I missed out on knowing god personally. I mean really having him as my best friend. I wasted so much time learning all about Him... but I never knew Him personally. What a big difference. I think that is what makes me the saddest. I was nothing more than a legalistic pharisee.
gold_morning
JoinedPosts by gold_morning
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WHAT DID YOU MISS OUT ON WHEN IN THE BORG
by nightwarrior inwe as a family allways wanted a family pet as in (dog ) but as the ministry loomed every weekend ,as well as the meetings we decided that it would be to much trouble ,subconciously the influence came from other members in the congregation ,which in turn came from the elders in turn from the bethel ,allways sprouting on about the ministry first ,you never had time for anything elsemow ,yes a dog would be to much trouble,but now,for the past two /half years my younger children are enjoying the companionship of an animal in the house,as well as 2 cats which we have had for past eight years,.
did you find time for animals.. what did you miss out on ,allso for past 14 years we have had different caravans and motor homes ,.
what did you miss out on when in the borg ,and how did it affect you.
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Inactive......??..and on this forum?
by ScoobySnax inwithout the snapping jaws of the majority here, do any of you "inactive" people on this forum who read or might sometimes post, find this place welcoming or intimadating?
helpful or harmful?
is it a better or bitter place to be?
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gold_morning
Scooby,
I am curious. Why do you remain inactive and not leave totally? I am just curious. I was away for 16 years before I found the real truth. Do you have stuggles you find difficult to deal with?
If you have questions feel free to e-mail [email protected]
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No Pressure By Me!
by Blueblades inno pressure by me will be heavy upon you.the c.o.quoting from job 33:7 to the congregation!
was this said to your congregation?then the talks he gives puts pressure on us all.do more!
don't get tired!
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gold_morning
NEEDLESS PRESSURE!!
Ephesians 2:8
"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith, and this NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the GIFT of God--NOT BY WORKS, so that no one can boast."
So, we are not saved by works guys.... sorry for all those wasted hours in the field service. We are saved by Jesus not how much we do. Not by how many meetings we attend.
Titus 3:5
"He saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but becasue of His mercy."
see again.. it is not what we do. So then, who and what saves us?
1John 5:11 says that He who HAS the son HAS LIFE.........and John 5:11 says the same thing.
Acts 4:12 says that salvation is found in NO ONE ELSE!! So it is not found in the Watchtower. It is found in Jesus. There is no religion that can save you. How can they when Jesus already did it? The bible makes it clear He is the only mediator between us and God. Isn't the Watchtower doing just that? Playing Jesus' role.
Is this the Watchtower???????????? "for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:29,30)
We have carried a very heavy burden. One of guilt for never doing enough. This sounds more like the Watchtower to me...."They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matt 23:4)
Don't let MEN tell you what to do.............your only obligation is to Jesus who came to save and give peace and present a wonderul GIFT to you..... You don;'t have to do anything to receive a gift. It is a present. All that is required is to believe in HIm with you heart. I mean a real friendship with him.
much agape love gold morning
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FALSE PROPHETS IN GODS NAME ARE YOU ONE
by nightwarrior innot from god then its falsefalse predictions.
/ false teachers wolves amidst the true flock .
jehovah god says no one can come to him except through( jesus christ ) .
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gold_morning
It is a trap...........to feel you must replace one religion with another. People have such a difficult time seperating God from religion. Most man-made religions make themselves mediators between God and you. Yet, that is the furthest thing from the truth. Your only mediator is Jesus. The only one who forgives you of your past sins and future ones is Jesus. The only one that gives you everlasting life is Jesus. THERE IS NO GO BETWEEN.
There is no works, or good deeds or way to dress, or religion to belong to that will save you. It is just a personal relationship with Jesus. It means being friends with him. As witnesses we knew all "about" Jesus but never knew him personally. That is a big difference.
Satan has cunningly put all these religions out there to take the focus off of Jesus. He puts it back on man. The purpose of religion is to support, encourage and help teach those who love God.
IF ANY RELIGION CLAIMS YOU MUST BELONG TO THEM TO BE SAVED..........LEAVE!! They are playing the role of Jesus.
Pray to God to help you out.........and then read the book of John. Just read it like a good book. Get to know the main character Jesus. Read it fresh and read it without the Watchtower glasses on. You will be so happy and amazed!!
God bless, gold morning
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Rochester new york..greece congregation
by gold_morning ini was reading the upstate new york posts that went on a couple of months ago.
it was exciting to see so many from new york state...... but no one from my area.
is anyone from rochester new york?.
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gold_morning
I was reading the upstate new york posts that went on a couple of months ago. IT was exciting to see so many from New York State...... but no one from my area. Is anyone from Rochester New York?
I would JUST LOVE to meet an old JW friend that has broken away. What a bond that would be!!
I remember when the kingdom hall was called the (Lake Unit). Then it was the Greece Congregation. I am sure there was several more congregations over the years. I also remember the Irondequoit congregation too.
Any info about people I use to know would be great. Like Mullys, Dobersteins, Starks, Packards, Matina, Militello, Forbes, Roberts, Mancuso.....
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Was I a coward?
by DanTheMan inright before i disassociated myself last march, i sent an email to quite a number of jw's that contained only a link to an "apostate" website that had been instrumental in my seeing the the truth about the wt.. well, nobody responded to it except for one person, a guy who i hadn't had any contact with my last year in.
he started out with "yikes, do you know i'm disfellowshipped?
" he then went on for several paragraphs defending the org, how loving the brothers were when they disfellowshipped him .
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gold_morning
HMMMMMMM you did right!! That is exactly what the bible says.
2 Timothy 2:14,23,24
"Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value and only ruins those who listen. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, aboe to teach, not resentful."
agape love gold morning
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Favourite Christmas Songs
by Fe2O3Girl inthere is christmas music blaring out in every shopping centre now, it started in mid-november.
it works a treat, reminds everyone to get spending.
most of it is rubbish, i feel so sorry for shopworkers having to listen to that for 7 weeks.
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gold_morning
Help me out here.....
It is the one that goes..."Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...Jack frost knipping at your nose..."
What is the name of that song. I remember as a witness singing along to it on the radio..(in secret), but when it got to Merry Christmas to you... I would just hummmm that part..LOL LOL
Talk about living in fear!!
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gold_morning
Hi Buffman,
Welcome!! How long you been out?
What's your story?
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NOT placing BOOKS? Spiritually weak!
by Alligator Wisdom ina few months back we had the usual elders/ms meeting with the circuit overseer during his visit.
there was a point that the co had emphasized and it brought me sick to my stomach anyone didn't put the effort to make such placements, that these publishers were in need of spiritual help and that we (elders/ms) should help such ones to do so.
talk about the pressure!
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gold_morning
Hi Aligator
Most people of different religions, especially witnesses, have a difficult time seperating God from religion. Chatholics believe they must be baptised Chatholic to go to heaven. Baptists believe they must be baptist, mormans believe they must be mormans. We were no different. We felt we must be baptised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses to be saved. ; Look at where the bible says we must turn to be saved. It was such a big shocker to me after all the years I spent pioneering
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Acts 4:12....."Salvation is found in NO ONE ELSE, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."Here it shows our salvation comes from Jesus. It does not say salvation is found from ; religion to be saved (or found from jehovah's witnesses)... but found in NO ONE ELSE but Jesus.
1John 5:12.."He who HAS the Son, HAS life..."Again, it does not point to a religion or code of ethics from a group of men to be saved, but merely the Son, Jesus.
Look what it says in Ephsians 2:4-8; ...."But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made US ALIVE with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.........IT IS BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED.....(verse 8)..."For it is by grace you have been saved, IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD..NOT BY WORKSso that no none can boast."
So we are made alive with Chirst because it is a GIFT from God. A present. See, we don't have to do anything for a present. IT is a gift. To make that clear he said that it is NOT our works that save us. All those countless hours in the door to door, and all those meetings we could not miss does not save us!! ALL THOSE BOOK PLACEMENTS CANNOTearn our salvation. It is a gift because of the great love of God. It is knowing Jesus personally. It is accepting that it was He who died for us so that we could be righteous before God to receive the gift he gave us....namely everlasting life. Remember that scripture we just read.... He who has the son has life.
Titus 3:5 backs this up. ; It says...."He saved us, NOT BECAUSE OF righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy."
There is no acts we can do religiously that can save us. Religion makes us "self-righteous" Only being saved thru Jesus makes us righteous before God. We can't give oursleves life..... a religion cannot give us this gift. It takes away from Jesus. When he died, Jesus said..."It is finished!! He bought us life forever. Who does the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society think they are? They think they can grant us life thru them and take it away thru disfellowshiping. They are taking the place of Chirst.How about Romans 3:22..."This righteousness from God comes through fiath in Jesus Christ to ALL who believe."
Notice again that we become righteous from faith in Jesus and that it is open to ALL who believe in Him. Not a select few from a particular religion. But ALL!! It is there for Jew and Gentile. Not just Jew and Jehovah's witnesses.
Does knowledge get us life? Not according to the bible. Jesus himself says in John 5:39..."You diligently study the scriptures (like we did as witnesses) because you think by means of them you posses eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me.Yet you refuse to COME TO ME TO HAVE LIFE.".......So there goes all those books that are published to give us 'THEIR' KNOWLEDGE to gain everlasting life.So it is not knowledge that saves us either. There is nothing wrong with knowledge, but that is not where our salvation lies. We must come to Jesus to have life. It is the love of God and knowing him that saves us. A few verses down in 41 Jesus says "I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts."
The key to salvation is knowing Jesus and having a good heart, just like Jesus did. As witnesses we knew "all about Jesus", but never knew him personally. You can know all about President Bush. You can know what school he went to, his ;grades, who he dated, what year he married, how many children he had, where he lived, when he quit drinking, about his political life and his presidency. But can you say you personally know him? Have you talked to him? Are you a friend of his? Do you talk on the phone? No. So you know all about him, but don't know him personally. That is how it is with God and being a witnesses.
<P>I remember fearing Jehovah. He was this God exacting exculsive devotion that I just could not measure up to. No matter how many works I did, no matter how many years I pioneered. I never knew if I would survive armegeddon. My salvation was not assured. Would I survive Armegeddon??..lurked on my mind. Now I know that he is a God of great love, mercy, kindness and patience.
So, I am sorry that this is so long. I have only touched the tip of the iceburg.
I think God is working in you aligator!!!! I really do.<IMG class=smilie src=" "></P>
<P>much agape love ; ; gold morning -
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Not Fair
by myself inno, life isnt fair.
there are no answers.
there are unwanted babies being aborted, or given up for adoption while at the same time there are families who are unable to have children of their own.
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gold_morning
(((((myself)))))),
I am sorry to hear about you mother. I remember my father's death a few years ago and the pain is still fresh.
Have you heard of essex tea? Do a search on it. I was amazed at the clinical trials on this tea. They had a certain number of people dying of cancers and as a last resort they used the tea. I remember reading there was like 40 people dying of bladder cancer and were about to have their bladders removed. They were given the essex tea and the vast majority of them were cured of the cancer.
They used it on aids patients that had no hope and many of them had a hudge turn around. I cannot remember all the cancers that the study contained. It was not a guru study, but a real medical study. The tea tastes a little bitter, like burdock root. I really recommend reading up on this tea. It can be ordered thru most health food stores..like GNC.
Try to stay positive. I do not know if you are a spiritual person. Don't blame God. Right now this world belongs to satan. He is the god here. Jesus is not ruling here yet. Remember when satan was tempting Jesus and he offered him the world if he would do an act of worship to him? He was able to offer it because it was his to give. Satan has us just where he wants us. Blaming God for the things that he has caused to God's creation.
We don't die, myself!! John 8:51..."Who ever keeps my word will NEVER see death." (this is Jesus words)
John 11:26...."whoever lives and believes in me will NEVER die."
1John 5:12..."He who HAS the son HAS life....." (notice "has" present tense)
2 Corinthians 5:8...."I say, we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord"
Philippians 1:23....."I desire to depart and be with Christ."
Acts 7:59..."Stephan prayed."Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Matthew 10:28.." Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but CANNOT KILL THE SOUL."
The soul IS seperate...1 Thess 5:23 says spirit, soul and body. All distint. There is many more scriptures... too numerous to wirte here.
It was the most marvelous thing to learn that death does not really exist. The spirit goes on living in a different form more appropriate to what we will need.
If you need to talk, myself, feel free to e-mail me.
lots of agape love gold_morning