Did I have a clue it was today? No. Not till this morning.
I woke up with a headache. At around 8am, my ears were choosing to pick up low pitches extraordinarily, attributing to an elevated headache. I started praying, and praying about the meeting, knowing M and S are coming. Then, I got this affirmation. A peace that transcends all understanding, 100% certainty, no doubt.
I gotta be honest to say, that after 1.5 years, I have wanted this moment, but I was never 100% sure. At some points, I did get a bit exhausted, maybe a little frustrated here and there, wanted my "JW day" to be my day again... But my response wasn't, wow finally, or yay. It was yes Lord, I will obey.
To give you some background info, we had been going through their little yellow book "What does the Bible really teach?" We were on Ch15 when we could not go on. So they suggested to go back to Ch1 and skimming through the subtitles of the chapters. By that time, I narrowed my questions down to 3 of them. 1.Spirit after death 2.Jesus the angel 3.Trinity/Modalism. For the past 2 weeks, I had been interviewing them about #1, asking them for evidence.
Here are the highlights of our conversation, remember we talked as friends, our tones are kind and light. Very much like just talking to our next door neighbor:
1. I started by stating that I have been praying about this a lot, that it's not so much about the different issues but that if an organization is truly chosen by God, I am in because God is never wrong even tho people are imperfect and will make mistakes. On the other hand, if an organization shows false teachings, I am out, cuz God would want me out.
2. They continued to show me magazines and evidences that makes their organization truly awesome. Everyone volunteers, everyone loves each other, their teachings are the same internationally... I said to any of this, "this is commendable. I really appreciate this." They said, how did the Bible say we can tell if an organization is true or false? it's by its fruits. Good fruits only grow on good tree, and bad fruits only grow on bad trees. Our organization never sweeps anything under the rug, our brothers and sisters serve one another etcetcetc... I said, well, I guess I see the good fruits and trees differently. I don't see it just talking about an organization. I see it talking about individuals. People as good trees carrying good fruits can be associated with an organization that is a bad tree carrying bad fruits. And people can have bad fruits and be associated with an organization that carries good fruits. That why God prunes away.
3. I had a question in Revelation 9:1-11. Who is Abaddon? Who is the angel of the abyss? Who are the locusts? What are their jobs? (side note: previously they had given me a red publication named "Revelation - a great climax") The reason I asked these questions was because if you read the passage, you would know the answer is obvious. Who else would rise up from the bottom of the abyss? Who else would be the King angel? I quoted all the verses about locusts and Abaddon in OT book of Joel . They refused to answer me. They kept saying we need to research. S at one point said, give me that red book. I said, no I don't want to upset you. S laughed, just give it to me! So I did. Page 148, “Their king is the angel of the abyss. His Jewish name is Abaddon… (Revelation 9:11). Jesus as the “angel of the abyss” and the “destroyer” inflicted indeed a deadly plague on the Christian world.” (p. 148). You would not believe it, but at first they refused to acknowledge the natural explanation from the bible. After several readings, she said, the red book says.... I kindly interrupted no, this bible right here says something different from that book. I cannot accept that Jesus is the angel of the abyss and that he is the king of these locusts.
4. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 I read through my research, not just 1975 cuz they will say that never happened, that the elders of the congregations misunderstood. And of course, I told them, that doesn't make any sense that some elders from some halls from some cities can then affect all congregations from all the halls from the whole world. My grandma has been JW for more than 40 years, I know this happened. S brought up jw.org on her phone and started reading how she knows her organization is the one true religion. The WT loves using anecdotes to prove their points cuz Jesus used parables. anyway, at one point she read about handing out maps so people can know how to get to their destination. So I asked, how do we know how reliable these maps are? The map giver is always going to say that theirs are the most reliable.... I said, if in 1800 I can do something to go to heaven but in 2015 it's no longer valid, I think that map is not very reliable. I then brought up the bible verse and I said, I don't want to disobey God. I cannot study this organization's material anymore. They started to pack up after these 2.5 hours.
5. Funny thing. S keeps asking me questions.
a) so, do you have the truth? yes, i do. it is right here in this bible alone. just the bible.
b) where are you going to go when you die? i am going to be with God. I know there are many discussions about heaven and hell, but the bible is clear about one thing, you die either to be with God or to be without God. It says, if you accept Jesus as your Savior, believe He died for your sins, and confess with your mouth, you are going to be with God. I am going to be with God.
c) how do you know what your church teaches is true? my husband and i are not "baptists" we are God fearing people who follow the bible. we just happen to go to a baptist seminary, it's not a title or label. If a church we walk into does not teach the bible, we walk away. If a church teaches the bible but God has not brought us there, we walk away too. Only if a church teaches the bible and God has called that we stay to serve. We are not bound to one organization.
d) what were you before you became a Christian? i was into new age, a little buddhism here, a little hinduism there, a bit of atheism... i used to have nightmares about dying when i was a kid.
and then I started reading the bible and found God.
e) but your bibles took out jehovah's name.... yes and studying with y'all have opened my eyes to that. that's why i have been seeking out bibles like Holmann Christian and New Jerusalem Bible that have YHWH in them.
No arguments, no debates, seasoned with truth.
6. Awww we are going to miss you.... Me: me too!!!!! drop by any time. email me, call me, text me!
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M and S will bring this sadly rare Christian kindness with them and to their hall. They are not going to black list me or my house. Their hall will send people back. I have complete peace and trust that God's work has been finished. Please continue to pray for M and S.
4. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 I read through my research, not just 1975 cuz they will say that never happened, that the elders of the congregations misunderstood. And of course, I told them, that doesn't make any sense that some elders from some halls from some cities can then affect all congregations from all the halls from the whole world. My grandma has been JW for more than 40 years, I know this happened. S brought up jw.org on her phone and started reading how she knows her organization is the one true religion. The WT loves using anecdotes to prove their points cuz Jesus used parables. anyway, at one point she read about handing out maps so people can know how to get to their destination. So I asked, how do we know how reliable these maps are? The map giver is always going to say that theirs are the most reliable.... I said, if in 1800 I can do something to go to heaven but in 2015 it's no longer valid, I think that map is not very reliable. I then brought up the bible verse and I said, I don't want to disobey God. I cannot study this organization's material anymore. They started to pack up after these 2.5 hours.
5. Funny thing. S keeps asking me questions.
a) so, do you have the truth? yes, i do. it is right here in this bible alone. just the bible.
b) where are you going to go when you die? i am going to be with God. I know there are many discussions about heaven and hell, but the bible is clear about one thing, you die either to be with God or to be without God. It says, if you accept Jesus as your Savior, believe He died for your sins, and confess with your mouth, you are going to be with God. I am going to be with God.
c) how do you know what your church teaches is true? my husband and i are not "baptists" we are God fearing people who follow the bible. we just happen to go to a baptist seminary, it's not a title or label. If a church we walk into does not teach the bible, we walk away. If a church teaches the bible but God has not brought us there, we walk away too. Only if a church teaches the bible and God has called that we stay to serve. We are not bound to one organization.
d) what were you before you became a Christian? i was into new age, a little buddhism here, a little hinduism there, a bit of atheism... i used to have nightmares about dying when i was a kid.
and then I started reading the bible and found God.
e) but your bibles took out jehovah's name.... yes and studying with y'all have opened my eyes to that. that's why i have been seeking out bibles like Holmann Christian and New Jerusalem Bible that have YHWH in them.
No arguments, no debates, seasoned with truth.
6. Awww we are going to miss you.... Me: me too!!!!! drop by any time. email me, call me, text me!
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M and S will bring this sadly rare Christian kindness with them and to their hall. They are not going to black list me or my house. Their hall will send people back. I have complete peace and trust that God's work has been finished. Please continue to pray for M and S.
Listen, if you have family or friends who are Jehovah's Witnesses, please don't give up talking to them. If you don't know how or you have before with no avail, please contact me. I will show you how to talk to them without getting upset or getting them upset. I have a great mentor and friend through out this journey and I couldn't have done it without him. For more than 30 years, he used to be a JW and used to write for their publications. He got out and now "an associate member of the Evangelical Theological Society. Member of ISCA, International Society of Christian Apologetics. Member of Mensa." All things are possible for God. He can free their minds!!!
Oh Lord my God, You are so awesome and amazing. What is a year and a half compared to an eternity when one soul repents and returns to You???? Thank You for sending M and S to my door. Thank You for giving me an opportunity to learn, to commit to a call, and to struggle through all this. Thank You for my supportive friends who kept me accountable and also my not so supportive friends who kept me humble. Help me now to rest and be still. Let my spirit rejoice and be glad. You are precious Jesus, whoever finds you is like finding a rare treasure in a vast field. Help me hold onto this..................... In your precious name, AMEN.
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