Monday, September 27 I received much joy and comfort on hearing of your love.​—Philem. 7.

[Áine]

Monday, September 27

I received much joy and comfort on hearing of your love.—Philem. 7.

 

The apostle Paul was humble, so he sought and received encouragement from his friends. He did not worry about being viewed as a weak person if he acknowledged that he had been comforted by others during times of distress. (Col. 4:7-11) When we humbly acknowledge that we need encouragement, our brothers and sisters will gladly give us the support we need. Paul knew that the Scriptures would comfort him. (Rom. 15:4) They would also give him wisdom to face any trial. (2 Tim. 3:15, 16) When imprisoned in Rome for the second time, Paul felt that his death was near. He asked Timothy to come to him quickly and bring “the scrolls.” (2 Tim. 4:6, 7, 9, 13) Why? Because those scrolls were likely portions of the Hebrew Scriptures that Paul could use in his personal Bible study. When we imitate Paul by regularly studying God’s Word, Jehovah will use the Scriptures to soothe us—no matter what trials we face. w20.02 23-24 ¶14-15

[Elnathan]

Paul mentioned the names of several brothers who assisted him in difficult times. He further said, ‘ I received much joy & comfort in hearing your love’. 
* Do we appreciate the help we receive from our brothers or do we feel as if we are entitled to their help? (Sense of entitlement)
Humility & modesty will help us to appreciate them. 

* These qualities will help us to seek help in times of distress. We will never expect our brothers to read our minds. Eg. Paul humbly asked Timothy to bring him the scrolls - he didn’t expect him to know that he needs the scrolls. 

[Vinnie]

 How does one go about asking for comfort and encouragement? It's not something we naturally do. To get a little we need to give a little. The more we give the more we get back. When we ask others how they are , they may see your concern and reciprocate it. In this way we will be like Philemon who could say he received much joy and comfort.

[daydream]

Since I was baptised 47 years, I've never read the entire bible. Only bits and pieces here and there. Even doing the weekly bible reading was a hit and miss kind of routine. More miss and hit. 😳  Ever since I started following the Bible reading a few months ago  along with doing research on the material, I have discovered a new appreciation for the word of God. It is indeed alive and does all these things according to this scripture.

 

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.
https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&pub=nwtsty&srctype=wol&bible=58004012&srcid=share

 

This little of gem I had uncovered in Deu. 29 : 4. The cross reference is in Rom 11: 8. Just as it is written:  “God has given them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, down to this very day.” 

 

Quote

One cannot understand God’s purposes without the gift of spiritual eyesight. On the other hand, Jehovah hides his truth from the eyes of those who are stubborn or rebellious, letting “their eyes become darkened.”  “They have [literal] eyes, but they cannot see [spiritually]. Their senses have becomed  dull

I was much troubled by the article. Apparently I had been wandering in the spiritual wilderness for some 40 years too. 

Now whenever I don't do the preparation for the weekly reading, I feel like something is missing in my life. 

Last month I started a BIble study with an 88 year old widower and it has enabled me to do auxilliary pioneering during the CO visit. Next month I was thinking hard if I should continue to AP for another month. Jehovah has blessed me with another Bible study near my house. 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by happiness IS