteous-ness, obtained promises,stopped the mouths of li-ons, stayed the force offire, escaped the edge ofthe sword, from a weakstate were made power-

ful.” (Hebrews 11:32-34) We can andshould learn from the good examples inthe Bible and imitate them.

20 But some Bible examples are a

20, 21. Why do you want to keep learningfrom the examples in the Bible?

warning for us. Some of themwere menand women who at one time servedJehovah and had his approval. Whenwe read the Bible, we can learn whatthey did wrong so that we do notmake the same mistakes. We learn thatsome slowly started to think the wrongway and then made decisions thathad sad results. To learn from theseexamples, we can ask ourselves suchquestions as: How did this personstart to think the wrong way? Couldthe same thing happen to me? How canthis example help me to avoid that mis-take?

21 We have good reasons to studythese examples carefully. Paul said:“These things went on befalling themas examples, and they were written fora warning to us upon whom the endsof the systems of things have arrived.”—1 Corinthians 10:11.

WHAT HAVE YOU

LEARNED?

ˇ Why can we saythat there are goodexamples and badexamples in the Bible?

ˇ Why did Solomonmake one mistakeafter another?

ˇ What can you learnfrom Solomon’smistakes?

How can you showthat you are learning from

Solomon’s mistakes?


9

HAVE you ever used a compass tofind your way? A compass is a sim-

ple tool that can help someone to knowinwhich direction to go. It has a magnet-ic needle that points toward the north.An invisible force called magnetism iswhat makes the needle move. For cen-turies, people have used a compass toguide their way when they travel overland and sea.

2 There is another invisible force thatis even more important for our guid-ance. What is it? It is the force we readabout in the first two verses of the Bible.Genesis tells us what Jehovah did a verylong time ago: “In the beginning Godcreated the heavens and the earth.” Weknow that he used a very powerful forceto create things because the Bible con-tinues: “God’s active force was movingto and fro.” (Genesis 1:1, 2) What forcewas God using? His holy spirit, whichis his active force. We are grateful thatJehovah used his holy spirit to give uslife and to create all other things.—Job33:4; Psalm 104:30.

3 We know that Jehovah used his ac-tive force to create us, but can this forceinfluence our lives in some other way?God’s Son told his disciples that it can.He said that the holy spirit would guide

1. Explain how an invisible force can guide aperson.2, 3. (a) What powerful force did Jehovahuse a very long time ago? (b) How do we knowthat God’s active force can guide our lives to-day?

them “into all the truth.”(John 16:13) What is thisspirit? Why should wewant to be guided by it?

WHAT THEHOLY SPIRIT IS

4 Some people youmeet in the preachingwork may believe in whatthe King James Version and some otherBible translations call the Holy Ghost.Those who believe in the Trinity havethe wrong idea, thinking that the holyspirit is a person equal with God the Fa-ther. (1 Corinthians 8:6) In 1833, NoahWebster published The Webster Bible,which he based on the King James Ver-sion. It is interesting to note that heused the words “Holy Spirit” instead of“Holy Ghost.” Webster did this becausehe knew that in the Scriptures thesewords did not mean “a ghost.”�—Seefootnote.

5 So, what is the holy spirit? A foot-note at Genesis 1:2 in the New World

� In the preface of his Bible, Webster explainedwhy he used some words that were differentfrom the words in the King James Version. Hesaid that it would not be accurate to use a wordif people understood it differently now fromwhen it was first used in the King James Versionor if it meant something different from whatwas stated in the original Bible languages.

4, 5. (a) What wrong idea about the holyspirit do those who believe in the Trinity have?(b) How would you explain what the holy spir-it really is?

Why Be Guided byGod’s Spirit?

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“You are my God.Your spirit is good;may it lead me.”—PSALM 143:10.


Translation of the HolyScriptures—With Refer-ences says that the He-brew word ru�ach, whichis translated “spirit” atGenesis 1:2, in other vers-es is translated “wind”or words with a similarmeaning. (Compare foot-notes at Genesis 3:8; 8:1.)Even though we cannotsee the wind, we can seewhat it does. In the sameway, the holy spirit is in-visible, but it can causethings to happen. Theholy spirit is not a person.It is energy from God.He uses it on people orthings to make sure thatwhatever he wants willhappen. Is it hard to be-lieve that such a marvel-ous force comes from thealmighty God? Not at all!—Read Isaiah 40:12, 13.

6 Can Jehovah continueto use his spirit to guideus in life? He promisedDavid: “I shall make youhave insight and instructyou in the way you shouldgo.” (Psalm 32:8) Did Da-vid want to be guided byGod? We know that hedid because he prayed toJehovah: “Teach me to doyour will, for you are myGod. Your spirit is good;

may it lead me.” (Psalm 143:10) Wetoo should want to be guided by God’s

6. What did David ask of Jehovah?

spirit. Why? We will consider four rea-sons.

WE CANNOT GUIDE OURSELVES

7 The first reasonwhy we should wantto be guided byGod’s spirit is thatwe donot have the ability to guide ourselves.To guide someone means to show himthe right way to go. Jehovah did not giveus the ability to do that for ourselves.And because we are imperfect, we makemany mistakes when we try to guideourselves. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:“O Lord, I am conscious that a man’sway is not in himself: man has no pow-er of guiding his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23, The Bible in Basic English) And why

not? God told us the reason through Jer-emiah. Jehovah said: “The heart is moretreacherous than anything else and isdesperate. Who can know it?”—Jeremi-ah 17:9; Matthew 15:19.

8 Imagine that someone has to hikethrough a dangerous place that he doesnot know well, such as a jungle or a des-ert. It would not be wise to go alone,without a good guide or a compass. Ifthe person does not know how to sur-vive in a place like that and does notknow how to find his way safely, his life

7, 8. (a) Why are we not able to guide our-selves? (b) What example helps us to under-stand why we need God’s guidance in thiswicked world?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Holy spirit:Energy from God thathe uses on peopleor things to makesure that whateverhe wants will happen.It is also called hisactive force

ˇ The fruitageof the spirit:A group of qualitiesshown by those whoare guided by holyspirit. The qualitiesare: love, joy, peace,long-suffering,kindness, goodness,faith, mildness, andself-control

ˇ The worksof the flesh:Bad actions of thosewho are guided bythe spirit of the world.The actions are: forni-cation, uncleanness,loose conduct, idola-try, practice of spirit-ism, enmities, strife,jealousy, fits of anger,contentions, divisions,sects, envies, drunkenbouts, revelries, andthings like these

The holy spiritis a guide that we

can always trust


will be in danger. So, too, the personwho thinks he can guide himself in thiswicked world without allowing God toshow him the right way is in great dan-ger. Like David, we should pray for Jeho-vah’s help. He said: “Let my steps takehold on your tracks, in which my foot-steps will certainly not be made to tot-ter.” (Psalm 17:5; 23:3) How can we re-ceive this guidance?

9 If we are humble and willing to de-pend on Jehovah, he will give us his holyspirit to guide us. How will that activeforce help us? Jesus told his disciples:“The helper, the holy spirit, which theFather will send in my name, that onewill teach you all things and bring backto your minds all the things I told you.”(John 14:26) When we prayerfully studyGod’s Word, including Christ’s teach-ings, holy spirit will help us to under-stand Jehovah’s deep wisdom, so thatwe can obey him. (1 Corinthians 2:10)Also, at any unexpected turn in the roadto life, God’s spirit will help us to knowwhat to do. His spirit will help us to re-member Bible principles that we havealready learned and help us to under-stand how we can use them to makegood decisions.

JESUS WAS GUIDEDBY GOD’S SPIRIT

10 A second reason why we shouldwant to be guided by holy spirit is thatGod’s own Son was guided by it. Je-sus expected to receive the help of holyspirit while he was on earth. He knewof this prophecy written about himself:

9. As shown on page 14, how can holy spiritguide us well?10, 11. What did Jesus expect holy spirit to dofor him? How did the holy spirit help him?

“Upon him the spirit of Jehovah mustsettle down, the spirit of wisdom andof understanding, the spirit of counseland of mightiness, the spirit of knowl-edge and of the fear of Jehovah.” (Isaiah11:2) Life on earth would not be easy forJesus. Just imagine how much he want-ed the help of God’s spirit!

11 Jehovah’s words came true. TheGospel of Luke tells us what hap-pened immediately after Jesus’ baptism:“Now Jesus, full of holy spirit, turnedaway from the Jordan, and he was ledabout by the spirit in the wilderness.”(Luke 4:1) There, while Jesus was fast-ing, praying, and meditating, it seems

that Jehovah gave him instructions andprepared him for whatwas going to hap-pen. God’s active force influenced Je-sus’ mind and heart. It guided his wayof thinking and his decisions. As a re-sult, Jesus always knew what his Fatherwanted him to do, and he did it.

12 Jesus knew how important God’sspirit was in his own life, so he strong-ly encouraged his disciples to ask for itand to allow it to guide them in theirlives. (Read Luke 11:9-13.) Why do we

12. Why do we need to ask for God’s spirit toguide us?

need to ask for God’s spirit to guide us?Because it can change our thinking andhelp us to have “the mind of Christ.”(1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 12:2) Thismeans that when we allow God’s spiritto guide our lives, we can think as Christdoes and imitate his example.—1 Peter2:21.

THE SPIRIT OFTHE WORLD COULDLEAD US THE WRONG WAY

13 The third reason why we wantGod’s spirit to guide us is that withoutits guidance, we will be led the wrongway by the spirit of the world. Most peo-ple today are controlled by the spirit ofthe world. This is the powerful force thatcauses people to do the exact oppositeof what holy spirit guides us to do. In-stead of helping people to have the mindof Christ, the spirit of the world caus-es people to think and act like the rul-er of the world, Satan. (Read Ephesians2:1-3; Titus 3:3.) If a person allows him-self to be controlled by the spirit of theworld and starts practicing “the worksof the flesh,” there will be bad results.This person “will not inherit God’s king-dom.”—Galatians 5:19-21.

14 Jehovah gives us what we need toresist the spirit of the world. The apos-tle Paul said to “go on acquiring powerin the Lord and in the mightiness of hisstrength.” Why? He continued: “Thatyou may be able to resist in the wickedday.” (Ephesians 6:10, 13) Through hisspirit, Jehovah gives us the strength toresist Satan’s efforts to lead us the

13. What is the spirit of the world? What doesit cause people to do?14, 15. How can we resist the spirit of theworld?

Holy spiritwas a powerfulforce in Jesus’

life


wrong way. (Revelation 12:9) The spiritof the world is strong, and we cannotavoid it completely. But we can resist it.Holy spirit is even stronger, and it willhelp us!

15 The apostle Peter spoke of thosewho left the truth in the first centurywhen he said: “Abandoning the straightpath, they have been misled.” (2 Peter2:15) We can be very thankful that “wereceived, not the spirit of the world, butthe spirit which is from God.” (1 Co-rinthians 2:12) By allowing holy spir-it to guide us and by using everythingJehovah gives us to keep our relation-ship with him strong, we can do whatis right and resist the spirit of this wick-ed world.—Galatians 5:16.

HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCESGOOD FRUITAGE

16 A fourth reasonwhy we want God’sspirit to guide us is that it producesexcellent fruitage in the lives of thosewho are led by it. This means thatit helps them to show excellent quali-ties. (Read Galatians 5:22, 23.) Certain-ly, all of us would want to be more lov-ing, joyful, and peaceable. We would alllike to be more long-suffering and showmore kindness and goodness. It would

16. What fruitage can holy spirit producein us?

be good for all of us to have greaterfaith and show more mildness and self-control. These good qualities benefit usand those in our family and congrega-tion. We have to continue to work hardto show this fruitage. There is no limitto how much fruitage of the spirit weneed and can produce.

17 It would be wise to think about this:Do our words and actions show that weare guided by holy spirit and that weare producing its fruitage? (2 Corinthi-ans 13:5a; Galatians 5:25) What if wefind that we need help with some ofthe qualities that are part of the fruit-age of the spirit? We can make moreof an effort to be led by holy spirit toproduce these qualities. We do this bystudying about each of these qualities,using the Bible and our Christian publi-cations. We should think about how we

can show the fruitage of the spirit in oureveryday life and then work harder toshow it.� (See footnote.) We understandhow much we need the help of the holy

� To learn more about each quality that ispart of the fruitage of the spirit, see the sub-ject “Fruitage of God’s Spirit” and the heading“List by Aspect” in the Watch Tower PublicationsIndexes.

17. How can we work harder to show the fruit-age of the spirit?

The spirit of the worldcauses peopleto think and actlike Satan

We have to continueto work hard to

show the fruitageof the spirit


spirit when we see thegood results of its guid-ance in our own life andin the lives of our broth-ers and sisters.

ARE YOU ALLOWINGGOD’S SPIRIT TOGUIDE YOU?

18 When God createdthe universe, Jesus washis “master worker.” SoJesus knew all aboutearth’s magnetism, theforce that helps humans

when they use a compass. (Proverbs 8:30; John 1:3) The Bible does not say thatJesus ever used magnetism to guide hisway when he was on earth. But the Bi-ble does say that God’s holy spirit was apowerful force in Jesus’ life as a human.

18. What can we learn from Jesus’ example ofallowing God’s spirit to guide him?

He wanted to be guided by it. When thespirit directed him to do something, heaccepted its direction and did it. (Mark1:12, 13; Luke 4:14) Do you allow God’sspirit to guide you as Jesus did?

19 Today, God’s active force still di-rects those who are willing to be guid-ed by it. How can you allow it to leadyou in the right direction? Always prayto Jehovah that he send you his spiritand help you accept its guidance. (ReadEphesians 3:14-16.) Show that you wantto be guided by God’s spirit by study-ing the Bible, which was inspired ofGod through his holy spirit. (2 Timothy3:16, 17) Obey the wise instructions init, and then accept the direction of holyspirit. By doing these things, you showthat you have faith in Jehovah’s ability toguide you the best way possible in thiswicked world.

19. What must we do for holy spirit toguide us?

DO YOU REMEMBER

THE MAIN POINTS?

ˇ How can holy spiritinfluence our lives?

ˇ What are four reasonswhy we should wantto be guided by God’sspirit?

ˇ How can you allowholy spirit to lead youin the right direction?

God’s spiritoperates onhearts and

minds to moveand guide them

15

EVENthoughmanyhave shown faithsince the time of Abel, the Bi-

ble tells us: “Faith is not a possessionof all people.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2) Sowhy does a person have this quality,and what helps him to be faithful? Weknow that to have faith, we need knowl-edge from God’s Word because the Bi-ble says: “Faith follows the thing heard.”(Romans 10:17) Faith is a part of thefruitage of God’s holy spirit. (Galatians5:22, 23) So we need holy spirit to havestrong faith.

2 People are not born with faith. Thefaithful men and women we read aboutin the Bible were people “with feel-ings like ours.” (James 5:17) They haddoubts and weaknesses. They were not

sure of their abilities. But God’s spiritgave thempower to endure difficult situ-ations. (Hebrews 11:34) When we learnabout how Jehovah’s spirit helped them,we today will be encouraged to contin-ue to serve God faithfully. This encour-

1, 2. What do we need to have faith? Whatencouragement do we get from the examplesof God’s faithful servants of the past?

agement is especially im-portant in our time whenso many things can weak-en our faith.

GOD’S SPIRIT GAVEMOSES POWER

3 Of all the people whowere living in the year1513 before Christ, Mo-ses was “by far the meek-est.” (Numbers 12:3) Still, Jehovah gavehim the huge responsibility of takingcare of the nation of Israel. With thehelp of God’s spirit, Moses was able toprophesy, judge, write, lead, and makemiracles happen. (Read Isaiah 63:11-14.) But Moses once complained thattaking care of the people was too dif-ficult for him. (Numbers 11:14, 15) SoJehovah took “away some of the spirit”that he had given to Moses and gave itto 70 other men so that they might helpMoses with the work. (Numbers 11:16,17) Even though Moses thought that hewas carrying a load that was too heavy,he really had not been carrying it alone.And the 70 men whom Moses chose tohelp himwould not carry it alone either.

4 Jehovah had given Moses enoughholy spirit to do the work. After Je-hovah gave holy spirit to the 70 men,

3-5. (a) How do we know that holy spirithelped Moses to take care of his responsibili-ties? (b) What does Moses’ example teach usabout the way Jehovah gives us his spirit?

Faithful Ones of Old—Guided by God’s Spirit

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“The Sovereign LordJehovah himselfhas sent me,even his spirit.”—ISAIAH 48:16.

Jehovah will giveyou as muchholy spiritas you need

16

Moses still had all thespirit that he needed. Mo-ses did not have too lit-tle, and the 70 older mendid not have toomuch. Je-hovah gives us as muchof his spirit as we needin our situation. “He doesnot give the spirit by mea-sure” but gives “from outof his fullness.”—John 1:16; 3:34.

5 Are you enduringtrials? Do you feel that

your responsibilities are increasing andtakingmore and more of your time? Areyou trying hard to provide food, shelter,and Bible training for your family whileyour expenses are increasing or yourhealth is getting worse? Do you haveheavy responsibilities in the congrega-tion? Whatever your situation may be,you can be sure that Jehovah can usehis holy spirit to give you the strengthyou need.—Romans 15:13.

HOLY SPIRIT HELPED BEZALEL

6 Another servant of Jehovah wholived at the time of Moses and also re-ceived the help of God’s spirit was Bez-alel. His example teaches us a lot aboutthe wayGod’s spirit can guide us. (ReadExodus 35:30-35.) Jehovah chose Bezal-el to take the lead in making the neces-sary things for the tabernacle. Did Bez-alel know how to make things beforethis big project began? Maybe. But his

6-8. (a) What did God’s spirit help Bezaleland Oholiab to do? (b) How do we know thatBezalel and Oholiab were guided by God’sspirit? (c) Why is Bezalel’s example encourag-ing for us today?

last job probably had been that of mak-ing bricks for the Egyptians. (Exodus 1:13, 14) So how would Bezalel take careof this difficult project? Jehovah “pro-ceeded to fill him with the spirit ofGod in wisdom, in understanding andin knowledge and in every sort of crafts-manship and for designing devices.”

This helped him “to make ingeniousproducts of every sort.” God improvedthe natural ability that Bezalel and Oho-liab may have had by giving them holy

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Guided byGod’s spirit:To be guided by God’sspirit means to followthe direction of holyspirit

ˇ Godly devotion:Loyal worship andservice to God

Jehovah’s spiritcan help you to do

any kind of workhe gives you

spirit. They were able to do the workand to teach others how to do it, so theymust have learned well.

7 We also know that Bezalel and Oho-liab were guided by holy spirit becauseof the excellent quality of their work.The things that they made lasted a longtime. The people still used those thingsalmost 500 years later. (2 Chronicles 1:2-6) Most people who make things to-day want others to honor them for theirwork. But Bezalel and Oholiab were notlike that. They wanted Jehovah to re-ceive all the honor.—Exodus 36:1, 2.

8 Today, we may have to do work thatrequires special abilities, such as build-ing, printing, organizing conventions,helping our brothers after a disaster,and explaining to doctors and hospitalworkers what the Bible says about theuse of blood. Sometimes, these things

are done by some who have special abil-ities. But most of the time, theyare doneby volunteers who do not know muchabout that kind of work. But God’sspirit helps them to do the work well.Have you been afraid of accepting an as-signment in Jehovah’s service becauseyou think that others are more able tocare for it than you are? Remember,Jehovah’s spirit can help you to use theknowledge and ability that you have todo any kind of work he gives you.

GOD’S SPIRIT HELPED JOSHUATO LEAD GOD’S PEOPLE

9 God’s spirit also guided anotherservant of God who lived at the timeof Moses and Bezalel. Shortly after theIsraelites left Egypt, the Amalekites at-tacked God’s people. The Israeliteswere not used to fighting. Now they hadto fight their first war as a freed people.

9. What did the Israelites have to do shortlyafter they left Egypt? What question neededan answer?

Parents, yourgood examplewill help yourchildren towant to serveJehovah


(Exodus 13:17; 17:8) Someone had tolead them in battle. Who would it be?

10 Jehovah chose Joshua, but it wasnot because Joshua had led armies be-fore. What did he know about war? Hehad been a slave who made bricks. Andin the wilderness he gathered mannafor his daily food. It is true that Josh-ua’s grandfather Elishamawas leader ofthe tribe of Ephraim and was in chargeof an army of 108,100 men. (Numbers2:18, 24; 1 Chronicles 7:26, 27) But Je-hovah did not tell Moses to chooseElishama or Elishama’s son Nun. Jeho-vah said that Joshua should lead thearmy and defeat the enemy. The battle

lasted most of the day. Because Josh-ua obeyed God and accepted the guid-ance of God’s spirit, Israel won the bat-tle.—Exodus 17:9-13.

11 After Moses’ death, Joshua led theIsraelites. Joshua was “full of the spiritof wisdom.” (Deuteronomy 34:9) Holyspirit did not give him the ability toprophesy or to make miracles happenas it had given Moses. However, ithelped Joshua to lead Israel in the manybattles they had to fight to conquer Ca-

10. Why did Joshua and the Israelites win thebattle?11. How can we do well in God’s service asJoshua did?

naan. Today, we may feel that we do nothave the knowledge or ability to do cer-tain things in our service to God. Butwe can be sure that God will help usto do well if we obey him and accepthis guidance, just as he helped Joshua.— Joshua 1:7-9.

“JEHOVAH’S SPIRITENVELOPED GIDEON”

12 After Joshua’s death, Jehovah con-tinued to use his spirit to give strengthto his faithful people. In the book ofJudges, we can read about many peo-ple who “from a weak state were madepowerful.” (Hebrews 11:34) God usedhis holy spirit to help Gideon to fightfor Israel. (Judges 6:34) Gideon’s armywas small compared with the Midian-ite army. There were four Midianite sol-diers to each Israelite soldier. But Jeho-vah thought that the Israelite army hadto be even smaller. Twice he told Gid-eon to send more men home. Finally,there was 1 Israelite soldier to every 450Midianite soldiers. (Judges 7:2-8; 8:10)Jehovah approved of that number. Thatway, if the Israelites won the battle, noone could say with pride that it was byhuman strength or wisdom.

13 Gideon and his troops were almostready. Think about this: If you had beenpart of that small army, would you havefelt safe knowing that those who wereafraid or not alert to danger had beensent home? Or would you have felt alittle scared when thinking about what

12-14. (a) What does the victory of the smallIsraelite army over the large Midianite armyteach us? (b) How did Jehovah strengthen Gid-eon’s faith? (c) What help can we expect Godto give us today?

God gives usguidance throughthe Bible andthe congregation


the results would be? We can be surethat Gideon trusted in God. He didwhat he was told to do! (Read Judges7:9-14.) Jehovah did not get angry whenGideon asked him for a sign to provethat God would be with him. (Judges 6:36-40) Instead, he strengthened Gide-on’s faith.

14 There is no limit to Jehovah’s pow-er to save. He can save his people fromany difficult situation. He can even usethose who seem to be weak or helplessto do that. Sometimes we may feel thatmany people are against us or that weare in a desperate situation. We do notexpect God to give us visible signs likethe ones he gave Gideon. But he cangive us guidance and comfort throughthe Bible and the congregation, whichis led by his spirit. (Romans 8:31, 32) Je-hovah’s loving promises strengthen ourfaith and our trust in Jehovah’s powerto help us.

“JEHOVAH’S SPIRIT NOWCAME UPON JEPHTHAH”

15 We have another example of some-one who was guided by God’s spirit.When the Israelites had to fight againstthe Ammonites, Jehovah’s spirit “cameupon Jephthah.” Because he wanted towin the battle to Jehovah’s praise, Jeph-thah made a vow. To pay that vow to Je-hovah, he would have to give up some-thing that was very precious to him. Hevowed that if Jehovah helped him to de-feat the Ammonites, he would give toJehovah the first person who came outof the house when he returned home.

15, 16. Why was Jephthah’s daughter willingto make sacrifices? How should this encour-age parents?

Jephthah’s daughter was the first per-son who came running to meet himafter his victory. (Judges 11:29-31, 34)Was this a surprise to Jephthah? Prob-ably not. He had onlyone child. He paidhis vow by having her serve at Jeho-vah’s sanctuaryat Shiloh. She was a loy-al worshipper of Jehovah, and she be-lieved that her father should do exactlyas he had vowed. (Read Judges 11:36.)Jehovah’s spirit gave both of them thestrength they needed.

16 Why was Jephthah’s daughter will-ing to make sacrifices to serve Jeho-vah? Her father’s zeal and godly devo-tion certainly helped to strengthen herfaith. Parents, your children are watch-ing your example. Your decisions showthat you believe what you say. Your chil-dren listen to your sincere prayers, payattention to your teaching, and see allthe efforts you make to serve Jehovahwith a complete heart. All of this willlikely help them to have a strong desireto serve Jehovah. This will make youvery happy.

“JEHOVAH’S SPIRIT BECAMEOPERATIVE UPON” SAMSON

17 Another example of someone whowas helped by God’s spirit is Samson.The Bible tells us that “Jehovah’s spir-it started to impel” Samson to save theIsraelites from the Philistines. (Judges13:24, 25) God gave Samson amazingstrength that no one else had. Whenthe Philistines influenced other Israel-ites to capture Samson, “Jehovah’s spir-it became operative upon him, and theropes that were upon his arms came

17. What did Samson do with the help ofGod’s spirit?


to be like linen threadsthat have been scorchedwith fire, so that hisfetters melted off hishands.” (Judges 15:14)Later, Samson made baddecisions that causedhim to lose his strength.But even when he wasphysically weak, Sam-son was made powerful“through faith” one lasttime. (Hebrews 11:32-34; Judges 16:18-21, 28-30) Because of the situa-tion, Jehovah’s spirithelped Samson in a spe-cial way. Even though Je-

hovah is not going to give us thepower to do what Samson did, Sam-son’s example can greatlyencourage us.How?

18 We trust in the help of the sameholy spirit that helped Samson. Wetrust that it will help us to do the workthat Jesus gave us, that is, “to preach tothe people and to give a thorough wit-ness.” (Acts 10:42) It may be difficult forus to do this work. So we are happy thatJehovah gives us his spirit to do every-thing that he asks us to do in his ser-vice! We agree with the prophet Isaiah:“The Sovereign Lord Jehovah himselfhas sent me, even his spirit.” (Isaiah 48:16) It is really God’s spirit that has sentus! Jehovah will continue to help us todo the work by improving our abilitiesjust as he did for Moses, Bezalel, andJoshua. We use “the sword of the spir-

18, 19. (a) How does Samson’s example en-courage us? (b) How have the examples in thisarticle helped you?

it, that is, God’s word,” and trust thathe will give us power, just as he did forGideon, Jephthah, and Samson. (Ephe-sians 6:17, 18) If we trust that Jehovahwill help us, he can give us the strengthto do his work, just as he gave Samsonphysical strength.

19 Clearly, Jehovah blesses his coura-geous worshippers. Our faith becomesstronger when we allow ourselves tobe guided by God’s holy spirit. In theChristian Greek Scriptures, there arealso examples of those who were guid-ed by God’s spirit. We will enjoy learn-ing in the next article how Jehovah’sspirit helped his faithful servants in thefirst century, both before and after Pen-tecost of the year 33.

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

Why are you encour-aged to know howholy spirit helpedthese servants ofGod:

ˇ Moses?

ˇ Bezalel?

ˇ Joshua?

ˇ Gideon?

ˇ Jephthah?

ˇ Samson?

Jehovah’s spiritcan give usstronger faith

21

PENTECOST of the year 33 was aday when some exciting things hap-

pened. It was the day that God pouredout his spirit on his servants! (Acts 2:1-4) God began to use his spirit to guidehis people in a new way. In the last ar-ticle, we studied about how God’s spir-it helped his faithful servants of thepast to do difficult things in God’s ser-vice. But what is the difference betweenthe way God’s spirit guided God’s ser-vants before the Christian congrega-tion was created and after that? Andhow do Christians benefit from theguidance of God’s holy spirit today?That is what we are going to study inthis article.

“LOOK! JEHOVAH’S SLAVE GIRL!”

2 When the holy spirit was poured outin that large upper room in Jerusalem,Mary was there. (Acts 1:13, 14) But evenbefore that day, she had known for along time that Jehovah can do amazingthings through his spirit. More than 30years earlier, Jehovah had sent the lifeof his Son from heaven to earth. Jeho-vah used holy spirit to cause Mary tobecome pregnant even though she wasstill a virgin.—Matthew 1:20.

3 Why did Jehovah choose Mary? Af-ter the angel told Mary that she would

1. What will we study in this article?2. What did Mary know about God’s spirit?3, 4. How did Mary feel about what Godasked her to do? How can we imitate her?

give birth to God’s Son,she said: “Look! Jehovah’sslave girl! May it takeplace with me accord-ing to your declaration.”(Luke 1:38) What Marysaid showed the kind ofperson she was. She wasready to accept Jehovah’swill for her. She did not ask the angelabout what people would think of herpregnancy or fear that Joseph may notwant to marry her anymore. By sayingthat she was Jehovah’s slave girl, Maryshowed that she had complete trust inJehovah.

4 Do you sometimes feel that your re-sponsibilities in God’s service are toomuch for you to care for? Each of

us should ask himself: Do I complete-ly trust that Jehovah will take care ofthings according to his will? Am I tru-ly willing to do the work that Jehovahwants me to do? You can be sure thatGod gives his spirit to those who havecomplete trust in him and obey him asRuler.—Acts 5:32.

Guided by God’s Spirit in theFirst Century and Today

THEME

SCRIPTURE

“All these operationsthe one and the samespirit performs.”—1 CORINTHIANS 12:11.

Like Mary, are youwilling to do the work

that Jehovah wantsyou to do?


HOLY SPIRITHELPED PETER

5 Like Mary, the apos-tle Peter had also seenand felt the power of holyspirit before Pentecost ofthe year 33. Jesus hadgiven him and the otherapostles authority to ex-pel demons. (Mark 3:14-16) And even though theBible does not tell usmuch about it, it seemsthat Peter used that au-thority. Also, when Jesusinvited Peter to walk to-ward him on the Sea ofGalilee, Peter was ableto do it with the helpof holy spirit. (Read Mat-thew 14:25-29.) So it isclear that Peter was ableto do powerful things be-

cause he trusted in the help of holy spir-it. Soon that spirit would give Peter andthe other disciples power to do manyother things.

6 At Pentecost of the year 33, holyspirit gave Peter and others the mirac-ulous ability to speak in the languagesof those who were visiting Jerusalem.Then Peter stood up and spoke to thecrowd. (Acts 2:14-36) Peter had some-times been afraid or had done thingswithout thinking. After he received holyspirit, however, he had the courage topreach even though he was persecutedand told to stop preaching. (Acts 4:18-

5. How had the holy spirit helped Peter beforePentecost of the year 33?6. What did God’s spirit help Peter to do dur-ing and after Pentecost of the year 33?

20, 31) God used his spirit to give Pe-ter special knowledge. (Acts 5:8, 9) AndGod’s spirit even gave the apostle thepower to resurrect someone.—Acts 9:40.

7 Before Pentecost, Peter understoodmany of the truths that Jesus taught.(Matthew 16:16, 17; John 6:68) But therewere other truths that Peter understoodonly after Pentecost. For example, Peterdid not understand that Christ would be

resurrected as a spirit person after threedays or that Christ’s Kingdom would bein heaven. (John 20:6-10; Acts 1:6) Peterdid not understand that humans couldbecome spirits and rule in a heavenlyKingdom. It was only after he himselfwas anointed with holy spirit at Pente-cost and chosen for life in heaven thatPeter understood these teachings of Je-sus.

8 After Jesus’ disciples received holyspirit, they were able to understandteachings that they did not understandbefore. Holy spirit inspired the writersof the Christian Greek Scriptures to ex-plain amazing truths about Jehovah’spurpose. (Ephesians 3:8-11, 18) Today,both the anointed and the other sheepcan study and understand these sametruths. (John 10:16) Are you thankful

7. What teachings of Jesus did Peter under-stand only after he was anointed?8. What knowledge can both the anointedand the other sheep have?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

ˇ Immortal andincorruptible life:Eternal life in a spiritbody that cannot bedestroyed and doesnot decay

ˇ Appoint:To select a person fora special work accord-ing to the direction ofGod’s spirit

ˇ Anoint:To pour out holy spiritupon a person. WhenJehovah anoints aperson, He gives himthe hope of everlast-ing life in heaven

Holy spirit can giveyou courage to preach

as it did Peter


for the knowledge and understanding ofGod’s Word that God’s spirit helps youto have?

PAUL BECAME“FILLED WITH HOLY SPIRIT”

9 About a year after Pentecost of theyear 33, Saul, who later became knownas Paul, was also anointed with holyspirit. God’s spirit gave Paul the abilityto do things that still benefit us today.For example, holy spirit inspired himto write 14 books of the Bible. In thesame way that it helped Peter, holy spir-it helped Paul to understand and writeabout the hope of immortal and incor-ruptible life in heaven. Also by holyspirit, Paul expelled demons, cured sickpeople, and even resurrected someone!But Paul had received power throughholy spirit to do something even more

9. What did holy spirit help Paul to do?

important. God’s servants receive pow-er to do the same today, even thoughthey do not receive it in a miraculousway.

10 Paul, who was “filled with holy spir-it,” spoke courageously against a sor-cerer. The proconsul of Cyprus listenedto the whole conversation. He was veryimpressed with what Paul said and ac-cepted the truth. The Bible says thatthis man “was astounded at the teach-ing of Jehovah.” (Acts 13:8-12) Clearly,Paul knew that only God’s spirit couldgive him the ability to speak the truthwith courage. (Matthew 10:20) He lat-er asked the congregation in Ephesusto continue to pray for him that “abilityto speak” might be given to him.—Ephe-sians 6:18-20.

11 The holy spirit helped Paul to

10. How did holy spirit help Paul to speak?11. How was Paul guided by God’s spirit?

God’s spiritenabled Paulto overcomewicked spirits


speak, but it sometimes did not allowPaul to speak in certain places. Paulwas guided by holy spirit in his mis-sionary journeys. (Acts 13:2; read Acts16:6-10.) Jehovah still uses his spirit toguide the preaching work today. Like

Paul, all of Jehovah’s obedient servantsdo their best to preach the truth withcourage and zeal. Even though the wayGod uses his spirit to direct us is differ-ent from the way he directed Paul, wecan be sure that through his spirit Je-hovah still “draws” sincere ones to thetruth.—John 6:44.

“VARIETIES OF OPERATIONS”

12 It is very encouraging to us todayto read about the way Jehovah blessedthe congregation of anointed ones in thefirst century. The holy spirit gave Chris-tians at that time special abilities, or“gifts.” When Paul wrote to the congre-gation in Corinth about these gifts, hesaid: “Now there are varieties of gifts,but there is the same spirit; and thereare varieties of ministries, and yet thereis the same Lord; and there are vari-eties ofoperations, and yet it is the sameGod who performs all the operations inall persons.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11)Paul said that the holy spirit can op-erate, or work, on different servants ofGod for a specific purpose. Both the “lit-tle flock” and the “other sheep” are guid-

12-14. Does God’s spirit operate in the sameway on all his servants? What are some waysin which God’s spirit operates on his servants?

God’s spirit can giveyou the ability to speakthe truth as it did Paul


ed by holy spirit. (Luke 12:32; John 10:16) But it does not always operate in thesame way on each member of the con-gregation.

13 For example, elders are appointedby holy spirit. (Acts 20:28) But not allChristians who are anointed with holyspirit serve as elders in the congrega-tion. This means that God’s spirit oper-ates in different ways on the membersof the congregation.

14 The spirit that makes the anoint-ed sure that they are adopted as sonsof God is the same spirit that Jehovahused to resurrect Jesus to life in heaven.(Read Romans 8:11, 15.) Jehovah usedthat same spirit to create the whole uni-verse. (Genesis 1:1-3) Jehovah also usedthe same spirit to give Bezalel great-er ability to do special work on the tab-ernacle. The same spirit gave Samsonamazing strength to do things no one

else could do and helped Peter to walkon water. So to be guided by God’s spir-it is not the same as to be anointed withGod’s spirit. To be anointed with holyspirit is only one special way in whichGod’s spirit operates. It is God who

chooses those whomhe anointswith hisspirit.

15 God’s holy spirit has always oper-ated on his faithful servants in manydifferent ways. It had been operatingon them for thousands of years before

15. Will anointing with God’s holy spirit con-tinue forever? Why do you answer that way?

Holy spirit will continueto help God’s people to

do his will forever

Both theanointedand theother sheepreceive holyspirit andare guidedby it


God started to anointpeople. Anointing withholy spirit began at Pen-tecost of the year 33, but itwill not continue forever.Although anointing willend, holy spirit will con-tinue to operate on God’speople to help them dohis will forever.

16 What are Jehovah’sservants doing now withthe help of the holy spirit?Revelation 22:17 answers:

“The spirit and the bride keep on say-ing: ‘Come!’And let anyone hearing say:‘Come!’ And let anyone thirsting come;let anyone that wishes take life’s waterfree.” With the help of the holy spir-it, Christians today invite “anyone thatwishes” to take life’s water. AnointedChristians take the lead in doing this,and the other sheep join them in thiswork. Both groups are guided by thesame holy spirit. Both have shown theirdedication to Jehovah by being baptized“in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the holy spirit.” (Matthew28:19) And all of them show the fruit-age of the spirit in their lives. (Galatians5:22, 23) With the help of God’s spirit,they do their best to have a clean wayof life that pleases God.—2 Corinthians7:1; Revelation 7:9, 14.

KEEP ASKING FOR HOLY SPIRIT

17 So whether you hope to live for-ever in heaven or on earth, Jehovah can

16. What are Jehovah’s servants doing todaywith the help of the holy spirit?17. How can you show that you have God’sspirit?

give you “the power beyond what is nor-mal” so that you can keep your integri-ty to the end. (2 Corinthians 4:7) Peo-ple may be unkind to you and make funof you because of the preaching work.But if you do not allow that to stopyou from preaching, you show that youhave God’s spirit. Remember that “ifyou are being reproached for the nameof Christ, you are happy, because thespirit of glory, even the spirit of God, isresting upon you.”—1 Peter 4:14.

18 God gives holy spirit freely to thosewho sincerely ask for it. It can improveyour abilities and increase your desire todo your best in his service. “God is theone that, for the sake of his good plea-sure, is acting within you in order foryou both to will and to act.” The helpof holy spirit, along with your efforts tokeep “a tight grip on the word of life,”will allow you to “keep working out yourown salvation with fear and trembling.”—Philippians 2:12, 13, 16.

19 With complete trust in God’s spir-it, then, work hard at what Jehovah asksyou to do, become good at it, and askJehovah for his help. (James 1:5) He willgive you the help you need to under-stand his Word, endure life’s problems,and preach the good news. Jesus prom-ised: “Keep on asking, and it will be giv-en you; keep on seeking, and you willfind; keep on knocking, and it will beopened to you.” (Luke 11:9, 13) This in-cludes asking for holy spirit. So contin-ue asking Jehovah that you may be likeall those faithful servants of God whowere guided by holy spirit.

18, 19. How will Jehovah use his holy spirit tohelp you? What should you continue to do?

CAN YOU

EXPLAIN?

ˇ In what way can weimitate Mary and beblessed?

ˇ How was Paul guidedby God’s spirit?

ˇ How are God’s ser-vants guided by God’sspirit today?

27

AT THAT time in parts of the United States, white and blackJehovah’s Witnesses had to have separate congregations, cir-

cuits, and districts. In 1937 my father became company servant(nowcalled coordinator of the bodyof elders) of the black congrega-tion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Henry Nichols was company ser-vant of the white congregation.

I have many happy memories of when I was young. I used tosit outside our house at night with my father and Brother Nicholsand listen to them talk. Even though I did not understand every-thing, I enjoyed being with my father and listening to the two ofthem talking about the best way to do the preaching work in thosetimes.

Some years earlier, in 1930, some-thing terrible happened. My motherdied, and she was only 20 years old. Somy father had to take care of my sister,Doris, and me. She was four years old,and I was only two. Although my fatherhad not been baptized for very long, hewas doing well in the truth.

GOOD EXAMPLES FOR ME

In 1933 my father met a wonder-ful sister named Lillie Mae GwendolynThomas, and they got married. Both of

LIFE STORY

MAKINGADJUSTMENTS HASBEEN REWARDINGAS TOLD BYJAMES A. THOMPSON

I was born in 1928 in the southern part of the United States.At that time, there were laws that made black people and whitepeople stay separate from one another. Anyone who brokethese laws could be put in prison or punished in worse ways.

My father andBrother Nicholsset a fineexample for me


them loyally served Jehovah and were good examples for Dorisand me.

In 1938 the organization changed the way elders were appoint-ed in the congregations. Instead of being elected locally, they wereto be appointed from our headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. Allcongregations were asked to support this decision. Some of thebrothers in Chattanooga did not want to accept the change imme-diately, but my father completely supported this change. His ex-ample of loyalty as well as the way my stepmother cooperated withhim has helped me to this day.

BAPTISM AND FULL-TIME MINISTRY

In 1940 several brothers and sisters in our congregation rented abus and traveled to the convention held in Detroit, Michigan. Someof those who traveled with us got baptized there. I had been preach-ing regularly since I was five years old, so some wanted to knowwhy I did not get baptized.

When they asked me about it, I answered: “I don’t understandall that is involved in baptism.” My answer surprised my father. Soafter that, he tried to do more to help me understand what bap-tism means and why it is important. On a very cold day four monthslater, October 1, 1940, I was baptized in a pond outside of Chat-tanooga.

When I was 14 years old, I began pioneering during summer va-cations from school. I preached in small towns in Tennessee andthe state of Georgia nearby. I used to get up early and prepare lunchto take with me. Then I would catch a train or a bus at six in themorning to go to the territory. I returned home about six in theevening. Often I finished my food before lunchtime and wanted tobuy some more. Although I had money, I could not enter a store be-cause I was black. One time, I entered a store to buy ice cream andwas asked to leave. But a white woman was very kind and broughtme some ice cream.

When I started to attend high school, people in the South werebecoming more and more active in support of equal rights. Somegroups such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advance-ment of Colored People) urged students to fight for equal rights.Several black schools wanted all the students to become membersof such groups. People in my school pressured me to do this andsaid that I should “support our race.” But I refused. I explained thatGod does not prefer one race over another and that I trust in Godto do away with all injustices.—John 17:14; Acts 10:34, 35.

29

Soon after I finished high school, Idecided to move to New York City. Onthe way, I stopped in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania, and stayed with some of myfriends whom I had met at a convention.The congregation there was the first oneI attended where white and black broth-ers met together. The traveling overseerwas visiting, and he told me that he wasgoing to assign me a part on the next

meeting. This helped me decide to stay there.One of my friends in Philadelphia was a young sister named Ger-

aldine White, or Gerri as I call her. She knew the Bible well and wasgood at talking to people in the ministry. It was important to me thatlike me, she wanted to pioneer. We were married on April 23, 1949.

INVITED TO GILEAD

It was our goal to attend Gilead School and serve as missionariesin another country. Meanwhile, we were happy to serve where therewas a need, which would help us to prepare for Gilead. Soon wewere asked to move to serve in Lawnside, New Jersey; then to Ches-ter, Pennsylvania; and finally to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Whilewe were serving there, we could apply for Gilead because we hadbeen married for two years. But there was a problem.

During the early part of the 1950’s, many young men were be-ing drafted to serve in the military andfight in the conflict going on in Korea.The draft board in Philadelphia did notwant to excuse me from military service.It seemed that they were prejudicedagainst Jehovah’s Witnesses because wedo not go to war. But finally a judge in-formed me that the FBI had investigatedme and decided that I was truthful whenI claimed to be neutral. So on January 11,1952, the Presidential Appeal Board ex-cused me from military service becauseI was a minister of religion.

In August of that year, Gerri andI received an invitation to attend the20th class of Gilead, which started inSeptember. We were sure that we would

Ready forGilead, 1952

After attendingGilead, we werein the travelingwork in theSouth


be sent to another country. My sister, Doris, had attended the13th class of Gilead and was serving in Brazil. But we were very sur-prised when we were sent to the southern state of Alabama to servein the circuit work and visit black congregations. Since we reallywanted to serve in another country, we were a little disappointed.

The first congregation we visited was in Huntsville, where westayed at the home of a sister. When we were bringing our luggageinto her house, we heard her say on the telephone, “The childrenare here.” We were only 24 years old and looked even younger. Dur-ing the time we served that circuit, we were called by the nicknameThe Children.

Most people in the South had a lot of respect for the Bible. Thatis why that area of the United States is known as the Bible Belt. Sowhen we were in the ministry, we would talk to people about threethings:

(1) World conditions.(2) The hope that the Bible gives.(3) What the Bible says we must do.After we discussed these things with a person, we showed him

a publication that would help him to get to know the Bible. SinceI had good results with this method, I was asked to demonstrateit at the 1953 New World Society Assembly in New York.

In the summer of 1953, I was asked to serve black circuits in theSouth as district overseer. Our territory was from Virginia to Flor-ida and as far west as Alabama and Tennessee. Traveling overseershad to be prepared for different situations. For example, we oftenstayed in homes that had no bathrooms inside the house, and webathed in a tin bathtub behind the kitchen stove. We were happybecause this was the warmest part of the house.

DIFFICULTIES BECAUSE OF RACIAL PREJUDICE

When we were serving the congregations in the South, we hadto think of clever ways to do certain things. Blacks were not al-

lowed to use the public laundry rooms.So Gerri would go there and explain thatthe clothes were for “Mrs. Thompson.”Many seemed to think that she was a ser-vant for someone named Mrs. Thomp-son. At that time, district overseers wereshowing the film The New World Societyin Action on large screens. When I need-ed such a screen, I used to telephone the

Travelingoverseers and

their wivespreparing for an

integrateddistrict

convention,1966


store and ask for a screen for “Mr. Thompson.” Later, I went thereto get it. We were always polite, and we usually had no trouble inthe ministry.

In the South, there was another form of prejudice. Many peopledid not like those from the North. A newspaper once reported thatJames A. Thompson, Jr., of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Soci-ety of New York would be speaking at an assembly. Some thoughtthat I was from New York. So the school board canceled our con-tract, and we could not use a school hall for our circuit assembly.I went to the board and explained that I had gone to school in Chat-tanooga. Then the board gave us permission to use the hall for ourassembly.

In the 1950’s, racial prejudice was causing more and more prob-lems, and sometimes people were violent. In 1954, some Witness-es were offended when there were no black speakers on the pro-gram at a number of district conventions. We encouraged our blackbrothers to be patient. The following summer, I was assigned as aspeaker. After that year, more black brothers in the South were as-signed as speakers on the programs.

In time, there was less and less racial violence in the South.White brothers and black brothers began to attend meetings togeth-er. So some publishers were asked to join other congregations, andcongregation territories had to be changed. Also, overseers had totake care of new responsibilities. Some, both blacks and whites,did not like this new arrangement. But most of the brothers imi-tated Jehovah and were not partial. Many had good friends of dif-ferent races. I had experienced this in our family when I was grow-ing up in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

A NEW ASSIGNMENT

In January 1969, Gerri and I received an invitation to go to Guy-ana, South America. We were happy to go there. First we wentto Brooklyn, New York, where I receivedtraining on how to organize the preach-ing work in Guyana. We arrived there inJuly 1969. After 16 years in the travelingwork, it was a big change for us to stay inone place. Gerri spent most of her daysin the field ministry as a missionary, andI worked at the branch office.

I did many different tasks at thebranch office. I would cut the grass, send

Missionaryservice inGuyana wasa joy


the literature requested by the 28 congregations, and communicatewith headquarters in Brooklyn by mail. I was working 14 to 15 hourseach day. It was hard work for both of us, but we enjoyed our ser-vice in Guyana. When we arrived, there were 950 publishers. To-day there are over 2,500.

In Guyana, the temperatures were pleasant, and there were manytropical fruits and vegetables that we liked. But what made us real-ly happy were the humble people who wanted to learn what theBible teaches about God’s Kingdom. Gerri often conducted 20 Bi-ble studies each week. Manyof these people got baptized, and someof them became pioneers, elders, and even went to Gilead to be-come missionaries.

PROBLEMS AND POOR HEALTH

In 1983 my parents in the United States needed help. Doris,Gerri, and I met to discuss what to do. Doris, who had served

for 35 years as a missionary in Brazil,chose to return and care for them. Shereasoned that if she went back, only onemissionary would have to leave an as-signment instead of two missionaries.After our parents died, Doris stayed inChattanooga, and she now serves as aspecial pioneer.

In 1995, I learned that I had prostatecancer and had to return to the UnitedStates. We went to live in Goldsboro,North Carolina. This was halfway be-tween my family in Tennessee and Ger-ri’s family in Pennsylvania. My canceris now under control. We serve in oneof the congregations in Goldsboro as in-firm special pioneers.

I have been in the full-time minis-try for over 65 years. I am truly grate-ful that Jehovah has blessed Gerri andme for being willing to make changesto serve him. We can say that the wordsof David have been true in our life. Da-vid said about Jehovah: “With someoneloyal you will act in loyalty.”—2 Samuel22:26.

watchtower bound volume 2011 (jw)

Documents