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| Written by BibleStudent on August 31, 2010, 03:09:23 PM |
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Ac 2:1-4 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
That must have been an amazing experience to see, feel, and experience with such clarity being filled with the Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles in Ac 1:4 and the Holy Spirit was delivered to them in Ac 2:1-4. I do not believe anything could make me believe in Jehovah as God and that Jesus Christ was his son more than experiencing the events in Acts 1-2. It must have been so amazing to have such a clear and direct relationship with Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, I am alive now and was not then, so I must determine how to communicate with Jehovah through Jehovah’s Holy Spirit by believing in Jehovah the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit as in Mt 28:19. But, that still does not answer how to communicate with Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Sure praying allows a person to talk to Jehovah and Jesus Christ, but how does a person listen or receive feedback from Jehovah and Jesus Christ? I believe that I listen to Jehovah and Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit in the area below my rib cage and near the middle of my body (i.e., my gut). When I am at peace in my gut, I believe that I am in harmony with Jehovah’s will. When I feel pain or discomfort in my gut, I believe that I am not in harmony with Jehovah’s will.
How do JW’s receive guidance from Jehovah and Jesus Christ? Is it through the direction of the WBTS GB, the policies and practices of the WBTS, the direction of the elders of their congregation? I have a dear friend who is a JW and believes that Jehovah is guiding my fr [ ... ] |
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| Written by BibleStudent on August 25, 2010, 08:40:54 PM |
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The Watchtower, August 1, 2010: ‘When Will the End Come?
Jehovah God has set an “appointed time” to bring an end to wickedness and to install his Kingdom government. (Mark 13:33) But the Bible clearly indicates that we cannot calculate the specific date for the end. Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) Jesus and his disciples did, however, foretell what conditions on earth would be like just before God brings the end. The end is imminent when all the following events are happening at the same time and on a global scale.’
I will not normally quote the Watchtower in this blog, but I thought it was interesting that the WBTS may be trying more subtle tactics to spread its message. If JW’s study the Bible and now they are quoting Mt 24:36, how come the WBTS and its predecessor societies predicted the end of Satan’s system in 1914, 1925, and 1975? Is the WBTS trying to rewrite or obscure history? The articles in the August 2010 Watchtower were a mixture of uplifting articles showing how people had been saved by JW’s. I would be more impressed with the Watchtower if it examined the practices of the WBTS and GB by reprinting some of its earlier articles such as those that predicted the end of Satan’s system and therefore admit to past mistakes so that the WBTS can move on and Really serve Jehovah. After at least three strikes, when will the WBTS repent for what it Really was, is, or wants to be?
I received the August 1, 2010 Watchtower from a very dear and faithful JW friend, who wants to convert me to become a member of the WBTS. Part of me would love to be converted if it would satisfy my friend’s requirement that I love Jehovah (i.e., love and submit to the WBTS and GB) so that my friend and I could date each other and hopefully marry each other. I pray that Jehovah’s Holy Spirit will remain strong inside of me and that I will find [ ... ] |
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| Written by BibleStudent on August 15, 2010, 03:22:44 PM |
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Mt 3:7-10 (NIV) But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in to the fire.”
People can change and organizations are composed of people who can change. I have read many posts by people, who feel they were hurt or betrayed by the WBTS and want the WBTS destroyed. But, would that change how JW’s behave!? The JW’s who have made the WBTS the organization that it is today are either dead, or they would just migrate to or form another organization like the WBTS. Changing the doctrines, dogma, and practices of the WBTS might be the best way to change how current JW’s behave. Please post your ideas about what changes you feel that the WBTS needs to make. I would like to know how other people would change WBTS beliefs, policies, dogma, and practices before I post my thoughts.
NOTE: To those who would like to post their comments, please keep them respectful to others and when possible share a scripture that relates to the initial post.
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| Written by BibleStudent on August 08, 2010, 03:32:46 AM |
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Job 15:7-13 (NIV) “Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know? The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father. Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you? Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
The most insidious consequence of belonging to an organization that attempts to control a person’s mind, spirit, and emotions and then rebelling from that organization is that individuals question, “How could Jehovah let this happen to me?” Then, individuals may question whether Jehovah exists and whether the Bible is Jehovah’s word. Instead of feeling like a victim, behave like an empowered Christian by forgiving! From personal experience I believe that Jehovah does exist and that the Bible reveals Jehovah’s will to each of us. According to Paul in 2Ti 3:16 (NIV) “All Scripture is God-breathed . . . “, but individual’s are still required to interpret Jehovah’s intentions using Jehovah’s Holy Spirit, which is inside of them. As a step to becoming a more empowered Christian, please post comments to this blog of your personal revelations about being a member of or rebelling from an oppressive religion. Does anyone have an experience that is worst than the story of how Job suffered?
NOTE: To those who would like to post their comments, please keep them respectful to others and if possible share a scripture that relates to the initial post.
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| Written by BibleStudent on August 03, 2010, 09:17:34 PM |
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Mt 23:1-14 (NIV) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi’.
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father’, for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher’, for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
Does anyone else see parallels about how the Pharisees behaved while Christ was on earth and how religious leaders behave today? Please write comments in this blog about what you have personally witnessed elders or discrete slaves do that you feel that Jehovah would not like. I have read articles that the WBTS writes that condemns other religions, but I feel that the WBTS does not see their own failings and will not allow JW’s to disagree with practices that are approved by the Discrete Slave Class.
NOTE: To those who would like to post their comments, please keep them respectful to others and if possible share a scripture that relates to the initial post.[ ... ] |
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