Posts by Rooster

28

Wanted to share this sunset with you all, took photos

by needproof in

jw
friends

although i could not get the ball of the sun in the shots, here is an indication of what it was just like for us, very beautiful!

i hope this shows how beautiful it was for us!

6pm local time.

canada

by wormwood in

jw
friends

hello, i'm new here on this forum.

i've been disfellowshiped for 10 years or so.

i can't even remember anymore.

Rooster

I've noticed how disfunctional I am. My views on life, love, and the future are not normal.

Welcome to the dysfunctional club of EXJW's.. Post here for awhile and read other posts, you will get over the teachings you were raised with..

Rooster

8

Baptist Church giving courses about JW's teachings and past history

by JH in

jw
friends

since a few months now, my mom goes to a baptist church here in town, and everybody entering the church yesterday received this slip of paper below.

this is an invitation to anyone who would be interested receiving a "course" about jw's, given by a member of the baptist church.. they will talk about the following topics:.

- where does the jw's religion come from.

Rooster

This is smart on their part.. Good job..

10

Going but will be back

by ex-nj-jw in

jw
friends

good morning everyone,.

i'll be on vacation in sunny florida starting tomorrow for 1 whole week .

this will be my first official vacation in 2 years and yes i deserve it!!!!!.

Rooster

Where in Florida will you be visiting? The weather is great here right now.

3

young ex-JW musician

by Hortensia in

jw
friends

came across a young ex-jw musician.

i think his group is really good: myspace.com/threesband.

i found out about him through a relative of his who is also ex-jw and recently came back into my life..

So, I just told my dad to "Shut the **** up"

by mavie in

jw
friends

then i hung up on him.

it was so frustrating to his self righteous attitude under the banner of love.

yes, i went over the top, but i couldn't take it anymore.

i think i told this story last year on here, but it's worth repeating for a good laugh.. my last memorial i attended was with my daughter, who was about 5. i took her and went to please my parents, of course.

my daughter went to church with me regularly and so i had done the intense 'instructions' enroute about not partaking, etc.

i got more and more tense as we arrived and got out of the car.

Rooster

That is funny.

alt alt

23

Has anyone ever submitted a "Question from Readers"?

by M.J. in

...and had it printed, perhaps?.

just wondering.

what's the process on doing this anyway?

Rooster

***

w521/15pp.63-64QuestionsfromReaders***

•

Howcanonedeterminewhetherheisoftheanointedclass,andhenceshouldpartakeoftheMemorialemblems?—E.B.,California.

After Pentecost in the first century any who had the spirit of God, as evidenced by his having one or more gifts of the spirit, would have no difficulty deciding whether he was of the anointed class, for that was a time set aside exclusively for begetting heavenly heirs. On this firm foundation he would entertain heavenly hopes. Today the circumstances are altered. One may have dedicated himself to doing God’s will, symbolized that dedication, and demonstrated that he has the spirit of God by doing Jehovah’s will, doing it in the love of God and trying to imitate him and his dear Son; but how would he know that his having the spirit of God was assurance that he was going to heaven? The spirit of God is also on the "other sheep", and not just on the anointed remnant. So how can we determine the matter today?

It seems from the Scriptures that God was specially taking out the spiritual class up until 1931, in a general way, and this does have some bearing on the matter. However, it is not conclusive. Since 1931 there are those who have entered the service and who give evidence of being begotten by the spirit and who have their hopes set upon being of the heavenly heirs. So there is evidence of some coming into the heavenly class since 1931; though not on a general scale, but only individuals here and there who are taken in to fill up the places of some who may turn unfaithful.

You would have to examine yourself on this basis: "Have I dedicated my life to God through Jesus Christ to do his will forevermore? Do I have the spirit of God? Is God dealing with me? Yes, I have the evidence that God is dealing with me; he is using me in his service. He is providing for me. He is giving me a place in connection with his organization, and I am realizing many blessings, and am growing in the understanding of his Word. I have all of these indications that I have his spirit, and I am trying to act as a real Christian and follower of Christ Jesus would in displaying the spirit of the Lord in that way." This examination with the above-outlined results would indicate one had the spirit of the Lord, whether of the anointed class or of the "other sheep".

Then, what is the thing that draws the line of demarcation between the two classes and puts you either on the side of the "great crowd" or on the side of the anointed remnant? As you examine yourself you have to determine what your hope is, because God is dealing with you and is cultivating in you some sort of a hope. In Romans chapter 8 Paul discusses how "the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children" called to be joint heirs with Christ in the heavenly kingdom, and adds: "For we were saved in this hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?"—Rom. 8:16, 24, NW.

So, you see that you have to be saved in a certain hope. Now God deals with you and he must by his dealings with you and his revelations of truth to you cultivate in you some hope. If he cultivates in you the hope of going to heaven, that becomes a firm confidence of yours, and you are just swallowed up in that hope, so that you are talking as one who has the hope of going to heaven, you are counting on that, you are thinking that, you offer prayers to God in expression of that hope. You are setting that as your goal. It permeates your whole being. You cannot get it out of your system. It is the hope that engrosses you. Then it must be that God has aroused that hope and caused it to come to life in you, for it is not a natural hope for earthly man to entertain.

If you are one of the Jonadabs or one of the "great crowd" of good-will persons you will not be consumed by this heavenly hope. Some of the Jonadabs are very prominent in the Lord’s work and have an important part in it, but they do not have that hope when you talk to them. Their desires and hopes gravitate to the earthly things. They talk about the beautiful forests, how they would love to be a forester at the present time and have that as their continual surroundings, and they like to mingle with the animals and have dominion over them, and also the birds of the air and fish of the sea and everything that creeps over the face of the earth. That is what they love, and they are looking forward to enjoying those things. Oh, they understand their Bible. They have a very advanced comprehension of the doctrines and truths of the Bible. But when you talk to them, that is the way they express themselves. They have no desire for the heavenly things at all. They do not want to be like an angel, or even see God face to face, beholding him in his supernal glory. That would be wonderful, they admit, more so than any possible earthly blessings; but they just do not have such desires or hopes in them.

So, it seems that after you have inspected the matter of time, the possession of God’s spirit, his dealings with you, then you have to take into consideration, "What are my real, sincere, heartfelt hopes in this matter?" Then you decide your position; no one else can decide for you. Decide whether you have the consuming spiritual aspirations. If so, then follow through with those. That is in your system and you cannot get it out, so act accordingly. Participate in the Memorial emblems. Whereas, if you do not have that hope, if you are divided and uncertain, then it appears that you are of the earthly class, and hence should not partake of the emblems at Memorial time.

7

Hey, y'all wanna see some REAL crazy? I've gotcha covered!

by Schism in

jw
friends

wow.

ok. i told them that the meeting was off.

you seem to be able to quote scriptures quite well.

Rooster

Wow!! Did I say Wow? Wow..

93

Who on the forum would you like to meet face to face?

by avidbiblereader in

jw
friends

if you had your chance who would you want to meet face to face, talk to them, spend some time picking their brain, have a dinner with, get to know better?.

i have many but want to hold off for now!!!.

abr.

Rooster

Mary..