HE IS

HE IS My Savior My Lord and God The Alpha and the Omega He is the First and He is the Last He is my Rock, my refuge and strength He is my Mediator and Advocate with the Father He is full of Grace, Truth, love for me so deep and wide He cares for me and holds me in the palm of His hand He feeds me in the wilderness and does not forsake me He watches over me in the night for he does not sleep He gives me joy in Him that is my strength to face today He is the one who runs to me when I have strayed He is the One who shed His blood to save this wretch He is the Good Shepherd of Psalms 23, oh yes! He gives good gifts like friends like you and Soph He is the lifter of my head and rejoices over- me with singing, and I will praise Him forever He is the only way to the Father and- He is the only Door to Salvation He walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am His Own He is Emmanuel He is God with us He is LIGHT So Bright to guide in the night (@)

JESUS IS THE DOOR Pt.1

Jesus the DOOR of Salvation [Part 1]

Jesus True Passion-I once read something very touching written by a former Jehovah Witness who had become Born Again. He was expressing his gratitude for the passion of Christ. It moved my heart as he spoke of Jesus praying in the garden for us, thinking of us as He anguished, knowing full well what lay ahead of Him on the cross of Calvery. Yet Jesus selflessly thought of us during this anguish.Jesus suffered so much when He bore our sins, and when the Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all. [Isaiah 53:6] To think that God loved us sooooooo much that He would give the Son of His Love, His only begotten, is overwhelming to me.I know speaking in earthly terms, I have an only son, and I get a wee, tiny, miniscule glimmer of how very, very much the Father loves Jesus, yet it says in Isaiah 53:10 it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord because He loves us so much, and it was the only way sinful man could be reconciled to a Thrice Holy God.Our sins are scarlett, yet they can be washed as white as snow by the blood of Jesus. It is ONLY by the cleansing power of the blood of the Sinless, Spotless, Lamb of God that we can be Saved, trusting Christ alone to save us.

NO OTHER NAME-Jesus is the Name above all names, and there is no other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be Saved. [Acts 4:12]The Name Jesus actually means Yahweh Saves or Salvation of Yah.The Father in the old testament said that He was the Only Savior. The Lord Yahweh says in Isaiah 43:11, "I am the Lord, and besides me there is No Savior."How suprising then when we read in Matthew 1:21 that Jesus came to "Save His people from their sins."There would be a HUGE contradiction in the Scriptures unless you believe that Jesus is God manifested in a body of flesh. [1 Timothy 3:16 KJV]

JESUS IS THE TRUTH-Jesus pointed to HIMSELF as being THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.I pray that people who call their religion 'the truth' will see when they call their religions 'the truth', that they are usurping the authority of Jesus Christ who is the truth. [John 14:6]And His Holy Word is the truth. "Thy Word is truth"[John 17:17]We need to receive the love of His truth so as to be saved [2 Thessalonians 2:10-12]Oh Lord, help us Father to receive the love of your Written Word [the Bible], and your Living Word [your Son the Lord Jesus Christ].{more to come}

JESUS IS THE DOOR Pt. 2

Jesus the DOOR of Salvation [part 2] JESUS IS THE DOOR-Jesus pointed to HIMSELF as the DOOR. He said "I am the door, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."[John 10:9]Jesus also pointed out in John 10:1 that if we do not enter in by the door [the Lord Jesus Christ], we are thieves and robbers. THE HINDERERS-The Bible also speaks of those who do not enter into that door of Salvation [the Lord Jesus Christ], but they also hindered those who were entering in.[Luke 11:52]There are MANY false teachers and organizations who point to their man-made organizations as the doors to enter in for Salvation. By pointing to themselves instead of the Lord Jesus, they hinder many souls from coming in through the DOOR of Salvation, the Lord Jesus.The Lord Jesus says to come to Him all who are heavy laden and weary and He will give you rest. [Matthew 11:28] Won't you run into the Loving and Merciful arms of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Won't you put your faith in His completed work on the cross of Calvary? He is the Door of Salvation, and He wants you to come to Him for Salvation."Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me, ye will not come to me that ye might have life." [John 5:39-40] WHAT NOW?-So you may now say, "Ok, I see that I have taken the wrong door", or, "I've tried to climb up some other way"...but what do I do now?The first thing is to humble yourself. "Humble yourself therefore under the Mighty hand of God that he may exault you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."Confess to God that you have sinned against Him by trusting in a man made organization instead of Christ alone. Concider the prayer of the publican that was the prayer that God received [Luke 18:10-14] REPENT-Repentance is a change of mind towards God and sin, that will result in a change of direction and actions.Ezekiel 14:6 says "Thus saith the LORD God; repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations."Put your faith in Christ alone [receive the Lord by faith] There is a Watchtower magazine with the heading "PUT FAITH IN A VICTORIOUS ORGANIZATION"The Bible however never points to an organization, but the person of Christ whom we are to put our faith in.Paul preached 'repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus' [Acts 20:21] GOD WANTS YOU TO GROW-Ephesians 4:13-15 says "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, where by they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ."*seek out a good Bible believing church in your area. This can be a challenge in and of itself nowdays, but pray and ask the Lord to help you in this search, which body of believers He would have you be a part of. Look for a group who really uphold the Scriptures and love truth. MY PRAYER FOR YOU-May the Lord be with you, and lead, guide, bless and protect you in your new journey in Christ. May you grow in Grace, and learn to discern, and walk in God's perfect will for your life. If you have repented and are trusting Christ alone to save you, welcome to God's Family. Cleave to the Savior, and rest in knowing that He holds you in the palm of His Almighty hand. He is faithful and true. [2 Peter 3:17-18 KJV]

TRY TO IMAGINE

Try to Imagine...Try to Imagine a God so BIG He can be everywhere at once[Psalms 139:7-8], [Matthew 18:20] He knows your every desire, thought and need [John 12:17] [Revelation 2:33] A God so BIG He can soften the hardest heart [Acts 9] He can calm the most stormy sea [Mark 4:39-41] He can give any captive liberty [John 8:36] Now imagine a God so sweet and kind and True To give His life for me and you [1 John 3:16] A God who carries sorrows and will bare our pain [Isaiah 53:4] If we would call upon The Name[1 Corinthians 1:2] [Acts 3:6] [Acts 4:12] The Name that every knee will bow to someday [Philippians 2:10] And every tongue will confess He Is LORD [Philippians 2:11] Oh let Him peirce your heart with His Spirit's Sword! [Hebrews 4:12] He came into the world to save not condemn [John 3:17-18] So why not call upon Him and say "Jesus, come into my heart [Ephesians 3:17] [John 1:12-13] Wash away my sins Lord, make them white as snow by means of your shed blood." [Isaiah 1:18] [Ephesians 1:7] He will, He is faithful, He is true [1 John 1:9] He shed His blood for me and you! [1 John 1:7] He was despised, scourged and pierced so you could spend eternity with Him [Isaiah 53] He was bruised for our Iniquity and bore at Calvary our sins [Matthew 27: 27-31] [Isaiah 53] It's a free gift, but at a high cost was bought [Ephesians 28, 9 & 13] So let's never forget to thank our Savior as we ought [Matthew 1:21] For we so unworthy can have such a hope in Thee [Luke 17:10] THANKYOU SWEET JESUS FOR SETTING US FREE [Ephesians 5:14]Isaiah 9:6

Jesus is NOT mediator to the JW's

Jesus is not Mediator? The Bible tells us Jesus is the Only Mediator between God and man...but what does the WT have to say?*** Watchtower 1979 April 1 p.31 Questions from Readers *** Questions from Readers • Is Jesus the "mediator" only for anointed Christians? The term "mediator" occurs just six times in the Christian Greek Scriptures and Scripturally is always used regarding a formal covenant. Moses was the "mediator" of the Law covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. (Gal. 3:19, 20) Christ, though, is the "mediator of a new covenant" between Jehovah and spiritual Israel, the "Israel of God" that will serve as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus. (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24; Gal. 6:16) At a time when God was selecting those to be taken into that new covenant, the apostle Paul wrote that Christ was the "one mediator between God and men." (1 Tim. 2:5) Reasonably Paul was here using the word "mediator" in the same way he did the other five times, which occurred before the writing of 1 Timothy 2:5, referring to those then being taken into the new covenant for which Christ is "mediator." So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the "mediator" only for anointed Christians.The new covenant will terminate with the glorification of the remnant who are today in that covenant mediated by Christ. The "great crowd" of "other sheep" that is forming today is not in that new covenant. However, by their associating with the "little flock" of those yet in that covenant they come under benefits that flow from that new covenant. During the millennium Jesus Christ will be their king, high priest and judge. For more detailed information, see Aid to Bible Understanding, pages 1129 and 1130 under "Mediator"; also God's "Eternal Purpose" Now Triumphing for Man's Good, page 160, paragraph 10;*also The Watchtower issues of February 15, 1966, pages 105 through 123; November 15, 1972, pages 685 and 686, under the subheading "Leading the Way to a New Covenant"; and April 1, 1973, pages 198 and 199, under the subheading "The New Covenant." *** Worldwide Security Under the "Prince of Peace" (1986) pp.10-11 ch.1 The Desire for Peace and Security Worldwide *** 16 Just as the ancient nation of Israel was in a covenant relationship with Jehovah God through the mediator Moses, so the nation of spiritual Israel, "the Israel of God," has a covenant relationship through a mediator. (Galatians 6:16) It is as the apostle Paul wrote to his Christian fellow worker: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5) Was Moses the mediator between Jehovah God and mankind in general? No, he was the mediator between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the nation of their fleshly descendants. Likewise, the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah God and all mankind. {{{He is the Mediator between his heavenly Father, Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to only 144,000 members.}}} This spiritual nation is like a little flock of Jehovah's sheeplike ones.—Romans 9:6; Revelation 7:4.

Why doesn't the WT want people to read their Bibles without their 'helps'?

Courtesy of Brother Brian on CARM, thanks for allowing me to copy your post to my blog. You da best!

* 1910 "If the 6 volumes of 'Scripture Studies' are practically the Bible topically arranged, with Bible proof-texts given, we might not improperly name the volumes- 'The Bible' in an arranged form. That is to say, they are not merely comments on the Bible, but they are practically the Bible itself...Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible itself, but we see also that if anyone lays the 'Scripture Studies' ... after he has read them for 10 years-if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone...out experience shows that within 2 years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he has merely read the 'S.S.' with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years." (Watchtower, Sept 15, 1910) This clearly shows that they teach that reading the Bible alone leads to darkness, and even IGNORING the Bible altogether in exchange for SS materials, he would be in the light.* 1951 But if each of us were left to himself just because he has a copy of the Bible and were to direct his movements independently as he thought he understood the Word, what? It is likely, or possible, that there would be a great deal of confusion or working in competition among us. Hence, besides individually possessing God's Word, we need a theocratic organization. Yes, besides having God's spirit of illumination, a Christian needs Jehovah's theocratic organization in order to understand the Bible. (Watchtower; June 15, 1951; p. 375) The God-given "spirit of Illumination" is insufficient for understanding the Bible, according to WTBTS.* 1957 "The world is full of Bibles, which Book contains the commandments of God. Why, then, do the people not know which way to go? … "God has not arranged for [His] Word to speak independently or to shine life-giving truths by itself. It is through his organization God provides this light." (Watchtower, May 1, 1957, pg. 274)* 1967 "The Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah's visible organization in mind." (Watchtower, Oct 1, 1967, pg. 587)* 1965 "He does not impart his holy spirit and understanding and appreciation of his Word apart from his visible organization." (Watchtower, July 1, 1965, pg. 391)* 1981 "We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the scriptural guidance we need outside the 'faithful and discreet slave' organization.'" (Watchtower, February 15, 1981, p.19) Clearly the WT teaches that God cannot and does not give understanding through Holy Spirit led Bible reading and Bible study alone.* 1981 They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago,... (Watchtower; Aug. 15, 1981; p. 29) Bible reading alone will take one to apostate doctrine, according to the WT.* 1994 Channel to understanding the Bible... All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave. (Watchtower; Oct. 1, 1994; p. 8) Isn't this sad, that people cannot read the Bible on it's own, but can only be understood through the 'lens' of WT 'glasses'

My Story

What if you woke up one morning and realized that everything you've been taught, everything you've known, everything you've thought was truth was not. As a matter of fact, everything was a lie. And this lie was taught to you by the people you love most in the world, your parents. This has been what has been revealed to me over the last few years of my life.You see, I grew up in a religion that claimed to be God's sole channel of communication to mankind on Earth. And everything pointed to us being right. In our religion we were taught not to smoke, not to drink too much, not to do anything contrary to the Ten Commandments. We were a religious people, and after all weren't we the ones that went out and preached the good news from door to door like Jesus taught. Growing up in this religion was not easy as a child. I would look around at the people and I didn't see people filled with the love of God. As a matter of fact, when church was over, us kids couldn't wait to get together and gossip over someone who we saw smoking; and like the little Pharisees that we were, we would sit there on our little holier-than thou thrones, looking down on the rest of the world. But we were allowed to because as our parents taught us "we have the truth". For myself, I must admit I did like attending church. Not because of what I was learning, because I questioned a lot of what I was being taught, but because I could get together with my friends and socialize. For me, going to church was no different than belonging to a social club, and it was as much of a blessing as attending an outing to the zoo or MacDonald's, only I would probably have agreed with more of what I was taught at the zoo.We were taught that we were God's happy people. We were the chosen ones and every other church was "of the Devil", Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion. We were really special. This was evident by how we didn't salute the flag, sing Oh Canada, or celebrate pagan holidays. We were taught the cross was evil and that's why all the churches had them in them and on them. This would make us cringe as young people. From the time we were little we were taught to hate the cross, and to fear them and anything to do with false religion. As a little girl I was taught to sing a song in kindergarten. It was "JESUS loves me". I loved it and came home singing it one day. It didn't go over too well. Mom said I should not sing with the worldly kids at school. They believed in a different GOD, a false god, a freakish looking three-headed GOD. We had the one true GOD of the BIBLE. His name was Jehovah, and HE was only to be worshipped. I was a pretty good little girl growing up as a Jehovah Witness, but I wasn't very happy.I thought, if we are so right, and we are GOD's happy people, where was this joy? Where was this peace? In my own home my parents were never happy. They fought continuously, and I remember I would scream at the top of my lungs "Stop, Mommy and Daddy", and I would run into my bedroom and cry. I would beg Jehovah to make them stop. I remember praying that He would make them split up to stop the fighting. I was desperate. I just couldn't see how this was the truth when my Mom and Dad had no victory over this. And when the church leaders would counsel them, they would just say, "You need to get out to more meetings, and you need to get out in the field service more". So they would, but nothing changed. I grew more and more bitter as the years went by. I hated church, I hated school, and I wasn't crazy about this Jehovah GOD or my parents. Don't get me wrong, I did love my parents, but I hated this life they had brought me into. I would say to my Mom, "Is this the truth we are in? Why does GOD hate us so much, why won't he help us?"I was getting more and more depressed with this life that was so messed up. I would take a bottle of my parents' booze and go and sit on the edge of the cliffs and look out at the lake with its beautiful colors and think, "oh GOD, why me'? Why does everyone else have nice lives but me, why is my life so unstable, so crazy?" So I would talk to the GOD who I wasn't sure was out there, and if he was, he sure didn't like Laurie. I found that drinking helped me to cope with my pain, temporarily. It numbed my brain. I could escape for a while. Then I started doing drugs, like pot and LSD. Then I really escaped to far away lands and tried to escape from reality. One night I took acid with my boyfriend at the time who wanted to be Nazi. He hung around with some people that were, from the looks of them, pretty hard core hate mongers. There was this little sixteen-year-old girl doing LSD with people that loved Hitler. One man looked like a two hundred pound Hitler. He had the Hitler mustache and a swastika tattoo on his arm. That night I came under demonic attack so strong that I cried out to GOD all night, begging Him to spare my life and my sanity. It was a night of living hell on earth.That sent me back to church when GOD spared my life and I was going to do it right this time. No more drugs, no more partying, no more skin-head boyfriends. I would straighten out my life and be a good Jehovah Witness. However, I heard things at the meetings that I could never believe, so I tried and tried, but it was no use, I couldn't believe this. Therefore, I kind of made up my own religion. There was a GOD, there was no hell. The Bible was maybe partly true, but church was boring and only hypocrites go there. Then I met a guy that really caught my eye. He was not bad looking, he partied, and drove a really nice white Trans Am. All the prerequisites of good husband material, or so I thought. He asked me to live with him at his Dad's house, so I moved in quite swiftly. This way I could have the freedom from the Jehovah Witnesses I so longed for. However, I ended up spending 2 years looking after this man and his father. Not too much freedom there. I still had this hunger in my heart for GOD though. I remember laying hung over and listening to the church bells Sunday morning, and longing to go to church, just out of curiosity. I said to my fiancé whoever bought me the ring he promised, "We should go to church some morning". He looked at me like I was nuts and said "Have you lost it?" I would try and talk about GOD with him. He would only say that he believed in hell, and it was the Bermuda Triangle. That was what he believed, and he was sticking to it. I gave up even trying to talk about GOD. I don't know why, but I cared very deeply for this person and stayed with him, even though he was extremely physically abusive. After 2 years of trying to make it work, I beat him up and left. There I was, I had just paid back the one who I loved by beating him up, and I was proud. I was quite a hulkster and I had proven it by beating on the one who I was wanting to spend the rest of my life with. I bragged about it to all my friends, how held got what he had coming, and I really showed him. But inside, I was dying. My heart ached, my mind was fried and I hated men. They were all rotten jerks and should be treated like the scoundrels that they are. There I was at home again, hating men, going back to the Kingdom Hall (only for appearances) and bitter with life, and very bitter towards GOD.I started into the next year of my life in a downward spiral that was so dark and so depraved that I find it hard to go there. I was miserable. I was the woman at the well. I was hurting so much I was like a song I used to listen to,"Just two lost souls living in a fish bowl", only I was the only fish in my bowl. And I just wanted to float to the top and disappear.In a state of desperation I cried out "GOD, if you are really there, please send me someone who really knows who you are, man or woman, I don't care, just a friend who can show me who you are". TWO WEEKS LATER... In walked into the room Mike Antonio. "You are Italian!" I could tell he was. No one who's not Italian is that handsome. But it was more than looks that caught my eye with this man. It was this kindness in his eyes I was not familiar with. It was Jesus I was seeing in his eyes, but I didn't know it at the time. Such love. He asked me out to a church. This church was different than anything I had ever seen. The people really looked as though they wore actually getting through to GOD. 'I was amazed at how they would lift their hands in the air to GOD, some were crying, some were kneeling before the altar.I thought, "This is completely wacky. What is with these people?" Secretly I longed for what they had. I was singing songs to JESUS and to the Holy Spirit. I had this amazing love for JESUS in my heart. I thought, "This is wrong", but my heart felt so good lifting up His name. I basically didn't know the Bible well enough to know that what I was doing was more than just OK, it was necessary, because the Bible says some day "Every knee will bow to Jesus, every tongue will confess that HE IS LORD". But I didn't know that.And one day I did the unthinkable, according to the religion that I had been raised with, I asked JESUS into my heart, and to be my Lord and Savior. I wasn't sure what all that meant, but my heart was somehow touched by the love of JESUS. I would say "I could feel HIS love for me in my heart". But my Dad said, "It's all emotionalism. It's not real. There's more to it than that!" I started to question what had happened. However, JESUS had a plan for my life. He had brought me this far, He" wouldn't let me go now... I started listening to Mike as he discussed the Bible with my parents.One day as we were discussing who JESUS was, Mike quoted a Scripture. It said "When GOD brings His firstborn into the world He says 'let all GOD's angels worship him"'. That Scripture penetrated-my heart so powerfully, I thought, "Wait a minute, JESUS is to be worshipped. What! How can this be?" As Mike showed me Scriptures about JESUS, I found out He was worshipped all the time by people in the Bible. He never rebuked them. He never said "Get up", or "Don't worship me. I am a fellow servant," like any of the angels or people in the Bible who anyone tried to worship. JESUS always gladly accepted worship. This could only mean one thing. He was GOD. I had to confront the fact that I had been ripped off of the truth about JESUS. And the more I researched into my former religion, I found lie after lie after lie. Everything I had known to be true, everything I had been taught to be true, was in fact a lie. I was at a crossroads. And I had a lot on the line.If I stand for JESUS I may be labeled an apostate. I may lose my family. I may lose my friends I've grown up with who are like family. I had a choice, deny JESUS, or risk losing my family.Sure you may say, "that's easy, of course you pick Jesus." It wasn't that easy at all. I still had an attachment to my parents. I was still struggling with alcohol and my heart was being torn in two. But JESUS was there. He walked me through. I found out that He is a suffering GOD and He suffers right along side of me. He has sent me His Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and has promised to never leave me or forsake me. He has given me strength to overcome alcohol addiction. It wasn't easy. I had to put my hand to the plow. But it was His strength. And the Scripture that says "Surely He carried our sorrows", that is what He does. He carries us through the valleys. I was faced with losing everything, and also forced to deal with the fact that I was deceived into believing a lie, and also my whole life had been a lie. I had to learn that everything was the complete opposite of what I had been taught. I had to face that we, as Jehovah's happy people, had been serving the enemy by calling the church that He loved and died for "Babylon the Great, World Empire of False Religion". In fact, we were part of this False Religion that Paul warned would rise up in the last days and deceive many. But, hallelujah, JESUS is so full of mercy and forgiveness, He still called me His own and loved me.And there is nothing like a personal relationship with JESUS. I am getting to know Him more and more every day. And I'm living proof of His great mercy. If HE can forgive me, the chief of sinners, His arms are open wide to you too. He loves you. He desires you to know Him, to be intimate with Him, to seek HIS face, to bask in HIS presence, to grow in the knowledge of HIS love and grace, - and to behold HIM as the great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Almighty GOD, Everlasting Father I, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel (GOD with us), Our Rock, Our Great GOD and Savior JESUS CHRIST.Oh, how great Thou art.Come quickly Lord Jesus.

This blog...

The purpose of this blog is to help ex JW's who have left the Watchtower to know that they have a Heavenly Father who still cares about them.
It may not feel like it, you may feel hurt and betrayed, but He loves you, and wants you to have a personal relationship with Him in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ [John 1:12-13]