Thursday, December 24 Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was.—John 17:5. Jesus talks late into the night, imparting to his disciples precious knowledge from God. Then he raises his eyes to heaven and prays: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, according as you have given him authority over all [...]
Wednesday, December 23 The twelve were with him.—Luke 8:1. Taking the lead in field service is an area in which overseers set a fine example for their fellow Christians. In this regard, Jesus set the example for overseers. Preaching the good news of the Kingdom was an important part of Jesus’ earthly activity. He showed his disciples how this work was to be done. In our day, [...]
Tuesday, December 22 He is guarding all the bones of that one; not one of them has been broken.—Ps. 34:20. When the lamb was slaughtered for the Passover meal, the Israelites were not to break any of its bones. What of “the Lamb of God” who came to provide the ransom? He was impaled with a criminal on each side. The Jews asked Pilate that the bones [...]
Sunday, December 20 You are my refuge and my stronghold.—Ps. 91:2. Think of the many occasions when God has safeguarded our brothers who were maintaining their Christian neutrality. For example, this was the case during the Nazi era in Germany and other countries in the 1930’s and early 1940’s. Reading and reflecting on life stories and Yearbook accounts of God’s protection during times of persecution will strengthen [...]
This episode considers a varity of questions. What is the significance of the "justaposition" between resurrection of life and resurrection of judgment? Also, questions based upon August 15, 2015, Watchtower article entitled: Keep in Expectation. Paragraph seven states: But how bad do you expect conditions to become before “the great tribulation”? For example, do you expect that there [...]
Friday, December 18 Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord.—Eph. 5:10. Because of our imperfect flesh and the efforts of Satan and this wicked world, we are constantly battling negative influences in our lives. Some of you dear brothers and sisters have a hard fight every day to maintain your relationship with Jehovah. That endears you greatly to him. Do not give up! [...]
Thursday, December 17 Every man must be swift about hearing.—Jas. 1:19. To keep the lines of communication open, family members must listen—really listen—to one another. Parents, do you really listen to your children? This may be difficult when you are tired or when the conversation seems somewhat trivial. But what appears to be trivial to you may be very important to your child. To be “swift about [...]
Moscow (AsiaNews) - While in some regions of Russia Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) have been deemed "extremists", like the militants of the Islamic State or neo-Nazis, the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) is studying how to introduce a legal concept of "sect" that does not violate the Constitution and could be used to ban the activities of certain religious organizations from the country. On November [...]
Wednesday, December 16 Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?—Matt. 24:45. The faithful slave must be made up of anointed Christians on earth. Such ones are called “a royal priesthood” and have been commissioned to “‘declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called them out of darkness into his wonderful light.” That slave is made up of a small group of anointed brothers who are [...]
Tuesday, December 15 Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls.—Heb. 13:17. In giving direction to fellow believers, elders provide encouragement and counsel based either on the Scriptures themselves or on Scriptural principles. Their objective in providing such guidance is not to dictate how their brothers should live their lives. Rather, it is to [...]
