Today's Text: Draw Close To God And He Will Draw Close To You???

by Divergent 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  Divergent

  Wednesday, November 22

  Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.—Jas. 4:8.

  By continuing to ponder over spiritual things, we will maintain our enthusiasm for the truth. Thus we will be a source of refreshment to our brothers and to the interested ones we meet in the field service. Meditating deeply on God’s greatest gift, the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, will help us to cherish the privilege of having a close relationship with our Holy Father, Jehovah. (Rom. 3:24) Mark, a South African who spent three years in prison because of his Christian neutrality, said: “Meditation can be compared to an exciting adventure. The more we meditate on spiritual things, the more we discover new things about our God, Jehovah. At times when I’m feeling a little discouraged or anxious about the future, I pick up the Bible and meditate on a passage of Scripture. I feel that it really calms me down.” w15 10/15 4:15

  Any of you ever felt close to Jehovah? I can honestly say that I definitely haven't, even when I was fully in. How can I be expected to draw close to someone who does not interact with me??? Keep in mind that we are already at a great disadvantage by not being able to see or meet Jehovah, so the VERY LEAST he could do is to find a way to interact with us. Unfortunately, he does not do so but still expects us to draw close to him. Does this even make any sense???

  We are asked to draw close to Jehovah by prayer. The problem is that we live in a scientifically advanced age where communication is instantaneous. For example, when I send a WhatsApp message to another person, I would see 2 blue ticks as proof to indicate that my message has been read. When I pray, however, what proof do I receive that my prayer has been heard by Jehovah??? None at all!!!

  JW's say that we receive proof when Jehovah answers prayers. In all my years as a JW, however, I can't recall a single instance whereby I received irrefutable proof that my prayer was answered by Jehovah. Anything viewed as an "answer" could simply be attributed to coincidence rather than something definite & undeniable which can be clearly attributed to Jehovah's hand in the matter. There was no hard evidence at all!

  Speaking about evidence, with the obvious lack of communication & interaction, there is no evidence at all that Jehovah exists in the first place when such proof is critically needed during our time! We are at a very unfair disadvantage. Think about it according to the biblical story:

  Adam & Eve: Perfect human beings who were able to communicate with Jehovah & thus had proof that he existed

  Us: Imperfect human beings with no such proof at all!

  By being asked to "draw close to God" in the absence of any irrefutable proof that he exists, we are in fact being asked to put the cart before the horse. Logically speaking, Jehovah should first of all convince us beyond all doubt that he exists BEFORE asking us to draw close to him! I do not want to turn this into a debate about whether God exists or not, but based on what we were taught as JW's, IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE for a "loving" God to NOT convince people beyond all doubt that he exists then proceed to destroy them for not believing in him!
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  EverApostate

  Draw close to Dracula and he would draw close to you. I think that would work.
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  Saethydd

  I have an amusing anecdote attached to this particular scripture. Many years ago when I was a little kid this was the year text. Being a little kid I naturally preferred spending time drawing instead of listening to the boring crap being discussed at the meetings, so when my parents tried to take my notepad away so I'd pay attention I asked, "But mom, how am I supposed to draw close to God if I can't draw?"
  
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  steve2

  I tried to draw close to Jehovah, but JW stick figures kept getting in my way.
  
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  stuckinarut2

  Yes!

  Simply "meditating" in self-talk is not communication with the "almighty".

  And the very notion of COMMUNICATION implys a two-way stream.

  If we had a loved one who NEVER responded to us, we would not consider them a friend for very long.

  Or, if we had a loved one who only vaguely responded to us via another group of 7 people in a different part of the world, that would be rude!
  
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  deegee

  How I knew that I was not actually drawing close to God when I engaged in deep prayer and meditation?

  I experienced a form of what has been called "Meditation-Induced Psychosis". There is something in biology which predisposes me to this.

  For some persons, engaging in deep, strong, intense spiritual practices like deep, strong, intense prayer, meditation and fasting can induce psychosis, hallucinations - GOOGLE: "Can meditation be bad for you?"

  Deep, strong, intense meditation acts as a stressor on the brain for some persons causing them psychosis, hallucinations.
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  steve2

  Without delusion, prayer is a funny thing to behold.
  
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  return of parakeet

  Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.
  

  Scripture edited (and improved) by the parakeet: "If God draws close to you, you will draw close to him."

  Why doesn't God take the first step for a change? Is he shy? Why must we do all the work?

  Some relationships just aren't worth the hassle.

  parakeet
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  Divergent

  return of parakeet:

  Scripture edited (and improved) by the parakeet: "If God draws close to you, you will draw close to him."

  Why doesn't God take the first step for a change? Is he shy? Why must we do all the work?

  Some relationships just aren't worth the hassle.

  Exactly! Why does the burden fall on us since we are supposedly lower beings with lesser intelligence & capabilities? Why would a loving God make drawing close to him so unnecessarily difficult & unachievable? Why distance himself to the extent that even his very existence can be questioned & doubted? It doesn't make sense & neither does the JW cult which has no satisfying answers to all these critical & fundamental questions
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  punkofnice

  Thanks for sharing. Now let's annoy people.......

  Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.—Jas. 4:8.

  Is that why you can speak to him telepathically but he never answers? Almost as if he isn’t there. Makes you think, ay.

  Divergy - How can I be expected to draw close to someone who does not interact with me???

  Agreed 100%

  By continuing to ponder over spiritual things, we will maintain our enthusiasm for the truth.

  Spiritual things? What. Like how to donate?

  Thus we will be a source of refreshment to our brothers and to the interested ones we meet in the field service.

  Meet interested ones? Give over. There aren’t any anymore.

  Meditating deeply on God’s greatest gift, the ransom sacrifice of Jesus, will help us to cherish the privilege of having a close relationship with our Holy Father, Jehovah. (Rom. 3:24)

  I have no time for fictional zombie stories.

  Mark,

  You know he doesn’t exist in real life. Right? All made up. I’m surprised it wasn’t Andre again.

  a South African who spent three years in prison because of his Christian neutrality, said: “Meditation can be compared to an exciting adventure.

  No he didn’t. He doesn’t exist. You know, a bit like the so called god this fictional character is supposed to worship. If he thinks prison is an adventure in South Africa then he’s mental.

  The more we meditate on spiritual things, the more we discover new things about our God, Jehovah.

  I discovered he doesn’t exist. Just one big lie to control and manipulate people.

  At times when I’m feeling a little discouraged or anxious about the future, I pick up the Bible and meditate on a passage of Scripture. I feel that it really calms me down.” w15 10/15 4:15

  May I suggest : “This is what the Lord Almighty says... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:3)

  Wow. God is soooooooo loving.