Author Archives: SabrinaPattis1914

Salvation How Is It Found?

If you ask a Jehovah’s Witness, how can I be saved, chances are you’ll be met with a puzzled look, rather like a deer caught in the headlights. That’s because Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe in salvation.

According to the Watchtower, a person must:

  1. Study with Jehovah’s Witnesses, usually at least 6 months.
  2. Attend all meetings
  3. Go out door to door with Watchtower magazines
  4. Associate with the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses
  5. Study for baptism
  6. Answer 100+ baptism questions
  7. Get baptized
  8. Continue attending all meetings, conventions and going out door to door until Armageddon
  9. Continue faithful during the 1,000-year reign of Christ
  10. Continue faithful while Satan is let loose “for a little while”

Only then is a Jehovah’s Witness saved. Until then, it’s a perpetual state of probation, always working hard of the organization, never assured of eternal life. How different that is than the promises found in God’s word!!

So, the question is, is salvation found by means of faith, or by means of an organization? What does the bible say?

  1. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, NOT of works, lest anyone should boast. Eph. 2:8, 9 NKJV
  2. So, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,you and your household.” Acts 16:31 NKJV
  3. Salvation is found in no one else,for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
  4. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 NKJV
  5. if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,you will be saved. 10:9
  6. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:30, 31.
  7. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Does the Watchtower Organization teach the same thing? While on the surface they may say these things to the public, what is actually printed is something quite different. Note below, what their organization declare is necessary for salvation:

According to the Watchtower Organization, Feb. 15, 1983, p. 12, there are four requirements for salvation as taught by the Watchtower magazine. Please check out the list.

  1. Jesus Christ identified a first requirement when he said in prayer to his Father: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ includes knowledge of God’s purposes regarding the earth and of Christ’s role as earth’s new King. Will you take in such knowledge by studying the Bible?
  2. Many have found the second requirement more difficult. It is to obey God’s laws, yes, to conform one’s life to the moral requirements set out in the Bible. This includes refraining from a debauched, immoral way of life. 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; 1 Peter 4:3, 4.
  3. A third requirement is that we be associated with God’s channel, his organization. God has always used an organization. For example, only those in the ark in Noah’s day survived the Flood, and only those associated with the Christian congregation in the first century had God’s favor. (Acts 4:12) Similarly, Jehovah is using only one organization today to accomplish his will. To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it.
  4. The fourth requirement is connected with loyalty. God requires that prospective subjects of his Kingdom support his government by loyally advocating his Kingdom rule to others. Jesus Christ explained: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth.” (Matthew 24:14) Will you meet this requirement by telling others about God’s Kingdom?

You may notice the first two qualifications are in accord with God’s word, and such they are. Notice however points 3 and 4. Did you notice that the watchtower points to itself as necessary for salvation? Where do we find this in Scripture? Simple answer is we don’t!  Have you ever come across a scripture saying we must be members of a certain church in order to attain salvation?

Now the watchtower is well aware that to point to any man or organization for salvation is idolatry. Notice the following quotes, made in the same month and same year: 

  1. “We cannot take part in any modern version of idolatry-be it worshipful gestures toward an image or symbol or the imputing of salvation to a person or an organization.   Watchtower Nov. 1, 1990 page 26

2.  “They must appreciate that identifying themselves with Jehovah’s organization is essential to their salvation.” Kingdom Ministry 1990 Nov p.1

 

Here the watchtower has broken its own rule. For the public, the watchtower has what appears to be a very Christian teaching, but the Kingdom Ministry, which is only for those Jehovah’s witnesses who engage in the door-to-door activity, the Watchtower says the organization is necessary for salvation. Didn’t the watchtower just say this was idolatry?  Why then are they leading eight million people straight into idolatry, making them guilty of  breaking God’s law ? This was not a new teaching as can be seen by the following quotes?

  1. Come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation. Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1981 page 21

2. “Where should your faith be placed-in a religious organization or in God?” Wt. Jan               15, 1970 pg. 37

As you can see from their quotes, the watchtower says both we must place our faith in God, and we must belong to the Watchtower Organization, even though the statements contradict each other.  So who will you believe and put faith in? God’s inspired word?? Or the words of an uninspired, imperfect organization?

Take heed therefore, to pay attention to, and obey the word of God. Here is what God’s word says:

  1. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. Psalm 146:3 NIV

2. This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord. Jer. 17:5 NIV

So do not put your trust in man, for they cannot save you, regardless of their claims! Even if they should say, Salvation is by means of following me! There is only one path that leads to salvation, that is by means of Faith in the Son of God, our Messiah, our Redeemer, our Savior. There is no other!

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

 

How I Came to Believe in Hell

COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARYThe year was 1992, before Facebook, before the Ex-Jehovah’s Witness community online, and many years before I got a computer. That was the year I walked away from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And in typical Ex-Jehovah’s Witness fashion, when I left the cult, I continued to believe what they had taught me. I didn’t have a Church, Pastor or Christian friend to help set me on the right path. And so, of course, just like any Jehovah’s Witness, I didn’t believe in hell.

After we leave, due to the indoctrination, unless we get exit counseling and learn about indoctrination, propaganda and mind control, or unless we get help from the Christian community, its more than likely we will continue to believe what we were taught. We don’t realize that virtually everything the Watchtower teaches is out of context. When the bible disagrees with them, they always simply say it’s symbolic.

The Lord was going to completely change my thinking one step at a time. Maybe it’s because I tend to be stubborn, that He often does this by asking a question. I was watching a documentary on television about near death experiences. In the first one, it showed a woman in a rafting accident, turned upside down, trapped under rocks who subsequently drowned. She spoke of seeing her body in the water, and going up to heaven. I thought to myself “I believe that.” Next, a man who lived an ungodly life, and didn’t believe in God, who died and went to hell. He described the dark and the terror and it was frightening to watch. When it was over, I thought to myself, “I don’t believe that.”

A thought, unbidden, and not my own, came to mind, which stopped me in my tracks. “Why do you accept the one and not the other?”  It shook me to my core. The thought of hell possibly being real frightened me, and I didn’t want to think about it.

It was about this same time that I had joined Facebook and the Ex-Jehovah’s Witness community. The year was 2014, 40 years after I first started studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses and things had finally gotten decidedly better. I had already been divinely healed by the Lord of bi-polar in 2013 and had been healed of the multiple personalities some years prior. (More on that later) My theology was a mess, however. And now the Lord was going to use the Christian community online to help straighten me out.

I didn’t trust Christians and told them so. I believed and trusted the Watchtower, and they were wrong I told them. How do I know you don’t have it wrong as well? Why should I trust what you tell me? No one could answer these burning questions.

If you’ve ever joined a Christian discussion/debate group and dared to disagree or question them about hell or the trinity, you’ll know exactly what happened. I didn’t reveal my beliefs, somehow, I knew better, but I did eventually start asking questions.

The question I brought up in discussions was: How do we reconcile the scripture, God is love, with the punishment of hell? The answers surprised me.

  1. “God doesn’t send you to hell, you send yourself thereby rejecting Him.”
  2. “You’re a Christian so you don’t have to worry about that.”
  3. “God made hell for Satan and the demons.”

You see the problem? The answers did not answer my question, they side-stepped it and made light of it. The point is, God made hell, you go there if you don’t believe in God, how do we reconcile a God of love with a burning hell?

The Lord was trying to show me gently, by using other Christians. I didn’t recognize the Lord was using them. When we are stubbornly refusing to listen to the gentle prodding’s of the Holy Spirit, and that soft gentle voice, then the Lord becomes more stern.

The Lord used a Christian Apologist to drive the point home about hell. I was being stubborn, so the Lord used someone more stubborn and more blunt than me to drive the point home.

He asked me two questions, which took my breath away and made me feel like I had been kicked in the gut. Of course, the discussion was hell. The two questions he asked me were, “If there is no such thing as hell, why did Jesus warn us of the perils of hell more than anyone else?” That question stopped me cold. “He did?” I thought to myself, quite shocked.

The second question was even more blunt, “Was Jesus lying?” My world turned upside down. I was stunned. No one had ever asked me those questions before. It was something I wasn’t familiar with. I had to know the truth, so I took out my bible and started reading the verses where Jesus warns about the perils of hell. It was like seeing them for the very first time.

Matt 5:29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 

Matt 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Matt 25:46 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Mark 9:42 – 48 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 

I remembered singing a song at the kingdom hall, some of the lyrics went, ‘those that kill the body but cannot destroy the soul’. Why hadn’t I ever picked up on that? Instead I had brushed it to the back of my mind. The answer to my question about reconciling the love of God with the punishment of hell wasn’t given at that time. My mind was busy reeling from the ramifications of hell is real!! 

Suddenly I realized that when someone rejects the gospel message of, we are saved by faith in Jesus Acts 16:30,31, and not by any other name or organization, Acts 4:12, these people are making themselves subject to the punishment of hell! Here they think they will go to sleep in the ground, wake up in paradise and be given a second chance! But Hebrews says, we die once and after that its judgment. There are no second chances like the Watchtower teaches! Heb. 9:27

Since then, I’ve had discussions with Anthony, who explained to me the perfect justice of God, has to balance with God’s perfect love. If God forgives all sin, and the punishment is the same for all, how is that justice? If a murderer appears in court before the judge and says “I’m sorry” the judge or jury still has to punish the crime. Otherwise, justice has not taken place.

To think that Hitler would get the exact same punishment as my dear relatives who never knew God is just unthinkable! Even we, as imperfect people, demand justice be done. That sense of justice we have comes from God. God is not one to be mocked, whatever a man is sowing, this also shall he reap. Gal. 6:7

Ecc. 3:17 I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”

Heb. 10:30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

Prov. 24:24, 25 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. 25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-justice/

There are no second chances. The bible doesn’t teach we die, get resurrected, get a second chance during the 1,000-year reign of Christ, and if we do not accept God we die again. We only have this life, we can use it to pursue God and have a relationship with Him, in which case we have the hope of eternal life, or we can reject God, in which case God will grant our wish to be separated from Him forever, only it won’t be paradise earth. The choice is yours, my friend.

Pleasing God, and gaining eternal life is so much easier God’s way, than the Watchtower way. What must I do to have eternal life? Believe in the Lord Jesus! (Acts 16:30,31) Does God require you to peddle magazines door to door and count time? No! God does not care about magazines!

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13 

Hard to imagine, that the Christians had it right all along! The teachings of Charles Taze Russell were taken from the Adventists, who also didn’t believe in hell and predicted dates for the Lord’s return. I imagine until the Lord returns cults and false teachings will continue. No wonder the Bible tells us to beware of false prophets! What else did Christians have right and Jehovah’s Witnesses have wrong?? Next stop: The Trinity.

BLOG NO WE BELIEVE IT IS THRU GRACE WE ARE SAVED

Why Can’t I Reach a Jehovah’s Witness?

 

Author: Sally Peterson

Context is the Key

Ever try to present a Bible verse that doesn’t agree with what the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, only to have them deny what the Bible clearly says? Often, Christian’s who have either never spoken to Jehovah’s Witnesses or are not familiar with them are totally stymied by their response. Often, they wonder, “don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Bible?”

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Mighty God vs. Almighty God

BLOG BEST BIBLE AND JESUS

Mighty God versus Almighty God?

Mighty God, little god, angel? The Watchtower actually teaches all three! The Watchtower correctly teaches that Isaiah 9:6 is a prophecy of Jesus and this identifies Him as Mighty God. According to the New World Translation, in John 1:1 Jesus is “a god”, a created god, a lesser god, alongside the Father, therefore they have two gods. And the Watchtower teaches Jesus is Michael the Archangel. When asked what is Jesus, aside from saying He is the Son of God, a Jehovah’s Witness cannot answer, is He Mighty God, little god, or angel? Because the Watchtower actually teaches all three.

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Salvation How Is It Found?

COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY

How is salvation found? By means of faith or by means of an organization? The Watchtower teaches one must be a member of the organization to be saved through Armageddon. Where is this found in Scripture? 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, NOT of works,  lest anyone should boast. Eph. 2:8,9 NKJV

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A Simple Message for Jehovah’s Witnesses

God cannot tell a lie. God’s word is truth. If our religion disagrees with God, our religion is wrong. Simple.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 

He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:30, 31.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

So then the Bible tells us we are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus. Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Jesus tells us if we ask for the Holy Spirit, God will give the Holy Spirit to us.

 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13

Have you asked for the Holy Spirit? If not, why not?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.    Acts 2:38

So then, we need to repent of our sins, accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and ask for the Holy Spirit.

 

How to Share the Gospel Message with a Jehovah’s Witness.

 

First it’s important to know that the “good news” that Jehovah’s Witnesses preach while going door to door, is not the same good news the Bible outlines for us today. To point out the difference, it’s good to ask them what is the good news that you share?

It’s important to give them an opportunity to tell you, then repeat it back for clarification. Get them to repeat it if you can, verifying with them this is the good news that you share correct?

  1. Ask the Jehovah’s Witness what their good news is.
  2. Have them repeat it, to make sure you understood them correctly.
  3. Repeat it back to make sure you understood them correctly.
  4. Ask them if this is the good news they share? (This is important because they will back pedal once you share the real gospel message)

Share 1 Cor. 15:1-4 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

Gal. 1:6-8  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

 The Jehovah’s Witness may try to back pedal saying they share this message too, however you can remind him, you asked him twice what the good news was and even repeated it back, and faith in Jesus was never mentioned.

 Immediately at Pentecost the Apostle’s preached the death and resurrection of Jesus.

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2:22-24

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Acts 2:32, 33

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2: 38

Throughout the New Testament we are told that faith in the Lord Jesus grants us eternal life.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 (Context shows these verses are speaking about our Lord Jesus, so then everyone calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved.)

He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:30, 31

The sad thing is, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe the bible verses in Acts 16:30, 31. To the Jehovah’s Witnesses eternal life is only attained after a life time of “good works” which Watchtower says is “working hard for salvation.”

Actually Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in salvation at all. According to the Watchtower they must prove faithful to live through Armageddon, prove faithful through the thousand year reign of Christ, prove faithful during the time when Satan is let loose “for a little while”, only after proving faithful through all of this are they saved! Is that what the Bible says?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

However Isaiah says that all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags to Him! We cannot “earn” our way to salvation, if we could, what good did Jesus dying for us accomplish? The Bible disagrees with works equals salvation.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isa. 64:6

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2:8, 9

The “good news” that Jehovah’s Witnesses preach, the coming of Armageddon “any day now” and paradise earth, is not the good news the Apostles preached. The Apostle’s preached the death and resurrection of Jesus, and by faith in Him we may have eternal life. Preaching another sort of “good news” puts us under God’s curse according to Galatians 1:6-8. It is not up to us to decide what the good news is, we must follow and obey the Bible’s outline for us.

How Can I Have a More Intimate Relationship With God?

 

LION PROFILE PIC WITH PRAYER

First it’s important to know that God loves us, and wants us to seek Him and have a relationship with Him. It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past or who you are, God loves you. Here are some scriptures that tell us that God loves us.

1.“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

2.“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

3.“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

4.No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

5.But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—Ephesians 2:4-5

6.In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:9-11

7.The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I often get asked “How can I have a closer relationship with God?” I was asked this while one of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well. It’s fairly simple and straight forward.

If you want a relationship with God, tell Him! I remember crying and praying, telling God, “I want that relationship with you like Abraham had, like Isaac had, like Moses had, like King David had! I want that!” That was the first step.

I don’t know why that shocked the Jehovah’s Witnesses I spoke to but it genuinely shocked them. One young lady, a friend of my daughter, followed this advice and received her first answer from God! She called me the next day in tears of joy!

Next, the Bible is God’s inspired Word, this is how He speaks with us today. When we study His word, we are searching for answers. When we receive the Holy Spirit, He bears witness with our spirit and the words seem to come to life, that is, it’s as though we have never read them before. Suddenly the light goes on and we notice something new! So study of God’s word is also a key element.

The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63 NLT

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Tim. 3:16 NLT

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Tim. 3:16 NIV

If we want to get to know God, we must read His word. If we want an answer from God, it is often found by reading His word. He has given the Bible as a letter of love and instruction, how would you feel if you wrote your child a letter of love and concern and he or she never read it?

As Jehovah’s Witnesses we were taught that taking in knowledge equaled eternal life and was equivalent to worship. This is from the faulty interpretation of John 17:3 in the 1984 New World Translation which read:

This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God and the One you sent forth, Jesus Christ.

Jesus words show that this is faulty interpretation when He said, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” John 5:39, 40.

Notice the difference in other translations of John 17:3

And this is the way to have eternal life–to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. NLT

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. NIV

Now, decades later, even the Watchtower Organization has changed this verse to read similarly. (Although for decades we defended the watchtower’s interpretation of this verse!)

This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. NWT

Coming to know someone is not the same as “taking in knowledge” of them. It is not simply learning about someone that helps us to have a relationship with them. It’s speaking to them, building that relationship. For example  you can read a book all about your favorite author, you might learn where he was born, how old he is, whether or not he is married, how many children he has, and what his religious ideals may be. Does this mean you have a relationship with this author? Does this author know you personally by name?

Same principle applies in our quest for a relationship with God. True, we learn about God’s qualities and what He requires of worshiper’s by reading the Bible, but gaining that intimate relationship with Him, really getting to know Him, and having Him know us, is only acquired by speaking to Him, in prayer. So daily prayer is vital!

If you have a husband or wife, or a fiancé, do you remember when you were first getting to know one another? A day would hardly pass without speaking to each other, often for hours on end! This is how we get to know one another and this is how we also get to know God. True, He does not speak to us like other humans do, but we often “hear” from Him through His word.

Something that was never stressed, as Jehovah’s Witnesses was worship. Their idea of worship includes going door to door, attending meetings and study of watchtower literature. Does God care if we peddle magazines door to door?

“For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” 2 Cor. 2:17 ESV

Does God care that we meet together to sing “From house to house and door to door?” Is that praising God? Now they sing about pioneering! In what way is that praising God?

So aside from prayer and reading or studying God’s word what else can we do? Sing songs of praise! Praise the Lord! This is found throughout the Scriptures.

Hear, O you kings; give ear, O you princes; I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. Judges 5:3

Therefore I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises to your name. 2 Samuel 22:50

I will give you thanks in the great congregation: I will praise you among much people. Psalms 35:18

And my tongue shall speak of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. Psalms 35:28

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy: yes, on the harp will I praise you, O God my God. Psalms 43:4

It is a good thing to give thank unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high. Psalms 92:1

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name. Psalms 100:4

I will sing of mercy and judgment: to you, O LORD, will I sing. Psalms 101:1

 

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145

Want to see how often King David said to praise the Lord? Read Psalm 145-150 and just count how many times he says it!

So tell Him you want that intimate relationship, study His word and offer up songs of praise! Make this a habit and you will be well on your way. It takes time, consistency and effort. And lastly, don’t give up! Keep asking, keep seeking, persevere in prayer!

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13

So ask for the Holy Spirit! Tell God you want that intimate relationship with Him! Open the Bible and start reading it! He wrote it for us, it is His love letter and letter of instruction for us today.

Jesus loves you, and will come into your heart if you ask Him.

 

 

How Can I Be Saved?

ASK BELIEVE RECEIVE

We’ve all been abused by the Watchtower. For most of us those scars are hidden on the inside, we are the “walking wounded.” We’ve lost our families, our so-called friends, our reputation, and have been smeared as “mentally diseased apostates” by the Organization. Some of us have suffered more than others, but none of us walk away unscathed.

After such an ordeal it’s normal to become angry and bitter, and to blame God. However God is not the one who deceived us with the false teachings of the cult. So please don’t throw out the baby with the bath water! If you’ve lost all faith, perhaps your faith was founded in the organization rather than in God.

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