1, 2. (a) Why should newlyweds trust in Jehovah? (Psalm 37:3, 4).
Because the couple is facing a new stage in their lives and if they trust Jehovah they will make good decisions, their marriage will become stronger and they will be happier. As Psalm 37:4 says, they must learn to “delight in the Lord and he will give them the desires of their hearts” so that they will be happy.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
To be happy, in the paragraph we see similar expressions four times and in the text that we have just read it says that it would give the desire of your heart and it is the desire of every married couple to be happy with their partner.
And in addition, new marriages precisely at that time have to make probably the most important decisions of their lives and the decisions they make are going to have an effect over the years, so the best counselor may have to listen to the principles and advice that Jehovah, the father of the universal family, has to give us.
b) What will we see in this article?
In this article we will look at examples of faithful men and women mentioned in the Bible and the lessons they left us for life and marriage. We will also see what we learn from some marriages today.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We will analyze some situations that some marriages face, we will have examples of faithful men and women that are mentioned in the Bible, they leave us some lessons for marriage.
And we will also see how we can also learn from some marriages of our days.
WHAT DIFFICULTIES MAY FACE NEWLYWEDS
3, 4. What difficulties might newlyweds face?
They may face the difficulty of "the pressure exerted on them by relatives or friends who expect them to lead a normal life." This means that they are expected to have children as soon as possible or they are advised to buy a house and fill it with nice things. This can lead newlyweds to make decisions such as both of them working overtime to pay off debts they have incurred, which would mean they would have less time for personal Bible study, family worship, and bone ministry. opportunities to do more in Jehovah's service.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It could be that they receive advice on the style of leading a normal life, that they are pressured to start having children as soon as possible, or that they buy a lot of things for their house.
And in the end all our decisions have consequences for example if we buy a property in the end what we do is acquire a debt and in the end that debt has to be paid so maybe we neglect our routine simply because we have to work overtime and so on.
Thus, although having children or owning a house is not something bad in itself, what could really cause a difficulty is at what cost these things are done, as the paragraph explains, for example, all those things that take up our time From personal study, family worship or ministry could become real problems for newlyweds.
The decisions that one made will affect our spiritual routine at the end of the paragraph it also speaks of another incentive if our decisions are not wise it says that we miss precious opportunities to do more in the service of Jehovah.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some newlyweds talk about their financial situation.
What decisions can prevent newlyweds from doing more in their service to Jehovah? (See paragraphs 3 and 4).
And what young married couples can learn here is to avoid problems like the one we see in the image, having to deal with the payment of bills that arrive every month, since the amount we have to pay will also depend on how much we have complicated the life acquiring things or for example a mortgage or a loan at the bank because you have to pay for it, so you have to think about it very well in order to free yourself or have more time as was very well indicated in the paragraph because in order to be able to serve more fully to Jehovah.
You can also perceive a certain stress or concern in this marriage due to these material or economic concerns, perhaps what a clear contrast is seen with the images that you also have there in the little square because happy, happy embraced and this environment could be avoided if at the same time the decisions would have been better because they would have been others, that is why it is an important factor to take into account.
5. What do you learn from the example of Klaus and Marisa?
This marriage comments that the two worked full time to lead a comfortable life. He says that in a material sense they had even more than they needed, but in a spiritual sense they had no goals, Klaus frankly expressing that they led a complicated and stressful life. So this teaches us that "happiness in marriage does not depend on focusing or getting material things."
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Our life revolves around material things we cannot be happy people, and this is explained by Klaus's experience and Marisa says that as newlyweds they both work full time to be able to lead a comfortable life and Klaus confesses that in a material sense we had everything we needed but in a spiritual sense we had no goal.
And it is also interesting because in addition to not being happy they had a complicated and stressful life and all because they were empty of spiritual goals.
I find it interesting that he mentions that the problem is not that they will miss meetings or that they do not have family worship that they cannot preach, the problem is that they do not have goals, so their spiritual vision has been affected and from now on For a few years they didn't see themselves doing more than preaching if they didn't see themselves perhaps paying a letter or buying more things, that's why the care that must be taken with them is very busy in obtaining material things.
LIKE KING JEHOSAPHAT, TRUST JEHOVAH
6. Based on the advice at Proverbs 3:5, 6, how did King Jehoshaphat handle a very difficult situation?
King Jehoshaphat was faced with a very difficult situation: He, his family and the people were being threatened by the huge army of Ammon, Moab and the mountainous region of Seir, but as Proverbs 3:5,6 says he trusts in Jehovah and through a humble prayer he asked for help and strength. One of Jehoshaphat's words to Jehovah was that "they did not know what to do, but their eyes were looking towards him", this reveals that he had complete trust in Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, despite the fact that he had accumulated a powerful army of more than 1 million soldiers, he did not trust those possibilities in himself but went, as we have read in proverbs 3:5 and 6, he went to the Lord, I trust him and asked him help in the face of this threat that was had on the nation of the armies of Amón Moab and the mountainous region of Seir.
And it is also very interesting the prayer that Jehoshaphat makes that is in second chronicles chapter 20 verse 12 he mentions that we cannot with this crowd but our eyes are towards you that is to say Jehoshaphat knew that to be successful he depended on the help of Jehovah and this is the same thing we need.
Many times we are told in the publications how important the good thing is to watch over not only our brothers but with our brothers. I love this and it really is what Jehoshaphat did in Second Chronicles 20:5 where this prayer is mentioned there it says that it was put standing in the middle of the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem that is to say that he brought together all the men women children who would be worried about that attack because of that threat that there was so good that Jehoshaphat surely also prayed for him but good that he also gather them all and say a prayer together this is something that newlyweds can also take into account.
This King was aware of his responsibility he had to take care of an entire nation and he made the paragraph says everything he could to protect the people from everything that had to come and in second chronicles 20 in 6 he mentions his trust in Jehovah there he says in your hands there is strength and power and no one can against you there you can see how he absolutely trusted Jehovah the same way they can do marriages.
7. How did Jehovah answer Jehoshaphat's prayer?
Jehovah answered Jehoshaphat through the Levite Jahaziel, and told him to "Take your places, be still and see how Jehovah saves you." So, the king and the people went out together unarmed to meet their enemies, they were singing and with full trust in Jehovah, and just as he had promised them, he made these enemies attack and kill each other.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Yes, through a Levite, he told him to take your place, stand still and see how Jehovah saves you.
Let's also see the full trust that Jehoshaphat put in Jehovah we see that he did not put his best soldiers in the front line but unarmed men who were singing and we see how Jehovah fulfilled his promise in the same way if we put our full trust in Jehovah we can see how Jehovah defeats our enemies and keeps his promise.
And he also shows confidence with details that he says he had to go out to meet his enemies, they were not near the walls where if something went wrong they could quickly return and run to protect themselves, he says that the battle was 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem we see that they were totally unprotected with the singers in front of such great trust in Jehovah but we see that Jehovah did not abandon them.
8. What can husbands learn from Jehoshaphat's example?
We can learn that when problems arise in our family, we should avoid the tendency to rely on our own strength, rather, we should imitate the example of Jehoshaphat, who trusts in Jehovah and demonstrated it with actions. So we have to heartily pray to Jehovah in private and also together with our wife for help, seek his guidance by studying his Word and the publications provided by his organization, and apply the advice we find. We must be sure that, just as Jehovah did not abandon Jehoshaphat, he will not abandon us either.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
In the first place, we husbands have seen how Jehoshaphat can pray in private to ask Jehovah for help, pray from the heart with his wife and also seek Jehovah's help when studying his word and publications.
And this does not mean that one does not have to make the maximum effort as Jehoshafat did at the beginning, he did everything he could to protect the people, as husbands we also have to do everything in our power to protect the marriage but then there are situations in those of us who have to trust Jehovah leave the matter in his hands as has been said and wait for Jehovah to act.
Johosafat admitted in a public prayer that he and the people felt vulnerable and that they were scared that they did not know what to do, it is possible that sometimes it happens to us as a husband that we do not know what to do and we even get scared and ask Jehovah for direction and strength to face a problem and we should not be ashamed that our wife listens to our prayers so she will also see that we trust in Jehovah and that surely he will help us just as he did with Jehoshaphat.
And another lesson that we can learn from Jehoshaphat is that in the end that trust that he had with Jehovah was demonstrated in actions, therefore in the end the newlyweds and in this case the spouses have to demonstrate that trust with actions, not just saying it and We can be sure that it does, as Psalm 37:28 says, because Jehovah will always be with them because they have been loyal.
LIKE THE PROPHET ISAIAH AND HIS WIFE, FOCUS YOUR LIFE ON SERVING JEHOVAH
9. What can be said about the prophet Isaiah and his wife
Isaiah was a prophet and it seems that his wife carried out a similar task, since in the Bible she is called "the prophetess". Which shows us that this couple focused their lives on serving and worshiping Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Both focused their lives on serving Jehovah, and they did so in an environment that was not conducive to worshiping Jehovah because at that time the nation of Judah was in a deplorable moral state and especially in the days of King Ahab even the princes of the people had revolted and the people did not worship Jehovah.
10. In order to strengthen the desire to do their best in Jehovah's service, why is it a good thing for married couples to study Bible prophecy?
Because by studying the prophecies and seeing how they are always fulfilled, it will strengthen their faith and convince them that it is worth participating in the fulfillment of some of them, such as preaching throughout the Earth before the end.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
By studying the biblical prophecies together, they will see how their fulfillment has taken place and this will strengthen their faith and they will also see how they can even participate personally in the fulfillment of some of those prophecies.
In addition, it will help the couple to have their sense of urgency very present. They were going to do everything possible, for example, the task of making disciples is going to be seen as an urgent task.
It is also good for married couples to meditate on chapter 19 of the book Pure Worship because it talks about the river of blessings that one can receive when putting the kingdom first and that is what can happen in marriages.
ILLUSTRATION:
The same married couple studying the Bible and the publications that God's organization gives us.
Newlyweds can focus their lives on serving Jehovah by praying and studying his Word. (See paragraphs 8 and 10).
And this is what we see in the photograph that appears in paragraph 10, there you can see the same married couple from before who were stressed because how different they are now that they are studying a prophecy together, the prophecy of the book of pure worship that allows them strengthen their faith a faith each one the person but together to then set joint goals in which they can participate.
LIKE PRISCILLA AND AQUILA, PUT THE INTERESTS OF THE KINGDOM FIRST
11. What were Priscilla and Aquila able to do, and why?
This couple are a good example because they put the interests of the Kingdom first in their lives. As Romans 16:3 says, they were "fellow workers with Christ," not allowing changed circumstances to paralyze them or put their service to Jehovah in the background. Although it was surely not easy to have to leave Rome, when the emperor ordered the Jews to leave, they did so and found a new place to live and set up their tent-making business, but they also placed importance on helping the congregation and collaborate with the apostle paul to strengthen the brothers.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The changes in his life were able to stay focused on being travelers.
And let's not think that such a change must have been too easy let's think that they lived in Rome Rome was the capital of the empire in the first cycle they could not see anything a city with more comforts than that city of Rome however although they were forced by by the emperor to leave the city they did not try to recover their previous lifestyle looking for an easy life but now they followed true supporters of the apostle Paul to strengthen congregations without a doubt a very very big change.
And we see that attitude in Romans chapter 16 verse 3 to 5 there we see how he has a helpful spirit since he says that they offered their house so that the congregation had a place to meet, so even though they were changes where they had to move from one place to another also moved to places where they could be of use where they could be of great help.
Before those big changes, also from the example of Priscilla and Aquila, we can also see that sometimes a small goal or a small first step can be good for bigger steps later because at the beginning they were simply hospitable with the apostle Paul, but of course they had that they will work together making tents that they would have deep conversations spiritual conversations the full testimony says that Pablo's presence had an excellent effect on the spiritual habits of that couple and perhaps because of that small first step he later made it possible for others to take as has been commented helping to strengthen a new congregation traveling to Ephesus then to Rome.
We can learn a lot from this Christian couple, another detail is that whenever their names are mentioned, the two are mentioned together, they were a true team, they did all their spiritual activities together, how beautiful it is when couples have a routine like this, Jehovah blessed their work of many ways one of them is that it seems that at least two biblical books were written in his house.
12. Why should married couples set spiritual goals?
Because if you set spiritual and definite goals in your service to Jehovah and strive to achieve it, you will have more opportunities to see the holy spirit in action. That's what Russell and Elisabeth did, this dating couple talked about their spiritual goals and then when they got married they didn't allow certain decisions to stop them from achieving their goals, so they were able to move to Micronesia to serve and preach there.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Because this will help us to always put the interests of the kingdom first and at the same time we will be able to see in a more real way how the holy spirit works in our marriage.
And we see how the goals should be, the paragraph comments that they should be defined objectives and later in the example we see how they commented that it was specific goals, if we have previous specific goals in courtship we will make sure that we can fulfill them in marriage.
And that stands out very well, in this example of Russel and Elizabeth they set goals at that initial moment in courtship that allowed them to constantly adapt regardless of the circumstances to achieve that goal and finally when they became married to be able to achieve spiritual goals in this case and serving in a place of need so changing circumstances did not affect his ultimate goal.
13. According to Psalm 28:7, what will happen if we trust in Jehovah?
As this Psalm says, by “trusting wholeheartedly in Jehovah and making him ours and our shield, we will receive his help and we will be happy”. So if we strive to achieve our spiritual goals, we will receive many blessings from Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
You will receive many blessings and as we have seen in the psalm, you will see how Jehovah cares for you, your trust in him will increase and you will be truly happy.
ILLUSTRATION:
The married couple write their spiritual goals on a wall calendar.
Newlyweds can focus their lives on serving Jehovah by setting spiritual goals. (See paragraph 13).
And we have a photo for this paragraph that illustrates very well all this that we are talking about, for example, we see that on this blackboard that they have it is very clear how their life is centered on serving Jehovah how they have set goals we see that the goal of Thailand it is very close and they already have it marked in red but we see that before in their life they have already done everything that we have been seeing in this paragraph, they dedicate time to family worship night on Thursdays they have a well-established preaching schedule the work does not It is the most important thing in their life and even after achieving the goal we see that they continue to fill in this schedule and do not leave aside those things that they already did, so we can also learn a lot from this photo.
Indeed, their life is centered on serving Jehovah because they prioritize spiritual matters over the best others, such as work, so they focus their lives on small goals that will help them achieve the larger goal, how to study the Bible together, go out to preach, support her, arrange for the preaching with the congregation and other small goals but that help them keep pushing towards achieving that final goal.
LIKE THE APOSTLE PETER AND HIS WIFE, TRUST JEHOVAH'S PROMISES
14. How did the apostle Peter and his wife show their trust in the promise at Matthew 6:25, 31-34?
They showed it by their actions. For example, when Peter, who lived by fishing, received and accepted the invitation to preach alongside Jesus, he had to make this decision with the support of his wife. This means that they followed the advice "not to worry unnecessarily about food or clothing, rather, they put the Kingdom first." Furthermore, Peter's advice to wives and husbands shows that he had the moral strength to give it because of his wife's help and good example.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
At that time they had to make a decision in the case of Peter with a family and he had to decide whether or not to follow Jesus, so it is seen that he followed the advice because he valued the situation and put the interests of the kingdom first with full confidence in Jehovah in Jehovah's promise that neither he nor his family would lack for anything.
I like the example of Peter's wife in First Peter 3:6, surely Peter, thinking of her, said that I don't know that they would be dominated by fear referring to the sisters and the truth is that the sisters who are there full time and serve in other places are not dominated by the fear of losing their home or losing their family but always expand their ministry and do it to serve Jehovah.
And the trust, of course, was very much because in Luke 5 also 1 to 11 in this story it is seen that both Zebedee and his sons had partners in this fishing business and that they also had more than one boat which shows that probably the business was going quite well, so whoever took this step certainly showed confidence in Jehovah.
15. What do you learn from Tiago and Esther's experience?
We learn that years of marriage are not a barrier to further serving Jehovah. Tiago and Esther are a couple who had already been married for a few years and read articles about married couples who served in places where there was a need, this encouraged them and they moved to Paraguay, she comments that they love the text of Ephesians 3:20 where «Jehovah He assures us that he will give us much more than what we ask for.” And in their service to Jehovah they have always seen this promise fulfilled in them. So, this example makes us see that married couples must have the desire to always do more to serve Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It is that when one is in the hands of the Lord, it is the best place where one can be, the words of Malachi 3:10 are fulfilled, which says put me to the test, this says the Lord of hosts and you will see that I open the floodgates of heaven and poured out Blessings upon you until you lack nothing, as if Jehovah were telling us, let's take the step, put yourself in my hands, I have blessings prepared for you beyond what you can imagine, and this example clearly demonstrates it.
Example of the paragraph and also in the series of articles that are mentioned were willingly offered, we are going to learn that these brothers who were able to serve to a greater degree was not because they had the perfect circumstances to achieve it, but rather they were making changes little by little by making small decisions that in the end Jehovah blessed and that he allowed them to come to serve Jehovah as they did.
And the result, which is a common denominator in all the experiences that we can read, is very similar to what we see in this experience that we have in the paragraph, Ephesians 3:20 says that Jehovah does infinitely more than everything we ask or can make us arrive to achieve things that we did not even imagine and this can help us also to be able to take the step of serving Jehovah more.
16. Who can young couples go to who are considering their goals in life?
Young couples can benefit from the experience of couples who have served full time or spiritually mature couples. You can ask them about situations they experienced that made them trust in Jehovah, this will help them analyze their goals and have the desire to achieve them.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, as shown in the image, one of these one of these aids can be experienced couples who have always put Jehovah first, even because they have served full time if we have the opportunity and we know some and see in the image how they are paying attention they are happy and above all they are learning.
Proverbs 22:17 says pay attention and listen to the words of the wise men that reminds me of another proverb 13:20 that says he who walks with wise men will become wise so he goes to these brothers of experience who have shown throughout their lives to be people wise from Jehovah's point of view, for sure they will make us wise and in the case of younger couples they will be helped to set spiritual goals.
A key factor is trust in Jehovah, perhaps your newly married couple may have certain doubts, as we see in the image, it is as if the older couple were teaching them throughout their lives, all these photographs, different situations in which they saw the hand of Jehovah It is like before also compared to the prophecies and the strengthening effect that it has that will help the newly married couple to have that confidence and begin to take those first steps.
Commenting on the image, we can imagine that this couple has some specific goal, perhaps because of the other photographs that we have been seeing, it seems that they have the intention of moving to another country or learning another language, they have chosen this couple that is now showing them photographs of their assignments in other countries, looking specifically for someone who can motivate us to continue pursuing our goals.
ILLUSTRATION:
The marriage talks with an older couple while they look at a photo album.
Newlyweds can focus their lives on serving Jehovah by seeking advice from mature Christians. (See paragraph 16).
17. What happened to Klaus and Marisa, and what do we learn from their example?
This couple comment that they left their home and offered to help with construction work at the Finland branch. But, they were disappointed when they found out that they could only stay in that country for six months. However, soon after they were invited to an Arabic course, and now they serve in the Arab field in another country. She says that it is true that “it is very scary to step out of your comfort zone and lean totally on Jehovah. But they have found that he always helps in unexpected ways. This example teaches us that we can be sure, that in any place and circumstance Jehovah will always bless us for trusting in him with all our hearts.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, they finally made themselves available to the filandia branch for the construction and it was like that for 6 months, but finally it seemed that the big decisions they had made were not going to be of much use, but it was not like that, a new door of activity was opened, which was learn a new language to serve in another territory so different and that teaches us that Jehovah can surprise us if we put ourselves in his hands.
And it may be similar in our case, we have realized that we are not completely happy in marriage because we have focused on getting material things, but we should not be discouraged if we can now change the course of our lives and get out of that comfort zone. and start working to set and achieve those spiritual goals.
18. What can married couples do to continue trusting in Jehovah?
Couples can consider whether they are doing their best to show Jehovah that they appreciate the gifts he has given them. Therefore, they should continue to pray to Jehovah, seek Bible principles to help them apply them in their circumstances, and follow his advice. If you focus your life on serving him, you will have a truly happy marriage.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Ask yourself what the paragraph mentions discuss what they are doing with their lives and if they are doing their best to thank Jehovah for the gifts he gives them.
And we must show humility to take the matter to Jehovah in prayer, spend whatever time is necessary to search for the principles that apply, and then it is time to follow the advice we find.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THESE PAST SERVANTS ABOUT TRUST IN JEHOVAH?
The prophet Isaiah and his wife
This married couple focused their lives on serving and worshiping Jehovah, so we learn that we should do our best to serve Jehovah. Something that will help us study biblical prophecies, because the fact that we see how they are fulfilled will strengthen us and encourage us to participate and give our best in our service to Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, from them we learned that no matter what their circumstances were, but for them the most important thing was to worship Jehovah and an application that we also saw is that it will help us a lot to analyze not only the servants of the past but also biblical prophecies because this strengthens our faith in that Jehovah always does what he says and this will help us to give our best in serving Jehovah.
Priscilla and Aquila
We learned that this marriage, although their circumstances changed, always put the interests of the Kingdom first. So, it teaches us that when a couple sets definite goals in their service of Jehovah and strives to achieve them, they have more opportunities to see the holy spirit in action.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
That we should put the interests of the kingdom first, Jehovah is going to give us what we need, we are going to be happy in our marriages and to achieve this we have to set ourselves defined goals with which to fight and do our best to achieve them.
In the first place, they laid a good foundation and when a first unexpected change came, they adapted and continued to put the interests of the kingdom first, but given the successive changes they had in their lives, there were many and for a long time they also kept doing the same.
The apostle Peter and his wife
Peter and his wife trusted in the promise that Jehovah would provide them with what they needed, and they put the Kingdom first. She supported her husband when Jesus invited him to preach and was "a good example, so that Peter had the moral authority to advise women and men." This teaches us that if married couples focus on serving Jehovah, He will take care of us and give much more than what we ask for trusting in him with all our hearts.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
When we apparently take a leap into the void and depend completely on Jehovah, he always takes care of us and will give us much more than we need and imagine in every way.
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