DAILY TEXT, Today Wednesday, December 27, 2023, Maintain this same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had (Philipp. 2:5).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2023

Wednesday, December 27

Maintain this same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had (Phil. 2:5).

The more our way of thinking resembles that of Jesus, the better we will imitate his way of acting and the better we will reflect his personality (Heb. 1:3). Maybe you think, “Jesus is perfect. I can never be exactly like him!” If you think like this, remember three things. First, you were designed to be like Jehovah and Jesus. So you can choose to imitate them and you can succeed, at least to some degree (Gen. 1:26). Second, God's holy spirit is the most powerful force that exists. With his help, you can achieve things you would never achieve alone. Third, Jehovah does not expect you to manifest the fruit of the spirit perfectly now. Consider that our loving Father will give those who hope to live on Earth 1,000 years to become perfect (Rev. 20:1-3). What Jehovah expects of us now is that we do our best and trust that he will help us. w22.03 9, 10 paras. 5, 6.

What are we going to see now?

How specifically can we imitate Jesus? Let's examine four qualities of the fruit of God's spirit. We will see how Jesus demonstrated each of these qualities and what we can learn. We will also look at some questions that will help us examine whether we need to improve the new personality.

How did Jesus show his love?

Jesus loved Jehovah so much that he was moved to make sacrifices for him and for us (John 14:31; 15:13). And he demonstrated his great love for people by the way he lived while he was on Earth. He was always loving and compassionate, even to some who opposed him. He demonstrated this love in a special way by telling people about the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43, 44). He also proved how much he loved God and people by being willing to suffer and die at the hands of sinners. Thus he gave us all the opportunity to live forever.

How can we show love, following the example of Jesus?

If we dedicated ourselves to Jehovah and were baptized, it was because we loved our heavenly Father. So, like Jesus, we should show that love when treating people. The apostle John wrote: “He who does not love his brother, whom he sees, cannot love God, whom he does not see” (1 John 4:20). Let's ask ourselves: “Do I feel a deep love for others? Am I compassionate in treating others, even when they are unpleasant to me? Do I dedicate my time and resources to telling others about Jehovah out of love? Do I do it even when most people don't value it, or even when they oppose me? Could you spend more time preaching?” (Eph. 5:15, 16).

What did Jesus do to promote peace?

Jesus was peaceful. He did not return evil for evil. But he did something else. He took the initiative to be at peace with people and encouraged others to resolve their disputes. For example, he taught them that they must make peace with his brother if they wanted Jehovah to accept his worship (Matt. 5:9, 23, 24). And time after time he encouraged his apostles to stop arguing about which of them was the greatest (Luke 9:46-48; 22:24-27).

How can we foster peace?

To foster peace, we not only have to avoid causing conflict. We need to take the initiative to make peace with others and to encourage our brothers to resolve their differences (Phil. 4:2, 3; James 3:17, 18). We might ask ourselves: “How far am I willing to give up to make peace with others? Do I hold a grudge if a brother hurts my feelings? Do I expect the other person to take the first step to resolve things? Or do I give it, even though he thinks she is to blame? If appropriate, do I encourage those who have problems with each other to make peace?”

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