THEOCRATIC MINISTRY SCHOOL REVIEW (WEEK STARTING APRIL 29)

1. Lessons for Us: 10:6-9. Gods purpose is that marriage mates stick together. Therefore, rather than hastily seeking a divorce, husbands and wives should strive to apply Bible principles to overcome any difficulties that may arise in marriage. Matt. 19:4-6. 2. PS THIS ANSWER IS NOT FROM OKM SUGGESTION, BUT ITS ALSO A GOOD ANSWER. ;) Loving Jehovah With Our Whole Soul In the Scriptures the word soul basically refers to our entire person as well as to the life we possess. So loving Jehovah with our whole soul means that we use our life to praise him and to prove our love for him. Of course, we may have other interests in life, such as learning a job, running a business, or raising a family. But at the same time, we prove our whole-souled love for Jehovah by doing things his way and by keeping other things in their proper place in our life, thus seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) Whole-souled worship also means being zealous. We show Jehovah that we love him by zealously preaching the Kingdom message, giving upbuilding comments at the meetings, or helping our Christian brothers and sisters. In everything, we keep doing the will of God whole-souled.Ephesians 6:6. Jesus demonstrated whole-souled love for God by disowning himself. He put Gods will first and his personal needs second. Jesus invited us to follow his example. He said: If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and continually follow me. (Matthew 16:24, 25) Disowning ourselves means making a dedication. It means that we love God so much that we hand ownership of ourselves over to him, as when an Israelite in Bible times loved his master so much that he obligated himself to him permanently as a slave. (Deuteronomy 15:16, 17) Dedicating our life to Jehovah provides convincing evidence that we love him. 3.
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As Christians, we are not surprised by the distresses of life. We understand that pangs of distress are part of the foretold sign of Jesus presence. (Mark 13:8; Matt. 24:3) The original-language word rendered pangs of distress refers to the intense pain experienced during childbirth. How accurately that describes the intensity of peoples suffering in these critical, or fierce, times that are so hard to deal with!2 Tim. 3:1;Kingdom Interlinear.

4. Yes, some Bible writers did refer to or consult existing but uninspired histories or documents. Esther 10:2 refers to the Book of the affairs of the times of the kings of Media and Persia. Similarly, to prepare his Gospel account, Luke traced all things from the start with accuracy. He probably meant that he consulted written sources available to him as he compiled the list of Jesus genealogy that we can read in his Gospel. (Luke 1:3; 3:23-38) While the records Luke consulted were not inspired, his resulting Gospel certainly was. And that Gospel remains valuable for us. 5.
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There is something else to remember about the Devils temptations. Satan approached Jesus after He had been fasting for 40 days in the wilderness. No doubt the Devil thought that this was a particularly convenient time to test Jesus integrity. (Luke 4:13) Satan looks for convenient times to test our integrity too. It is vital, therefore, that we keep ourselves spiritually strong. Satan often attacks when he perceives that his target is at its weakest point. So whenever we feel tired or discouraged, we should be more determined than ever to petition Jehovah for his protective help and holy spirit.2 Cor. 12:8-10.

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In contrast, Jesus declared: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you. (Matt. 5:44) His disciples were to act lovingly toward all who showed hostility to them. According to the Gospel writer Luke, Jesus said: I say to you who are listening, Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you, to bless those cursing you, to pray for those who are insulting you. (Luke 6:27, 28) Like firstcentury individuals who took Jesus sayings to heart, we do good to those hating us by responding to their hostility with gracious actions. We bless those cursing us by speaking to them in a kind way. And we pray for those persecuting us with physical violence or other forms of insulting treatment. Such petitions are loving requests that persecutors might have a change of heart and take action that brings them Jehovahs favor.

7. The very first prophecy uttered after the original human couple rebelled spoke of Jehovahs purpose to raise up a seed who would be bruised in the heel by Satan and his seed. (Gen. 3:15) This bruising occurred when Jesus was put to death by Gods enemies. (Gal. 3:13, 16) Christs shed blood serves as the ransom that frees mankind from sin and death. Since nothing can prevent Jehovah from accomplishing what he has purposed to do, as soon as the words recorded at Genesis 3:15 were spoken, the ransom was as good as paid from Gods viewpoint. He could now forgive those who exercised faith in his promises. During pre-Christian times, Jehovah counted a number of individuals as righteous.Among them were Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Rahab, and Job. In faith, they looked forward to the fulfillment of Gods promises. Abraham put faith in Jehovah, wrote the disciple James, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Concerning Rahab, James said: In the same manner was not also Rahab the harlot declared righteous by works?Jas. 2:21-25. King David of ancient Israel committed several serious sins, but he had strong faith in the true God and manifested genuine repentance each time. Furthermore, the Scriptures state: God set [Jesus] forth as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood. This was in order to exhibit his own righteousness, because he was forgiving the sins that occurred in the past while God was exercising forbearance; so as to exhibit his own righteousness in this present season, that he might be righteous even when declaring righteous the man that has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:25, 26) Based on the ransom sacrifice of Jesus that was to be provided in the future, Jehovah could pardon Davids transgressions without compromising His own requirements for justice. Evidently, the situation of the woman who anointed Jesus feet was similar. She had lived an immoral life, but she had repented. She recognized her need for redemption from sin and showed by her actions that she truly appreciated the person through whom Jehovah provided that redemption. Though still future, that sacrifice was so certain that its value could already be applied to individuals like her. Hence, Jesus told her: Your sins are forgiven.

8. 14:26In what sense are Christs followers to hate their relatives? In the Bible, hate can refer to loving a person or an object to a lesser degree than another. (Gen. 29:30, 31) Christians are to hate their relatives in the sense of loving them less than they do Jesus.Matt. 10:37. 10. In his prayers, Jesus also showed the depth of feeling that we ought to imitate in our prayers. Note what Luke recorded about the way Jesus prayed on the evening before he died. Getting into an agony he continued praying more earnestly; and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:44) Jesus had prayed earnestly before, but on this occasion, faced with the most severe test of his earthly life, he prayed moreearnestlyand his prayer was answered. (Hebrews 5:7) Spiritually-minded people follow Jesus example. When faced with trials that are particularly severe, they pray more earnestly to God for holy spirit, guidance, and support.