... the text for June 17, 2020

Ponder over these things. - 1 Tim. 4:15

The comments make this encouragement:

Giving advance thought to the need to remain loyal can also prove helpful in the event of a medical emergency.

 It specifies medical emergencies. We now are in the days of a raging pandemic. We have been encouraged to maintain our Durable Power of Attorney medical cards and keep it current, for cases when we don't have the time to explain our religious beliefs about blood and our refusal to accept transfusions.

The importance in pondering over things is a exercise in mental preparation for things that may happen in future. We all strive to serve God faithfully. Satan is the true ruler of the world, so he's interested in making you not to be faithful to God. The way everyone acts around you should not be an influence for your actions. But, it's hard, isn't it?

We have many examples in the Bible of those who pondered over their relationship with Jehovah and made firm decisions beforehand. Joseph, confronted with adultery, refused. Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego faced idolatry, and refused even uder penalty of death.

Their resolve wasn't a spur of the moment thing, a reaction to what was going on. I'm sure they didn't consider every possible occurrence to happen, but knowing Jehovah's thinking was important for them to make the right decision and stick to it.

As you continue your Bible reading, think about how Jehovah feels about things such as lying, or tattoos (1 Lomgs 18:28), flirting, or anything that may appear harmless.

Years ago, I became friends with this young sister, who was 20. One day, we were preaching together in a group, and she elbowed me in the ribs, and, looking around to see if anyone was looking, pulled up her jacket sleeve. On her wrist was a henna tattoo. She had gone to a fair and had it done. Now, henna tattoos are not permanent, they wash off eventually. But, still, was it okay? Taking a step in that direction only makes you take one step closer, and then you have a real tattoo somewhere on your body. If you serve God, how does He feel about that?

This sister ended up leaving the truth, because she did not take the time to ponder things over from God's viewpoint, so when situations arose, she did not handle them properly.

We must remember that "narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life". (Matt. 7:14) A slight misstep will take us off this path, and the end result will not be good. 

thining that "well, everyone else is doing it, so it's okay" is dangerous thinking. Even something really small and simple like using an app. The developers have instructions for using it. Say it's a app where you offer things for sale to others. The app tells you not to cross-post into more than two categories, but people in general ignore that and put it in as many categories as they want to be seen and make a sale.

That seems harmless enough, but if we develop thinking that it's okay, and just continue, eventually, we will end up doing something more serious, just because everyone does it, so it must be all right. We can't do that with Jehovah. It doesn't work, so we need to really meditate and consider our spiritual steps and make decisions before we take that step. Humbly remembering that  it says in Jeremiah 10:23 that "it does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step".

Keep pondering and be safe!