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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: I Wonder... I wonder… Jeremiah 10:23; I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step. I wonder how many people in the 4um believe in God? Or, should I write that the way some of you do; G-d? Or, just say, Lord or whatever other term comes to mind? Just so you do not have to openly acknowledge Him, I suspect. But I do wonder, because I am going to tell you a little story in just a moment. But first, let’s check. How many of you believe that God actually exists? Ummmm, quite a few hands, which only makes sense. The national average, as I recall, of people who say they actually believe that God exists is in excess of 90%. Some polls suggest as many as 95%, but, that number is probably dropping. That is interesting. You can believe in God, but you will not listen to Him. Why is that? And yes, some of you will say that you do listen to Him! Prove it. How has your life changed over the last 5-10-20 years because of what you have learned about how God wants you to live, according to His Word. I can give you chapter and verse as to how my life has changed, to come closer and closer into harmony with His Word….. and if you can not do the same, then you are not listening to Him. Unless, of course, you are perfect as you are. Could be. Who knows; well, He does, actually. Matthew 25-33:”When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit down on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Matthew 25:41-46; “Then he (Jesus Christ) will say, in turn, to those on his left, ‘Be on your way from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. 42 For I became hungry, but you gave me nothing to eat, and I became got thirsty, but you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger, but you did not receive me hospitably; naked, but you did not clothe me; sick, but you did not look after me. 44 Then they also will answer with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them with the words, ‘Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to me. 46 And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life. Do you understand? What Jesus Christ is talking about is giving Scripture to those who hunger and thirst for it. To those who are sick and locked up in sin, and who need to be saved. To those who are a stranger, but you demonstrate your love for your fellow man by ministering to the stranger’s needs. But the meaning is veiled to those who do not believe, and who do not understand nor are willing to study that they may grow in knowledge, of Him. 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9; in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. 9 These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength. I wonder about other things as well. Do any of you believe that the above Scriptures are true? Or, are they just a fable for children. Are you a child? Ephesians 4:13, 14; … until we all attain to the oneness in the faith and in the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ; 14 in order that we should no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves and carried hither and thither by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in contriving error. Why is it that you will listen to men – but you will not ask God for guidance and knowledge? Jeremiah 17:5; This is what Jehovah has said: “Cursed is the able-bodied man who puts his trust in earthling man and actually makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from Jehovah himself. Do you understand this?: and actually makes flesh his arm It means, when you grant power to another man, such as when you participate in elections, and declare that you are for so-and-so, and you put your faith in that man-party-nation, to the exclusion of Jehovah. Oh, and by the way, that is His Holy Name; Jehovah. Psalms 9:10; And those knowing your name will trust in you, For you will certainly not leave those looking for you, O Jehovah. Amazing. If you read this verse correctly, it tells you that those who do not know His Name will not trust in Him. From all of my observations of man, this is the Truth. Jehovah – The personal name of the only true God. His own self-designation. Jehovah is the Creator and, rightfully, the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. “Jehovah” is translated from the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, which means “He Causes to Become.” Those 4 Hebrew letters are represented in many languages by the letters JHVH or YHWH. Is His Name important? John 17:26; (Jesus prayed to his Father) “I have made your name known to them and will make it known, it order that the love which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them.” Jesus certainly thought so. So did the men who took His Name out of the Bible, or, they would not have removed it, (For reference, see Ephesians 4:13, 14 quoted above.) and when I say that they removed the name of Jehovah from the Bible, they removed His Name more than 7,000 times where it is repeated in the original Scriptures. Say that slowly; they removed His Holy Name from the original Scriptures when they translated them MORE THAN 7,000 TIMES. Is that important, and, is His Name important? Proverbs 30:6; Add nothing to his words, that he may not reprove you, and that you may not have to be proved a liar. Changing His Name to lord is adding to God’s Word, and proves that those who did the translations were more interested in the traditions of man than in the Law of God. In a moment, I am going to tell you why that Name is important and very important RIGHT NOW, but first, I want to tell you that story I mentioned at the beginning of this piece. I have a friend, a good friend, by the name of Robert, or Rob for short. This good friend is helping me to understand the Bible. We study together once a week, plus we talk 4 or more other times during the week. He is well blessed with understanding, and is kind, considerate, patient, and meek (if you do not understand meek, please ask). His entire family is that way, including his wife, both daughters and his son. Wonderful people. But even to good people, problems come. Saturday night, November 29, 2008, Rob and his family were sitting at the kitchen table in their home, talking and generally winding down from the week. Eating some cheese and crackers and drinking some wine (his youngest child is 22! Give him a break!). Unknown to anyone, in a block room at the back of the house used for the water pump and the hot water tank, the pilot in the hot water tank at gone out some time during the day, and the propane gas had been accumulating in the room. For those of you who do not understand, propane is very, very dangerous. One of his daughters went to the bathroom, and when she flushed the toilet, the drop in water pressure started the water pump. The electrical connection within the pump ignited the heavy accumulation of gas in the room, and the resulting explosion blew the back of the room out, busted every window in the house, knocked everyone in the house off of their chairs/feet, and spread fire nearly completely throughout the house, instantly. No one died. No one was even seriously hurt. A true blessing, given the force of the explosion. But the fire spread so fast that nothing was saved either. There had been four people in the house; the married daughter’s husband and Rob’s son were gone at the time, and the four of them were outside watching the house burn with what clothes they had on, and only one had shoes on. I did not hear about the tragedy until the next morning, and, right after I heard, I went to see if I could help in any way. There simply was not much to help with, because until all of the police reports were completed and the insurance adjuster arrived from Hermosillo, nothing could be cleaned out or hauled away. The only thing that could be done was check for salvage, and remove the thoroughly smoke damaged clothes from the house. The vast majority of the clothes were not salvageable, Rob’s extensive library was completely gone, as was all furniture, keepsakes, photos, dishes and pretty much everything else. The fire was very, very hot, and what was not damaged or thoroughly burned was melted or charred. The next three days were very hard for Rob’s family. Of course, they had moved in with a family friend that lived just two blocks away, and we all pitched in to see to it that they had clothes to wear. But then an amazing thing happened, and this is where the rest of the story comes in. Did I mention that Rob, and his family, are Jehovah’s Witnesses? Well, now you know. And this is the secret to what was about to happen. Rob is always ready with a helping hand in whatever needs to be done. But he is not one to ask for help, and his friends in the congregation know that. So no one bothered to ask if he needed or wanted any help. They simply got on the phone to the congregations in Arizona and Colorado (Rob and his family are from Colorado) and told everyone what had happened and what was needed. By Wednesday, there were already offers by more than a 100 men, who were ready, at that instant, to drop everything and come help clean-up and rebuild the house. And the offers were not just for help; whatever funding was needed, it was made abundantly clear that it would be available, and not from some bank!! Today, we are still waiting for the all clear from the police and insurance adjuster. As soon as that happens, there are two truck loads of furniture (WAY more than Rob can use) sitting in Phoenix ready to be delivered. I suspect that there are more than 200 men waiting for the word to start, AND THEY WILL BE THERE, JUST AS I WILL BE (after all, I am a carpenter), and there is already material available just waiting for Rob to tell the parties with the material what is needed. The bottom line is, from the time that the ok is given, Rob and his family will be made as whole as is possible. This includes a request made by a friend of Robs to his old congregation in Colorado for copies of whatever pictures of the family that might exist in the possession of others. And all of this will be done, without a request from Rob, simply because it is the right thing to do, if you love your brother. More than anything else I could tell you, this is what being a Jehovah’s Witness is all about. Love. I put up a post a couple of days ago about Hurricane Katrina and the Jehovah’s Witnesses of New Orleans, and it tells how ALL of the Witnesses that lost homes in that storm have been made whole, by their brothers and sisters in the faith. There were Witnesses from all across America and from other nations that dropped everything and came to help. They did the same thing in Florida after the big storm there some years ago, and, they have done similar things in other nations. It is what they do, and, they do it without thought of being paid for their time. Just as they study the Bible with millions of individuals every week, all around the world, without a thought about being paid for their time. Now if you can, tell me of someone else – some other group – that does anything similar. I told you that I was going to tell you about why His Holy Name is important, and especially so right now. There is a verse in Scripture; Matthew 24:14; And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. Not surprisingly, there is another Scripture in Matthew that, I believe, bears on today; Matthew 24:37-39; For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. 38 For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and woman being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; 39 and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. You may be interested in knowing that, for the first time in the history of the earth the Good News of the kingdom of God is being preached in all corners of the globe. There are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and congregations, in more than 200 lands, and because of the name, for the first time in history, most of the world also knows the Name of Almighty God; Jehovah. That is remarkable; for the first time EVER, nearly every living man, woman and child on earth knows the Name of God. Jehovah. Some of them may not know what that means, but they know the Name, and, they say it on occasion. For those of you who have made an effort to read the Bible, you may be aware that this is another of the requirements that must be fulfilled before the end of times. Just as every man must have had the opportunity to take in knowledge of Jehovah, and of His Son, Jesus Christ. John 17:3; This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. That Scripture pretty much spells it all out. Those who do not do the work necessary to understand and accept Jesus Christ and His Father, will not have everlasting life. And this is why the Witnesses go door to door; not to convert, to give everyone the chance to gain the knowledge necessary. Why door to door? Because it is Biblical. First off; Matthew 28:18,19; And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: "All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth. Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things." Then, Jesus instructing His disciples; Matthew 19:11, 12, 14; “Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving, and stay there until you leave. 12 When you are entering into the house, greet the household; … 14 Whenever anyone does not take you in or listen to your words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off your feet. For those who are interested, all of Matthew 19 is very instructive. Especially this; Matthew 19:21; Jesus said to him: “If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.” We are told elsewhere in the Bible that the Apostles did preach from house to house. Acts 5:42; And every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus. And you can claim that this is a bad translation, but Rob checked 8 different translations of the Bible, and the wording is nearly identical in all of them. And then, the apostle Paul speaking, we have; Acts 20:20; while I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. So what the Witnesses are doing is hardly new, and can easily be considered, if you understand the Bible, to be a command from Jesus Christ. And the next time you turn one of them away from your door without offering refreshment and listening to them, you might want to think about this; Matthew 25:40; And in reply the king will say to them, “Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. I am now going to repeat something bluntly; the purpose of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not to convert you. They gain nothing from doing so. There is no organization behind them that needs your political or financial support. They come to your door only to reason with you as pertains to Scripture, and, they will gladly use your Bible to do so. They ask for nothing, all of their time is free, just as their books and Bibles are free. And believe this, they understand the Bible like no other people I have ever been around. Frankly, I started my Bible study with the idea that I would teach this man a few things. Little did I know how little I knew! After reading the Bible for 20 years! But now, when that man knocked at my gate, I was ready. 2 Corinthians 4:1-4; That is why, since we have this ministry according to the mercy that was shown to us, we do not give up; 2 but we have renounced the underhanded things of which to be ashamed, not walking with cunning, neither adulterating the word of God, but by making the truth manifest recommending ourselves to every human conscience in the sight of God. 3 If, now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through. I knew much about the Bible, but what I did not understand thoroughly was how to use the Bible to witness itself; and the Bible does just that. Once you understand that, and how it works, you can begin to dig out the Truth within the Bible. Without that understanding, nearly everything worthwhile in the Bible is veiled. Here are a few facts about the Jehovah’s Witnesses; FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE; They ask for nothing, except to help you understand His Word, as expressed in the Bible. They will study the Bible with anyone. They do not vote, nor do they support any of the institutions or governments of man. Anyone involved in governments can study the Bible with the Witnesses, but they can not join the congregation or be baptized unless they leave the government. They do not drink to excess, and, they are true to their wives, or, they are expelled from the congregation. They have their own judicial system within each congregation, and it is Biblical in form and function, pertaining only to those within the congregation. They are serious about the Word of God, as is no other people I have seen on this earth. They do not smoke. NONE of them. No member of the military may join with a congregation. They can study the Bible with the Witnesses, but unless they leave the military they can not join or be Baptized. Just think for a moment about what that does to the warlike intentions of governments! 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? 15 Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Be’li-al? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said ”I shall reside among them and walk among (them), and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 “’Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves, says Jehovah, and quit touching the unclean thing.’”, and I will take you in.’ 18 “’And I shall be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah the Almighty. And believe this, they can show you the Biblical basis for everything that they do and for how they live and for what they teach. So, tell me, what is not to like about them? James 4:17; Therefore, if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him. John 12:42, 43; All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess (him)=, in order not to be expelled from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory of men more than even the glory of God.
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#7. To: richard9151 (#0)
~ just like any group, there be good 'n bad in them, I got to meet the kind who don't believe that one of their women should be married to a non-member, they are lots of fun too, quite creative, took em nearly 5 years to convince my young wife to ditch the heathen (moi) ~ but, even 20 years later I still treat em with respect when they knock on the door because I do respect their pioneering and intent to stay and help others ~ last time they came to visit, I gave them a pamphlet filled with stories from the path of a Gnostic, for some reason, they never came back ~
I do not know who you met, but that is directly contrary to what they teach their members. Marriage is not to be broken, except in cases of fornication, i.e., sex outside of the marriage. There is no other basis for divorce, as is stated in the Bible. They specifiaccly teach that a Witness married to a non-Witness is to stay married, because of the Law, and because there is always the chance that the non-Witness can be baptized eventually. That comes directly from their writings. But perhaps there is more to this than you are revealing.
As I understand it, fornication is sex without the benefit of marriage: adultery is sex outside the marriage. Biblically, neither is highly encouraged.
Perhaps. I need to check to be sure, but, in Acts 15:29, where it is explained that because of the burdens of the evil one who is in control of the world, the only thing sexual mentioned is fornication. Adultery is not. I was under the impression that fornication covered pretty much all sexual misconduct, but as I said, I need to check to be sure. Biblically, neither is highly encouraged. LOL! You do have a way of understating things! Thanks. I needed a good laugh today!
Being raised in a Southern Baptist family, and going to church every time, and I do mean EVERY time the doors were open, I checked out all the possible loop-holes in my post-puberty years. That's why I'm eternally thankful for grace, confession, and forgiveness.
#18. To: lodwick (#16)
OH, so you're gonna try the reliance defense ... ON GOD !!!
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