since it can be understood that spending 50 hours a month in preaching and meeting atttendance does not constitute acceptance with god what are the "works" talked about in the scripture where it says "faith without works is dead."?
the wt always identifies them as meeting attendance, service and etc.
The works are the result of faith.... the evidence that faith exists. It is not a specific set of required activities. Faith in Christ changes the person from within...producing the "fruitage of the spirit"... the result of the Holy Spirt residing in the believer. Works are the natural outcome...not because one is required to...but because one wants to.
Jesus said "I will write my law upon your heart"....so obedience comes from within, out of one's relationship with God, as opposed to being enforced or measured by others.
but ive got a huge decision to make wont go thru it all again its on my last thread, and i have decided that i am stopping going to the meetings completly (ive been dfed 7 months and because i didnt want to hurt my family even more i continued going to all the meetings and hid my boyfriend, wno was wonderful about it, put a letter of reinstatement in which they refused but relised by the way i paniked when i thought they might reinstate me that it is not what i want!).
i love my bf and want to be with him without any secrecy but i also want my family to accept him and still speak to me but i know that will not happen, so i have two choices either get reinstated and then leave (and risk losing mybf) or tell them now i dont want it and stop the meetings altogether before i go insane.. thing is to be free of the meetings and be with my bf, i will lose my family they are all so strong in the 'truth' they will not have any contact with me and my husband is divorcing me so ill lose finacially and my house and have to share time with my daughter, not to mention all my old friends who are wanting me back, and if i stop now all those months of trying to be reinstated will be wasted id be set right back,.
well there was a show on tv last night--and i am a real tlc fan.. anyhow, you know the routine, 16 year old kid comes in, massive trauma, jw mom does not consent to blood.
as precious time is ticking away the dr. decides to try to get a court order.. bottom line, she is successful and saves the kid.
she goes into the hallway to apologize to the jw mom, who tells her something along the lines of "thank you so much for saving my son.
I don't own many skirts/dresses. In think the last time I wore a dress was for apostinator's wedding. For work mostly slacks & blazer or a suit...have to look very professional... slacks/jeans on my own time. I love color, so drab will not do.
It's a speach pattern that is everywhere from commercials to sitcoms. The tone sounds beligerant and bored at the same time.... The intonation is flat...especially the last sylables of each sentence... drives me nuts!
I shunned a couple who left the organization for "apostacy". I felt terrible about it. Years later, when I left myself, they were the first ones to help me. Wonderful people.
I didn't shun my best friend and her husband when they drifted away. She is still my best friend today.
It's all about the image that the watchtower sales organization is trying to create. Many companies have dress codes that will ensure that their sales people are representing the company in a professional manner. Dress is just one aspect of that. For example, Disney doesn't allow facial hair for men or large jewelry for women among other rules.
It's not scriptural.... Men wore facial hair in Biblical times.
My grandmother....who came into the organization about 1910. My grandfather didn't claim to be. My grandmother definitely wore the pants in the family. She was a good person, but not particularly spiritual looking back... very strong personality.... She went in service, but never joined the ministry school...
ok there are so many americans on the map now i had to split you all in half.. valis was kind enough to let me place the maps on his website until i found a new home for them.. photobucket seems to be a good option - at least for now.
so i have uploaded the new maps which have been updated to include everyone who has asked.. so if you were wondering where we are from.
or how close you are to other jwd posters in your area just take a look.
