Friday, April 26
We must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.—Acts 14:22.
You and your family can prepare now for persecution. Do not try to imagine all the bad things that could happen. Instead, strengthen your friendship with Jehovah and help your children to do the same. If at times you feel anxious, pour out your heart to God. (Ps. 62:7, 8) As a family, discuss all the reasons why you can trust in him. As in the case of a disaster, your personal preparation and your trust in Jehovah will instill in your children courage and peace. The peace of God makes us feel secure. (Phil. 4:6, 7) By means of it, Jehovah calms our heart despite the diseases, disasters, and persecution that can affect us today. He uses hardworking elders to shepherd us. And he gives all of us the privilege of helping one another. The peace that we enjoy now will equip us to face greater trials to come, even the “great tribulation.”—Matt. 24:21. w22.12 27 ¶17-18
Saturday, April 27
I came to call, not righteous people, but sinners.—Matt. 9:13.
We should strive to let go of guilt that we may feel because of serious sins committed in the past. Of course, we would never consider the ransom sacrifice to be an excuse to “practice sin willfully.” (Heb. 10:26-31) But we can rest assured that if we truly have repented of a serious sin, have sought the help Jehovah provides, and have changed our conduct, he has forgiven us in a large way. (Isa. 55:7; Acts 3:19) The ransom sacrifice is powerful enough to cover all our sins and will make life in Paradise possible. Life there will never be boring. We will always have interesting people to meet and meaningful work to do. Best of all, each day we will be able to come to know our heavenly Father better and enjoy what he has provided. We will never run out of things to learn about him, and there will be so much to learn about his creation. w22.12 13 ¶17, 19
Sunday, April 28
I will put enmity between you and the woman.—Gen. 3:15.
“The woman” could not have been Eve. The prophecy states that the offspring of the woman would “crush” the serpent’s head. The serpent is the spirit creature Satan, and no imperfect human offspring of Eve’s would have the ability to crush him. Something more was needed. The identity of the woman mentioned at Genesis 3:15 is revealed in the last book of the Bible. (Rev. 12:1, 2, 5, 10) This is no ordinary woman! She has the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She gives birth to a most unusual child—the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is heavenly, so the woman must also be heavenly. She represents the heavenly part of Jehovah’s organization made up of his faithful spirit creatures. (Gal. 4:26) God’s Word also helps us to identify the primary offspring of the woman. This offspring was to be a natural descendant of Abraham.—Gen. 22:15-18. w22.07 15-16 ¶6-8