Bible Speaks
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"Let the mountains shout joyfully together to Jehovah, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the inhabited earth with righteousness." (Ps.98:8,9)
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"Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth." (Matthew 6:10) Amen! ???????
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“From the rising of the sun until its setting Jehovah’s name is to be praised.”(Ps. 113:3) ???????
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What Is God’s Kingdom? END OF ALL WARS AND SICKNESS, SOON YOU SAY? ???
1. God’s Kingdom is a real government, one that will last forever.
2. God’s Kingdom will put an end to all human governments.
3. God’s Kingdom will end wars, sickness, famine, even death itself.
4. God’s Kingdom has a Ruler chosen by God.
5. The Ruler of God’s Kingdom has demonstrated his worthiness before all mankind.
6. God’s Kingdom has 144,000 corulers with the Christ.
7. God’s Kingdom, now ruling in heaven, is poised to establish its rule over the whole earth.
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LEARN MORE AT:
JW.ORG
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"Happy are those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, since they will be filled."—Matt. 5:6.
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The world we live in is ruled by the wicked one. (1 John 5:19) We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one." If we pick up a newspaper in any country, we find reports of cruelty and violence on an unprecedented scale. Man’s inhumanity to man is troubling for a righteous person to contemplate.
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(Ecclesiastes 8:9) "All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury."
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As those who love Jehovah, we know that only he can satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst of individuals desiring to learn righteousness. The ungodly will soon be removed, and lovers of righteousness will no longer experience the distress caused by law-defying people and their evil deeds.
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(2 Peter 2:7-8) "and he delivered righteous Lot, who was greatly distressed by the indulgence of the law-defying people in loose conduct 8 for that righteous man by what he saw and heard while dwelling among them from day to day was tormenting his righteous soul by reason of their lawless deeds."
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What a relief that will be! So let us not lose heart or be amazed that oppression and violence have taken away righteousness in this satanic world. (Ecclesiastes 5:8)
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If you see any oppression of the one of little means and the violent taking away of judgment and of righteousness in a jurisdictional district, do not be amazed over the affair, for one that is higher than the high one is watching, and there are those who are high above them." Jehovah, the Most High, knows what is taking place and will soon deliver lovers of righteousness.
w11 2/15 3:14-16
LEARN FROM ME, JEHOVAH HAS SAID. PLEASE ASK ONE OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TO HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO BE HAPPY! WE REPRESENT THE 'HAPPY GOD".
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https://www.jw.org/en/free-bible-study/
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WCNC) - Family and friends say their final goodbyes to an Uber driver found dead in Rock Hill last week. A memorial service for Marlo Medina-Chevez, 44, was held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Northeast Charlotte. The service moved to the Hubbard Road location since it is one of the biggest halls in the area. However, it still could not accommodate the more than 1200 mourners that came out to pay their respects.
"Seeing all the support all the friends, family community coming together it's a little sweet with the bitterness," said Jose Moto, the brother of Medina-Chevez's son-in-law.
Mourners filled all the seats, stood in the back and crowded over-flow rooms. Hundreds stood outside and listened to the Spanish and English service over a loud speaker.
"It is a really sad moment to get together in a location like this for such a great man," said Victor Cruz.
Cruz says his friendship with Medina-Chevez spans at least 20 years. He delivered the discourse, an outlined set of remarks that is customary in Jehovah's Witnesses funeral services. Cruz says this was one of the more challenging funeral discourses he has ever had to deliver. "When you know the person it is tough, because you don't want to lose your composure," he said.
Medina-Chevez disappeared May 20th after leaving his Steele Creek home to pick up passengers for an Uber ride. Family says he began driving Uber part-time in December to earn extra cash to pay for a family vacation.
"He was very loved and everyone cared for him still can't believe he's gone very nice guy, very loving, all about family," Moto declared.
Medina-Chevez and his wife Elsa met in 1989 when the two were in middle school. The couple has three daughters who mobilized to find Medina-Chevez when he went missing. They passed out flyers and drove all over Charlotte looking for him. CMPD also launched an intense search effort, assigning missing persons and homicide detectives to the case. Their investigation led them to Annapolis, MD where they said Medina-Chevez's credit card was used. Maryland State Troopers tracked down his Nissan Pathfinder and took two of the occupants into custody. Five days after he disappeared, Medina-Chevez's body was found in a wooded area in Rock Hill. Diontray Divan Adams and James Aaron Steven are both charged with his murder."This wasn't the outcome we would've wished for, now knowing we can move forward and always have him in our memories," said Moto. "We're going to miss him a lot," he declared.
A Free Funder page has been set up for his family. It has raised more than $40,000, which includes a $10,000 donation from Uber's East Coast General Manager Meghan Joyce. If you would like to help the Medina family, you can donate https://www.freefunder.com/campaign/help-the-medina-family
- Bible Speaks and E dub
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A Mouth Designed for Survival
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Many people who live in the sertão claim that goats eat anything—including boots, saddles, and clothes. Professor João Ambrósio, researcher at the National Center for Research on Goats, in Sobral, northeast Brazil, confirms that goats can survive on an apparently indigestible diet that includes the roots, dry leaves, and bark of over 60 species of plants.
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Other farm animals such as cattle depend almost exclusively on grass.
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Being less choosy helps, but the goat’s mouth gives it a decisive advantage. Ambrósio points out that cattle grasp food with their tongues and are incapable of selecting an individual leaf or the bark of a plant.
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Goats, however, use their small mouth, flexible lips, and sharp teeth to choose and then pluck a plant’s most nutritious parts. This ability to hunt for and select scarce food has gained the goat a reputation for destroying vegetation. “Blame man who forces the goat to live in such conditions. The goat is just trying to survive,” says Ambrósio.
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The first baby goats start to appear in May, about five months after the beginning of the breeding season. Dedicated goatherds work from four o’clock in the morning till seven at night rounding up, watering, and rescuing lost and endangered baby goats. Dexterous herders lasso and milk hundreds of female goats each day to prevent the newborns from gorging themselves to death. Care also has to be taken to treat injuries and botfly infestation, which can cause small holes in the goat’s hide and reduce its commercial value.
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Tending the goats this way is a labor of love—but not completely selfless. The traditional quarteação (quartering) system of payment used in Uauá and other rural localities rewards diligent herdsmen. They are given 1 of every 4 baby goats born each breeding season—1 of every 3 when the herd’s owner is more generous. Each young goat is assigned a number, and numbered tokens are drawn at random from a cup. Since the lot may fall on lame or healthy, thin or fat alike, herdsmen look after the herd as if it were their own.
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102004929?q=baby+goats&p=par
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Haha! ???
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/meganm15/baby-goats-are-jerks
Movie Please watch! Cute they are but I've learned can be nasty! ??
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"Praise Jah!
Praise Jehovah from the heavens;
Praise him in the heights.
You creeping things and winged birds."
Ps.148:1,10.
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The Heron and their kind are mentioned in Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the list of “Unclean Birds” or the “Do not eat” list.
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And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Leviticus 11:19 KJV)
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And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Deuteronomy 14:18 KJV)
2 Pictures 1 Moving 1 Regular Picture
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"The bridegroom came."—Matt. 25:10.
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In the illustration of the ten virgins, Jesus describes what happens when the bridegroom finally arrives: “Right in the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Go out to meet him.’” (Matthew 25:6) What is the situation of the virgins as to their preparedness and vigilance?
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Jesus continues: “Then all those virgins got up and put their lamps in order. The foolish said to the discreet, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are about to go out.’ The discreet answered, saying: ‘Perhaps there may not be enough for both us and you. Go instead to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves.’”—Matthew 25:7-9.
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So the five foolish virgins are not vigilant and are not prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom. They lack sufficient oil for their lamps and need to try to find some. Jesus relates: “While they were going off to buy it, the bridegroom came. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward, the rest of the virgins also came, saying, ‘Sir, Sir, open to us!’ In answer he said, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you.’” (Matthew 25:10-12) What a sad outcome for not remaining prepared and vigilant!
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The apostles can see that the bridegroom whom Jesus mentions refers to himself. Earlier he had even likened himself to a bridegroom. (Luke 5:34, 35) And the wise virgins? When speaking about the “little flock,” who would be given the Kingdom, Jesus used the words: “Be dressed and ready and have your lamps burning.” (Luke 12:32, 35)
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So in this illustration about the virgins, the apostles can grasp that Jesus is referring to ones such as themselves. Hence, what is the message that Jesus is conveying with this illustration?
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Jesus does not leave any doubt about that. He concludes his illustration by saying: “Keep on the watch, therefore, because you know neither the day nor the hour.”—Matthew 25:13.
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Clearly, Jesus is admonishing his faithful followers that in connection with his presence, they will need to “keep on the watch.” He will be coming, and they need to be prepared and vigilant—like the five discreet virgins—in order not to lose sight of their precious hope and miss out on the reward that can be theirs.
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https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102014712?q=matt+25%3A10&p=par
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"Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so."—Matt. 24:46.
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The fact that we receive spiritual food just when we need it proves that Jesus, the Head of the congregation, is keeping his promise to feed us. Whom is Jesus using to feed us? When Jesus told his disciples what the sign of his presence would be, he said that he would use “the faithful and discreet slave” to give “food at the proper time” to his “domestics.”* (See endnote.) (Read Matthew 24:45-47.)
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In this time of the end, Jesus is feeding his true followers through that faithful slave. It is extremely important that we know who the faithful slave is. Our friendship with God depends on receiving spiritual food through this faithful slave.—Matthew 4:4;John 17:3.
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Jesus gave the faithful and discreet slave an extremely important responsibility. In Bible times, a trusted slave, or steward, managed everything that belonged to his master. (Luke 12:42)
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In a similar way, the faithful and discreet slave has been given the responsibility to manage everything on earth that belongs to Christ. That responsibility includes caring for money, property, the preaching work, and assembly and convention programs.
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It also includes making Bible literature that we use in the field ministry, for personal study, and for congregation meetings. The domestics depend on all the spiritual food that is given out through the faithful slave.
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https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402013533?q=matt+24%3A46&p=par
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"Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits." (1 Cor.15:33). ??♂️??♂️??♀️??♀️
?Serve the God of Freedom?
“This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.”—1 JOHN 5:3.
Let us now discuss some scriptures that teach us important lessons about our choice of friends. This will help us understand how important it is to study the Bible and to meditate on it so that we can get to know Jehovah well. Psalm 26:4 says: “I have not sat with men of untruth; and with those who hide what they are I do not come in.” At Proverbs 13:20, we read: “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise, but he that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.” And 1 Corinthians 15:33 says: “Bad associations spoil useful habits.”
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What important lessons can we learn from those scriptures? (1) Jehovah wants us to choose our friends carefully. He wants to protect us from doing something that could harm us and our friendship with him. (2) Our friends influence us to do good things or to do bad things. That is simply a fact of life. The way the verses above are written shows that Jehovah is trying to touch our heart. Notice that these verses are written as simple truths, not as rules, such as “you must not do this” or “you must not do that.” It is as if Jehovah is telling us: ‘These are the facts. What will you do? What is in your heart?’
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How can you know if you are really becoming wise and obedient? One way is to compare your thinking with the thinking of faithful servants of God in the past, such as King David. He wrote: “To do your will, O my God, I have delighted, and your law is within my inward parts.” (Psalm 40:8) Also, the writer of Psalm 119 said: “How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern.” (Psalm 119:97) You must work hard to have this kind of love. This love grows when you study the Bible seriously, pray, and meditate. It also grows when you notice in your own life that obeying Jehovah’s requirements results in many blessings.—Psalm 34:8.
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https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402012523?q=1+cor+15%3A33&p=par
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"On hearing this, Jesus answered him: “Have no fear, only have faith, and she will be saved.”
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Nain: A Galilean city about 35 km (22 mi) SW of Capernaum, evidently the city that Jesus was coming from. (Lu 7:1-10) Nain, mentioned only here in the Christian Greek Scriptures, is identified with the modern-day village of Nein on the NW side of the hill of Moreh, about 10 km (6 mi) SSE of Nazareth. Today the village is quite small, but ruins in the area show that it was larger in earlier centuries. Overlooking the Plain of Jezreel and located in an attractive natural setting, Nain was the scene of the first of the three recorded resurrections that Jesus performed—the others were at Capernaum and at Bethany. (Lu 8:49-56; Joh 11:1-44) Some 900 years earlier, in the nearby town of Shunem, the prophet Elisha resurrected the son of a Shunammite woman.—2Ki 4:8-37.
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1001070651?q=luke+8%3A50&p=par
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Jehovah Is Our Refuge
?⚔️???⚔️?
“Because you said: ‘Jehovah is my refuge,’ . . . no calamity will befall you.”—PSALM 91:9, 10.
?⚔️?⚔️?
JEHOVAH is a true refuge for his people. If we are wholly devoted to him, we may be ‘pressed in every way, but not cramped beyond movement; perplexed, but not with no way out; persecuted, but not left in the lurch; thrown down, but not destroyed.’ Why? Because Jehovah grants us “power beyond what is normal.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-9) Yes, our heavenly Father helps us to pursue a godly life, and we can take to heart the psalmist’s words: “Because you said: ‘Jehovah is my refuge,’ you have made the Most High himself your dwelling; no calamity will befall you.”—Psalm 91:9, 10.
?⚔️?⚔️?
The psalmist sings: “Anyone dwelling in the secret place of the Most High will procure himself lodging under the very shadow of the Almighty One. I will say to Jehovah: ‘You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God, in whom I will trust.’” (Psalm 91:1, 2) “The secret place of the Most High” is a figurative place of protection for us, and particularly for anointed ones, who are special targets of the Devil. (Revelation 12:15-17)
?⚔️?⚔️?
He would destroy all of us were it not for the protection we enjoy as those who lodge with God as spiritual guests. By “lodging under the very shadow of the Almighty One,” we experience God’s protective shade, or shadow. (Psalm 15:1, 2; 121:5)
?⚔️?⚔️?
There is no safer refuge or more formidable stronghold than our Sovereign Lord, Jehovah.—Proverbs 18:10.
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Who Do You Trust? King David Trusted Jehovah, Do You? ?????
(Psalm 11:1) . . .In Jehovah I have taken refuge. How dare YOU men say to my soul: “Flee as a bird to YOUR mountain!”
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(2 Chronicles 14:11) And A′sa began to call to Jehovah his God and say: “O Jehovah, as to helping, it does not matter with you whether there are many or [those with] no power. Help us, O Jehovah our God, for upon you we do lean, and in your name we have come against this crowd. O Jehovah, you are our God. Do not let mortal man retain strength against you.”
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(Psalm 7:1) O Jehovah my God, in you I have taken refuge. Save me from all those persecuting me and deliver me."
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(Psalm 56:11) In God I have put my trust. I shall not be afraid. What can earthling man do to me?"
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JEHOVAH IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS, SLOW TO ANGER AND ABUNDANT IN LOVING KINDNESS - WHO IS LIKE HIM? - AS FAR OFF THE SUNSET TO THE SUNRISE HE HAS PUT OFF OUR TRANSGRESSIONS ~ FOREVER, AMEN!
(Psalm 103:1-6) . . .Bless Jehovah, O my soul, Even everything within me, his holy name. 2 Bless Jehovah, O my soul, And do not forget all his doings, 3 Him who is forgiving all your error, Who is healing all your maladies, 4 Who is reclaiming your life from the very pit, Who is crowning you with loving-kindness and mercies, 5 Who is satisfying your lifetime with what is good; Your youth keeps renewing itself just like that of an eagle. 6 Jehovah is executing acts of righteousness And judicial decisions for all those being defrauded."
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(Psalm 103:8-17) . . .Jehovah is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness. 9 He will not for all time keep finding fault, Neither will he to time indefinite keep resentful. 10 He has not done to us even according to our sins; Nor according to our errors has he brought upon us what we deserve. 11 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, His loving-kindness is superior toward those fearing him. 12 As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset, So far off from us he has put our transgressions. 13 As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him. 14 For he himself well knows the formation of us, Remembering that we are dust. 15 As for mortal man, his days are like those of green grass; Like a blossom of the field is the way he blossoms forth. 16 For a mere wind has to pass over it, and it is no more; And its place will acknowledge it no further. 17 But the loving-kindness of Jehovah is from time indefinite even to time indefinite Toward those fearing him, And his righteousness to the sons of sons."
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(Psalms 103:19-104:1) . . .Jehovah himself has firmly established his throne in the very heavens; And over everything his own kingship has held domination. 20 Bless Jehovah, O YOU angels of his, mighty in power, carrying out his word, By listening to the voice of his word. 21 Bless Jehovah, all YOU armies of his, You ministers of his, doing his will. 22 Bless Jehovah, all YOU his works, In all places of his domination. Bless Jehovah, O my soul. 104 Bless Jehovah, O my soul. O Jehovah my God, you have proved very great....
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Was Jesus in error when he spoke about salt losing its salinity?
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In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its strength, how will its saltness be restored? It is no longer usable for anything but to be thrown outside to be trampled on by men.” (Matthew 5:13) Salt is a preservative. Hence, Jesus’ illustration likely meant that his disciples could and should protect others from spiritual and moral decay.
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wol.jw.org
jesus-on-salt-and-drachma/
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Dead Sea salt deposits ~
With regard to Jesus’ comment about salt losing its salinity, however, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says: “The salt from the Dead Sea region was generally contaminated with other minerals; thus the salt could be dissolved out of this mixture, leaving a tasteless substance.” It is understandable, therefore, that Jesus described the residue as “no longer usable for anything but to be thrown outside.” “Although its impurity made the salt from the Dead Sea inferior to most sea salts,” the encyclopedia adds, “its accessibility (it could simply be picked up along the shore) made it the main source of salt for Palestine.”
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What meaning would the loss of a drachma coin in Jesus’ parable have to his listeners?
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A drachma coin ~ ???
Jesus told the parable of a woman who after losing one of the ten drachmas she possessed took a lamp and swept her house carefully until she found it again. (Luke 15:8-10) In Jesus’ day, a drachma was worth almost a day’s wage, so the monetary loss Jesus illustrated was not trivial. Yet, the scene he described was true to life for other reasons.
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Some reference works indicate that women often used coins as ornaments. Jesus may thus have alluded to a coin that was part of a cherished heirloom or part of a woman’s dowry. Whether this was the case or not, losing one of her ten coins would understandably make the woman extremely anxious to recover it.
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The houses of common people in Jesus’ day, moreover, were designed to keep out as much light and heat as possible. They had few, if any, windows. The floors were usually covered with straw or dried stems of various plants. If a coin was dropped, it would be hard to find. “Hence,” says one commentator, “when a comparatively small article, like a piece of money, was lost in such a place, the lighting of a lamp, and the sweeping of the house, were the most natural means to be used for its recovery.”
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"The heart is more treacherous
than anything else and is desperate.
Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).
?❤️Safeguard Your Heart ❤️?
“More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life.”—PROVERBS 4:23.
?❤️?
Tests of faith often come our way. These provide us with opportunities to note the condition of our heart. To the Israelites who were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses said: “Jehovah your God made you walk these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, to put you to the test so as to know what was in your heart, as to whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)
?❤️?
Are we not often surprised at feelings, desires, or reactions that surface when we face unexpected situations or temptations? The trials that Jehovah permits to take place can certainly make us aware of our flaws, giving us an opportunity to make improvement. (James 1:2-4)
?❤️?
May we never fail to reflect prayerfully on our response to trials!
This treachery of the heart may manifest itself when we make excuses for our errors, minimize shortcomings, rationalize away serious personality flaws, or exaggerate accomplishments. A desperate heart is also capable of taking on a two-sided posture—smooth lips saying one thing, actions saying another. (Psalm 12:2; Proverbs 23:7) How vital that we be honest as we examine what comes out of the heart!
?❤️?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2001765
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8 "The One who made the Kiʹmah constellation and the Keʹsil constellation, The One who turns deep shadow into morning, The One who makes day as dark as night, The One who summons the waters of the sea, To pour them out on the surface of the earth—Jehovah is his name." (Amos 5:8).
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KIMAH CONSTELLATION
(Kiʹmah).
This term is used at Job 9:9; 38:31; and Amos 5:8 to refer to a celestial constellation. It is usually considered to refer to the Pleiades, a star group formed of seven large stars and other smaller ones, enveloped in nebulous matter and situated some 380 light-years from the sun. At Job 38:31 Jehovah asks Job if he can “tie fast the bonds of the Kimah constellation,” and some relate this to the compactness of the Pleiades cluster, the star cluster most likely to be noted by the naked eye. While the identification of the particular constellation intended is indefinite, the sense of the question asked evidently is whether a mere man can bind together in a cluster a group of stars so that they comprise a permanent constellation. Thus, by this question, Jehovah brought home to Job man’s inferiority when compared with the Universal Sovereign.
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002608?q=amos+5%3A8&p=par
KESIL CONSTELLATION
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The term is generally considered to apply to Orion, also called the hunter, a very prominent constellation containing the giant stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. The Latin Vulgate translated kesilʹ as “Orion” in Job 9:9 and Amos 5:8. Most translations imitate the Latin Vulgate in viewing kesilʹ as referring to Orion. The ancient Targum and Syriac versions read “giant,” and this corresponds to the Arabic name for the Orion constellation, gabbar, or “strong one” (Hebrew equivalent, gib·bohrʹ).
The term is used at Amos 5:8 in connection with the reproof of Israel for failing to search for the true God Jehovah, the Maker of the heavenly constellations. At Isaiah 13:9, 10, where the plural kesi·leh·hemʹ (their constellations of Kesil) is used, the description is of “the day of Jehovah,” in which proud and haughty tyrants will be abased and the celestial bodies will cease to give their light.
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https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002597?q=amos+5%3A8&p=par
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"It is the blessing of Jehovah that makes one rich, and He adds no pain with it." Proverbs 10:22 . . ???????
The Joys of Walking in Integrity
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Knowing what brings true happiness. What does bring true happiness? One psychologist said that happiness has three components—pleasure, engagement (involvement in such activities as work and family), and meaning (working toward a larger end or goal than self). Of the three, he listed pleasure as the least consequential and observed: “This is newsworthy because so many people build their lives around pursuing pleasure.” What is the Bible’s view in this regard?
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King Solomon of ancient Israel stated: “I said, even I, in my heart: ‘Do come now, let me try you out with rejoicing. Also, see good.’ And, look! that too was vanity. I said to laughter: ‘Insanity!’ and to rejoicing: ‘What is this doing?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:1, 2)
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Scripturally, whatever happiness pleasure offers is at best temporary. What about involvement in work? We have the most meaningful work to get involved in—the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20)
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By sharing with others the message of salvation outlined in the Bible, we engage in a work that can result in our own salvation and in that of those who listen to us. (1 Timothy 4:16) As “God’s fellow workers,” we experience that “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (1 Corinthians 3:9;Acts 20:35) This work adds meaning to our life and provides the Creator with an answer for his taunter, Satan the Devil. (Proverbs 27:11) Indeed, Jehovah has shown us that godly devotion brings genuine and lasting happiness.—1 Timothy 4:8.
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Experiencing spiritual prosperity always involves drawing close to God. When we develop an intimate relationship with him, we ‘safely treasure up for ourselves a fine foundation for the future, in order that we may get a firm hold on the real life’—everlasting life. (1 Timothy 6:12, 17-19)
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In the future new world of God’s making, our spiritual riches will be coupled with physical blessings. The real life will then be the lot of all those who “keep listening to the voice of Jehovah.” (Deuteronomy 28:2) With strengthened determination, let us joyfully continue walking in integrity.
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https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2006367?q=prov+10%3A22&p=par
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‘O God, Send Out Your Light’ ???
“Send out your light and your truth. May these themselves lead me.”—PSALM 43:3.
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JEHOVAH is very considerate in the way he makes his purposes known to his servants. Instead of revealing the truth all at once in one blinding flash of light, he enlightens us progressively.
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Our trek along life’s pathway might be compared to a walk that a hiker takes down a long trail. He starts out early in the morning and sees little. As the sun begins to rise slowly over the horizon, the hiker is able to distinguish a few features of his surroundings. The rest he sees in hazy outline.
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But as the sun continues its ascent, he can see farther and farther into the distance. So it is with the spiritual light that God provides. He allows us to discern a few things at a time. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, provided spiritual enlightenment in a similar manner.
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(Joshua 1:9) "Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.”
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God's Word Helps Us Gain Wisdom and Discernment! It is Our Treasure! ? ? ?
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(Proverbs 2:1-9) . . ."If you will receive my sayings and treasure up my own commandments with yourself, 2 so as to pay attention to wisdom with your ear, that you may incline your heart to discernment; 3 if, moreover, you call out for understanding itself and you give forth your voice for discernment itself, 4 if you keep seeking for it as for silver, and as for hid treasures you keep searching for it, 5 in that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God. 6 For Jehovah himself gives wisdom; out of his mouth there are knowledge and discernment. 7 And for the upright ones he will treasure up practical wisdom; for those walking in integrity he is a shield, 8 by observing the paths of judgment, and he will guard the very way of his loyal ones. 9 In that case you will understand righteousness and judgment and uprightness, the entire course of what is good."
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Give Thanks to Jehovah for His Loving - Kindness ?????
We have Water to Nourish Our Thirst and Our Life Forever!
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(Psalm 107:31-35) . . .O let people give thanks to Jehovah for his loving-kindness And for his wonderful works to the sons of men. 32 And let them extol him in the congregation of the people; And in the seat of the elderly men let them praise him. 33 He converts rivers into a wilderness, And the outflows of water into thirsty ground, 34 Fruitful land into salt country, Owing to the badness of those dwelling in it. 35 He converts a wilderness into a reedy pool of water, And the land of a waterless region into outflows of water."
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(Psalm 107:43) . . .Who is wise? He will both observe these things And show himself attentive toward Jehovah’s acts of loving-kindness."
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WATER ~
The liquid that is a major constituent of all living matter. Jehovah is the Source of this liquid so essential to the life of man, animals, and vegetation on earth.
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(Revelation 14:7) . . .“FEAR God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.”
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(Amos 5:8) . . .The Maker of the Ki′mah constellation and the Ke′sil constellation, and the One turning deep shadow into the morning itself, and the One who has made day itself dark as night, the One calling for the waters of the sea, that he may pour them out upon the surface of the earth—Jehovah is his name;
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He provides it and can control it.
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Life-giving water. Jehovah is “the source of living water.” Only from him and through his Son, Jesus Christ, the Chief Agent of life, can men receive everlasting life.
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(Jeremiah 2:13) . . .because there are two bad things that my people have done: They have left even me, the source of living water, in order to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot contain the water."
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(John 17:1-3) 17 Jesus spoke these things, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he said: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, 2 according as you have given him authority over all flesh, that, as regards the whole [number] whom you have given him, he may give them everlasting life. 3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ."
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Jesus told a Samaritan woman at a well near Sychar that the water he would give would become in its receiver “a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.”—Joh 4:7-15.
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God’s word of truth. God’s word of truth is likened to water that cleanses. The Christian congregation is clean in the sight of God, like a chaste bride for Christ, who cleansed it “with the bath of water by means of the word.” (Eph 5:25-27)
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In a similar usage, Paul speaks to his fellow Christians who have the hope of being underpriests of Christ in the heavens. Referring back to the tabernacle and the requirement that the priests wash in water before entering the sanctuary to serve, he says: “Since we have a great priest [Jesus Christ] over the house of God, let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith, having had . . . our bodies bathed with clean water.” (Heb 10:21, 22)
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This cleansing involves not only the knowledge of God’s word but also its application in their daily lives.
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Are You Like Soft Clay or Hard Clay? The Bible likens Jehovah to a potter and humans to clay. ⚱️⚱️
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Are You Like Soft Clay or Hard Clay? The Bible likens Jehovah to a potter and humans to clay. (Isaiah 64:8)
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Humility helps a person to be like soft clay in God’s hands, someone he can mold into a desirable vessel; whereas the haughty are like dry, hard clay that can only be crushed. An infamous example of the latter is the proud Pharaoh of ancient Egypt who defied Jehovah at the cost of his life. (Exodus 5:2; 9:17; Psalm 136:15)
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Pharaoh’s demise well illustrates the proverb: “Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”—Proverbs 16:18.
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The aforementioned does not imply that God’s people never struggle with pride. Jesus’ apostles, for example, often argued over who was the greatest among them. (Luke 22:24-27)
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Still, they were not consumed by pride but listened to Jesus and eventually changed their attitude. “The result of humility and the fear of Jehovah is riches and glory and life,” wrote Solomon. (Proverbs 22:4)
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What sound reasons we have for cultivating humility! Not only is it a strong and endearing quality but it also helps us to gain God’s favor and the reward of everlasting life.—2 Samuel 22:28; James 4:10.