THE ALTERNATIVE DAILY TEXT by The Witchtower editor

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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/husbands-continue-loving-your-wives-just-as-the-christ-also-loved-the-congregation/

  Alternative Daily Text for Sunday, March 23, 2014

  “Husbands, continue loving your wives, just as the Christ also loved the congregation.” (Ephesians 5:25)

  The apostle Peter instructed Christian men: “Husbands … live with your wives with understanding since they are weaker than you are. Honor your wives.” (1 Peter 3:7, GWT) “Indeed, God’s Word plainly says that wives should be assigned ‘honor.’” (Awake!, February 8, 1993, page 13) But how should that look like in practice? Should a husband open the door for his wife, adjust her chair, or in any other way behave like a “gentleman?” One might think so, but the famous judge Joseph F. Rutherford stated with regard to the men of his day: “The men have become effeminate, soft and easily influenced, and have lost their real manhood … For instance, when men are sitting at a table and a woman approaches,
  all the men arise and pay her homage … The men remove their hats upon entering an elevator, if a woman is present; and these things are said to be acts of respect and to show that a man is a gentleman. But it is subtle, and the real meaning is much different from that. It is a scheme of Satan to turn men away from God and from his announced rule of the proper position of man and woman … The scheme or habit of paying homage to women is not of God, but from the great enemy of God. It is a veneer of being a proper thing, and therefore it is more subtle than otherwise.” – Vindication, volume I, page 156.

  Thus the obeisance to women that is common in the world is not acceptable to God, but was introduced by Satan, the Devil. So, what kind of “honor” that husbands should show to their wives did the apostle Paul think of? In Ephesians 5:25 he instructed men to ‘love their wives just as the Christ loved the congregation.’ And “Jesus perfectly imitated his beloved heavenly Father.” (Come Be My Follower, page 144) How does Jehovah show his love for his worshippers? Again Paul provides the answer: “The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every … [person] He receives.” (Proverbs 3:11-12, NLV) Since Jehovah wants all his male worshippers to “become imitators of God,” he has wisely made sure that “women are weaker than men.” – Ephesians 5:1; 1 Peter 3:7, NLV.

  According to the Bible, every husband “must love his wife,” and consequently “from time to time he will beat his wife.” (Ephesians 5:33; Awake!, November 22, 1988, page 8) In this context, “remember the words … by one wife beater: ‘If we stop beating, we lose control. And that’s unthinkable.’” (Awake!, November 22, 1988, page 6) The same magazine also explained how to recognize a a good husband: “Does … [he] freely tell others – outside family members, friends, other Christians – that from time to time he will beat his wife, inflict bodily harm on her, because he loves her so much?” – page 8.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/the-righteous-have-enough-to-eat/

  Alternative Daily Text for Friday, March 28, 2014

  “The righteous have enough to eat.” (Proverbs 13:25, GNT)

  “The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization … estimated that 842 million people are undernourished … Malnutrition is a cause of death for more than 3.1 million children under 5 every year.” (Wikipedia) Who is to blame for that? Tyrannical rulers who exploit their population? The western industrial nations? The climate change?

  No. According to the Bible, this is not the case, since “the Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger.” (Proverbs 10:3, NASB) “Those seeking Jehovah will lack nothing.” (Psalm 34:10) The Bible’s conclusion is clear: When someone starves, it’s his own fault, because only “the stomach of the wicked is empty.” (Proverbs 13:25, HCSB) Accordingly, true Christians do not share in efforts to alleviate world hunger.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/you-must-not-mention-the-names-of-other-gods-they-should-not-be-heard-on-your-lips/

  Alternative Daily Text for Sunday, March 30, 2014

  “You must not mention the names of other gods; they should not be heard on your lips.” (Exodus 23:13)

  The Bible’s command is clear: Worshippers of Jehovah “must not mention the names of other gods,” yes, “not even speak their names.” (NLT) Evidently, Christians must avoid all writings in which the names of false gods are mentioned. To which writings does this apply?

  “Molech, Ashtoreth, Baal, Dagon, Merodach, Zeus, Hermes, and Artemis are some of the gods and goddesses mentioned by name in the Bible.” (Awake!, February 2006, page 28) Elsewhere it mentions Chemosh and Tammuz (Judges 11:24, Ezekiel 8:14) And, in a subtle way, the Bible requests its readers to ‘read it aloud,’ so that they must speak the names of these false gods in any case. (Revelation 1:3) So it is totally out of the question that worshippers of Jehovah must give the Bible a wide berth.

  What about the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses which are read by millions of people worldwide? These do not only mention all of the false gods named in the Bible, but, in addition, also Marduk, Anu, Enlil, Ea, Sin, Shamash, Ishtar, Nergal, Nebo, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Geb, Nut, Anath, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Ahura Mazda, Yamm, Mot, Apollo, Cronus, Uranus, Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mithras, Cybele and many more. (Insight on the Scriptures, volume I, pages 974 – 979) Therefore, let us avoid the Watchtower publications like the plague, since anyone ‘mentioning the names of other gods’ is “something detestable to Jehovah.” – Deuteronomy 7:25.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/costly-in-the-eyes-of-jehovah-is-the-death-of-his-loyal-ones/

  Alternative Daily Text for Friday, April 4, 2014

  “Costly in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his loyal ones.” (Psalm 116:15)

  Granted, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe “that God will destroy the wicked.” (The Watchtower, November 1, 2008, page 8) Like David in former times, they pray to Jehovah: “O God, if only you would slay the wicked!” (Psalm 139:19) But in actual fact, only “what he pleases or delights in will be done” – and Jehovah stated clearly: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” (Man’s Salvation Out of World Distress at Hand!, page 117; Ezekiel 33:11) Jehovah showed this attitude even at the very beginning of human history, when Cain slaughtered his brother Abel and so became the first “wicked” in history. God was afraid that someone would kill Cain, and “so Jehovah set up a sign for Cain in order that no one finding him would strike him.” (Genesis 4:15) The Bible proves that “the wicked live on” according to Jehovah’s purpose. – Job 21:7.

  Whose death does please Jehovah, then? The first person ever killed was Abel, of whom we know “that he was righteous.” (Hebrews 11:4) Later Jehovah instructed Abraham to offer up his son Isaac – who was counted among the “great cloud of witnesses” – “as a burnt offering.” (Hebrews 11:20; 12:1; Genesis 22:2) The righteous “were stoned … they were sawn in two … they were slaughtered.” (Hebrews 11:37) Jesus was the most righteous man who ever lived, and, without doubt, his death was pleasing to Jehovah. (God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, page 69) “There exists the righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there exists the wicked one continuing long in his badness,” for “costly in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his loyal ones.” – Ecclesiastes 7:15, NWT 1984; Psalm 116:15.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/make-the-heart-of-this-people-unreceptive-that-they-may-not-actually-turn-back/

  Alternative Daily Text for Saturday, April 5, 2014

  “Make the heart of this people unreceptive … that they may not actually turn back.” (Isaiah 6:10, NWT 1984)

  Jehovah’s Witnesses “are eager to see as many people as possible saved from the impending ‘great tribulation.’” (The Watchtower, February 1, 1987, page 11) But is this God’s will? Not necessarily, since “the sanctification of Jehovah’s name is far more important than human salvation” and “our being freed from bondage to sin and death and gaining life.” – The Watchtower, October 15, 2008, page 15; January 15, 2007, page 10.

  ”The book of Ezekiel emphasizes … that the sanctification of Jehovah’s name is more important than anything else” – maybe Jehovah would love to save all people, but “as the prophecy shows, he will sanctify his name by destroying all.” (“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”, page 137) “Jehovah’s indignation is against all the nations, and his wrath is against all their army. He will devote them to destruction; he will give them to the slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their carcasses will ascend.” – Isaiah 34:2, 3.

  As in the past, where Jehovah regularly “struck down” thousands among his own people “with a great slaughter,” so it will be in the future. (1 Samuel 6:19) Thus “the worldwide preaching work of Jehovah’s Witnesses” is opposed to God’s purpose, for how should the prophecy be fulfilled that “those slain by Jehovah in that day will be from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth” if too many people would leave the false religion and join Jehovah’s people? – The Watchtower, July 15, 1990, page 18; Jeremiah 25:33.

  The “abundance of grain on the earth” promised by Jehovah is only possible if “those slain by Jehovah … will become like manure on the surface of the ground.” (Psalm 72:16; Jeremiah 25:33) But unfortunately, the “truth is not presented in a complex, difficult-to-comprehend manner in the Bible.” (The Watchtower, October 15, 1996, page 5) If too many people would get to know the truth, Jehovah would be unable to destroy them. Not only would there be a lack of manure, but also his name would not be sanctified, which “would cause Satan to rejoice.” (Keep Yourself in God’s Love, page 129) Isaiah knew that, therefor he asked Jehovah to act in the same manner as he did with the Egyptian Pharaoh: “Make the heart of this people unreceptive, make their ears unresponsive, and paste their eyes together, so that they may not see with their eyes and hear with their ears, so that their heart may not understand and they may not turn back.” (Exodus 7:3; Isaiah 6:10) This strategy worked out; today “most people reject the good news,” and Jehovah “will crush them to clear the way for a much-needed change.” (The Watchtower, August 15, 2005, page 21; Awake!, October 8, 1969, page 11) “O the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are!” – Romans 11:33.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/there-is-death-in-the-pot-o-man-of-the-true-god/

  Alternative Daily Text for Tuesday, April 8, 2014

  “There is death in the pot, o man of the true God.” (2 Kings 4:40)

  “Jesus said that upon his return he would find a ‘faithful and discreet slave’ providing spiritual food,” and as is known, “the Governing Body members [of Jehovah’s Witnesses] … today make up the faithful and discreet slave.” (The Watchtower, June 1, 1984, page 12; July 15, 2013, page 23) This “faithful and discreet slave [was] pictured by Elisha,” thus they are sometimes called “the Elisha class, the ‘faithful and discreet slave,’” for their work is equivalent to that of Elisha. – Watchtower Publications Index 1930-1985, “Elisha Work”; “Let Your Name Be Sanctified”, page 351.

  Thus, it is reasonable to believe that the “Elisha class” provides the same kind of food as Elisha did. The Bible reports that in Elisha’s day “there was famine in the land,” and “today [there] is the deplorable spiritual famine.” (2 Kings 4:38; The Watchtower, May 1, 1987, page 10) Back then, Elisha made “his attendant … boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” (2 Kings 4:38) What kind of food did he provide? “As soon as they ate from the stew, they cried out: ‘There is death in the pot, o man of the true God.’ And they could not eat it.” – 2 Kings 4:40.

  The same kind of food is “provided through ‘the faithful and discreet slave’” in our day. (The Watchtower, July 15, 1992, page 30) David prophetically described how someone would feel when attending a Jehovah’s Witness meeting in hope for edification: “I was hoping for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. But for [spiritual] food they gave me poison.” – Psalm 69:20, 21.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/a-mouth-they-have-but-they-cannot-speak-they-make-no-sound-with-their-throat/

  Alternative Daily Text for Wednesday, April 9, 2014

  “A mouth they have, but they cannot speak … they make no sound with their throat.” (Psalm 115:5, 7)

  The psalmist vividly described the nature of false gods: They have a mouth, eyes, ears, a nose, hands, and feet, but they cannot speak, see, hear, smell, feel, or walk. But what about Jehovah? “Claiming that God has a literal mouth, nose, and ears creates serious problems” and is definitely wrong; “God is not a man.” – The Watchtower, March 15, 1985, page 6; Numbers 23:19, NWT 1984.

  What is the difference between these false gods and the true God? The false gods have a mouth, eyes, ears, a nose, hands, and feet – the true God does not have such. But all gods, whether true or false, “cannot speak … cannot walk … [and] make no sound with their throat.” (Psalm 115:5-7) “Would you conclude that it is not worthwhile to go on serving Jehovah?” (The Watchtower, August 15, 2004, page 13) Yes, this is undoubtedly the case. Hence we should follow King Joram’s example who wondered: “Why should I wait any longer for Jehovah?” – 2 Kings 6:33.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/i-will-completely-wipe-out-the-memory-of-amalek-from-under-the-heavens/

  Alternative Daily Text for Friday, April 11, 2014

  “I will completely wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.” (Exodus 17:14)

  Jehovah promised that “all memory of Amalek is to be completely uprooted from the earth.” (Exodus 17:14, BBE) Was he able to keep his promise? The facts speak for themselves. The “memory of Amalek” is alive in the Bible where “Amalek” and “the Amalekites” are mentioned 57 times. And the Bible is not just any book; it is “the most widely translated and circulated book in the world.” (The Watchtower, April 1, 2002, page 29) Even back in 1959 there had been “over 2,000,000,000 copies of the entire Bible or major sections thereof … distributed in some 1,810 languages;” today there are even more copies in 2,557 languages. – “Look! I Am Making All Things New”, page 5; Scripture Language Report 2012.

  “Nearly everyone on earth today has access to the entire Bible or portions of it,” and with it to “the memory of Amalek.” (The Watchtower, September 15, 2001, page 5) The Amalekites are even mentioned in Children’s books. (My Book of Bible Stories, Study Questions for story 56) True, God had promised to “completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth.” (Exodus 17:14, GWT) But the millions of Google results for “Amalek” prove otherwise.

  Thus the prophecy about Amalek is one of the many promises that God made but did not keep. Abraham’s offspring should own the land of Israel “until time indefinite,” David’s throne should “be firmly established forever,” the lion should “eat straw” – but so far, all worshippers of Jehovah have “died, although they did not receive the fulfillment of the promises.” (Genesis 13:15, NWT 1984; 2 Samuel 7:16; Isaiah 11:7; Hebrews 11:13) God’s promises can at best “be compared with the promises of politicians, who say that they will do one thing and finish up in doing something else.” (The Watchtower, February 1, 1979, page 6) What do we learn from this? “Bible prophecies that have … [not] been fulfilled give us the confidence that all other promises made by Jehovah God will also [not] come true.” – The Watchtower, November 1, 2004, page 32.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/happy-is-the-man-who-fears-jehovah-wealth-and-riches-are-in-his-house/

  Alternative Daily Text for Saturday, April 12, 2014

  “Happy is the man who fears Jehovah … Wealth and riches are in his house.” (Psalm 112:1, 3)

  The Bible makes it clear that true worshippers of God can be recognized by their wealth. Moses advised the Israelites to “remember that it is Jehovah your God who gives power to you to make wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18) Faithful Hannah also knew: “Jehovah … enriches.” (1 Samuel 2:7) “The wisest man of antiquity, King Solomon,” also pointed out: “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth.” – Awake!, February 22, 1984, page 9; Proverbs 10:22, NIV.

  Hence it is easy to determine whether someone is a true Christian or not. Whoever possesses “wealth and riches … in his house” is surely someone “who fears Jehovah” and has his “blessing.” If someone is poor, however, this proves beyond doubt that he is “taking up worthless pursuits” and does not stand “on Jehovah’s side.” – Proverbs 28:19; Exodus 32:26.
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  http://dailytext2.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/after-jesus-had-been-born-in-bethlehem-of-judea-in-the-days-of-herod-the-king-look-astrologers-from-the-east-came-to-jerusalem/

  Alternative Daily Text for Sunday, April 13, 2014

  “After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, look! astrologers from the East came to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1)

  Some years ago, the faithful and discreet slave advised Christians: “Ask yourself, ‘Would I invite practicers of … spiritism … into my house?’” (Awake!, March 22, 2003, page 12) The three men who visited Joseph and Mary were “astrologers” or “magi” (Footnote), hence for sure they were ‘practicers of spiritism.’ If they had been Jehovah’s Witnesses, they would not have been allowed to let these demonic men into their house. As Jews it would have been their obligation to follow these instructions: “A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard, must be put to death. The people must kill them with stones. They must be killed.” – Leviticus 20:27, ETR.

  But instead of stoning, or at least rejecting, the astrologers, Joseph and Mary let them into their house. (Matthew 2:11) They even accepted gifts from the astrologers, though worshippers of God must under any circumstances reject or destroy “gifts received from practicers of spiritism.” (Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, page 115) To “associate … with those known to dabble in the occult and to accept gifts from them” can make one “come under demon influence.” – Is This Life All There Is?, page 87.

  Why did Joseph and Mary act this way? Did they arbitrarily defy Jehovah’s principles? This was obviously not the case, for God himself blessed the astrologers and protected them on their way home. (Matthew 2:12) The reason for this is: “Jehovah is … perfectly adaptable” and not “locked into some rigid, unadaptable standard of justice.” (The Watchtower, August 1, 1994, pages 10, 11) His ordinary “standard of justice” proposes death penalty for astrologers and spiritists. (Leviticus 20:6) But if such persons contribute generously to “advance the interests of God’s Kingdom,” Jehovah can be “quick to alter course or adapt to new situations.” (2007 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 3; The Watchtower, August 1, 1994, page 17) In a similar way, Jehovah’s Witnesses are very considerate of persons who have stumbled or have loose moral standards, but support the congregation with generous donations. This way they imitate the first Christians who also favored wealthy visitors. – James 2:2, 3.