How to protect our minds.

Written by Lee Stevenson, sorry I am not the best editor.

Protecting our minds is important now more then ever. There are many toxins, medical practices that can damage our minds. Our food is heavily contaminated with toxins which can damage our brains, by being aware of that we can help to protect our minds. But we also need to focus spiritually so we can protect our minds. The bible teaches us how to make better decisions. Knowing what God would want us to do will protect our minds. I am going to discuss how our minds can be effected and how we can protect it from , things that could make us fall short of God. Since these are the last days protecting our minds can be much more difficult but the bible gives guidance on how we can protect our minds.

When it comes to how we live our life there is a saying “actions speak louder then words”. There are many scriptures to back the fact that is true. It is not what we say, or what we believe about our actions and whether they are ok it is what Gop things that is important. . Many things God would not approve of are accepted as being normal and ok by society so we cannot gauge whether our actions are good or not by society. This is why the bible tells us “it does not belong to man to direct our steps”. We are imperfect, easily corrupted and deceived. The bible even warns not to follow our hearts because it is deceptive and desperate. Meaning we can deceive ourselves and convince ourselves our actions are ok. We need to think about what our actions are telling God. We are supposed to imitate Jesus. So we need to ask ourselves would Jesus do this? If not then we should not do it.

I knew someone who could lie so well they fooled a lie detector test twice. I even seen them lie about doing something when the person they were lying to seen them do it. They were so convincing they convinced the person they imagined they seen them do it. When I ask them how they can lies so well they said easy, if I tell enough people the lie I start believing it. A hint to the fact someone like this is lying is they will either evade certain questions or answer vaguely , or they will remember things in extreme details such as exact times and dates. People rarely remember the times and dates of when things happened. The bible tells us to let no deception be found in us. If we start deceiving others it can easily lead to our deceiving ourselves. This could lead to our sinning and not being aware of it. This is why we should let God’s word guide what we do and say. We should ask what are my actions showing me about myself? This is why the bible says we should be doers of God’s word and not just hearers. By letting his word guide us and by telling others about his word we protect our hearts and it could prevent us from being destroyed in God’s great day of judgment. If we can easily tell a lie to others then we can easily deceive ourselves. Another thing that protects us is doing all the things we do whole-souled for Jehovah and not for men. If we become a people pleaser it could draw us away from God. We need to keep in mind what would God want me to do. The bible tells us to let our light shine before men. This means we need to be careful of the things we do and say. The bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So if the things we say are not honoring God or showing our trust and love for him then we should , work on improving our faith by telling others about God’s word and letting it guide all we do. In doing so we will bring glory to God and prevent us from deceiving ourselves. We need to imitate Jesus. He gave people hope by teaching them about God. The bible tells us, no deception was found in him.

These are very confusing times. Many toxin in the environment can effect the hormone and neurotransmitters in our brains. If we know what God would want us to do in times that our brain chemistry may be off, knowing God’s word and letting it guide all we do will become a habit so even if we have altered brain chemistry that could cause us to fall short of God , because speaking of his word and letting it guide all we do has become a habit it would prevent us from sinning against God and others. Not only that but it also protects our thinking, because we are living in the last days. It can be more and more difficult to tell what is right and what is wrong in God’s eyes. Not only that but the stress we are experiencing can effect our brain chemistry. By putting our trust in God instead of the world or ourselves it protects us. By knowing what God would want us to do it will protect us in such times preventing us from sinning. Look at and watch people you know who lie a lot. They cannot think clearly, they get easily confused, they get angry if you refute an untruth they are telling themselves or others. These are works of the flesh and they can cause us to lose our thinking abilities.

The bible tells us that taking in the wisdom of God makes the inexperienced one wiser. The bible tells us to keep seeking the wisdom of God’s word as if it was silver or hidden treasure and it will give us wisdom and discernment . When we have better discernment it protects us from making errors that could effect our lives or others negatively and most of all it protects our relationship with God. By having better discernment it can also prevent us from bringing shame on ourselves. When we do things that we should not do and it brings shame on ourselves it can also cause others to distance themselves from you , so that they are not being a part of the shame. So by knowing what God would want us to do we would avoid destroying relationships that are important to us.

As the anxiety of this system climbs from the increased corruption and evil it can effects a person’s thinking if they fear the world and things happening in it or they fear man more then God. By having a reverential fear of God we have faith in the future promises and the hope he has given. This protects our thinking because our identity is not with the world and things that will be gone soon, but it is with God who does not die and does not change so we know the future hope he has given will be fulfilled. By keeping our minds on spiritual things and not fleshly things it prevents us from taking a path that could lead to our death, or even our destruction on God’s great day. The bible tells us to stay on the watch, because we do not know when the end of this system will occur. We do know it will happen in a time people least expect. There will be many naysayers who know what God’s word said but because it did not guide all they did they would not believe we are in the last days and the destruction would be suddenly upon them because they did not prepare their hearts and minds so they could be aware of the time frame we are in and prepare for it.

As this system winds down and the corruption and evil get worse we need to pay even more attention to the time frame we are in. This protects our relationship with God, it protects us morally and even physically. It only takes a split second to make a bad decision that could effect the lives of ourselves or ones we care about in a negative way. These effects could last our life time and the life time of those we care about. By letting God guide all we do and say and not trusting in our own understanding or putting our trust in the world or man it can protect our thinking which will prevent us making serious mistakes. This can also help guide us through times when we are persecuted or attacked by people and Satan. Most of us will experience calamity. By putting our faith and trust in God and realizing the bible warns we will be betrayed and people will sin against us. We learn to forgive them and move on. Even if they do not repent , we have forgiven them so we do not hold on to the negative emotions that come from being betrayed or sinned against. When this happens often times it dramatically changes our lives. The bible warns these things will occur. By recognizing that and realizing we will have things occur that can dramatically change our lives we can move on much more easily. Though the hurt may remain for a while it does not overwhelm us as it does those who have no faith in God. Their hope and trust are in things that are passing away. When they lose them it destroys them as a person. Those who store up their treasures in heaven by focusing more on spiritual things then things of the world can not be shaken as easily and when they are they recover much more quickly.

So by our actions we say more then about what we believe. Even if we have deceived ourselves our actions state what our true intentions are. So we need to be aware if our actions and the things we say and do glorify God or are they pleasing ourselves? Do the things we say and do honor God and show we are putting our trust in Jesus and trying our best to imitate him. By being aware of our own short comings and taking steps to protect ourselves and avoiding situations that may cause us to fall short it protects us. Not only that but deceptive people will be very kind and helpful when they are trying to deceive someone. By being aware of their fruits it can make us aware of who they truly are as an individual and prevent them from luring us into a trap or into sinning against God. If we are like the world it makes us more vulnerable and less aware when they are setting a spiritual or any other trap for us. So by letting God’s word guide all we do it works to protect us in many ways. We need to pay attention to our actions and what they are telling us about ourselves. We can be more aware of whether we are doing what God requires by peering deeply into his word and trusting it to guide us and not getting over confident in our spiritual growth and relationship with God and be aware of our short comings and work towards overcoming them so the world and Satan cannot use them against us. The bible warns pride comes before a fall. If we do fall we need to learn from it and study the bible how to avoid such a thing in the future and take steps to protect ourselves from making errors in the future. Very soon it can be a matter of life or death. We only have a little longer and things will be much much better and all the things that cause suffering and sadness will be done away with.

The bible says many will go through the great tribulation. So many will not die and live to see the better times that are coming. In order to do so we need to put on the complete suit of armor of God. In Ephesians 5 it tells us to put on the belt of truth. This means we take in bible truths and apply them in our lives and tell others about them. It tells us to have our feet shod in declaring the good news. By telling others about bible truths it builds our faith and helps to set in our mind and hearts God’s word which protects us. We are also told to put on the shield of faith. This means we believe God’s word, we put our trust and faith in God and Jesus and not the world or ourselves. We have faith in the things above which we cannot see. It tells us to put on the helmet of salvation. We do this by believing that Jesus was a ransom sacrifice for our sins and that provided a way for man to be forgiven. We put on the helmet of salvation by repenting from sin and trying our best to imitate Jesus. In doing so we are showing our obedience and trust in God and Jesus. By repenting we are accepting that God is merciful and will forgive us when we repent. In doing so we put on the helmet of salvation. We are to persist in prayer and pray in spirit. This means we believe God answers prayers and that he has the power to fulfill the things we ask for if they are in agreement with his will.

By our actions we show God what is really in our hearts. This also tells ourselves what is in our hearts. So even if we deceive ourselves, if we do as God would require it will help us to correct our paths and keep our paths straight so we do not get led astray or deceived. We also need to remain humble. If we find we get in many arguments the bible warns presumptuousness is the cause of that. Presumptuousness is a result of pride. If we find we get in frequent arguments then we should ask ourselves what is this telling us about ourselves? This is why the bible tells us God will put an end to the pride of the presumptuous. If we are prideful we will be easily offended if someone points out an error we are making and may not make the adjustments needed to draw closer to God. If we are prideful we will not ask those we have wronged for forgiveness. Remember confessing to the person is a part of repenting. If we have too much pride then we cannot fully repent. Pride could also prevent us from even acknowledging we have sinned. This would prevent us from confessing our sin to God. If we continue in a state of sin God will not listen to our prayers. As this system is winding down we need God more now then ever before. We need to do our best to draw as close to God and Jesus as we can and hopefully we will go through the great tribulation and live to see the world restored to the paradise it was meant to be and live to see loved ones we have lost in death resurrected. We must do all we can to protect our minds as this system winds down.

(Jeremiah 10:23) 23 I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.

(Jeremiah 17:9)  9 The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate. Who can know it?

(Proverbs 28:26) Whoever trusts in his own heart is stupid, But the one who walks in wisdom will escape.

(James 1:22-25) 22 However, become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, and he goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he is. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and continues in it has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; and he will be happy in what he does.

(Colossians 3:23-25) 23 Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as for Jehovah, and not for men, 24 for you know that it is from Jehovah you will receive the inheritance as a reward. Slave for the Master, Christ. 25 Certainly the one who does wrong will be repaid for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

(Matthew 5:16) 16 Likewise, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens.

(Matthew 12:35-37) 35 The good man out of his good treasure sends out good things, whereas the wicked man out of his wicked treasure sends out wicked things. 36 I tell you that men will render an account on Judgment Day for every unprofitable saying that they speak; 37 for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.”

(1 Peter 2:21-23) . . .. 22 He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. 23 When he was being insulted, he did not insult in return. When he was suffering, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the One who judges righteously.

(Zechariah 8:16) 16 “‘These are the things you should do: Speak the truth with one another, and the judgments in your gates must promote truth and peace.

(Colossians 3:9-11) 9 Do not lie to one another. Strip off the old personality with its practices, 10 and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythʹi·an, slave, or freeman; but Christ is all things and in all.

(Proverbs 3:21-23) 21 My son, do not lose sight of them. Safeguard practical wisdom and thinking ability; 22 They will give you life And be an adornment for your neck; 23 Then you will walk on your way in safety, And your foot will never stumble.

(Matthew 15:17-20) . . .? 18 However, whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and those things defile a man. 19 For example, out of the heart come wicked reasonings: murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. 20 These are the things that defile a man; but to take a meal with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

(Romans 8:5-8) . . .. 6 For setting the mind on the flesh means death, but setting the mind on the spirit means life and peace; 7 because setting the mind on the flesh means enmity with God, for it is not in subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be. 8 So those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God.

(Proverbs 2:10, 11) 10 When wisdom enters your heart And knowledge becomes pleasant to your soul, 11 Thinking ability will keep watch over you, And discernment will safeguard you,

(Psalm 19:7)  7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring strength. The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise.

(2 Timothy 3:16, 17) 16 All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.

(Proverbs 2:1-6) 2 My son, if you accept my sayings And treasure up my commandments,  2 By making your ear attentive to wisdom And inclining your heart to discernment;  3 Moreover, if you call out for understanding And raise your voice for discernment;  4 If you keep seeking for it as for silver, And you keep searching for it as for hidden treasures;  5 Then you will understand the fear of Jehovah, And you will find the knowledge of God.  6 For Jehovah himself gives wisdom; From his mouth come knowledge and discernment.

(Psalm 119:1-6) 119 Happy are those who are blameless in their way, Who walk in the law of Jehovah.  2 Happy are those who observe his reminders, Who search for him with all their heart.  3 They practice no unrighteousness; They walk in his ways.  4 You have commanded That your orders be carefully kept.  5 If only I could remain steadfast So as to observe your regulations!  6 Then I would not be put to shame. . .

(James 1:24, 25) . . .. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and continues in it has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; and he will be happy in what he does.

(1 Peter 1:13-16) 13 So brace up your minds for activity; keep your senses completely; set your hope on the undeserved kindness that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, stop being molded by the desires you formerly had in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all your conduct, 16 for it is written: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”

(Luke 12:35-40) 35 “Be dressed and ready and have your lamps burning, 36 and you should be like men waiting for their master to return from the marriage, so when he comes and knocks, they may at once open to him. 37 Happy are those slaves whom the master on coming finds watching! Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at the table and will come alongside and minister to them. 38 And if he comes in the second watch, even if in the third, and finds them ready, happy are they! 39 But know this, if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also, keep ready, because at an hour that you do not think likely, the Son of man is coming.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) 5 Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. 3 Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.

(2 Peter 3:9, 10) . . .. 10 But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed.

(Zephaniah 1:18) 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them in the day of Jehovah’s fury; For by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be consumed, Because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

(Philippians 4:8) 8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well-spoken-of, whatever things are virtuous, and whatever things are praiseworthy, continue considering these things.

(Matthew 24:37-42) 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. 38 For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. 41 Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. 42 Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

(Titus 1:15, 16) . . .. 16 They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.

(Matthew 7:15-18) . . .. 16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit.

(Galatians 5:19-24) 19 Now the works of the flesh are plainly seen, and they are sexual immorality, uncleanness, brazen conduct, 20 idolatry, spiritism, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dissensions, divisions, sects, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these. I am forewarning you about these things, the same way I already warned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom. 22 On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Moreover, those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed to the stake the flesh together with its passions and desires.

(Revelation 21:1-4) 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

(Ephesians 6:11-18) 11 Put on the complete suit of armor from God so that you may be able to stand firm against the crafty acts of the Devil; 12 because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. 13 For this reason take up the complete suit of armor from God, so that you may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after you have accomplished everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm, therefore, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having your feet shod in readiness to declare the good news of peace. 16 Besides all of this, take up the large shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the wicked one’s burning arrows. 17 Also, accept the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word, 18 while with every form of prayer and supplication you carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit. And to that end stay awake, constantly making supplication in behalf of all the holy ones.

(Luke 19:7-10) . . .” 8 But Zac·chaeʹus stood up and said to the Lord: “Look! The half of my belongings, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and whatever I extorted from anyone, I am restoring four times over.” 9 At this Jesus said to him: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

(Romans 12:1-3) 12 Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. 2 And stop being molded by this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, so that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For through the undeserved kindness given to me, I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think, but to think so as to have a sound mind, each one as God has given to him a measure of faith.

(Proverbs 8:13) 13 The fear of Jehovah means the hating of bad. I hate self-exaltation and pride and the evil way and perverse speech.

(Proverbs 4:24) 24 Put crooked speech away from you, And keep devious talk far away from you.

(Proverbs 16:18, 19) 18 Pride is before a crash, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 Better to be humble among the meek Than to share the spoil of the haughty.

(Proverbs 13:10) 10 Presumptuousness leads only to strife, But wisdom belongs to those who seek advice.

(1 Corinthians 4:6, 7) 6 Now, brothers, these things I have applied to myself and A·polʹlos for your good, that through us you may learn the rule: “Do not go beyond the things that are written,” so that you may not be puffed up with pride, favoring one against the other. 7 For who makes you different from another? Indeed, what do you have that you did not receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?

(Isaiah 13:11) 11 I will call the inhabited earth to account for its badness, And the wicked for their error. I will put an end to the pride of the presumptuous, And I will humble the haughtiness of tyrants.

(James 5:16) 16 Therefore, openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect.

(1 John 1:8-10) 8 If we make the statement, “We have no sin,” we are misleading ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we make the statement, “We have not sinned,” we are making him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(Proverbs 28:13, 14) 13 The one covering over his transgressions will not succeed, But whoever confesses and abandons them will be shown mercy. 14 Happy is the man who is always on guard, But whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

(Matthew 13:1-9) 13 On that day Jesus left the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And such large crowds gathered to him that he went aboard a boat and sat down, and all the crowd was standing on the beach. 3 Then he told them many things by illustrations, saying: “Look! A sower went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and they immediately sprang up because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30. 9 Let the one who has ears listen.”

Weapons used by Satan and how we can protect ourselves.

Written by Lee Stevenson. Sorry I am not very good at editing. I did this article in sections.

Now the thing that will protect us the most is putting on the full armor of Jehovah. I will discuss that at the end of this article but first I want to discuss the most common weapons Satan uses to lure us away.

Fear has been used by Satan many times. He has used intimidation tactics , used fear in the loss of wealth, fear of being homeless, fear of change and many other types of fear to get people to lose faith. We have to remember in times past when God’s people had to flee and leave their homes and possessions behind God provided provide for them and sustained them. Even when God’s people were severely outnumbered they prevailed because God protected them. Fear can be a sin if we are doing what God requires and we lose things or our lives are threatened and we start fearing man more then God and give in to their will instead of God’s. Fear of failing God or of not having faith in him and trusting him is a sin. So if Satan or his people can instill improper fear and get us to lose our faith they can sway us. I have seen many reject bible truths because they knew they would be rejected by their families or would even be hated. The world warned if we followed in Jesus foot steps the world would hate us so that includes member so our own families. We have to work very hard to build our faith in God because very soon all types of fear are going to be used to try and break our faith. Even if we die we have no reason to fear if we die faithful to God because he will remember us during the resurrection. God is the life giver. There is no one with more authority. So if we obey him above man then we can be sure he is with us. As long as our faith remains strong we have the upper hand because no one is more powerful then God.

(Isaiah 35:4)  ⁴ Say to those who are anxious at heart: “Be strong. Do not be afraid. Look! Your own God will come with vengeance, God will come with retribution. He will come and save you.”

(Matthew 6:33, 34) ³³ “Keep on, then, seeking first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you. ³⁴ So never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Each day has enough of its own troubles.

(John 6:26, 27) . . .. ²⁷ Work, not for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for everlasting life, which the Son of man will give you; for on this one the Father, God himself, has put his seal of approval.”

(Romans 8:37-39) . . .. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers ³⁹ nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Psalm 27:1) 27 Jehovah is my light and my salvation. Whom should I fear? Jehovah is the stronghold of my life. Whom should I dread?

Distractions are another way our faith can be weakened. Jesus was visiting Martha and Mary. Martha seemed caught up in making a big feast for Jesus. She most likely was overfilled with joy that he was there. Jesus knew that the Jewish system of things were going to end very soon and wanted all his disciples to be prepared. So when Mary complained that Martha was not helping her Jesus pointed out that she needed to keep things more simple. Just as the Jewish system ended this system is going to end on a world wide scale. By keeping our lives simple and free of distractions we can focus more on spiritual things which Jesus was pointing out to Mary. The more things we own the more thing not spiritually related we get involved in the more we increase our anxiety and the less we can focus on spiritual matters like praying, reading and researching God’s word and sharing what we learned with others. Could you imagine if no one took the time to teach God’s world. How many would still not have the answers they are seeking. You never know when a moment you gave to vanity may have been a moment someones eyes had been opened by you. The things in this system will perish soon, so why accumulate or get involved in things that will perish? The treasures stored up in heaven is forever and so is the promises that come with those who endure and are faithful until the end. If we put the pursuit of money or other things over the pursuit of spiritual things we are not storing up treasures in heaven. The bible warned you can be a slave to the treasures of the world or store up treasures in heaven but we cannot be slaves to both.

When Jehovah’s great day comes it is going to come in a day we do not expect. We are warned people will be confident there will be peace and security so will pay no attention to the signs of what is about to occur. The bible warns us many would take no note of the times we are in until it was too late and God’s great day would be suddenly upon them. Just as in Noah’s day Noah and his family heeded God’s warnings and built the ark as they were instructed and Noah and his family survived the destruction that came upon the earth. Many will heed God’s warnings and stay alert and walk through the great tribulation. In order to learn what God requires so you can be one of the ones who walks through the great tribulation and do not suffer the destruction that those who ignore God’s warnings or who oppose him do we need to learn what he requires.

(Luke 10:38-42) ³⁸ Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village. Here a woman named Martha received him as a guest in her house. ³⁹ She also had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the feet of the Lord and kept listening to what he was saying. ⁴⁰ Martha, on the other hand, was distracted with attending to many duties. So she came to him and said: “Lord, does it not matter to you that my sister has left me alone to attend to things? Tell her to come and help me.” ⁴¹ In answer the Lord said to her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things. ⁴² A few things, though, are needed, or just one. For her part, Mary chose the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

(Matthew 6:28-34) ²⁸ Also, why are you aSolanum jamesiinxious about clothing? Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin; ²⁹ but I tell you that not even Solʹo·mon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. ³⁰ Now if this is how God clothes the vegetation of the field that is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe you, you with little faith? ³¹ So never be anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to wear?’ ³² For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ “Keep on, then, seeking first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you. ³⁴ So never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Each day has enough of its own troubles.

(1 John 2:15-17) ¹⁵ Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; ¹⁶ because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. ¹⁷ Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

(Matthew 6:19-24) ¹⁹ “Stop storing up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If, then, your eye is focused, your whole body will be bright. ²³ But if your eye is envious, your whole body will be dark. If the light that is in you is really darkness, how great that darkness is! ²⁴ “No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God and for Riches.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-5) 5 Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. ³ Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, you are not in darkness, so that the day should overtake you as it would thieves, ⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We belong neither to night nor to darkness.

(Matthew 24:36-41) ³⁶ “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. ³⁸ For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, ³⁹ and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken along and the other abandone. . .

(Revelation 7:13-17) ¹³ In response one of the elders said to me: “These who are dressed in the white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” ¹⁴ So right away I said to him: “My lord, you are the one who knows.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ That is why they are before the throne of God, and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. ¹⁶ They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down on them nor any scorching heat, ¹⁷ because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”

Doubt can draw us away from God. Not only that but doubt can result in apathy and we may lose focus and start being drawn away from God and become part of the world which is passing away. The bible has warned us what is about to occur, if we doubt God’s word we could be misled and not realize the time-frame we are in. Most of the prophecies concerning the last days have been fulfilled indicating we are in the final minutes of this system. Now more then ever we need to over come any doubt we may have. We can do this by taking in God’s word and applying it in all we do. If we have doubt we may start putting our faith ourselves or man more then God and be drawn away from God. Man will perish but God cannot die and will endure forever. There is no one wiser we can be certain of his wisdom by the grandeur of his creation and the knowledge it would have taken to create such things. There is no one more powerful then God so we can be sure he will fulfill the promises he gave us that give us a future hope. If we have doubt we may become one of the mockers mentioned. who claim God’s great day is not near. Since we have inherited sin from Adam and Eve each day we need to work to over come these imperfection and become new creations and do our best to imitate Christ. Very soon we will be put in some very difficult situations but we do not have to worry God says he will fight for us and our enemies will become as dust under our feet. Even death will be done away with. Satan created doubt in Adam and Eve and got them to disobey God. Adam and Eve knew what God required. They had no reason to doubt God he had only done good things for them and gave them good work that would be happy work to do. So they should not have listened to Satan when he was trying to deceive them. Not only this but he convinced Eve she would not die. We still hear this lie being told today when people say you do not die you either go to heaven or hell. The hell fire teaching was not taught by Jesus. The fire of destruction was taught by Jesus. Jesus words induced hope and trust in God and taught us how much God loved us. His words encouraged us to draw closer to God.

(James 1:5-8) ⁵ So if any one of you is lacking in wisdom, let him keep asking God, for he gives generously to all and without reproaching, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him keep asking in faith, not doubting at all, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and blown about. ⁷ In fact, that man should not expect to receive anything from Jehovah; ⁸ he is an indecisive man, unsteady in all his ways.

(Matthew 21:22) And all the things you ask in prayer, having faith, you will receive.”

(Hebrews 11:6) Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please God well, for whoever approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.

(Jeremiah 17:5)  ⁵ This is what Jehovah says: “Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mere humans, Who relies on human power, And whose heart turns away from Jehovah.

(2 Peter 3:2-11) . . .. ³ First of all know this, that in the last days ridiculers will come with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires ⁴ and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as they were from creation’s beginning.” ⁵ For they deliberately ignore this fact, that long ago there were heavens and an earth standing firmly out of water and in the midst of water by the word of God; ⁶ and that by those means the world of that time suffered destruction when it was flooded with water. ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire and are being kept until the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly people. ⁸ However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. ¹⁰ But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed. ¹¹ Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion,

(2 Corinthians 5:16, 17) ¹⁶ So from now on we know no man from a fleshly viewpoint. Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we certainly no longer know him in that way. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; look! new things have come into existence.

(Malachi 4:1-3) 4 “For look! the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the presumptuous ones and all those practicing wickedness will become like stubble. The coming day will certainly devour them,” says Jehovah of armies, “and it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But on you who honor my name, the sun of righteousness will shine, with healing in its rays; and you will skip about like fattened calves.” ³ “And you will tread the wicked underfoot, for they will be like dust under the soles of your feet on the day when I take action,” says Jehovah of armies.

(Isaiah 25:7-9)  ⁷ In this mountain he will do away with the shroud that is enveloping all the peoples And the covering that is woven over all the nations.  ⁸ He will swallow up death forever, And the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from all faces. The reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, For Jehovah himself has spoken it.  ⁹ In that day they will say: “Look! This is our God! We have hoped in him, And he will save us. This is Jehovah! We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him.”

(Genesis 3:3-7) . . .” ⁴ At this the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die. ⁵ For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.” ⁶ Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something desirable to the eyes, yes, the tree was pleasing to look at. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward, she also gave some to her husband when he was with her, and he began eating it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings for themselves.

We need to learn to forgive. The bible warns holding onto anger can give Satan an opportunity. If we hold onto anger we are judging others. It does not matter if the person repents or not. We have to keep in mind God is the judge and he gave that right to Jesus because he is our king. We are imperfect and our hearts are imperfect. Not only that we cannot read others hearts to know if something they have done was intentional or not. God can read hearts, he has given Jesus the ability to read hearts and Jesus will judge. We do not have that right Jesus earned the right to the throne. The princes gathered from the earth will judge with Jesus but while on earth we are not to judge others. God does lay guidelines on who we should associate with and if our anger was because of a sin committed we should be cautious associating with them if the are unrepentent, when possible. But we need to learn to forgive even our enemies so that we do not hold anger in and leave an opportunity for Satan. If someone has wronged us or has sinned against us we should talk to them about it. If it is serious enough we should talk to an elder but we should not judge them or hold anger towards them. We are to let love guide all we do. Jesus set the example by forgiving those who persecuted him and he prayed for those persecuting him. Anyone can love those who love them but it takes getting to know God and Jesus to be able to love all even those who hate you. We have to remember if we are forgiving God will forgive us but if we judge others we will be judged likewise. We are told if we let love guide us it covers a multitude of sins.

(Ephesians 4:25-27) ²⁵ Therefore, now that you have put away deceit, each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another. ²⁶ Be wrathful, but do not sin; do not let the sun set while you are still angry; ²⁷ do not give the Devil an opportunity.

(Leviticus 19:17) “‘You must not hate your brother in your heart. You should by all means reprove your fellow man, so that you will not bear sin along with him.

(Matthew 5:23, 24) “If, then, you are bringing your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away. First make your peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift.

(Matthew 5:43-48) ⁴³ “You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good and makes it rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what extraordinary thing are you doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? ⁴⁸ You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Matthew 7:1, 2) 7 “Stop judging that you may not be judged; ² for with the judgment you are judging, you will be judged, and with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you. . .

(Luke 6:37, 38) ³⁷ “Moreover, stop judging, and you will by no means be judged; and stop condemning, and you will by no means be condemned. Keep on forgiving, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Practice giving, and people will give to you. They will pour into your laps a fine measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing. For with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you in return.. . .

(1 Peter 4:7, 8) ⁷ But the end of all things has drawn close. Therefore, be sound in mind, and be vigilant with a view to prayers. ⁸ Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

There are many temptations that we can be overcome by. Since we are born imperfect and inherit sin we have to take in God’s word to teach us to be aware of our sinful nature so temptation cannot overcome us. Satan has been very busy making sin much more accessible. Once we give in to temptation we do not only separate ourselves from God but often times our sin can effect others negatively causing them harm. When we give into sin it can rob us of our joy and drag us down into a life that is very hard to recover from. I have seen many in my life get involved in self destructive behavior that ended in either them acquiring diseases from immoral behavior, or from alcohol or drug abuse that resulted in them dying at a very young age. Not only this but it effected many around them negatively and even cost their families large amounts of money. I have seen marriages end from those giving in to sin that destroyed the lives of innocent children. Giving into sin comes with more then spiritual consequences we also have to deal with the mess we create after we sin. So we can fully see why God gets so hurt in his heart when we sin. He desiresnone to perish but desires all to repent and attain eternal life. King David once sinned against God and it resulted in a mans life being lost. He desired the mans wife so he manipulated things so that the man would get killed in battle. This was after he had relations with the mans wife and caused her to become pregnant. He did these things to try to hide his error. You can tell this effected some of his family because one of his sons committed even grosser sins. So the example we set could either draw others closer to God or could get them to sin against God. Job would not even look at a woman in an inappropriate way. He stated he had a covenant with his eyes. In other words before he had an inappropriate thought he would stop looking. David repented but he had to pay the consequences for his sin. Satan can use sin to trap us so that he can harm us.

(1 Corinthians 10:12, 13) ¹² So let the one who thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall. ¹³ No temptation has come upon you except what is common to men. But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

(2 Samuel 11:2-4) ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the rooftop of the king’s house. From the rooftop he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. ³ David sent someone to inquire about the woman, and he reported: “Is this not Bath-sheʹba the daughter of E·liʹam and the wife of U·riʹah the Hitʹtite?” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to bring her. So she came in to him, and he lay down with her. (This happened while she was purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Afterward, she returned to her house.

(Job 31:1) 31 “I have made a covenant with my eyes. So how could I show improper attention to a virgin?

(Matthew 5:27, 28) ²⁷ “You heard that it was said: ‘You must not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

(James 1:22-25) ²² However, become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself, and he goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he is. ²⁵ But the one who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and continues in it has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; and he will be happy in what he does.

Satan uses adversity to try and draw us away from God. He hit Job with so many things at once that while one messenger was delivering bad news another would enter. Satan did not get Job’s faith to falter or get him to reject God. Because of that God rewarded Job. Very soon things like this will happen on a world wide scale to those who choose to remain loyal to God and refuse to do and act of worship to the beast. Through this adversity we will need friends we can count on and trust to be loyal to Jehovah. So now more then ever we need to choose our friends wisely. The bible even cautioned us about having many friends. It is better to have a few friends that we know we can count on to help us with adversity. True friends will not abandon or avoid you when you are going through tough times but will be by your side through thick or thin. Most of all we need to stay close to Jehovah and put our burdens on him and he will sustain us.

(Job 1:16-21) ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another one came and said: “Fire from God fell from the heavens and blazed among the sheep and the servants and consumed them! I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another one came and said: “The Chal·deʹans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them, and they killed the servants with the sword. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another one came and said: “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. ¹⁹ Suddenly a great wind came from the wilderness, and it struck the four corners of the house, so that it fell on the young people and they were killed. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ²⁰ At that Job got up and ripped apart his garment and cut the hair off his head; then he fell to the ground and bowed down ²¹ and said: “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, And naked I will return. Jehovah has given, and Jehovah has taken away. Let the name of Jehovah continue to be praised.”

(Job 42:10-15) ¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his companions, Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation and restored his prosperity. Jehovah gave him double what he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and ate a meal with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him over all the calamity that Jehovah had allowed to come upon him. Each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. ¹² So Jehovah blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the beginning, and Job came to have 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of cattle, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He also came to have seven more sons and three more daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first daughter Je·miʹmah, the second Ke·ziʹah, and the third Kerʹen-hapʹpuch. ¹⁵ No women in all the land were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.

(Proverbs 17:17) ¹⁷ A true friend shows love at all times And is a brother who is born for times of distress.

(Ruth 1:16, 17) But Ruth said: “Do not plead with me to abandon you, to turn back from accompanying you; for where you go I will go, and where you spend the night, I will spend the night. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May Jehovah do so to me and add to it if anything but death should separate me from you.”

(1 Samuel 19:2) Since Saul’s son Jonʹa·than was very fond of David, Jonʹa·than told David: “My father Saul wants to have you put to death. Please be on your guard in the morning, and go to a secret place and remain hidden.

(Proverbs 18:24) ²⁴ There are companions ready to crush one another, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. . .

(Psalm 55:22) ²² Throw your burden on Jehovah, And he will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to fall.

(Jeremiah 29:11-14) ¹¹ “‘For I well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you,’ declares Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² And you will call me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’ ¹³ “‘You will seek me and find me, for you will search for me with all your heart. ¹⁴ And I will let you find me,’ declares Jehovah. ‘And I will gather your captives and collect you together out of all the nations and places to which I have dispersed you,’ declares Jehovah. ‘And I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to go into exile.’

Division is another method Satan uses to draw people away from God. Some may not like what they are hearing so will find teachers who will teach what they want to hear and now what they need to hear. Those who teach what people need to hear will be hated by the world we have to remember Jesus warned the student would be not better then the teacher. We know what they did to Jesus. We can expect to be persecuted and ridiculed also. They even taunted him when he was on the torture steak. At that time Jesus had been made king by God. He was being taunted and they were telling him if you are truly the Christ save yourself. We will most likely be given the same kind of treatment but we do not have to answer them. God will answer for us. Taunts like that do not deserve or require an answer. If we are arrested we do not have to rehearse what to speak. God will send the holy spirit which will instruct so we will know what to say. The pharisees and sudducess caused divisions because theu taught traditions and other things that were not a part of true worship or what God required. They also lacked humility and would promote themselves which caused divisions. They would do things like pray in public to put a show on. We need to keep humble and not make a show of our faith in God. We need to make certain what God requires because we were warned in the last days there would be many false teachers.

(Luke 22:63-65) ⁶³ Now the men who held Jesus in custody began to mock him, hitting him; ⁶⁴ and after covering his face, they kept asking: “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other blasphemous things against him.

(Luke 23:34-38) . . .. ³⁵ And the people stood looking on. But the rulers were sneering and saying: “Others he saved; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” ³⁶ Even the soldiers mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying: “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him: “This is the King of the Jews.”

(Luke 12:11, 12) ¹¹ When they bring you in before public assemblies, government officials, and authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak in defense or what you will say, ¹² for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour the things you should say.”

(Acts 6:8-10) ⁸ Now Stephen, full of divine favor and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ But some men of the so-called Synagogue of the Freedmen came forward, along with some Cy·reʹni·ans and Alexandrians, and some from Ci·liʹcia and Asia, to dispute with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not hold their own against the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.

Satan will use slander to turn people against those who worship in truth. These rumors and gossip are divisive and can effect our spiritual brothers and sisters. We have the example of Korah because he knew God’s word as well as Moses he thought he should be the one leading Israel. He started gossiping and got others to back him. This was in defiance of God because Moses was chose by God to lead Israel. It is best if we do not get involved in gossip or the spreading of rumors. I have seen false rumors break whole families up. Korah had caused others to rebel against Jehovah and it cost many lives. We have have to keep in mind Satan is called the accuser. Those who choose his side in this spiritual battle are also going to copy his behavior and will be constantly making accusations. Something I experienced when I first learned bible truth is that I had given up many sinful habits. My past sins were constantly being thrown in my face and held against me by the world. Even though I repented for many years they would still throw those sins in my face and falsely accused me. At first it caused me deep distress but then I came to realize they are not my judge. Jesus is our king and judge he knows the truth so no matter what false accusations they make Jesus knows the truth. Something to keep in mind Satan and Devil are terms and not names. Satan means adversary or accuser so we can be certain not only him but those who do not worship in truth will constantly doubt your reasons for your faith. Now more then ever when being accused we need to turn to God in prayer and he will strengthen us. We know that Satan has been cast out of heaven and has great wrath and is seeking to take many down into the pit of destruction with him. The persecution and the accusations are going to get much worse but the bible tells us these are a signs that our redemption is near so we are very very close to all this suffering being over.

(Numbers 16:28-35) ²⁸ Then Moses said: “By this you will know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these things, that it is not of my own heart: ²⁹ If these people die a natural death as all men do and if their punishment is the same as that of all mankind, then Jehovah has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Jehovah does something extraordinary with them and the ground opens and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they go down alive into the Grave, you will certainly know that these men have treated Jehovah disrespectfully.” ³¹ As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split apart. ³² And the earth opened and swallowed them up, along with their households and everyone who belonged to Korʹah and all their goods. ³³ So they and all who belonged to them went down alive into the Grave, and the earth covered them over, so that they perished from the midst of the congregation. ³⁴ All the Israelites who were around them fled at their screaming, for they said: “We are afraid that the earth may swallow us up!” ³⁵ Then a fire came out from Jehovah and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

(James 4:11, 12) ¹¹ Stop speaking against one another, brothers. Whoever speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against law and judges law. Now if you judge law, you are not a doer of law but a judge. ¹² There is only one who is Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy. But you, who are you to be judging your neighbor?

(Matthew 10:36-39) ³⁶ Indeed, a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and whoever has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not accept his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.

(John 15:17-20) ¹⁷ “These things I command you, that you love one another. ¹⁸ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were part of the world, 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, for this reason the world hates you. ²⁰ Keep in mind the word I said to you: A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have observed my word, they will also observe yours.

(1 Peter 5:6-11) ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time, ⁷ while you throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Keep your senses, be watchful! Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. ⁹ But take your stand against him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by the entire association of your brothers in the world. ¹⁰ But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all undeserved kindness, who called you to his everlasting glory in union with Christ, will himself finish your training. He will make you firm, he will make you strong, he will firmly ground you. ¹¹ To him be the might forever. Amen.

(Revelation 12:10-12) ¹⁰ I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! ¹¹ And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. ¹² On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has a short period of time.”

Pride is one that many of us have been guilty of at one time or another. Pride is what got Satan in the position he is in now and he will be destroyed some day. Jesus remained humble by keeping in mind that his father had more knowledge then him and that all authority and power came from God. No matter what we do there is nothing we could do that would be greater then what God can. Jesus told us he only did what he had seen his father do. He never took credit for the wisdom and gifts God had given him. He always gave the credit to God. If it was not for God we would not exist so no matter how much money we have, how many friends , how much power we have it does not draw us closer to God. Being humble and realizing we are just human and things of the world are not what makes us who we are. God guides and teaches us. Jesus showed so much humility, love, loyalty and faith in God that he entrusted him with the heavenly throne. God has put everything under Jesus authority even the angels so he can fulfill the work of restoring the earth and heaven to their original purpose. The heavens have already been restored because Satan and the demons have been cast out. Now the earth will be restored and the original purpose for the earth will be fulfilled and the earth will be filled with peaceful people and there will be no more wars, suffering or pain. There will be no more tears or death. When this work is done Jesus will show his humility again by handing the throne back to God and he will subject himself to God. So no matter how much knowledge, wealth, power or notoriety we may achieve we should keep in mind the example Jesus set who knew how much authority he had but still washed the apostles feet which was something that servants would do. The bible warns us if we exalt ourselves we will be humbled. If we humble ourselves we will be exalted. When being persecuted it is difficult not to look down on those doing the persecuting but keep in mind the Apostle Paul and one time persecuted God’s people and we know he worked very heard to spread the good news when his eyes were opened. If we look down on our persecutors we react in a way that could set a bad example and possibly hinder them from learning the truth.

(Ezekiel 28:16, 17) ¹⁶ Because of your abundant trade, You became filled with violence, and you began to sin. So I will cast you out as profane from the mountain of God and destroy you, O covering cherub, away from the stones of fire. ¹⁷ Your heart became haughty because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom because of your own glorious splendor. I will throw you down to the earth. I will make you a spectacle before kings.

(John 5:19, 20) ¹⁹ Therefore, in response Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, the Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son does also in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father has affection for the Son and shows him all the things he himself does, and he will show him works greater than these, so that you may marvel.

(John 14:27, 28) . . .. ²⁸ You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.

(1 Corinthians 15:24-28) ²⁴ Next, the end, when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶ And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing. ²⁷ For God “subjected all things under his feet.” But when he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that this does not include the One who subjected all things to him. ²⁸ But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.

(John 13:3-9) ³ So Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he came from God and was going to God, ⁴ got up from the evening meal and laid aside his outer garments. And taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. ⁵ After that he put water into a basin and started to wash the feet of the disciples and to dry them off with the towel that was wrapped around him. ⁶ Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him: “Lord, are you washing my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered him: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand after these things.” ⁸ Peter said to him: “You will certainly never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to him: “Lord, wash not only my feet but also my hands and my head.”

(Luke 14:7-14) ⁷ He then told the invited men an illustration when he noticed how they were choosing the most prominent places for themselves. He said to them: ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a marriage feast, do not recline in the most prominent place. Perhaps someone more distinguished than you may also have been invited. ⁹ Then the one who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Let this man have your place.’ Then you will proceed with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the man who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, go on up higher.’ Then you will have honor in front of all your fellow guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” ¹² Next he said also to the man who had invited him: “When you spread a dinner or an evening meal, do not call your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors. Otherwise, they might also invite you in return, and it would become a repayment to you. ¹³ But when you spread a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be happy, because they have nothing with which to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous ones.”

(Romans 12:14-16) ¹⁴ Keep on blessing those who persecute; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Have the same attitude toward others as toward yourselves; do not set your mind on lofty things, but be led along with the lowly things. Do not become wise in your own eyes.

(Acts 26:9-18) ⁹ I, for one, was convinced that I should commit many acts of opposition against the name of Jesus the Naz·a·reneʹ. ¹⁰ This is exactly what I did in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the holy ones in prisons, for I had received authority from the chief priests; and when they were to be executed, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ By punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to recant; and since I was extremely furious with them, I went so far as to persecute them even in outlying cities. ¹² “While doing this as I was traveling to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests, ¹³ I saw at midday on the road, O King, a light beyond the brilliance of the sun flash from heaven around me and around those traveling with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice say to me in the Hebrew language: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? To keep kicking against the goads makes it hard for you.’ ¹⁵ But I said: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet. This is why I have appeared to you, to choose you as a servant and a witness both of things you have seen and things I will make you see respecting me. ¹⁷ And I will rescue you from this people and from the nations, to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by their faith in me.’

One thing I almost forgot to mention many of the weapons Satan uses is designed to isolate you especially from spiritual things. Very soon there will be many times we will not have our spiritual brothers and sisters. We may be imprisoned, or isolated because tactics Satan has used to separate us. Many of us have family who reject bible truths. When the beast is fully empowered by the nations family will turn on many of us. These things are designed to isolate us in hopes Satan or his people can break us spiritually. In those times we will need to really on God and Jesus more then ever. We need to believe God cares for us and they he hears us and they we are not truly alone. He will put pressure on us to try and separate and isolate us from God spiritually. In those times it is very important to read God’s word and be persistent in prayer. We have the example of Jesus when he was fasting and alone in the wilderness. So Jesus would have been hungry and alone. Satan seized this opportunity to try and tempt Jesus. Satan even used scriptures to try and deceive Jesus. Because Jesus knew God’s word so well even when he was hungry and alone he did not give in to Satan. We have to be very careful we do not become over confident and isolate ourselves by associating less with spiritual brothers and sister and by not attending meeting. The bible warns this can cause us to fall and we are more easily temped. So you can see isolation is another weapon used against us by Satan. When possible we must do our best to prevent Satan from isolating us.

(Matthew 4:1-11) 4 Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he felt hungry. 3 And the Tempter approached and said to him: “If you are a son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered: “It is written: ‘Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Jehovah’s mouth.’” 5 Then the Devil took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him on the battlement of the temple 6 and said to him: “If you are a son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: ‘He will give his angels a command concerning you,’ and, ‘They will carry you on their hands, so that you may not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him: “Again it is written: ‘You must not put Jehovah your God to the test.’” 8 Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’” 11 Then the Devil left him, and look! angels came and began to minister to him.

(James 4:7-10) 7 Therefore, subject yourselves to God; but oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you indecisive ones. 9 Give way to misery and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into despair. 10 Humble yourselves in the eyes of Jehovah, and he will exalt you.

(Hebrews 3:12-15) 12 Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by drawing away from the living God; 13 but keep on encouraging one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you should become hardened by the deceptive power of sin. 14 For we actually become partakers of the Christ only if we hold firmly down to the end the confidence we had at the beginning. 15 As it is said, “Today if you listen to his voice, do not harden your hearts as on the occasion of provoking to bitter anger.”

(1 Corinthians 10:12, 13) 12 So let the one who thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has come upon you except what is common to men. But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

What is the suit of armor of God and how do we put on the full suit. Well to understand that we need to understand each aspect of that suit of armor. We need this suit of armor because this spiritual battle involves world governments and other authorities, we are battling Satan and the demons and those who have chosen Satans side in this battle. Satan and his demons can easily influence man so we have not only the inherited human imperfection to deal with but we also are dealing with those who have been influenced by Satan and the demons.

The belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness are mentioned in the same sentence. If we wear the belt of truth which is taking in God’s word and applying it and letting it guide all we do it will help to keep us blameless so when accused or if we are arrested we can have peace of mind knowing we did no wrong. We can also have peace of mind knowing no matter what happens Jesus will redeem us.

Our feet need to be shod in readiness to declare the good news. So we need to teach others what we have learned. In doing so it helps put it deeper into our hearts, builds our faith and helps others learn how to put on the full suit of armor. Not only that but there are many looking for answers. The good news of the heavenly kingdom gives all who put there faith in God hope. If we did not know about the heavenly kingdom what hope would we have. If someone had not told us about the good news of the heavenly kingdom what would it be like for us now? We most likely would be living in a state of panic and confusion like many are now days. Our hope gives us peace that those who do not accept the bible truth will not experience.

We are to take up the large shield of faith. So we must trust God will guide is through what is about to occur. He will protect us and take care of us no matter how bad things may seem. Already many have had their homes taken from them because of their faith in God. Some have been imprisoned. Some are going hungry but Jehovah God is sustaining them. He has in the past no matter how much the odds seemed to be against someone who was loyal to him. In the end those causing the harm were judged and destroyed. This is going to occur on a world wide scale. We have no need to be afraid because even death will not separate us from the love of God and the love of Jesus. God performed man amazing miracles in the past to protect his people and I am certain he will again. No matter what accusation or what harm we are threaten with we can be certain like Daniel we are worshiping the one true God and he will protect us like he did Daniel and his companions when they were throne in to the fiery furnace.

The helmet of Salvation that is in God’s word. By learning about the ransom sacrifice of God’s only begotten son and the purpose for it. We get a better understanding of God’s love. He gave his only begotten son to make atonement for the sins of Adam. Because of that ransom sacrifice , death was defeated. So those who make it into the new earth will not die. Those who experience a resurrection of righteousness will not die either. So if we do our best to imitate Jesus, be faithful and loyal even death will not have a hold on us and we will be resurrected.

We must put on the sword of God’s spirit, which is God’s word. If we let God’s word guide all we do then we will be protected not only by God but by the wisdom his word will impart to us. Very soon we will be forced into positions were we have to be certain when to make our yes mean yes and our no mean no. If we do not know God’s word and have it written on our hearts we could have doubts as to when we should say yes or no. This could cost or lives.

We are to persist in prayer. At times it may seem God is not listening. Sometimes we have to repeatedly pray let God know it is him we trust and not ourselves or man. If we do not get an answer then it may be a no answer and we need to believe God knows what is best and when the best timing for things are. Sometimes the answer to the prayer may be delayed because we are not quite ready to have it answered and have some growing spiritually or it may not be what is best. If we persist in prayer it helps us to think on it more and more and adjust our prayers which would show God our spiritual growth and determination. If we get a no answer it does not mean God does not love us. It may mean that at the time giving a yes answer may not be what is needed. Sometimes we endure things to help to temper and strengthen us and build our faith and wisdom. One thing I found is if I am praying asking for a yes or no answer I ask for a specific sign that will be so unique I will have no doubt what his answer is.

(Ephesians 6:10-20) ¹⁰ Finally, go on acquiring power in the Lord and in the mightiness of his strength. ¹¹ Put on the complete suit of armor from God so that you may be able to stand firm against the crafty acts of the Devil; ¹² because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. ¹³ For this reason take up the complete suit of armor from God, so that you may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after you have accomplished everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm, therefore, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having your feet shod in readiness to declare the good news of peace. ¹⁶ Besides all of this, take up the large shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the wicked one’s burning arrows. ¹⁷ Also, accept the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word, ¹⁸ while with every form of prayer and supplication you carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit. And to that end stay awake, constantly making supplication in behalf of all the holy ones. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that the words may be given to me when I open my mouth, so that I may be able to speak boldly in making known the sacred secret of the good news, ²⁰ for which I am acting as an ambassador in chains, and that I may speak about it with boldness, as I ought to speak.

Jesus showed us how to conquer the world and not let the world conquer us.

How to use.

 

To learn to conquer the world in the context Jesus was talking about we need to understand what he was referring to when he referred to the world. When you read in the bible often times you see it is referring to the people in the world and the rebellious system of the world which is run by the people and influenced by Satan.

(John 1:29) ²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said: “See, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

(1 John 2:1, 2) 2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. ² And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s. . .

Since Adam and Eve who were perfect brought this sinful rebellion into the world it took a perfect human to show us the way out and for a ransom of a perfect human to be provided to cover those sins.

(2 Corinthians 5:18, 19) ¹⁸ But all things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself, not counting their offenses against them, and he entrusted to us the message of the reconciliation.

(Romans 5:18, 19) ¹⁸ So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person many will be made righteous.

So when the bible says the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one it is referring to the people and this system of rebellion of man choosing to rule themselves and decide right from wrong for themselves. So it is referring to man and man’s system of things.

(John 12:31) ³¹ Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world. . .

(2 Corinthians 4:3, 4) ³ If, in fact, the good news we declare is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, ⁴ among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.

Jesus Conquered the world.

In order to conquer the world we need to follow the one who conquered the world, God’s only begotten son Jesus. The ruler of this world has already been defeated and judged. Jesus stayed focused on the things above and not on the worldly things.

(John 16:33) ³³ I have said these things to you so that by means of me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.. . .

(John 16:8-11) ⁸ And when that one comes, he will give the world convincing evidence concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment: ⁹ first concerning sin, because they are not exercising faith in me; ¹⁰ then concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ then concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. . .

(Colossians 3:1, 2) 3 If, however, you were raised up with the Christ, go on seeking the things above, where the Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Keep your minds fixed on the things above, not on the things on the earth.

Things that can cause us to be conquered by the world.

Pride has been the downfall of many and it was the downfall of the king in Babylon in Daniels time. God does not take pride lightly. It has caused the downfall of many kings.

(Proverbs 16:18, 19) ¹⁸ Pride is before a crash, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. ¹⁹ Better to be humble among the meek Than to share the spoil of the haughty. . .

(Daniel 4:30-32) The king was saying: “Is this not Babylon the Great that I myself have built for the royal house by my own strength and might and for the glory of my majesty?” ³¹ While the word was yet in the king’s mouth, a voice came down from the heavens: “To you it is being said, O King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar, ‘The kingdom has gone away from you, ³² and from mankind you are being driven away. With the beasts of the field your dwelling will be, and you will be given vegetation to eat just like bulls, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that he grants it to whomever he wants.

(Acts 12:21-23) ²¹ On a set day, Herod clothed himself with royal raiment and sat down on the judgment seat and began giving them a public address. ²² Then the people who were assembled began shouting: “A god’s voice, and not a man’s!” ²³ Instantly the angel of Jehovah struck him, because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten up with worms and died.

So we can see those who become haughty from pride Jehovah opposes but he favors those who are humble.

(James 4:6) ⁶ However, the undeserved kindness that He gives is greater. So it says: “God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones. . .

(Proverbs 3:34) ³⁴ For he mocks those who ridicule, But he shows favor to the meek. . .

(Psalm 37:11) But the meek will possess the earth, And they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

(Psalm 138:6) Though Jehovah is high, he takes note of the humble, But the haughty he knows only from a distance

Jesus set a pattern of humility for us to follow and he demonstrated this by washing the apostles feet something that a servant usually would do. Even though he knew he would be seated on the thrown in the heavenly kingdom and was the only begotten son of God he did not let that go to his head and remained humble and was happy to serve others in a way that pleased his heavenly father.

(John 13:14-17) ¹⁴ Therefore, if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also should wash the feet of one another. ¹⁵ For I set the pattern for you, that just as I did to you, you should also do. ¹⁶ Most truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, happy you are if you do them. . .

(Luke 9:48) and said to them: “Whoever receives this young child on the basis of my name receives me also; and whoever receives me also receives the One who sent me. For the one who conducts himself as a lesser one among all of you is the one who is great.

Avoid being conquered by hatred.

Our actions show whether we are filled with love or filled with hatred. We know we are in the last days and that men will do many hateful and selfish things. The bible has warned us what the last days would be like many times.

(2 Timothy 3:1-7) 3 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, ³ having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, ⁴ betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. ⁶ From among these arise men who slyly work their way into households and captivate weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, ⁷ always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.

Hatred is a very serious sin. If we have hatred in our hearts it forfeits our chances of eternal life.

(1 John 3:14, 15) . . .. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has everlasting life remaining in him. . .

This contrast the fruits of the spirit in which love is one of them.

(Galatians 5:22-24) ²² On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³ mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Moreover, those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed to the stake the flesh together with its passions and desires. . .

Love would be an identifying mark of those who worship in truth. This love would be so deep if necessary they would give their lives for each other.

(John 13:33-35) . . .I now say it also to you. ³⁴ I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves.. . .

(John 15:11-13) ¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made full. ¹² This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his life in behalf of his friends.

We are not to show impartiality, Jesus demonstrated this in his treatment of the Samaritan women. Samaritans were very good at counterfeiting legal documents. They would counterfeit documents of their human linage. So no one was certain if they were really jews or gentiles. They were not trusted and for the most part avoided. The Samaritan was aware that the gentiles would also be welcomed to worship the true God and be considered part of the nation of Israel. Jesus revealed to the Samaritan woman would be a spiritual nation he also revealed to her that he was the messiah who would fulfill the things she had mentioned.

(John 4:7-26) ⁷ A woman of Sa·marʹi·a came to draw water. Jesus said to her: “Give me a drink.” ⁸ (For his disciples had gone off into the city to buy food.) ⁹ So the Sa·marʹi·tan woman said to him: “How is it that you, despite being a Jew, ask me for a drink even though I am a Sa·marʹi·tan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Sa·marʹi·tans.) ¹⁰ In answer Jesus said to her: “If you had known of the free gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ She said to him: “Sir, you do not even have a bucket for drawing water, and the well is deep. From what source, then, do you have this living water? ¹² You are not greater than our forefather Jacob, who gave us the well and who together with his sons and his cattle drank out of it, are you?” ¹³ In answer Jesus said to her: “Everyone drinking from this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴ Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may neither thirst nor keep coming over to this place to draw water.” ¹⁶ He said to her: “Go, call your husband and come to this place.” ¹⁷ The woman replied: “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her: “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ ¹⁸ For you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. This you have said truthfully.” ¹⁹ The woman said to him: “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our forefathers worshipped on this mountain, but you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.” ²¹ Jesus said to her: “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation begins with the Jews. ²³ Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for indeed, the Father is looking for ones like these to worship him. ²⁴ God is a Spirit, and those worshipping him must worship with spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to him: “I know that Mes·siʹah is coming, who is called Christ. Whenever that one comes, he will declare all things to us openly.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her: “I am he, the one speaking to you.. . .

(Acts 10:34, 35) ³⁴ At this Peter began to speak, and he said: “Now I truly understand that God is not partial, ³⁵ but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. . .

Jesus also set the example of love by praying for those persecuting him. He commanded us to love our enemies, many love those who love them that is easy but to truly follow in Jesus foot steps we must love those who hate us.

(Luke 23:34) ³⁴ But Jesus was saying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Furthermore, they cast lots to distribute his garments.

(Matthew 5:43-48) ⁴³ “You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good and makes it rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brothers only, what extraordinary thing are you doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? ⁴⁸ You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Galatians 6:10) ¹⁰ So, then, as long as we have the opportunity, let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith.

Are we to pray for all sinners? The answer is no. There are sins that incur death and they are sins against the holy spirit. We are not to pray for those who are sinning against the holy spirit.

(1 John 5:16) ¹⁶ If anyone catches sight of his brother committing a sin that does not incur death, he will ask, and God will give life to him, yes, to those not committing sin that incurs death. There is a sin that does incur death. It is concerning that sin that I do not tell him to make request. . .

(Mark 3:29) But whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit has no forgiveness forever but is guilty of everlasting sin.

Love the only begotten son and our heavenly father Jehovah.

The way we react to the bibles teachings and apply them in our lives shows whether we love Jesus and our heavenly father. It will not be easy because being no part of the world means you will be hated and persecuted by the world. Jesus warned us many times of this. By following Jesus teachings and applying them in our lives we will be in union with Jesus and our heavenly father.

(John 14:21) ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. In turn, whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will clearly show myself to him.”

(John 15:17-20) ¹⁷ “These things I command you, that you love one another. ¹⁸ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were part of the world, 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, for this reason the world hates you. ²⁰ Keep in mind the word I said to you: A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have observed my word, they will also observe yours.

(John 17:15-19) ¹⁵ “I do not request that you take them out of the world, but that you watch over them because of the wicked one. ¹⁶ They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And I am sanctifying myself in their behalf, so that they also may be sanctified by means of truth. . .

(John 16:27, 28) ²⁷ For the Father himself has affection for you, because you have had affection for me and have believed that I came as God’s representative. ²⁸ I came as the Father’s representative and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.. . .

So observing God’s commands and having faith we can conquer the world.

(1 John 5:2-4) . . .. ³ For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴ because everyone who has been born from God conquers the world. And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith. . .

Jesus did not say it would be easy.

Jesus warns those living in harmony with him and our heavenly father will be persecuted. He tells us the student is no better then the teacher. If the world hated him they would also hate those who loyally follow him.

(2 Timothy 3:12, 13) ¹² In fact, all those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted. ¹³ But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled. . .

Many will not heed our warning and will ridicule us.

(2 Peter 3:2-4) . . .. ³ First of all know this, that in the last days ridiculers will come with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires ⁴ and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as they were from creation’s beginning. . .

(Jude 17-23) ¹⁷ As for you, beloved ones, call to mind the sayings that have been previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ how they used to say to you: “In the last time there will be ridiculers, following their own desires for ungodly things.” ¹⁹ These are the ones who cause divisions, animalistic men, not having spirituality. ²⁰ But you, beloved ones, build yourselves up on your most holy faith, and pray with holy spirit, ²¹ in order to keep yourselves in God’s love, while you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ with everlasting life in view. ²² Also, continue showing mercy to some who have doubts; ²³ save them by snatching them out of the fire. But continue showing mercy to others, doing so with fear, while you hate even the garment that has been stained by the flesh.

We must be careful this ridicule can cause us to let down our guard and we could be lured into the world. This is also why we are warned not to become unevenly yoked with the world.

(Luke 21:34-36) ³⁴ “But pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you ³⁵ as a snare. For it will come upon all those dwelling on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that must occur and in standing before the Son of man. . .

(2 Corinthians 6:14-17) ¹⁴ Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Beʹli·al? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: “I will reside among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹⁷ “‘Therefore, get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’”; “‘and I will take you in.. . .

The world views people by their status in society if we pursue things of the world and we risk becoming like them which can cause us to become bias towards those who are in need and develop an incorrect view of them. They even show favoritism towards those who are well off, something we are warned not to do.

(James 2:1-4) 2 My brothers, you are not holding to the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ while showing favoritism, are you? ² For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in splendid clothing comes into your meeting, but a poor man in filthy clothing also enters, ³ do you look with favor on the one wearing the splendid clothing and say, “You take this seat here in a fine place,” and do you say to the poor one, “You keep standing” or, “Take that seat there under my footstool”? ⁴ If so, do you not have class distinctions among yourselves, and have you not become judges rendering wicked decisions?

Ephesians lays out the complete way to protect ourselves by putting on the complete armor of God. The belt of truth with is the truth in God’s word will protect and guide us. Be remaining blameless it protects us. Our faith is our shield, and putting our faith in our redeemer and the hope of salvation is our helmet. Also taking in God’s word and applying it is the Sword of the Spirit. And praying and asking God in times of trouble help us.

(Ephesians 6:10-13) . . .. ¹¹ Put on the complete suit of armor from God so that you may be able to stand firm against the crafty acts of the Devil; ¹² because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. ¹³ For this reason take up the complete suit of armor from God, so that you may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after you have accomplished everything, to stand firm.

The bible does not promise wealth or that we would live in comfort. We must remember if we follow in Jesus foot steps will will be falsely accused, many will hate and turn on us. Many of us will go without food. All these things would not stop us from enriching people spiritually.

(2 Corinthians 6:3-10) ³ In no way are we giving any cause for stumbling, so that no fault may be found with our ministry; ⁴ but in every way we recommend ourselves as God’s ministers, by the endurance of much, by tribulations, by times of need, by difficulties, ⁵ by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by hard work, by sleepless nights, by times without food; ⁶ by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by holy spirit, by love free from hypocrisy, ⁷ by truthful speech, by God’s power; through the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, ⁸ through glory and dishonor, through bad report and good report. We are regarded as deceivers and yet we are truthful, ⁹ as unknown and yet we are recognized, as dying and yet look! we live, as punished and yet not handed over to death, ¹⁰ as sorrowing but ever rejoicing, as poor but making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

When we endure patiently it may draw others to the bible truths. We must do our best not to let the world shape who we are but to let Jehovah and his word shape us, it will protect us from being conquered by the world. In doing so we conquer the evil with the good.

(2 Timothy 2:23-26) ²³ Further, reject foolish and ignorant debates, knowing that they produce fights. ²⁴ For a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be gentle toward all, qualified to teach, showing restraint when wronged, ²⁵ instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed. Perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the Devil, seeing that they have been caught alive by him to do his will. . .

(Romans 12:9-21) ⁹ Let your love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is wicked; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ In brotherly love have tender affection for one another. In showing honor to one another, take the lead. ¹¹ Be industrious, not lazy. Be aglow with the spirit. Slave for Jehovah. ¹² Rejoice in the hope. Endure under tribulation. Persevere in prayer. ¹³ Share with the holy ones according to their needs. Follow the course of hospitality. ¹⁴ Keep on blessing those who persecute; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Have the same attitude toward others as toward yourselves; do not set your mind on lofty things, but be led along with the lowly things. Do not become wise in your own eyes. ¹⁷ Return evil for evil to no one. Take into consideration what is fine from the viewpoint of all men. ¹⁸ If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men. ¹⁹ Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says Jehovah.” ²⁰ But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good. . .

Our endurance and faith shows our love for Jesus and his father. In remaining faithful and strong we set on example for others. Jesus did not say it would be easy he warned that to follow him we would have to endure the same things as he did. Just as they falsely accused him , persecuted him in many ways so those who follow him in truth will be treated. God did not promise us wealth as a matter of fact Jesus did not have a home to sleep in.

(James 1:2-4) ² Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet with various trials, ³ knowing as you do that this tested quality of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ But let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and sound in all respects, not lacking in anything. . .

(Matthew 10:24-31) ²⁴ “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the student to become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If people have called the master of the house Be·elʹze·bub, how much more those of his household? ²⁶ So do not fear them, for there is nothing covered over that will not become uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the darkness, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, preach from the housetops. ²⁸ And do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Ge·henʹna. ²⁹ Two sparrows sell for a coin of small value, do they not? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So have no fear; you are worth more than many sparrows. . .

(Matthew 8:20) But Jesus said to him: “Foxes have dens and birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay down his head.

Those who put their faith in the world and things of the world cannot put faith in God and will not learn to love him. It can hinder their relationship with God. These things will all be gone soon and all we will have is our relationship with God. If we do not have a relationship with God we will not fair well when this system collapses.

(1 John 2:15-17) ¹⁵ Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; ¹⁶ because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. ¹⁷ Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever. . .

Exercising Faith.

The bible tells us to exercise faith showing we have to work to build our faith. In doing so we will receive the power from God to endure the things that will occur. Many had faith in Jesus but did not want to lose their status in society so they would not acknowledge him. Jesus warned them that the things he said were given as commanded to him by God. To disobey his commands we would be disobeying God which shows a lack of faith.

(John 14:1) 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Exercise faith in God; exercise faith also in me.

(John 12:42, 43) ⁴² All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but they would not acknowledge him because of the Pharisees, so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved the glory of men even more than the glory of God. . .

(John 12:47-50) ⁴⁷ But if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I came, not to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ Whoever disregards me and does not receive my sayings has one to judge him. The word that I have spoken is what will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken of my own initiative, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment means everlasting life. So whatever I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me. . .

(Romans 3:28-31) ²⁸ For we consider that a man is declared righteous by faith apart from works of law. ²⁹ Or is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of people of the nations? Yes, also of people of the nations. ³⁰ Since God is one, he will declare circumcised people righteous as a result of faith and uncircumcised people righteous by means of their faith. ³¹ Do we, then, abolish law by means of our faith? Not at all! On the contrary, we uphold law. . .

We can see that exercising faith means that we adhere to the teachings of Jesus and follow his example.

(John 3:16-21) ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever exercises faith in him is not to be judged. Whoever does not exercise faith has been judged already, because he has not exercised faith in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ Now this is the basis for judgment: that the light has come into the world, but men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked. ²⁰ For whoever practices vile things hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be reproved. ²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest as having been done in harmony with God.”

We need to work towards strengthening our faith because it will help us to endure. The things we endure teaches and strengthens us and those who lack faith give up but we endure things through our faith that is beyond normal.

(1 Peter 5:6-11) ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time, ⁷ while you throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Keep your senses, be watchful! Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. ⁹ But take your stand against him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by the entire association of your brothers in the world. ¹⁰ But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all undeserved kindness, who called you to his everlasting glory in union with Christ, will himself finish your training. He will make you firm, he will make you strong, he will firmly ground you. ¹¹ To him be the might forever. Amen.

Exercising faith means we would have such a deep love for God and his son Jesus that we will give testimony about them even if it may cost our lives.

(Acts 20:24) Nevertheless, I do not consider my own life of any importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear thorough witness to the good news of the undeserved kindness of God

(Luke 9:24) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake is the one who will save it.

(Revelation 12:11) And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death.

We have a helper.

Jesus told the apostles he would send a helper. This helper is the spirit of truth from God.

(John 14:25, 26) . . .. ²⁶ But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you. . .

(Matthew 10:19, 20) However, when they hand you over, do not become anxious about how or what you are to speak, for what you are to speak will be given you in that hour; ²⁰ for the ones speaking are not just you, but it is the spirit of your Father that speaks by you

(John 14:16, 17) ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, ¹⁷ the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it. You know it, because it remains with you and is in you.

If we do not have the spirit of truth we cannot worship God in spirit and truth because our minds will be set on material things.

(Romans 8:5) ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, on the things of the spirit.

Getting too caught up in the world can lure us in and we may start drinking of the cup of the devil which would inhibit our receiving the spirit.

(1 Corinthians 10:20, 21) ²⁰ No; but I say that what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers with the demons. ²¹ You cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; you cannot be partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and the table of demons.

We do not just receive the spirit we must ask for it. How would a parent know your needs if you do not ask. We have to let God know we desire and need his helper.

(Luke 11:12, 13) . . .? ¹³ Therefore, if you, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking him!. . .

How do we know when we have received the spirit? Because we will produce the fruits of the spirit. Love will guide all we do, we will find joy even though we will be heavily persecuted and have to endure much tribulation, we will have an inner peace , we will be more patient , we will strive to be good, our faith will increase, we will be known for our mildness and self-control.

(Galatians 5:22, 23) ²² On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³ mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. . .

Of the fruitage of the spirit love is the most important one. It can cover a multitude of sins. Love should guide all we do. It is the love God has for us that drove him to provide a ransom sacrifice for us. If we do not love we cannot know God.

(1 Corinthians 13:4-7) ⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, ⁵ does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. ⁶ It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. . .

(1 John 4:8-10) ⁸ Whoever does not love has not come to know God, because God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed in our case, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might gain life through him. ¹⁰ The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. . .

(1 Peter 4:7-9) ⁷ But the end of all things has drawn close. Therefore, be sound in mind, and be vigilant with a view to prayers. ⁸ Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

Our salvation depends on the fruits we produce. It is an expression of our love for Jehovah and his only begotten son Jesus Christ.

(1 Peter 1:8, 9) ⁸ Though you never saw him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, yet you exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing with an indescribable and glorious joy, ⁹ as you attain the goal of your faith, your salvation. . .

(Romans 6:21-23) ²¹ What, then, was the fruit that you used to produce at that time? Things of which you are now ashamed. For the end of those things is death. ²² However, now that you were set free from sin and became slaves to God, you are producing your fruit in the way of holiness, and the end is everlasting life. ²³ For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can see it is not the status of someone that determines their status with God but the fruits they produce and it is an identifying mark of those worshiping in truth. False prophets will produce bad fruits. We learned this in 2 Timothy 3:1-8 which speaks of the last days and the results of false teachings.

(Matthew 7:15-20) ¹⁵ “Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.

Jesus promised us peace.

Jesus promised us peace but it would not be peace as man knows peace but it would be an inner peace because of our faith and the hope in the future promises. We would have an inner peace because we would not live in fear as many others do now days. Fear can be used to deceive people and manipulate them. Because we do no live in fear it cannot be used as a weapon against us. We also have the peace of knowing all can now worship God in truth through the ransom sacrifice of God’s only begotten son Jesus Christ. This ransom sacrifice removed all barriers.

(John 14:27) ²⁷ I leave you peace; I give you my peace. I do not give it to you the way that the world gives it. Do not let your hearts be troubled nor let them shrink out of fear.

(Ephesians 2:13-18) ¹³ But now in union with Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace, the one who made the two groups one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. ¹⁵ By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, in order to make the two groups in union with himself into one new man and to make peace, ¹⁶ and to reconcile fully both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the enmity by means of himself. ¹⁷ And he came and declared the good news of peace to you who were far off, and peace to those near, ¹⁸ because through him we, both peoples, have free access to the Father by one spirit.

This peace that we receive guards our hearts. If you read Psalm 27:1-14 you will see why Jesus had peace even though he was heavily persecuted. His faith was in Jehovah so it gave him the courage and strength to endure. This drove Jesus to teach the good news of the heavenly kingdom which give a future hope of better things to come.

(Philippians 4:6, 7) ⁶ Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus. . .

(2 Timothy 1:7-10) ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of soundness of mind. ⁸ So do not become ashamed either of the witness about our Lord or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but take your part in suffering adversity for the good news by relying on the power of God. ⁹ He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and undeserved kindness. This was given to us in connection with Christ Jesus before times long ago, ¹⁰ but now it has been made clearly evident through the manifestation of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has shed light on life and incorruption through the good news,

(Revelation 21:1-4) 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. ² I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. ⁴ And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

Destruction of the wicked.

We must be patient and endure because God desires none to be destroyed but wants all to have the opportunity to know him and to repent. So we must do our best to warn others and to teach them about the one true God while we patiently wait knowing that many of our spiritual brothers and sisters are still out there waiting for someone to show them the way out. Sharing God’s word, being persistant in prayer will help keep us awake so that we will be ready when the destruction of the wicked comes. We know it will happen suddenly and at a time people least expect.

(2 Peter 3:8-10) . . .. ⁹ Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. ¹⁰ But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed.

(Revelation 16:15) ¹⁵ “Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one who stays awake and keeps his outer garments, so that he may not walk naked and people look upon his shamefulness.. . .

(Matthew 24:43, 44) ⁴³ “But know one thing: If the householder had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have kept awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ On this account, you too prove yourselves ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think to be it.

Those who conquer the world their name will not be blotted out and they will be remembered. This will be those who have figuratively washed their robes. In other words they have repented from the ways of the world and have drawn closer to God.

(Revelation 3:4, 5) . . .. ⁵ The one who conquers will thus be dressed in white garments, and I will by no means blot out his name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels. . .

(Revelation 22:13-15) . . .. ¹⁴ Happy are those who wash their robes, so that they may have authority to go to the trees of life and that they may gain entrance into the city through its gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and those who are sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying.. . .

This gives us courage beyond what is normal because we do not fear those who can kill the body. We know the heavenly father and his son love us and would not forget the work we have done and the love we have shown for Jehovah’s great name.

(Matthew 10:28-31) ²⁸ And do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Ge·henʹna. ²⁹ Two sparrows sell for a coin of small value, do they not? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So have no fear; you are worth more than many sparrows.

(Hebrews 6:10-12) ¹⁰ For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name by ministering and continuing to minister to the holy ones. ¹¹ But we desire each one of you to show the same industriousness so as to have the full assurance of the hope down to the end, ¹² so that you may not become sluggish, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

This is why now more then ever we need to put God’s word into our hearts to better equip us for the work ahead. Just a while longer and the bad memories will be gone they will be replaced by the good memories of the fulfillment of the future promises.

(2 Timothy 3:16, 17) ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.

(Isaiah 65:17) ¹⁷ For look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be called to mind, Nor will they come up into the heart. . .

(2 Peter 3:11-13) ¹¹ Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, ¹² as you await and keep close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah, through which the heavens will be destroyed in flames and the elements will melt in the intense heat! ¹³ But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell. . .

(Psalm 37:28, 29) ²⁸ For Jehovah loves justice, And he will not abandon his loyal ones. ע [Ayin] They will always be guarded; But the descendants of the wicked will be done away with. ²⁹ The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it.

We can find comfort in knowing nothing not even death can separate us from the love that Jehovah has for us and the love his only begotten son our heavenly king has for us.

(Romans 8:35-39) ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of the Christ? Will tribulation or distress or persecution or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written: “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we have been accounted as sheep for slaughtering.” ³⁷ On the contrary, in all these things we are coming off completely victorious through the one who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers ³⁹ nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must remember to continue to pray for those persecuting us remembering that the apostle Paul also once persecuted those who worshiped in truth.

(Acts 7:54-8:1) ⁵⁴ Well, at hearing these things, they were infuriated in their hearts and began to grind their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, ⁵⁶ and he said: “Look! I see the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.” ⁵⁷ At this they cried out at the top of their voices and put their hands over their ears and rushed at him all together. ⁵⁸ After throwing him outside the city, they began stoning him. The witnesses laid down their outer garments at the feet of a young man called Saul. ⁵⁹ As they were stoning Stephen, he made this appeal: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then, kneeling down, he cried out with a strong voice: “Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.” And after saying this, he fell asleep in death. 8 Saul, for his part, approved of his murder. . .

(1 Timothy 1:12-16) ¹² I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, ¹³ although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and with a lack of faith. ¹⁴ But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and the love that is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these, I am foremost. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, I was shown mercy so that by means of me as the foremost case, Christ Jesus might demonstrate all his patience, making me an example to those who are going to rest their faith on him for everlasting life.

This link is a good article explaining how to recognize true worship so we do not make the same error Paul made.

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/good-news-from-god/recognize-true-worshippers/#?insight%5Bsearch_id%5D=80147093-0f96-400a-9756-6f29ef57a5d9&insight%5Bsearch_result_index%5D=2

Bible tells us we are not saved by works alone, yet it says faith without works is dead. Seems contradicting but is it really?

To fully understand what the scriptures are telling us you have to consider what the works are. Their are various forms of work concerning any situation in life. It is the same for our spiritual part of our lives. In Ephesians it is saying we have to be saved through faith not by works. Yet it also says we are to do good works. So clearly it is speaking of two different works.

(Ephesians 2:8-10) ⁸ By this undeserved kindness, indeed, YOU have been saved through faith; and this not owing to YOU, it is God’s gift. ⁹ No, it is not owing to works, in order that no man should have ground for boasting. ¹⁰ For we are a product of his work and were created in union with Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them.

Now if you remember the pharisees believe by memorizing God’s laws and by appearing to be the most righteous they would achieve salvation.

(Matthew 23:1-13) 23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: ² “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the seat of Moses. ³ Therefore all the things they tell YOU, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds, for they say but do not perform. ⁴ They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger. ⁵ All the works they do they do to be viewed by men; for they broaden the [scripture-containing] cases that they wear as safeguards, and enlarge the fringes [of their garments]. ⁶ They like the most prominent place at evening meals and the front seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But YOU, do not YOU be called Rabbi, for one is YOUR teacher, whereas all YOU are brothers. ⁹ Moreover, do not call anyone YOUR father on earth, for one is YOUR Father, the heavenly One. ¹⁰ Neither be called ‘leaders,’ for YOUR Leader is one, the Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest one among YOU must be YOUR minister. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. ¹³ “Woe to YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because YOU shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for YOU yourselves do not go in, neither do YOU permit those on their way in to go in. . .

Now it is becoming clearer what some of the works is. Works of law. So the pharisees thought the law was their way to salvation. But Jesus stated many times we must exercise faith.

(Romans 9:30-32) ³⁰ What shall we say, then? That people of the nations, although not pursuing righteousness, caught up with righteousness, the righteousness that results from faith; ³¹ but Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. ³² For what reason? Because he pursued it, not by faith, but as by works. . .

But does this mean we do not have to obey the laws of the bible? It seems to say this is so. But how can we exercise faith which Jesus stated many times we needed to do if we do not apply God’s laws in our lives to guide us.

(Galatians 3:10-14) ¹⁰ For all those who depend upon works of law are under a curse; for it is written: “Cursed is every one that does not continue in all the things written in the scroll of the Law in order to do them.” ¹¹ Moreover, that by law no one is declared righteous with God is evident, because “the righteous one will live by reason of faith.” ¹² Now the Law does not adhere to faith, but “he that does them shall live by means of them.” ¹³ Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.” ¹⁴ The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham might come to be by means of Jesus Christ for the nations, that we might receive the promised spirit through our faith. . .

We know that one exercises faith with the heart and we make a declaration of our faith. So how do we acquire the skills to exercise faith in our hearts?

(Romans 10:10) ¹⁰ For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.

So we are to write God’s word on our hearts. In other words we are to live by his word and let it guide all we do.

(Proverbs 7:1-3) 7 My son, keep my sayings, and may you treasure up my own commandments with you. ² Keep my commandments and continue living, and my law like the pupil of your eyes. ³ Tie them upon your fingers, and write them upon the tablet of your heart. . .

(John 14:15-17) ¹⁵ “If YOU love me, YOU will observe my commandments; ¹⁶ and I will request the Father and he will give YOU another helper to be with YOU forever, ¹⁷ the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither beholds it nor knows it. YOU know it, because it remains with YOU and is in YOU. . .

So it is not by obeying the laws that will save us but faith in God and his laws, also faith in his son and our King Jesus.

(Romans 2:13) For the hearers of law are not the ones righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared righteous

Now another dilemma faith without works is dead. Now what works could this be? We know that is takes more then learning God’s laws and obeying them but what are the other works? We can look to the book of James for that answer.

(James 2:14-17) ¹⁴ Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if a certain one says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it? ¹⁵ If a brother or a sister is in a naked state and lacking the food sufficient for the day, ¹⁶ yet a certain one of YOU says to them: “Go in peace, keep warm and well fed,” but YOU do not give them the necessities for [their] body, of what benefit is it? ¹⁷ Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself.

Now it becomes clear we do not only have to learn the law and live by it but we must do certain works. Works of compassion.

(Matthew 25:34-46) ³⁴ “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, YOU who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for YOU from the founding of the world. ³⁵ For I became hungry and YOU gave me something to eat; I got thirsty and YOU gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and YOU received me hospitably; ³⁶ naked, and YOU clothed me. I fell sick and YOU looked after me. I was in prison and YOU came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?’ ⁴⁰ And in reply the king will say to them, ‘Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did it to one of the least of these my brothers, YOU did it to me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say, in turn, to those on his left, ‘Be on YOUR way from me, YOU who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. ⁴² For I became hungry, but YOU gave me nothing to eat, and I got thirsty, but YOU gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, but YOU did not receive me hospitably; naked, but YOU did not clothe me; sick and in prison, but YOU did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them with the words, ‘Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did not do it to one of these least ones, YOU did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life. . .

Now we know that we must have some works , works of compassion not works of the law. What is faith? We know faith is involved in the works. In James we learned we must have works and faith. We cannot see faith. How do we acquire it?

(Romans 8:24) For we were saved in [this] hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?

(Hebrews 11:1) 11 Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld. . .

The bible tells us we must keep our eyes on the things unseen, not the things seen to build out faith.

(2 Corinthians 4:18) while we keep our eyes, not on the things seen, but on the things unseen. For the things seen are temporary, but the things unseen are everlasting

(2 Corinthians 5:7) for we are walking by faith, not by sight

Without faith it is impossible to please God so it is very important to acquire faith.

Hebrews 11:6  Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please God well, for whoever approaches God must believe that he is* and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.

We learn faith follow the things heard. So we must take in God’s word and listen attentively at meetings to make sure we put God’s word on the tablet of our hearts. It should guide all we do.

(Romans 10:17) ¹⁷ So faith follows the thing heard. In turn the thing heard is through the word about Christ. . .

2Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is inspired of Goda and beneficial for teaching,b for reproving, for setting things straight,* for disciplining in righteousness

We must do personal research to verify that all we are being told is true. We must look deeply into God’s word.

Acts 17:11 11  Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thes·sa·lo·niʹca, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

We learn that faith is a fruit of the spirit so faith comes from God as a blessing of the holy spirit. How do we acquire the spirit. By asking our heavenly father.

(Luke 11:12, 13) . . .? ¹³ Therefore, if YOU, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to YOUR children, how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking him!”

(Galatians 5:22, 23) ²² On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³ mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. . .

Once we acquire faith we must exercise it by speaking to others about the reason for our faith.

(Romans 10:10) ¹⁰ For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.

(Hebrews 13:15) ¹⁵ Through him let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name.

So it is not through works we are saved but through our faith and our showing our faith. The works would be the results of the fruits of the spirit. So we can see it is not the works of the laws of God but the works of our faith.

Colossians 1:9, 10) . . ., ¹⁰ in order to walk worthily of Jehovah to the end of fully pleasing [him] as YOU go on bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the accurate knowledge of God. . .

(Matthew 5:16) ¹⁶ Likewise let YOUR light shine before men, that they may see YOUR fine works and give glory to YOUR Father who is in the heavens. . .

So the work we must do is make sure we represent God in a righteous way so as not to smear his good name and prove our faith.

(Ephesians 5:6-12) ⁶ Let no man deceive YOU with empty words, for because of the aforesaid things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partakers with them; ⁸ for YOU were once darkness, but YOU are now light in connection with [the] Lord. Go on walking as children of light, ⁹ for the fruitage of the light consists of every sort of goodness and righteousness and truth. ¹⁰ Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord; ¹¹ and quit sharing with [them] in the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness, but, rather, even be reproving [them], ¹² for the things that take place in secret by them it is shameful even to relate.

Hopefully if we please God we will escape the destruction that is coming upon this wicked system and those who are causing God’s good name to be spoken of abusively.

(Titus 2:6-8) ⁶ Likewise keep on exhorting the younger men to be sound in mind, ⁷ in all things showing yourself an example of fine works; showing uncorruptness in your teaching, seriousness, ⁸ wholesome speech which cannot be condemned; so that the man on the opposing side may get ashamed, having nothing vile to say about us. . .

(2 Peter 2:1-6) 2 However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among YOU. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. ² Furthermore, many will follow their acts of loose conduct, and on account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. ³ Also, with covetousness they will exploit YOU with counterfeit words. But as for them, the judgment from of old is not moving slowly, and the destruction of them is not slumbering. ⁴ Certainly if God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tar′ta·rus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment; ⁵ and he did not hold back from punishing an ancient world, but kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness, safe with seven others when he brought a deluge upon a world of ungodly people; ⁶ and by reducing the cities Sod′om and Go·mor′rah to ashes he condemned them, setting a pattern for ungodly persons of things to come;

So the works of are works faith in which we can read about those who did just hat in God’s word and some were mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11. There are many examples of those who trusted God and had faith he would fulfill the future promises and would do what is best. They held fast to Jehovah no matter what they had to endure. They worked to educate and guide others and set examples to follow. We need to work towards what is right in God’s eyes and not mans. In doing so we express our faith in our heavenly father and his son our king Jesus. So the works we are to do are an expression of our faith.