Bible Still Dey Change Your Life?

1-3. (a) Wetin be some things wey fit hard us to change even if we don baptize? (b) If we see sey e no easy to change some kind character, which question fit come our mind? (Check the first picture.)

THE time wey Kevin^[1] start to serve Jehovah, wetin dey im mind pass na make e be Jehovah friend. Na bad life e dey live before e start to serve Jehovah. E dey bet, e dey smoke cigar and igbo, and e too dey drink. Before Kevin go fit be Jehovah friend, e must stop all this bad things wey e dey do. Na Jehovah and the things wey e learn for Bible, help am fit stop all this things.—Heb. 4:12.

² After Kevin don baptize, e no stop to dey change the kind person wey im be because na that one go help am be better Christian. (Eph. 4:31, 32) For example, e dey quick vex and e dey hard am to control im temper. E talk sey: “To stop the bad things wey I dey do before I baptize, come easy pass to control my temper!” Wetin help am change? E beg Jehovah for prayer sey make Jehovah help am and e still study Bible well well.

³ Before we baptize, na so many of us take change the kind bad life wey we dey live so that we go fit serve Jehovah. But now wey we don baptize, we fit see sey e get other small small things for our life wey we suppose change so that we go fit dey do like Jehovah and Jesus more more. (Eph. 5:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:21) For example, we fit don notice am sey we too dey complain or sey we sabi do amebo and e fit even be sey sometimes we dey fear face. We fit don dey try to change but we come see sey e no easy to change. That one fit make you come dey think sey: ‘As e be sey I don already change the bad things for my life wey God no like, why this small one come dey hard me? Wetin I go do so that my life go really match wetin I dey learn for Bible?’

TO GET ‘THE NEW CHARACTER’ NO BE ONE DAY WORK

4. Why e be sey no be every time we dey fit do wetin Jehovah like?

⁴ Na the love wey we get for Jehovah na im make us want use all our mind do wetin go make am happy. But the sin wey dey our body dey make am hard for us sometimes. Our condition just be like apostle Paul own; e talk sey: ‘I get the mind to do good thing but the power no dey to do am.’—Rom. 7:18; Jas. 3:2.

5. Which kind things we stop to do before we baptize? But wetin fit still dey happen even though sey we don baptize?

⁵ Before we join Jehovah people, we stop to do the things wey Jehovah hate. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10) But we still dey make mistake because of the sin wey dey our body. (Col. 3:9, 10) So e no go make sense for person to think sey because e don baptize or because e don tey wey e dey serve Jehovah, e no go fit make mistake again. Bad thing fit still dey enter im mind sometimes. And e fit make mistake go do the bad thing wey e don stop. True true, many years fit pass and person still dey try to comot bad thing for mind.

6, 7. (a) Why e be sey even with the sin wey dey our body, we fit still be Jehovah friend? (b) Why we no go stop to beg Jehovah make e forgive us?

⁶ Even though sey this kind thing dey happen to us, we no go let am stop us or make us no serve Jehovah again. No forget sey na Jehovah draw us near body make we be im friend and e know sey we go make mistake sometimes. (John 6:44) E still know the kind person wey we be and wetin dey our mind. Before e make us im friend, e know sey some things fit hard us well well to change and sey e get sometimes wey we go do things wey e no like. But even with all this one, e still choose us as im friend.

⁷ We don see how Jehovah love us reach because of the special gift wey e give us—e send im Pikin make e come die for our sin. (John 3:16) If we do wetin Jehovah no like, make we beg am make e forgive us. We get the mind sey because of wetin Jesus don do for us, Jehovah go forgive us and we go still be Im friend. (Rom. 7:24, 25; 1 John 2:1, 2) Even if we think sey our sin don too much, make we no stop to beg Jehovah for prayer sey make e forgive us. Because e go be like when person wey im hand dirty see water but e no gree wash im hand. The thing be sey, Jesus die for people wey get the mind to repent from the bad thing wey dem dey do. This one go make us happy because even though sey sin dey our body, we fit still be Jehovah friend.—Read 1 Timothy 1:15.

8. Why e good make we do everything wey we fit do so that we go dey do things like Jehovah and Jesus?

⁸ E no mean sey we go dey sin anyhow. Jehovah don already tell us the kind people wey im dey choose as friend. So if we no want stop to be Jehovah friend, make we do everything wey we fit do so that we go dey do things like Jehovah and Jesus. (Ps. 15:1-5) We go still try make we dey control wetin the sin wey dey our body fit make us do. And we fit even stop some of dem. Whether we just baptize or e don tey wey we baptize, we must ‘continue to dey correct our way.’—2 Cor. 13:11.

9. How we take know sey to change no be one day work?

⁹ Make we no stop to do everything wey we fit do so that we go fit dey change and we go get ‘the new character.’ Paul tell the brothers wey dey Ephesus sey: ‘Una don learn sey make una comot the old character wey una get, wey be the same thing with how una dey live life before and wey spoil because of bad things. And make una mind continue to dey change to better one, and make una wear the new character wey God make the way e want, wey go show for the way una take dey live better and holy life.’ (Eph. 4:22-24) As Bible talk sey make we ‘continue to dey change,’ that one show sey no be one day work. Na something wey we no go stop to do. This one help us know sey whether we just baptize or e don tey wey we baptize, we fit continue to correct our way so that we go fit be Christian wey get ‘the new character.’ The truth be sey, Bible still dey change our life.

WHY E HARD?

10. Wetin we need to do if we want make Bible continue to change us? Which question we fit ask?

¹⁰ We go need to do plenty work if we really want make the things wey we dey learn for Bible continue to change us. Why e be like that? If na true sey Jehovah dey support us, why we no fit just change once? Jehovah no fit just do am for us so that we go fit dey do the things wey e like?

11-13. Why e be sey Jehovah want make we ‘do everything wey we fit do’ to get the kind character wey e like?

¹¹ If we look everything wey Jehovah don make, for heaven and for earth, we go know sey Jehovah get power well well. For example, sun na one of the things wey Jehovah make. And we know sey sun get power well well because of the heat and light wey e get. Every second, the kind heat and light wey sun dey bring plenty well well but na only small heat and light dey reach this our earth because na wetin we need be that. (Ps. 74:16; Isa. 40:26) Na so Jehovah dey do for im servant dem, e dey give dem the power wey dem need, when dem need am. (Isa. 40:29) True true, if to sey Jehovah want, e for just give us power make we no sin again. But wetin make e no do like that?

¹² Jehovah no make us like robot. But e give us power to choose wetin we go do. We dey show how we love Jehovah reach when we try do everything wey we fit do to do wetin e want. That one mean sey na im we don choose as our King. Satan don talk sey Jehovah no get right to be King. So, Jehovah dey like am if we use our mind and all our power take show sey na im really be our King. (Job 2:3-5; Prov. 27:11) If Jehovah just do am make we fit dey do wetin e like, we go fit talk sey we really dey support Jehovah from our mind?

¹³ Na wetin make Jehovah tell us sey make we ‘do everything wey we fit do’ to get the kind character wey e like. (Read 2 Peter 1:5-7; Col. 3:12) E still want make we try control wetin we dey think and how we dey behave. (Rom. 8:5; 12:9) And anytime wey we try do wetin Jehovah want, we dey happy sey Bible still dey change our life.

MAKE THE THING WEY YOU DEY LEARN FROM BIBLE DEY CHANGE YOUR LIFE

14, 15. Wetin we fit do to get the kind character wey Jehovah like? (Check the box wey be “Na Bible And Prayer Change Their Life.”)

¹⁴ Wetin we fit do to get the kind character wey Jehovah like? Instead wey we go dey select the character wey we go change, make we try let the things wey we dey learn from Bible help us know the right thing to change. Romans 12:2 talk sey: ‘Make una stop to do things like the people wey dey this world, but make una dey change how una dey think and the kind person wey una be so that una go fit sabi the better thing wey God want make una do, wey e like and wey complete.’ Na Bible and holy spirit Jehovah dey use to help us know wetin e want, so that we go fit do am. Na im make we need to dey read Bible, think about wetin we don read, and pray make Jehovah give us holy spirit. (Luke 11:13; Gal. 5:22, 23) If we let our life match wetin we dey learn for Bible, e go make us dey think, dey talk and dey do things wey Jehovah like. This one no mean sey we go just fold our hand. But we go dey try make we no do the bad things wey we don stop.—Prov. 4:23.

¹⁵ Apart from sey we go dey read Bible every day, we need to still study Bible with our book, like Watchtower and Awake!. This one go fit help us know how we go take dey do things like Jehovah. We fit read something for our book dem wey go fit help us get the character wey God like. Make we keep am well, so that we fit see am read anytime wey we want read am.

16. Why e good to dey patient if e be like sey our life no dey change as we want?

¹⁶ Remember sey e dey take time before person go fit change im life as e want. Na small small e go dey change. We go dey patient so that wetin we dey learn for Bible go dey help us change our life. When we start, we go need to force ourself do wetin Bible talk. But as time dey go, e go easy for us to dey do and dey think the kind thing wey Jehovah like.—Ps. 37:31; Prov. 23:12; Gal. 5:16, 17.

PUT MIND FOR THE BETTER THINGS WEY JEHOVAH GO DO FOR US

17. Wetin go happen if we serve Jehovah go reach the end?

¹⁷ Time dey come when people wey no stop to serve Jehovah, go serve am with body wey no get sin. That time e no go hard us again to get the kind character wey Jehovah like and that one go sweet us well well. We dey wait for that time. But now, we dey thank Jehovah sey e send Jesus make e come die for us! Na wetin make us fit still dey serve Jehovah, even though sey we dey make mistake. True true, we fit still serve God if we let wetin we dey learn for Bible dey change our life.

18, 19. How we take know sey Bible fit still dey change our life?

¹⁸ Kevin wey we don talk about do wetin e fit do to control im temper. E think about wetin e read from Bible and e do am. E still put ear for the advice wey brothers and sisters give am. Na im make e no tey before e come be ministerial servant because e don really change. Now, e don reach 20 years since dem make am elder for congregation. Even as e be, e still dey try make e no go dey do the bad things wey e don stop.

¹⁹ The thing wey happen for Kevin life, show sey na Bible dey help Jehovah people change so that dem go get better character. So, make we no stop to let wetin we learn for Bible help us dey change our life so that we fit near Jehovah more more. (Ps. 25:14) When we see how Jehovah take dey bless us, e go dey clear sey Bible still dey change our life!—Ps. 34:8.