Posts by Bella15

62

This is my first time. Please be patient.

by Miss.Fit in

i have never posted before.

i have been lurking for a few days and have decided to give it a try.

the subject of child abuse caught my eye.

Bella15

Welcome Ms. Fit. I am so sorry for what you went thru in the past ... May your present and future be filled with love and everything nice.

259

Prayers that God answers. Any examples?

by punkofnice in

when i believed in god i tried not to pray for anything selfish.. after a while i began to think that a lot of things i was asking my imaginary friend in the sky for were selfish for some reason.. i do not ever remember a single thing i prayed for ever being answered.

if there was the appearance of an answer it was because i did mental gymnastics to make it fit the delusion that god had actually answered me.

there was never an obvious message/answer from god.

Bella15

Prayers answered I think it is something so personal, so deep in your soul, spirit so hard to explain because it is in the spirit that somehow you know your prayers were answered ... sometimes you don't realize it right away, sometimes it takes a few years and then everything fall into place and you realize and go WOW ... also there is peace and love in that realization ... somethings Punkofnice cannot be described only discovered. The sun shines for good and bad people! Colors don't hide their color from "bad" people, remains the same for all of us. There are principles in the universe that apply to all whether we are aware of it or not. A choice is always made wether you give an answer or not. So yes a lot of "answered prayers" is principles at work, but then sometimes there is that small still voice, your own voice in your own spirit that tells you that the extra favor was supernatural, and you know that you know that you wouldn't have gotten that, it is a feeling that not only recognizes the tangible expression of your success but wonders at how good you feel inside, a peace, a joy that you cannot describe and no one can take away. Some people don't believe in prayers answered because they didn't get the car or won the lottery or they loved one didn't make it, were abused, but prayers answered it is more than that, it is at work in every second of our lives if we choose to live like that.

Prayers answered are not to be confused with miracles, blessings, and other works of the Holy Spirit! I have many prayers answered, and my whle life is a blessing now. To tell you the truth I don't want a miracle, the responsibility upon one's shoulder after experiencing a miracle I think it is too great ... what are you going to do after getting a miracle, if it was received within your Christian faith, will you go on and change the world with your testimony, to tell the nations about it! I always pray "GOD, YOUR GRACE IS ENOUGH FOR ME"!

79

JWStruggle post: Bethel Layoffs Reveal a Kingdom without Clothes

by Londo111 in

http://www.jwstruggle.com/2013/07/bethel-layoffs-reveal-a-kingdom-without-clothes/.

despite everything, i still have a lingering admiration toward those who serve or have served in bethel.

it is not that i believe it is gods organization in any way, shape, or form.

Bella15

I don't know if its true but I read somewhere that if you visit homeless shelters in New York you would find lots of old JWs ex WORKERS of the Watchtower CORPORATION ... would be nice to corroborate this but I don't live in New York...

25

Hubby's Becoming a COP!

by outofthelionsden in

talk about doing a 180* change!!

my husband after much thought went and passed for the police academy.

never would i have ever imagined my jw husband now becoming a police officer.

Bella15

Awesome ... there is no greater love than of someone laying his own life for others! Wow ... that's a great calling!

Congratulations on his hew career!

78

Watchtower Corporation enters new business to help sheeples see that the end is very, very near!

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

my dad heard from the co who heard from a do that heard from his brother-in-law that heard from the friend of a governing body's wife, that the gb is getting very concerned that "the friends" are losing sight of the nearness of the panda-petting paradise.

many of these friends are also looking too critically at the "spiritual food" provided by the "faithful slave class.".

don't tell anyone else, but i hear that the gb has begun testing something new on some of the sheeple.

Bella15

LOL ...

4

Leah Remini has apparently had enough of Scientology ... so familiar ...

by Bella15 in

the former king of queens star has left the church of scientology, the hollywood reporter confirms.. on thursday, the new york post initially reported that remini had decided to quit the controversial religion, citing a source's claim that the 43-year-old actress had been subjected to years of "interrogations" and "thought modification.".

the new york post's source added that remini decided to cease being a parishioner, in part, because of policies preventing members to question the leadership of david miscavige.. when asked for a comment, a rep for the church of scientology told e!

news: "the church respects the privacy of parishioners and has no comment about any individual church member.".

Bella15

The former King of Queens star has left the Church of Scientology, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.

On Thursday, The New York Post initially reported that Remini had decided to quit the controversial religion, citing a source's claim that the 43-year-old actress had been subjected to years of "interrogations" and "thought modification."

The New York Post's source added that Remini decided to cease being a parishioner, in part, because of policies preventing members to question the leadership of David Miscavige.

When asked for a comment, a rep for the Church of Scientology told E! News: "The Church respects the privacy of parishioners and has no comment about any individual Church member."

Former Scientoloigist Mike Rinder wrote on his blog earlier this week that when she attended the 2006 wedding of Scientologist Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Remini inquired as to why Miscavige's wife, Shelly, was not there.

Rinder then claimed that ex-Scientology Celebrity Centre head Tommy Davis immediately reprimanded Remini, saying, "You don't have the f--king rank to ask about Shelly."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "the Church of Scientology has denounced Rinder as unreliable and has repeatedly cautioned reporters about relying on him as a source."

Of course, Remini isn't the first famous face to leave the church. Others include Nicole Kidman and writer-directorPaul Haggis.

Earlier this year, Haggis appeared on Today to reveal why he walked away after being a member for more than 30 years.

"I was ashamed of my own stupidity, of how I could have been so blind for so many years," he said.

While Haggis admitted that Scientology did help him early on, over time he began to wonder what the Church really stood for and began doing some research.

Haggis said he came across articles that made allegations of abuse at the highest levels of the Church, of physical violence and reports of children being forced to work 12 to 16 hours a day.

The Church of Scientology, however, denied the allegations of abuse and insisted there is no evidence to support such claims.

UPDATE: Remini later issued a statement to People: "I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support."

35

I missed a lot of TV over the last 30 years

by sosoconfused in

since i have stopped attending meetings i have realized that there are alot of good t.v.

shows that i have missed as well as channels that i would not watch because they would no doubt be in opposition to the scriptures(har har).. .

i have been watching the history channel and the discovery channel so much over the last few months that it is amazing.

Bella15

Netflix has a lot of old shows, you can watch a whole season in a couple of hours ...

40

Now that I am out, which bible should i read? Feeling free at last!

by Freethinking76 in

jw
friends

so, now that i am out for good, which bible should i read?

there is no way i will read the wt one..so i still want to have a relationship with god but don't know how to choose a bible.

it is very hard to dewired yourself and ,sometimes i feel that i don't have a relationship with him.the what ifs come and go still.last night i was up all night reading and researching , can't shake off the shock still to know ttatt.

Bella15

Contrary to what the Watchtower teaches, The ONLY WAY to have a relationship with GOD is through CHRIST JESUS!

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life." (John 5:39,40).

"Jesus point was, "The Scriptures do not give life, I do! They testify of Me!"

When I read your post, I thought of this article I read before:

"You Search the Scriptures"

John 5:39-40

There is a crying need today for people to seek out the wisdom of God as revealed in His Scriptures and make application of it in their lives. But the key phrase is "seek out the wisdom of God" because some have come to excel at misusing the Scriptures. How tiresome it is to hear people quote the Savior completely out of context to condone sinful behavior or to criticize those who would speak out against sin. They will exclaim, "Judge not that you be not judged" or "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone." They surmise that Jesus taught us not to speak out against immorality. He did no such thing and such use of these statements is simply a twisting the Scripture, sometimes in ignorance and sometimes willful distortion, but distortion just the same.

Jesus said it was an error on one's part not to know what the Scriptures teach (Matthew 22:29). Peter pointed out that twisting the Scriptures is also a grievous error which leads to destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

To Jesus, the Scriptures were to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. One must maintain honesty and integrity of heart as he searches the Scripture.

Jesus' View of the Scriptures
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life." (John 5:39,40).

Jesus taught that the Scriptures were nothing less than the word of God. They were not just Moses' opinion or Isaiah's perspective.

At the beginning of John 5 Jesus had miraculously healed a man on the Sabbath day. He was reproached for doing so by His enemies (vs. 16). Jesus answered their charges by expounding on His claim to be working in collaboration with God the Father "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." (vs. 17). He went on to explain that His work was twofold: giving life (vs 21) and judgment (vs. 22). He then declares that those who believe will recieve eternal life and avoid judgment; "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24).

Having made these astounding claims, He then makes them again with even more force. He said that even at that very instant those in spiritual graves were being made alive (again, spiritually) through His word (vs. 25). Further, in the last day, He would stand as judge over everyone (vs. 28,29).

He also pointed out that witnesses were collaborating His claims. God bore witness through John the Baptizer (vs. 33) and the miracles or works Jesus did (vs. 36) and God's own word (vs. 37-38).

That last aspect of God's witness, the word, has reference to the Scripture. Jesus often referred to the Scripture (the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms) as evidence for His Messiahship. He taught that they would all be fulfilled in Him (John 10:35; Matthew 5:18). The Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Jesus, pointing us to him.

Wrongly Using the Scripture
Again, notice Jesus' words in John 5:38,39; "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life."

First, Jesus did not condemn their view of the Scripture. They viewed it as God's word, and they were correct. It was and is. But rather, He condemns their use of it.

Neither did He condemn their searching of the Scriptures. Jesus always commended noble minded searching on the part of seekers everywhere, and promised good results when such was undertaken (Matthew 7:8). To persevere in such is good (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15).

What was the problem then? They regarded their search as an end in and of itself. Scribes would copy, memorize, count words and count letters. Who could tell them that they did not have eternal life? They knew the Scriptures so well!!

The Correct Use of the Scriptures
Jesus point was, "The Scriptures do not give life, I do! They testify of Me!"

In much the same way, people today may have a precious family Bible sitting someplace in the house. Does that Bible sitting there make them holier people? Of course not. Neither does counting words or letters. Neither does memorizing passages or learning Greek and reading it in the original language in which it was written. All of us; the ones to whom Jesus spoke in the first century as well as us today, must come to Him to have life. We must obey Jesus to be saved.

Jesus told them, "And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent." (John 5:38). They knew what the Scriptures said, but they did not allow it to "abide in them." If they had, they would have received Jesus gladly.
They would counter, "We receive Moses, but we reject you!" Jesus said, "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" (John 5:45-47).

Handling the Scriptures correctly means believing and applying what they say. That is what it meant then, and what it means today.

Summarizing the Point
It is not enough to quote a verse and be satisfied. Satan can quote verses. The Bible must be applied in the way God intended. When it is, one will obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and order his or her life according to His teachings. Knowing the Scriptures is necessary, but of little use unless applied to one's life. Only when one obeys will the Giver of Life by grace bestow the hope of eternal life on the obedient. "And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation," (Hebrews 5:9).

97

Are You Interested In Religion Of Any Sort At This Point In Your Life?

by minimus in

jw
friends

personally, i respect that everyone has choices to believe whatever they want to believe.

i have no interest in joining another religion....what about you?.

Bella15

Not interested in religion but very interested in a personal relationship with God!

43

Change of 144000 doctrine?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

a friend of mine just got given a recording of the last ca which was held here a couple of weeks ago and she said there's been a change to the 144k teaching.

she didn't understand what the hell they were rabbiting on about.

she's really waking up as a result of all these changes, and so are some others she knows.. anyone know of any change to the 144k doctrine?

Bella15

Very interesting answer from the WTC --- this is the RAPTURE that Christians believe in ... before the great tribulation Jesus returns for the believers but the WTC teaches that only their "annointed" ones are going to be raptured ...

@

"One of the events mentioned in these verses is the ‘gathering of the chosen ones.’ (Matt. 24:31) Hence, it appears that all anointed ones who still remain on earth after the initial part of the great tribulation has passed will at some point be raised to heaven before the outbreak of the battle of Armageddon. This adjusts what was stated on this subject in “Questions From Readers” in The Watchtower of August 15, 1990, page 30.