Faithful Witness

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Posts by Faithful Witness

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  18

  Where you the door knocker encourager in your congregation?

  by jam in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  to be honest i figured until i received some pleasure, enjoyment.

  in waking people up on their day off, there was no way i was going.

  to pressure anyone else to do the same.

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  Faithful Witness

  SFPW:

  I am continually fascinated by the fact that you keep posting here. I wonder if you would respond to this Bible question I have about the preaching work.

  Can you help me figure out this Bible question?

  I am studying the book of Matthew, and trying to learn who Jesus really is, and what he came here to tell us about his Father.

  I think you said you believe that Jesus was the Great Teacher. Did he tell us how to serve Jehovah God the Father?

  In Matthew 6:1-6, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:

  6 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in front of men to be noticed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. 2 So when you make gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gifts of mercy may be in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you. 5 “Also, when you pray, do not act like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the main streets to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you."

  Where does Jesus instruct you to record and report all your preaching efforts? I read this passage, and it sounded to me like he was actually telling them NOT to report their efforts. When you obediently fill out your time card and turn it into the organization, you receive your "rewards" from men.

  Your Heavenly Father will not reward you for any of those hours you are reporting. Jehovah's organization will add them to the tally of hours in the yearbook, but the reward ends there. You are serving men, and they publish a book each year to prove it.

  Can you explain this to me? Where in the Bible, are we instructed to keep track of our efforts? I hope you will answer my sincere question.

  I like the fact that you post here. I can not find an honest JW to answer my questions.
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  14

  That time of the year once more, Xmas gifts. Help

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since the family members are getting older these days there are.

  only a small number of kids that still look forward for santa clause in.

  the family.

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  Faithful Witness

  Good luck with that!
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  2

  Fellow student invited to chuck himself out of Catholic Church

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last day of the semester today.. feeling a little relaxed, a group of older students (which includes me-grin) were having a chat at lunch time.. i was asked why i'm going to uni in my old age.

  so i explained that my religion discouraged it.

  then i got chucked out and so now i can go.. well, of course, everyone wanted to know which religion and why they do that etc.

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  Faithful Witness

  Very interesting!

  We ran into some car trouble in May, and used it as an excuse to interrupt our attendance at the Baptist church we'd been part of for almost 3 years. We had already been talking about leaving, so it was the natural progression of things for our family. During that time, we visited and subsequently moved to another church, just down the street from our house.

  I see people from our old church often,when I am out in public. They do not shun me or pretend they don't see me. They might have some hurt feelings or misunderstanding about our leaving, but they are happy to stop and talk with me. I have not been ex-communicated or marked. I even spoke to a board member from the church just yesterday. They were "curious" why so many people were leaving, and had already assumed it was just the car trouble. I didn't add any information, since they didn't actually ask.

  This is not true of the people from the KH we attended. Even though we were not baptized, the "friends" who loved us so much, see right through me. They will actually respond if I speak to them first, but I literally have to make big gestures to get their attention. I can't tell if they just go through life with blinders on, or if they are intentionally avoiding making eye contact. I don't take it personally, but I do find it amusing. I have nothing but compassion and love for the JW's, and will always treat them with kindness and respect. Too bad they are not trained to do the same in return.

  It is amusing sometimes, to see how wide their eyes will get... I invited a friend over for dinner "sometime," and she lost all color in her face. That reaction has me wanting to pursue the relationship a little bit more, to see if she will refuse us, or accept a free meal. They gladly accepted the gourmet fruit and treat basket we sent, when her mother died after refusing blood. I feel so sorry for their little girl.
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  14

  That time of the year once more, Xmas gifts. Help

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since the family members are getting older these days there are.

  only a small number of kids that still look forward for santa clause in.

  the family.

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  Faithful Witness

  I have 2 ideas for you to consider:

  www.heifer.org

  Last year, my sister donated a flock of chickens or something like that, in our name to a charity that helps the poor in 3rd world countries. I thought that was pretty cool. Now we get a catalog, and there are lots of choices. Heifer.org will even send you a little gift notification card, that you can present to your family member. You can donate sheep, goats, llamas, ducks, pigs, cows, chickens... We will be doing that for my sister this year, since she has shown that this is a charity she cares about.

  www.toysfortots.org

  Toys for Tots is a charity that donates toys to needy children. They are delivered by the US Marines on Christmas Eve.

  A quick search online, will give you many results for charities that need money during the holidays (and all year). You could tell your family members (adults) that you will be donating to charity in their name, and suggest that you would like them to do the same. It could be fun to see what everyone comes up with... exchange greeting cards with a note inside, explaining the gift that was given in your family member's name.
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  56

  I hate being ugly!

  by Space Madness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i finally came to the realization that i am ugly.

  i'm 28 years old and never had a girlfriend.

  women pay me absolutely no attention when i'm in public.

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  Faithful Witness

  Is you have an extraordinary face, use it to your advantage. The more average someone is, the more "beautiful" they are often considered.

  Stop being so worried about how YOU look, but start focusing on the people around you... not their appearance, but who they are. Everyone feels self-conscious and it is normal for you to feel uncomfortable around others, especially if you're different.

  If you're not a funny guy, figure out what personality traits you have that women appreciate. Take an interest in them. Listen to them.

  People may not be attracted to you, because you are acting too aloof. Don't wait for someone to approach you. Instead, approach them and ask them a question about themselves. Listen to their answer, and ask a question about their answer. This conversation skill takes practice, but once it is developed, you can become a woman's best asset... every woman wants a true ally.

  Sometimes you see the most beautiful woman on the arm of a really ugly guy. Don't accept the label "ugly." EXTRA-ordinary beats "ordinary" any day of the week. Most pretty boys are jerks, in my experience. My favorite actors are Crispin Glover, Christopher Walken and that other ugly guy. Haha. I hate Brad Pitt. I even had a dream about meeting him once, and he was a JERK. Hahaha... but maybe because I used to be fat, so I know what it's like to be ugly and invisible.
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  71

  Trying to overcome my homophobia.

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a music album by a gay guy before i was a jw and had no problem listening to it.

  it's good music.

  some of the lyrics are what you might call 'gay', that is there's some talk about boyfriends, gay bars, and queens and the intolerance the artist encountered as a gay man.

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  Faithful Witness

  Julia,

  Don't be so hard on yourself. Just be kind. Your programmed reactions are normal. It sounds like your heart is in the right place, and you have compassion.

  You are right about the gay men and their birds. haha. Since most don't have kids, their pets become their spoiled children.
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  19

  Hello, how are you, see you, good bye

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i was at a supermarket and i walked right in the arms of a nice jw couple.. they are so nice, they could be our family friends, if we went to the congregation.. how it went: mr nice walked by and said "hello" and walked straight on, without looking to me.. his very nice wife smiled and looked surprised to see me, a look only a jw can have, looking to a poor fader like me.. she said "hello, how are you?

  see you, good bye?

  how can these nice people so cold?.

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  Faithful Witness

  That sounded heartless. I don't mean to mock. I try to be kind, regardless of the response I get in return.
• 
  19

  Hello, how are you, see you, good bye

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i was at a supermarket and i walked right in the arms of a nice jw couple.. they are so nice, they could be our family friends, if we went to the congregation.. how it went: mr nice walked by and said "hello" and walked straight on, without looking to me.. his very nice wife smiled and looked surprised to see me, a look only a jw can have, looking to a poor fader like me.. she said "hello, how are you?

  see you, good bye?

  how can these nice people so cold?.

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  Faithful Witness

  I don't have all the necessary inside information about the local dubs, to know exactly my status, or what they say about me. We have "friends" at 3 local KH's, but since we never actually became JW's, I don't know what my actual label would be...

  I can tell you though, they seem to "know" something about me. I think it is funny, the way they avoid you in stores, and pretend not to see you.

  In the past couple of months, I seem to be running into them more frequently, and I personally LOVE the wide-eyed looks I get when I say hello to a JW. They look like deer, caught in headlights... Like I have actual horns growing out of my head.

  My young children are usually with me, so we have made it into a bit of a game. I say, "Oh look, there is one of our JW friends! I wonder if they will pretend we are invisible!" My daughter (age 7) has become particularly curious about the way they act. People that appear normal, suddenly turn into scared bunny rabbits, darting down the grocery store aisle. They certainly are not examples of Christ-like love... even a child can see that difference.

  As the light gets brighter, the JW people are scurrying into the shadows like cockroaches. It is sad and scary to watch, really. But we do love our game of JW-seek and find! They are everywhere around here.

  The same man who followed my husband into the bathroom, when he was sick during a meeting... is now afraid to say hello in a grocery story. Strange people, they are. He had no qualms about confronting someone for having digestive issues on a Sunday morning.
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  6

  My feel-good thread

  by jgnat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we've had our first real snow-storm of the year, the roads are slick, and the wind, biting.

  i'm wearing my new sweater, half merino, and i have hot chocolate in my thermos.

  my thoughts turn to all things warm and fuzzy.

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  Faithful Witness

  I started my Christmas shopping today!

  Dashing all the way,

  Oh what fun it is to find...

  favorite toys on sale... Oh!
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  15

  Jw's: Who do you identify as the FDS?

  by snare&racket in

  1. forum
  2. announcements

  who do you think is the fds on earth today?.

  barely any jw can point at a gb member by face, fewer can name the governing body, fewer know these men in person or can account for them as people.

  not one person became a jw from reading matthew 24 and saying 'aha!'.

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  Faithful Witness

  I meant to add, Jesus did not mention appointing a slave, some 1900 years into the future. There is no modern-day slave.

  He also did not instruct us to follow or serve a slave. This whole idea is just absurd.

  They have picked one parable to grant themselves power over the lives of millions of people.

  I sincerely hope that they just stick with publishing bizarre rantings in their publications, and don't follow through with their threats to instruct them to act against their own human instincts.

  I can't wait to celebrate 2015!