SPIRITUAL GEMS: Week from April 24 to 30, 2023, 2 Chronicles from 13 to 16, Answers.

SPIRITUAL GEMS: April 24-30-2023, 2 Chronicles from 13 to 16, Answers.

Spiritual Gems (10 min.)

2Ch 15:16. How can we imitate the courage of Asa? (w17.03 19 ¶7)

When he did not hold back from taking action against his idolatrous grandmother, and did not allow her to continue in her important position within the kingdom, he showed that he was determined to put Jehovah first. We can imitate him by not relating to relatives or close friends who sin, do not repent and are expelled. In such a situation, we will not care how close or dear that person is to us, since our determination will be to put Jehovah and his righteous standards first, just as he did Asa.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

These verses show how Asa defended pure Worship, although for this he had to take drastic actions against his own grandmother who was also the Queen mother of the country. This action must have required a lot of courage on Asa's part. So one way to imitate him is by demonstrating her same devotion and courage before sinful loved ones AND before powerful people who want to impose their beliefs on us.

Imitating Jehovah by being impartial on the subject of discipline, we will not support someone who is disobeying Jehovah, for example, if someone in our family or a good friend sins, he does not repent and is disfellowshipped. we could be tempted to cover it up, cover it up, leave it as something that doesn't matter, Therefore, our reaction will show who we really are, but if we don't support it, we would be showing what's in our hearts.

We can imitate it if we are always willing to defend pure worship, and defend it from anyone, no matter who. For example: If a friend who is very close to a family member is expelled, we are going to imitate Asa's value if we stop relating permanently with that person, until he decides to return.

These verses show that Asa had his heart fully devoted to Jehovah, and therefore he was determined to please him by upholding pure worship and protecting the people from everything that could corrupt them. So we can imitate sa by showing the same commitment by serving Jehovah with a complete heart, even if we have to defend our position before relatives, powerful people and rulers.

We will be able to imitate Asá by learning the courage he showed when facing a difficult situation. At all times, if a Biblical mandate in our lives is put at risk or a delicate situation arises in which action must be taken, we have to cultivate the courage of Asa to act accordingly.

We also imitate him by ceasing to associate with people who sin against Jehovah, and do not repent and are expelled. In such a situation, we will not care how close or dear the person is, since our determination will be to put Jehovah and his righteous standards first, just as Asa did.

What spiritual pearls have you found about Jehovah, the ministry, and other topics in this week's Bible reading?

2 Chronicles 13:18. He shows that the Israelites who did not trust in Jehovah were humbled and those who did trust were victorious. This teaches me that the only way to win the spiritual battle you faced every day in this world dominated by Satan, is by leaning on Jehovah and trusting him absolutely.

2 Chronicles 13:3. He mentions that Abijah went to war with almost half a million powerful and trained warriors, in a way we are in a spiritual war, and our state or spiritual health as warriors depends to a large extent on ourselves, this reminds us of the importance of take care of our spirituality, strengthen ourselves, and correctly use our spiritual armor.

2 Chronicles 13:7. It teaches us that bad companies can affect us significantly, to the point of ruining our lives and our future, just as there are those who have lost their lives by hanging out with people who have bad habits or are taking bad steps.

2 Chronicles 13:7. We can also apply this text to young people, since they must rely on Jehovah to be able to put up with people who will put obstacles in their way of life, Paul told Timothy not to allow others to belittle him, and the way to to do it was by having a personal relationship with Jehovah and thus he could set an example in everything.

2 Chronicles 14:2-5. It shows us that Asa did not follow in the footsteps of his father or his grandfather, that is why he carried out a great campaign against idolatry, which teaches us that a bad family example does not define us, that is, if in our family many people have failed Jehovah or have left the truth, this does not mean that we are going to do the same, because serving Jehovah and doing what is right is a personal decision.

2 Chronicles 13:12. If we humbly acknowledge our inferior position, our relationship with God will be close, like that between a pilot and a co-pilot. But never, not for a moment, will there be any doubt in our minds, who is in command of all Jehovah and our King Jesus Christ, the head of the congregation.

2 Chronicles 13:14. Sometimes we will feel that life is very intense, that we have to fight in front and behind, tests everywhere, when that happens, we must lean fully on Jehovah through prayer and petition, asking him to give us mental, emotional and spiritual, if we do we will see the hand of Jehovah in our lives.

2 Chronicles 13:17. Before Jehovah the number of enemies does not represent any obstacle, this makes us trust him, that you will not leave faithful people when they are attacked in the future by enemy forces with their weapons, Jehovah will fight for his people.

2 Chronicles 13:13-14. There are people who do not betray themselves from behind, with words they could try to damage our reputation, the faithful Israelites give us an excellent example to imitate, we must specifically ask Jehovah to help us remain faithful and setting a good example, in the end our actions and examples and above all the blessing of Jehovah will support us and others will see who is who.

2 Chronicles 14:11. Today, Jehovah's servants have to face many powerful adversaries. We do not fight with physical weapons on literal battlefields, but we can be sure that Jehovah will give us victory if we are faithful and honor his name. Any of us may have to fight long and hard battles against enemies such as the moral degradation of this world, personal weaknesses, or threats against our family's spirituality. Whatever our trial of faith, we can gain encouragement in prayer.

2 Chronicles 14:8. The shield, or tsin-nah in Hebrew, was large enough to cover the entire body. Sometimes it was used to give a solid front to the battle lines, and the spears came out from between them. Jehovah protects us like a great shield and our faith in him is like a shield, this makes us reflect on how our faith is.

2 Chronicles 14:12. Asa's victory was Jehovah's victory, and it shows us what those who trust in God can expect. There is no human force capable of standing firm against Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 14:3. He mentions that the king ordered to remove the altars and everything related to idolatry, this reminds us that if we want to do things well, we must remove from our lives everything that stands between Jehovah and us, such as bad friendships, vices, violent entertainment or anything related to spiritualism.

2 Chronicles 13:10. We see that there were many who abandoned Jehovah, but there was a rest that remained faithful to him, and decided not to imitate the bad examples around him. We too can have that moral and spiritual solvency to say that we have not abandoned Jehovah even though others they have done it, in the end everyone must take responsibility for their actions.

2 Chronicles 13:18. It teaches us that if we want to do well and get out of any difficulty that comes our way, we must place our total trust in Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 13:5. He talks about the pact of salt, which Jehovah had made with David, and well, salt is a preservative, it prevents putrefaction and decomposition. Therefore it speaks of purity and permanence, which teaches us that we must have salt in ourselves, because if the spiritual salt is not there, then there is corruption and decomposition, And if in our sacrifice Jehovah we do not have faithfulness, integrity and loyalty, then what we do will be of no use.

2 Chronicles 13:14,15. It teaches us that Jehovah is a God who always listens to pleas, but only from those who are on his side and are willing to obey him.

2 Chronicles 13:11. It says that every morning and every evening they offered burnt offerings to Jehovah, which teaches us that we should always be giving offerings to our God, such as testimony at every opportunity and place where we find ourselves, and it also teaches us that we should not spend a only day without that we will do it to Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 13:10. I like this text a lot, because it is a conviction that everything we serve God we must have, since it says as far as we are concerned, Jehovah is our God if we have not abandoned him. This teaches us that no matter who leaves Jehovah, we must remain firm in our faith.

2 Chronicles 13:8. Jehovah teaches me that he is the almighty of the universe and no one can against him, although currently as in the past there are rulers who believe that they can more than God, we clearly know that this is not the case, for this reason we continue to trust each day more in Jehovah and his kingdom and let us not put our trust in men.

2 Chronicles 13:9. We see that the Israelites served the true god before, and then they began to worship gods that are not gods, these admonishing examples are not very useful, since we do not want to make these mistakes, perhaps letting ourselves be carried away by apostates or the ideas of the world could make us end up far from Jehovah's people, and since we do not want this to happen, we must strengthen our relationship with our beloved Heavenly Father every day.

2 Chronicles 13:7. He mentions Rehoboam, who because he was young and insecure ended up losing a large part of his kingdom, and we know that he lacked discernment, to see what was best or what decisions were correct. From which we learn, that even if we are young we can make good decisions, and for this we must cultivate discernment, and for this it is essential to seek the help of the Holy Spirit.

2 Chronicles 16:1-5. It shows us that something that turned out to be a trap for the kings of Judah were the alliances they formed with foreign nations, in this case King Asa made an alliance, which got him into trouble. From which we learn that for no reason should we form alliances with the world of Satan, that is, for example, getting married, perhaps with someone who does not serve Jehovah, because the consequences can be disastrous.

2 Chronicles 13:5,6. It shows us that Abijah respected Jehovah's statutes, whereas Jeroboam did not. From which we learn that we should never be like this second character, because we have to respect who Jehovah has placed in charge of responsibility in the congregation, and not want to occupy positions that do not correspond to us.

2 Chronicles 15:12. We see that they made a pact in which they pledged to seek with all their hearts and with all their souls the Lord God of his ancestors. All of us who have dedicated ourselves and been baptized, have made a pact with Jehovah from the heart, for nothing in the world do we want to forget that pact that we made to him, no matter what happens in the face of any difficulty with all our hearts we want to serve Jehovah with all our souls.

2 Chronicles 15:1. Knowing that Jehovah is accessible and that if we seek him we will find him is a privilege, because despite the fact that we are imperfect and sinners, he, being the most high, is willing to condescend to establish a friendship with us, that is a gift, but if we move away he will also move away from us, this should help us take into account everything that Jehovah does for us and it is a friendship that we should never want to lose.

2 Chronicles 15:7. We live in a world that makes it very difficult for us to maintain joy in our service to Jehovah. But these words help us to keep in mind that in the past servant of Jehovah they also went through difficulties. However, if they could be strong thanks to Jehovah's help and his endurance, they were rewarded. In the same way, if we are strong and continue to have stamina and good cheer, Jehovah will reward us.

2 Chronicles 14:2 . Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of God lesson we want to strive to be like chance and do what is right wherever we are always gladdening the heart of our heavenly father.

2 Chronicles 14:3. We see that Asa removed the altars to foreign gods and the high places, smashed the sacred columns, and tore down the sacred poles. This teaches us that asa not only listened to Jehovah, but he put it into practice by eliminating what had to do with worshiping false gods and cleaning up. So we do not want to be just listeners, we only want to make the changes and discard anything that Jehovah does not like, that implies getting rid of book objects that have to do with the worship of images and idolatry.

2 Chronicles 14:7. We see that Asa said to Juda: since we have judged Jehovah our God we have sought him and he has given us Peace. These words give us a lot of peace of mind because in effect perhaps we led a life away from Jehovah where we were not happy, we did not have peace. However, knowing Jehovah our life made sense and now despite the difficulties, we can feel the peace of God that he gives us through his word and gives us hope that peace will soon abound under his kingdom and we will be able to enjoy such as he has always wanted.

2 Chronicles 15:2. These words strengthen our faith. Indeed, as long as we serve him faithfully, Jehovah will be with us. When we cry out to him for help, we can be sure that he is not heard and can help us in ways we never imagined possible.

2 Chronicles 15:7. Although there is chaos or collapse around us everywhere, we must be strong, not discouraged because Jehovah rewards our work, whether in this life or the next, that is, in the new world.

2 Chronicles 16:7-12. Pride is before a loud crash, haughtiness made the king even misbehave in the last years of his life. An arrogant attitude was the downfall of Uzziah. Hezekiah was left unwise perhaps with pride when he showed his treasure to the Babylonian emissaries. 

2 Chronicles 15:2. Many people and nations abandon God, they remove him from their lives, and then when they receive the consequences they dare to ask where God is, this reminds us that each one is responsible for their actions and we cannot blame God for our bad decisions, still we can repent and return to Jehovah who will forgive in a great way.

2 Chronicles 13:18. We also see that the men of Judah were victorious, because they trusted in Jehovah, the God of his ancestors. This teaches us that in the face of any difficulty or problem that comes our way, if we trust in Jehovah, we will not only be able to gain strength and endure difficult situations, but we will also emerge victors, above all because this system will soon come to an end, and we will be able to enjoy the Jehovah's victory in the new world.

2 Chronicles 13:7 . This experience teaches us that joining bad companies spoils useful habits. And if our faith is weak we will be easy prey to end up spoiling our friendship with Jehovah, we will not even be prepared to have the strength to resist the pressure and face them.

2 Chronicles 13:2. Undoubtedly, reading these words reminds us that we are Jehovah's people and we are not alone, we are fortunate to know that the true God is with us, and that in addition to entrusting us with an important work, he guides and directs us to carry it out.

2 Chronicles 13:15-19. He shows that the reason Judah defeated Israel even though they were surprised and outnumbered was that he relied on Jehovah. This teaches me that when we have the support of our heavenly father, it doesn't matter how many weapons are raised against our people. Hence the importance of maintaining unity in the congregation and loyalty to Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 13:13,14. It shows that Judah was ambushed and had battle before and behind her, but they cried out to Jehovah and the priests blew their trumpets. This teaches me that even though it seems that we are few and that we are alone and helpless and they try to corner us, no one can isolate us from Jehovah's protecting power. Rather, what can take away his protection is transgression and sin. Therefore, we must take care of our Christian integrity at all costs.

2 Chronicles 14:9,11. These verses show that Asa recognized that this battle belonged to Jehovah, because his name and his honor were involved. Hence, in his prayer, he asks him not to allow mere men to defeat his people and dishonor his name. This account reminds us that today we also face powerful adversaries, but the account teaches us that we can be sure that Jehovah will give us the victory if we are faithful and honor his name.

2 Chronicles 14:9,11. These verses also show how he even prayed to Jehovah in the midst of battle and how Jehovah gave him victory over the largest army mentioned in the Bible. This teaches me that prayer is a powerful weapon in this spiritual warfare and an essential part of our armor, which is why we must never stop using it.

2 Chronicles 14:1. He shows that it took King Asa courage to rise up against an entire people and promote true duration the way he did. Today we, too, demonstrate that same kind of courage in the face of a world dominated by false religions by keeping our worship of Jehovah pure. In the same way, just as Asa led people to do the same as he did, our pure worship is also prompting courageous people to break away from their religious systems.

2 Chronicles 14:5. It shows that to sakito the incense altars of all the cities of Judah and the kingdom enjoyed peace under his rule. Here we see that Asa not only did what was right, but also, with his example, encouraged him to others. This teaches me that the effort to do things Jehovah's way always pays off.    

2 Chronicles 14:5. It shows that to sakito the incense altars of all the cities of Judah and the kingdom enjoyed peace under his rule. Asa we see that Asa not only did what was right, but also, with his example, encouraged him to others. This teaches me that the effort to do things Jehovah's way always pays off.

2 Chronicles 15:7. This verse says "Be of good courage." These words strengthen my faith because they show me that as long as he faithfully serves Jehovah, he will be with me. This is very important since in this world dominated by Satan, we very often need encouragement to continue to endure.

2 Chronicles 15:8,9. These verses show that a large number of Israelites went over to Asa's side when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him. These texts teach me that I must be willing to make the necessary changes without delay, just as Asa did, in order to please Jehovah, win his approval, and also to encourage those around me to do the same.

2 Chronicles 15:15. This verse says that all Judah searched for Jehovah with all their hearts and with great determination, and that Jehovah allowed himself to be found. This Verse can be used in the Ministry to teach that they seek Jehovah and finding him is something easy. As long as we make an effort and do it from the heart.

2 Chronicles 15:12. This verse shows that Judah and the Israelites who joined Asa's side were committed to seeking Jehovah with their hearts and with all their souls. This teaches me that this should also be my daily commitment. And one way to do that is by sticking to Jehovah's commandments and following the instructions he gives us through his organization.

2 Chronicles 15:9-15. These verses show how Asa was able to see many Israelites from the apostate northern kingdom move to Judah, because they realized that Jehovah was with the king. Today, many people are also drawn to the truth when they observe our correct behavior governed by Jehovah's righteous standards.

2 Chronicles 13:8. This verse can be extrapolated to many of the current situations in which a very self-confident person thinks he is better or superior to another and that therefore he can do what he wants or treat another as he wants. As servants of God, whether it is a boss, a co-worker or a study partner, this person does not know that we have Jehovah on our side and that nothing will shake us.

2 Chronicles 13:13. This verse teaches us that no matter how many ambushes Satan can put us in this system, if we ask Jehovah for help and trust Him at all times, we will always emerge victorious from any situation we have to live.

2 Chronicles 13:20. We see that Jeroboam never came to regain power from him at that time. Of course, this teaches us that people who do not side with God or do his will cannot do well in life. However, if we are upright in the eyes of Jehovah, we can be sure that we will save ourselves many problems and we will have great blessings on a daily basis.

2 Chronicles 14:1-2. Asa did things as were right to the sons of God and his region enjoyed 10 years of rest. What do we mean by this? If in our lives we do what is right in the eyes of God, Jehovah will give us peace and the problems of this system will not affect us to the degree that they affect other people, and we will avoid many others.

2 Chronicles 14:3. Asa destroyed everything that God hates. This teaches us that although we cannot perhaps destroy images or certain pagan celebrations, we can get away from those places or companies that can be a stumbling block and that encourage us to do something that is not right in the eyes of God.

2 Chronicles 14:6. He took advantage of the times of peace to build walls and fortify the city. There will be moments of tribulation that put our faith to the test, and we will be able to withstand these tests, because in moments of peace we have to build, strengthen our faith by studying the Bible so that when problems come, we are ready to overcome them.

2 Chronicles 15:2. How nice it is to read and know through this verse that anyone who seeks Jehovah will find him because God will leave himself. This teaches us the mercy of our heavenly Father and the love towards all the people who seek them.

2 Chronicles 15:7. Jehovah assures us that all the efforts we make will be rewarded. Another show of mercy, compassion and love from our heavenly Father who knows perfectly well the problems we face every day and that our endurance will finally be rewarded.

2 Chronicles 15:14. It is not easy, because there are problems that are very hard and make our emotional state not good. But let us remember this verse and shout out loud to Jehovah with joy that we will overcome this obstacle and always continue by his side.