Tuesday, March 10 Keep holding to the standard of wholesome words.​—2 Tim. 1:13.

[Tish Hues]

Tuesday, March 10

Keep holding to the standard of wholesome words.—2 Tim. 1:13.

 

What could happen if we deviated from “the standard of wholesome words”? Consider an example. In the first century, a rumor was apparently circulating among some Christians that the day of Jehovah had arrived. There may have been a letter—supposedly written by the apostle Paul—that made such an assertion. Without taking the time to check the facts, some Christians in Thessalonica believed the rumor and were even spreading it. They would not have been fooled had they remembered the things Paul had taught them when he was still with them. (2 Thess. 2:1-5) Paul counseled his brothers not to believe everything they heard. And to help them in the future, Paul concluded his second letter to the Thessalonians with the words: “Here is my greeting, Paul’s, in my own hand, which is a sign in every letter; this is the way I write.”—2 Thess. 3:17. w24.07 12 ¶13-14

[Watching and Waiting]

12 minutes ago, Tish Hues said:

Paul counseled his brothers not to believe everything they heard.

 

Very apropos counsel for us now, now at the end times.  Case in point: my daughter just returned from a cruise to Mexico, which was planned far in advance of the recent unrest, giving her family pause as to whether to go.  They ended up going and visited a dear sister in one of the port shopping areas that we met in the past. When asked how they were faring there in Mazatlán, she said there had been no problems in that area and that they were freely moving about in the city. Her main advice was to carefully weigh the info received through the media, as it resembles nothing like they are experiencing. Others in that area said much the same, warning that there is so much fake reporting for sensationalism and AI generated news, that you cannot rely on it for facts.   Of course that is an area of Mexico where tourism is big, but we trust what our sister had to say.  It may be very different in other parts of Mexico, but Paul's words still apply nonetheless.   How thankful we can be that we can trust the instrument that Jehovah and his Son are using to give us what we need.  And we can tell by our Bible-trained conscience when something doesn't sound right—if it is not as Paul put it—"in my own hand, which is a sign in every letter I write."