DAILY TEXT, From today Wednesday March 8, 2023, Come closer to God (Sant. 4:8).

DAILY TEXT, From Wednesday March 8, 2023,  Choose whom you will serve (Jos. 24:15).

Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2023

Wednesday March 8

Choose whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15).

Jehovah has given us the freedom of decision. Thanks to this gift, we can decide what we will do with our lives. Our loving God rejoices when we choose to serve Him (Ps. 84:11; Prov. 27:11). There are many fields in which we can make good use of our freedom of decision. Jesus decided to put the interests of others first, and we can follow his example. On a certain occasion, Jesus and his apostles were very tired, so they went to a quiet place to rest. But they did not succeed, because a large crowd of people came to where they were to listen to the teachings of Jesus. Far from being upset, he was moved by those people and "began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:30-34). When we imitate Jesus by using our time and energy to help others, we give glory to our heavenly Father (Matt. 5: 14-16). w21.08 3 pars. 7, 8.

What should parents keep in mind?

Jehovah has given us humans the ability to have children and the responsibility to teach them to love and serve him. If you have children, do you value that special gift? Although Jehovah has given angels power to do impressive things, he has not given them the ability to have children. With that in mind, parents should be grateful for such a beautiful privilege. They have been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of raising their children “according to the discipline and counsel of Jehovah” (Eph. 6:4; Deut. 6:5-7; Ps. 127:3). In order to help them, God's organization provides many Bible-based tools such as publications, videos, songs, and online articles. It is clear that our heavenly Father and his Son love our children (Luke 18: 15-17). Jehovah is pleased to see that parents trust him and do their best to care for their children. Parents who do this give their children the chance to become part of Jehovah's family forever.

What has Jehovah made possible through the sacrifice of his Son?

Jehovah gave his most beloved Son to give us the opportunity to become part of his family again. As we saw in paragraph 4, Adam and Eve lost their place in Jehovah's family and caused their children to lose it as well (Rom. 5:12). Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God of their own free will, they deserved to be expelled from God's family. And what would happen to their descendants? Out of love, Jehovah did what was necessary to adopt into his family those who were obedient. As? Thanks to the sacrifice of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Rom. 5:19). This sacrifice made it possible for God to adopt 144,000 faithful human beings as sons (Rom. 8:15-17; Rev. 14:1).

Furthermore, there are millions of obedient people who are doing God's will. They hope to become full members of their family after the final test that will take place at the end of the 1,000 years (Ps. 25:14; Rom. 8:20, 21). Thanks to that hope, they now address Jehovah, their Creator, as “Father” (Matt. 6:9). On the other hand, those who are resurrected will also have the opportunity to learn what Jehovah expects of them. Those who choose to obey him will also eventually become part of his family.13 Let us show our love for Jehovah by serving him with all our hearts.—Read Mark 12:30. Of all the gifts that God has lovingly given us, one of the greatest is the ability to worship him. When we obey his commandments, we show him that we love him (1 John 5:3). One of those commands is the one that Jesus gave us to make disciples and baptize them (Matt. 28:19). Jesus also commanded us to love one another (John 13:35). Jehovah will accept into his worldwide family of worshipers those who obey him.—Ps. 15:1, 2.

How do we show that we love others? (Matthew 9:36-38; Romans 12:10).

Let's love others. Love is Jehovah's most important quality (1 John 4:8). He loved us even before we knew him (1 John 4:9, 10). When we love others, we are following his example (Eph. 5:1). One of the best ways we can show love to people is by helping them come to know Jehovah while there is still time.—Read Matthew 9:36-38. In this way, we give them the opportunity to become part of God's family in the future. When someone is baptized, we must continue to love and respect them (1 John 4:20, 21). For example, whenever possible, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and don't suspect that he has done something with malicious intent or selfishness. Rather, let us show him honor and think that he is superior to us (read Romans 12:10; Philip. 2:3).

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