Tuesday, June 2
A kind man benefits himself, but the cruel person brings trouble on himself.—Prov. 11:17.
We cannot control what others say or do to us, but we can try to control our response. And often the best response is to forgive. Why? Because we love Jehovah, and he wants us to be forgiving. If we remain angry and do not forgive, we are likely to act foolishly and perhaps suffer physically. (Prov. 14:17, 29, 30) When we let go of resentment, we prevent our heart from becoming damaged by bitterness. We also give ourselves a gift—we can start to move on and enjoy our life once again. How can you overcome hurt feelings? One way is by giving yourself time to heal. After receiving medical care, a person who has been severely injured needs time to heal physically. In a similar way, we may need time to heal emotionally before we are ready to forgive someone from the heart. (Eccl. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:22) Pray, asking Jehovah to help you to be forgiving. w25.02 16-17 ¶8-11
Wednesday, June 3
Solid food belongs to mature people.—Heb. 5:14.
Examples of basic teachings include repentance, faith, baptism, and the resurrection. (Heb. 6:1, 2) Such teachings form the foundation of Christianity. For this reason, the apostle Peter spoke of them when preaching to the crowd at Pentecost. (Acts 2:32-35, 38) We must accept these primary teachings to become disciples of Christ. For example, Paul warned that any who deny the teaching of the resurrection reject the entire Christian faith. (1 Cor. 15:12-14) However, we must not be satisfied with just a basic knowledge of the truth. In contrast to the primary doctrine, solid spiritual food includes not only Jehovah’s laws but also his principles, which help us to understand his thinking. To benefit from such food, we must study, meditate on, and carefully apply God’s Word. As we do so, we train ourselves to make decisions that please Jehovah. w24.04 5 ¶12-13
Thursday, June 4
Men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment.—Matt. 12:41.
God reminded Jonah that the Ninevites did “not even know right from wrong.” (Jonah 1:1, 2; 3:10; 4:9-11) Later, Jesus used that example to teach about Jehovah’s justice and mercy. In what “judgment” would the Ninevites “rise up”? Jesus taught about a future “resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:29) He was referring to his Thousand Year Reign, during which both “the righteous and the unrighteous” will be resurrected. (Acts 24:15) For the unrighteous, this will be “a resurrection of judgment.” That is, Jehovah and Jesus will observe and evaluate their behavior and how they respond to divine teaching. If a resurrected Ninevite refuses to join in pure worship, his judgment will be one of condemnation. (Isa. 65:20) But for all those who choose to worship Jehovah faithfully, their judgment will be favorable. They will have the prospect of living forever!—Dan. 12:2. w24.05 5 ¶13-14