It is unwise to wait until something worthless confronts us before we decide what we will do. Matters that the Scriptures condemn have been made clear to us. We are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes. When was Jesus tempted to change stones into loaves of bread? After he had fasted for 40 days and nights and “felt hungry.” (Matt. 4:1-4) Satan is able to perceive when we are weak and more likely to succumb to temptation. Thus, now is the time to give careful consideration to these matters. Do not put it off! If we keep our dedication vow to Jehovah in mind day by day, we will be firmly determined to turn away from what is worthless. (Prov. 1:5; 19:20) Remember, our eyes feed our mind and our mind feeds our heart. How important it is, therefore, that we keep on considering what is valuable.—Phil. 4:8. w10 4/15 3:17, 19
During his earthly ministry, Jesus took the lead in the preaching work. And after his resurrection, he exercised close oversight of the spreading of the Kingdom good news. By means of holy spirit, Jesus would eventually extend the witnessing work to the ends of the earth. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus told his disciples: “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:12) Under Christ’s direction, a tremendous witness was given in the first century. (Col. 1:23) But Jesus himself indicated that this work would continue into the time of the end, as shown in today’s text. Since being invested with kingly power in 1914, Christ is more than ever “with” his disciples and active as their Leader. w10 9/15 4:14-16
You have a document that needs a certain person’s attention by the end of the day. What do you do? You mark it “URGENT!” You are on your way to an important appointment, but you are late. What do you do? You tell the driver, “Please hurry; it’s URGENT!” Yes, when you have a task that must get done and time is running out, you feel tense and excited. Your adrenaline begins to flow, and you work as fast and as hard as you can. That is urgency! For true Christians today, nothing is more urgent than preaching the good news of the Kingdom and making disciples of people of all the nations. (Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20) Quoting Jesus, the disciple Mark wrote that this work must be done “first,” that is, before the end comes. (Mark 13:10) That, of course, is the way it should be. Jesus said: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” A harvest cannot wait; it must be brought in before the season is over.—Matt. 9:37. w10 12/15 1:1, 2
As imperfect humans, all of us need to work hard to control our thoughts and actions. If we were to give free rein to “malicious bitterness and anger and wrath,” we would be grieving God’s spirit. (Eph. 4:30, 31) The same is true if we kept score of wrongs committed against us, manifested a resentful attitude, and refused to become reconciled to the offender. Even if we are deeply hurt by some wrong done to us, let us forgive, as God does. (Luke 11:4) Suppose a fellow believer has said something negative about us. In an effort to straighten matters out, we approach him. He expresses true sorrow and asks for forgiveness. We forgive him, but we need to do more. “You must not take vengeance nor have a grudge against the sons of your people,” says Leviticus 19:18, “and you must love your fellow as yourself. I am Jehovah.” w10 5/15 4:14, 15
