Thursday, September 18
Always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that make public declaration to his name.—Heb. 13:15.
Today all Christians have the privilege of offering sacrifices to Jehovah by using their time, energy, and resources to further the interests of God’s Kingdom. We can show that we cherish our privilege to worship Jehovah by offering him our very best sacrifices. The apostle Paul outlines various aspects of our worship that we should never neglect. (Heb. 10:22-25) These include approaching Jehovah in prayer, making public declaration of our hope, meeting together as a congregation, and encouraging one another “all the more so as [we] see [Jehovah’s] day drawing near.” Toward the end of the Revelation account, Jehovah’s angel states the following twice for emphasis: “Worship God!” (Rev. 19:10; 22:9) May we never forget this deep spiritual truth regarding Jehovah’s great spiritual temple and the cherished privilege we have to worship our great God! w23.10 45:17-18
Friday, September 19
Continue loving one another.—1 John 4:7.
We all want to “continue loving one another.” However, it is important for us to remember that Jesus warned that “the love of the greater number [would] grow cold.” (Matt. 24:12) Jesus was not saying that this would occur on a large scale among his disciples. Nonetheless, we should remain alert so that we are not influenced by the lack of love in the world around us. With that thought in mind, let us consider this important question: Is there a way to test whether our love for our brothers is strong? One way to determine the strength of our love is to examine how we handle certain situations in life. (2 Cor. 8:8) One such situation is mentioned by the apostle Peter: “Above all things, have intense love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8) So the weaknesses and imperfections of others can put our love to the test. w23.11 47:12-13
Saturday, September 20
Love one another.—John 13:34.
We cannot obey Jesus’ command about love if we show love to some in the congregation but not to others. Granted, we may feel closer to some than to others, as did Jesus. (John 13:23; 20:2) But the apostle Peter reminds us that we should strive to have “brotherly affection”—a warm familylike attachment—for all our brothers and sisters. (1 Pet. 2:17) Peter urged us to “love one another intensely from the heart.” (1 Pet. 1:22) In this context, to love “intensely” involves stretching the limits of our natural inclination to love. For example, what if a brother offends or hurts us in some way? Our instinct may be to retaliate rather than to show love. Yet, Peter learned from Jesus that retaliation does not please God. (John 18:10, 11) Peter wrote: “Do not pay back injury for injury or insult for insult. Instead, repay with a blessing.” (1 Pet. 3:9) Allow intense love to move you to be kind and considerate. w23.09 41:9-11