WT COMMENTS YOU WILL NOT HEAR AT THE WT STUDY 1/12/03
12/1/02 WATCHTOWER PAGE 13
ENJOY PERSONAL STUDY OF GODS WORD
Psalm 77:12
Psalm 77 (NLT)
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about them.
Psalm 77 (AMP)
12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.
I invite you to use this website to consider other translations.
http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible
Introduction
Notice that the title is really a command to ENJOY the personal study of Gods Word. I can remember my father saying, "Eat that food and you will like it." Usually I visited the bathroom after dinner to lose everything and not have enjoyed a single bite. Just as one cannot command another to enjoy their literal food, neither can one be commanded to enjoy spiritual food. Throughout this article you will see other commands, imperatives that rather than inspiring enjoyment, inspire fear and distaste. For example,
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we SHOULD BE deeply concerned about our relationship with God.
Then the majority of the human race are tarred with the statement,
[Most people] are totally wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of materialism, consumerism, and mindless pleasure seeking.
What proof does the WTS have? Some survey? What about the man who donated his kidney to a young girl? Can you think of people who do not fit this picture painted by the WTS?
We MUST likewise allow time each day to meditate on Jehovahs activities and dealings.
Meditate means to "focus ones thoughts on, reflect on."
It SHOULD remind us of what the apostle Paul wrote (1 Timothy 4:13-15) Direct relationship between pondering over spiritual matters and making advancement.Translation: not enough brothers are reaching out because they are not "pondering" enough.
Ponder a Bible text dailyHow? By getting the Bible out and reading a text and discussing. No, you dont even need the Bible because the scripture and what you should discuss is already carefully selected for you in the Examining the Scriptures Daily.
Or you could ponder on Gods word by listening to the audiocassettes of the Bible and the Watchtower and Awake magazines. Many housewives (now there is a dying breed) do this while working around the house.Yes, while hubby is off earning the familys daily bread, the little lady is home dusting and listening.
Picture Cassettes and dashboardValuable time can be redeemed by listening to Bible tapes while we travel.
Yes, put aside the cellphone, the coffee cup, the cigarette (woops) and listen to James being read while you drive through rush hour traffic. Perhaps, you will hear some oaths that you can swear at the drivers who cut you off.
RIGHT ATTITUDE BRINGS POSITIVE RESULTSYes, we must have a RIGHT ATTITUDE. How many of you have been told you have a bad attitude? Usually, just after asking a question that cant be answered, such as, why are birthdays wrong but anniversaries are okay?
In our modern era of TV, videos and computers, reading has suffered a serious if not debilitating, setback.How come they just told us to use audiocassettes. How does that develop good reading ability? Since when does using computers not require reading?
That certainly SHOULD NOT be true among Jehovahs Witnesses. Because of limited education, however, some may have difficulty.Now who discourages education? The WTS does at every turn.
That is a big "if" [if you will receive my sayings] because MOST of mankind pays no attention to Gods Word.In my experience in the field ministry, I have found many people who read the Bible daily and can explain its meaning quite well. Whereas, many JWs cant even read the daily text, let alone the Bible reading for the week. The Bible highlights are now an audience participation opportunity. I doubt that anyone will answer except the ones that answer now.
For us to find joy in studying Gods Word, we MUST be willing to receive Jehovahs sayings We SHOULD never allow our daily routine to cause us to become so busy Do we really "pay attention" and listen carefully when Gods Word [really WTS publications] is being expounded at our Christian meetings. Perhaps, the speaker is not the most experienced, but while he is handling the Word of God, he is worthy of our careful attention.Does that count the elders who just breezed into the KH and realized they had a part? What would you rather eat, a tastefully prepared souffl or a bowl of raw egg yolks?
We must whenever possible, be present at Christian meetings. Imagine the disappointment of any who might have missed the meeting in the upper room in Jerusalem at Pentecost 33 CE.Yes, what about the 500 that met with Jesus just before he ascended to heaven. About 120 were at Pentecost, which makes 380 missing. Is the WTS suggesting that the 380 did not receive the holy spirit later or did not have good reasons for not being there? A nice try at shaming people into going to the meetings and feeling like deficient Christians when they do miss.
The Bible, our basic textbook, not the Watchtower , the channel through which new light comes?*** w87 3/1 14 'Upon the Watchtower I Am Standing' ***The "faithful and discreet slave" class, the "watchman," today uses the Watchtower magazine under the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses as its main channel for dispensing spiritual "food at the proper time." Thus every meeting can be a blessing for us if we pay attention and follow along in our Bibles.
Yes, JWs have to be told to follow along in their Bibles. Too many COs are peering out at the audiences at the KH and the assemblies and see no Bible pages flipping. They bring this up again in this same article.
Earnest desire, imply a willingness, requires effort Men have killed for gold, spent a lifetime trying to find it, if lost in a desert what would you prefer, a bar of gold or a glass of waterYes, people have been looking for the water of righteousness and love at the KH but have been handed a golden watchtower.
We sinful humans can find "the very knowledge of God."And without the WTS.
Jehovah freely and generously gives wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to anyone who is willing to search for them.And not through the WTS.
At least we have printed copies of the Bible and do not have to make handwritten copies.I think many JWs would benefit from having to make handwritten copies. The early Christians had few Bibles available to them, yet their spirituality did not suffer.
TO WALK WORTHILY OF JEHOVAHYes, to walk worthily. And who decides our worthiness, Jehovah, Jesus? No the elders.
What SHOULD be the motive behind our personal study? To appear better than others? To display superior knowledge? To become, in effect, walking Bible encyclopedias?Translation: Yes, we are not studying to illustrate how little the elders know about the Bible. We are not to spring hard questions on them, see how they falter or give a wrong answer, and they point out what the WT publications or the "slave" says.
Yes, we SHOULD desire knowledge in order to please God, not to impress men. What counts with Jehovah is not only how much we value knowledge but also how closely we adhere to Gods Word in what we say and do.Translation: We adhere to what Gods says not what the WTS says. And we dont just say it, we actually practice daily in our lives. It is not enough just to make assertions.
AIDS TO UNDERSTANDING Jehovahs teaching is not sterile, academic theology.Obviously, this writer has not sat through the "study" of the Isaiah book at the book study.
First, we have his inspired Word, the Holy Bible, to which we refer constantly.But then why do they say this again?
That is why it is good to follow along at Christian meetings with an open Bible.I rather do it with a closed Bible and use my ESP. Man, who wrote this stuff. Are we children?
But, the account of the Ethiopian eunuch proves
That our private reading of the Bible is not enough. Jehovah, by his spirit, uses the faithful and discreet slave class to help us to understand his Word at the right time.Are we to conclude that Phillip represents the slave class? He was just one individual.
Although the slave class is defined as "faithful and discreet," Jesus did not say that it would be infallible. This group of faithful anointed brothers still consists of imperfect Christians. Even with the best of intentions they can be mistaken, as such men sometimes were in the first century.The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Peter not associating with the Gentile Christians and being corrected publicly by Paul (although Peter had seen the holy spirit come down on Cornelius even before being baptized). Peter had been present when the "slave" decided that circumcision was not required of Gentile Christians. Yet he went his own way in fear of man.
Does it follow that,
Their motive is pure, and Jehovah is using them to supply us with Bible study aids.Peter was only an individual in this case. He was not acting for the "slave" class evidenced by his being corrected by Paul. This was not a group decision that was wrong.
Conclusion
The WTS says you MUST enjoy Bible study. If you are not, then it is your fault. You are not opening up your Bibles and following along. You are letting materialism, consumerism, TV, computers, videos eat up all your time. It doesnt matter if the brothers dont prepare their parts, just slurp down those raw eggs and enjoy it.
Blondie