DAILY TEXT, Today's Monday, August 9, 2021, Happy are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and reject your name as wicked because of the Son of man (Luke 6:22).

DAILY TEXT, Today's Monday, August 9, 2021

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2021

Monday, August 9, 2021

Happy are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and reject your name as wicked because of the Son of man (Luke 6:22).

What do these words mean? Jesus did not mean that we would like his disciples to hate us, but that he was realistic. We are victims of hatred because we are not part of the world, we live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus and we preach his message (John 15: 18-21). We want to please Jehovah. If people hate us because we love our Father, that is their problem. Let's not make the mistake of thinking that we are worthless if we are not popular. We do not know when we will be persecuted or when governments will ban our work. What we do know is that we can prepare now if we strengthen our friendship with Jehovah, if we work to have more courage and if we learn to act when we are victims of hatred. Preparing now will help us stay strong in the future. w19.07 27: 17-18, 21

11, 12. a) According to 1 Samuel 17:37, 45-47, why was David brave? b) What important lesson can we learn from David's example?

To face the persecution, we need courage. What can we do if we don't seem to have enough? Remember that true value does not depend on our size, strength, or capabilities. Let's look at the case of David. When he was young, he faced the giant Goliath. David was smaller and weaker than that Philistine. Furthermore, he was unprepared for the fight and did not even have a sword. But he was very brave and ran without fear to fight against that proud giant.

Why was David so brave? Because he was absolutely sure that Jehovah supported him. --Read 1 Samuel 17:37, 45-47. He did not focus on how insignificant he was compared to Goliath, but on how insignificant Goliath was compared to Jehovah. We learn a lesson from this account: We will be courageous if we trust Jehovah to support us and if we are sure that our opponents are insignificant compared to our almighty God. —2 Chron. 20:15; Ps. 16: 8. What can we do now, before the persecution comes, to have more courage?

13. What can we do to have more value? Explain.

It will help us to be more courageous in preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. Why? Because doing so teaches us to trust in Jehovah and to overcome fear of people (Prov. 29:25). Just as muscles are strengthened with exercise, courage is strengthened when we preach from house to house, in public places, informally, and in business. If we preach boldly now, we will be ready to continue to do so even if our work is outlawed (1 Thess. 2: 1, 2).

14, 15. What do we learn from Nancy Yuen and Valentina Garnovskaya?

We learn much from the example of two faithful sisters who demonstrated extraordinary courage. One of them is Nancy Yuen. She was only about five feet tall, but it was not easy to intimidate her. * Since she refused to stop preaching the Kingdom, she was imprisoned for about twenty years in China. Officials who questioned her said she was "the most stubborn person" in the country.

The other sister is Valentina Garnovskaya. She was imprisoned in the former Soviet Union on three separate occasions over twenty-one years. * She was so determined to continue preaching that the authorities called her a "particularly dangerous criminal." Why were these faithful sisters so brave? Because they were convinced that Jehovah supported them.

16. What is the key to true value?

As we have seen, to be brave we must not focus on our strengths or capabilities. What we have to do is trust that Jehovah supports us and that he fights for us (Deut. 1:29, 30; Zech. 4: 6). This is the key to true value.

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