Tuesday, May 5
Sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone who demands of you a reason for the hope you have, but doing so with a mild temper and deep respect.—1 Pet. 3:15.
Jesus knew that it was Jehovah’s view of matters that was most important. He trusted that Jehovah would deal with injustices at the right time. We can imitate Jesus by controlling what we say when we are treated unjustly. Some injustices are minor, and we can simply overlook them. Or we may remain silent to avoid saying something that could make matters worse. (Eccl. 3:7; Jas. 1:19, 20) At other times, we may need to speak up when we observe unfair treatment or when we need to defend the truth. (Acts 6:1, 2) If we do speak, we should try our best to do so calmly and respectfully. We can also imitate Jesus by entrusting ourselves to “the One who judges righteously.”—1 Pet. 2:23. w24.11 5-6 ¶10-12
Wednesday, May 6
Joy arises among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.—Luke 15:10.
If a sinner repents, that is a cause for great joy! (Luke 15:7) Who deserves the credit? Do the elders? Recall what the apostle Paul wrote about sinners: “Perhaps God may give them repentance.” (2 Tim. 2:25) A study note on that verse comments: “The credit for such a change in thinking and attitude goes, not to any human, but to Jehovah, who helps the wayward Christian make this vital change. Paul goes on to mention some of the beautiful results of such repentance—it leads the sinner to a more accurate knowledge of the truth, it helps him come back to his proper senses, and it enables him to escape from Satan’s snares.—2Ti 2:26.” When a wrongdoer repents, the committee will arrange for shepherding visits so that the person can continue to receive the help he needs to fight against Satan’s snares and to make straight paths for his feet.—Heb. 12:12, 13. w24.08 23 ¶14-15
Thursday, May 7
You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate from the loaves and were satisfied.—John 6:26.
A crowd that Jesus had fed were focused on satisfying their physical needs and desires. How so? The following day, they saw that Jesus and his apostles had left. So the crowd boarded some boats that had arrived from Tiberias and headed toward Capernaum to find Jesus. (John 6:22-24) Did they do that mainly to hear more about the Kingdom? No. They were primarily thinking about their physical need for bread. How do we know? Note what happened when the crowd caught up with Jesus near Capernaum. Jesus openly said that their priority was satisfying their temporary physical needs. He acknowledged that they “ate from the loaves and were satisfied” with “food that perishes.” He urged them to work instead for “food that remains for everlasting life.” (John 6:26, 27) Jesus said that his Father would provide such food. w24.12 5 ¶8-9