I always tear up when I hear this one sung by Randy Travis. This song is one of my true favorites if not the favorite.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

This song has been a favorite of mine since I made my personal commitment to Christ back in 2001 and was subsequently baptized.

Since we’ve had so much discussion about baptism I thought I’d share it.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Where does it say that you have to have someone “special” baptize you? You don’t. Where does it say that a special place and time for baptism is a requirement? It doesn’t!

You can baptize someone in a public or (preferably) private pool or a lake or even a pond! You could baptize someone in a river or even a stream!

Anyone who is a Christian has the right and the responsibility to baptize those who wish to be baptized! (Matthew 28:19-20)

You don’t have to have an elder, or a pastor, or a priest baptize you. You don’t have to answer a litany of questions either! You don’t have to have a certificate of baptism nor do you have to have any church or hierarchy bless the baptism with their approval. God’s approval is all you need!

In the case of a husband or wife they can baptize each other! Parents can baptize children and and children can baptize parents!

As long as you are baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (just as Christ commanded above!) then you are fulfilling that commission!

Amazing that we don’t realize that when we read this scripture isn’t it?

I still have blind spots too. That thought just occurred to me while reading a related post!

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

When the WT claims to be led by the holy spirit it gives them authority over others who aren’t. As a cult leader, why not claim that?

Of course the holy spirit only leads certain ones according to the WT. That makes them special and you and I not so much!

Are you beginning to see how the game is played?

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

It has more to do with public relations than anything to protect the flock. If the person involved in this is a high ranking member of the congregation it would be disastrous with regard to PR.

Another thing that prevents the elders from doing what they might want to do in disfellowshipping these slime balls is that they have to have TWO eye witnesses in order to DF if the accused doesn’t admit the crime. In the case of child molestation especially, this is a single victim crime and only one person is making the complaint.

Sadly this has resulted in many children being victimized until adulthood by these miscreants.

Oh and don’t kid yourself. There are molesters still in the organization!

Thanks for the question.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

If what you do (door to door preaching) leads anyone astray from the real truth about Christ (and you know what the real truth is) then you would be willfully deceiving someone else. Do you really want to answer for that? What if Paul had done that? “Well it is just too hard to take a stand for Jesus so I’ll just remain a Jew. I’ll believe in Jesus quietly so that it doesn’t cause me any trouble.”

Mark 8:38

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Convenience isn’t in the Christian’s vocabulary.

That being stated, it took me a long time to summon the courage to leave. However, I knew, in my heart of hearts that the Watchtower was teaching falsehood. I knew it because I had read the Bible for myself and knew what the truth was. It was like getting a rock in your shoe. You can walk a long time but it is always going to bug you and eventually you’re going to have to do something about it.

I’m hoping that you figure this all out for yourself and that you get the courage some day to take a stand for what the Bible really teaches instead of this man made doctrine.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

First I’ve heard of this. That would be a major deal if it were true. Probably has something to do with the fact that they are running out of money.

Just my thoughts.

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

I had some people ask me about some new light recently regarding the meaning of the “feet of iron and molded clay”.

I discounted the new light as being nothing major as it pertained to JW belief but it did get me to thinking about something:

If I wanted a major turnout to a circuit or district assembly it would make perfect sense to put out a little “teaser” regarding some supposed “new light”.

The same could be done with a special talk.

Bottom line?

Humans are humans. If they think there is something “new and improved” about to be released they will flock to the source!

I later spoke to someone who attended an assembly where this “new light” was promised. He couldn’t recall what the new light was but remembered that it was promised.

As with all assemblies, the attendee is left wanting more…

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

The following are some questions I received recently from a JW couple who are leaving the organization. These are questions that we all face in that process and I thought it would be good to share with the group.

As always the names and locations have been removed to protect the people involved:

Is there really anyway to say any of this without saying what is so disgusting about the organization and without quoting anyone or anything, as proof?

They are likely to ask, where did you come up with this?

Not really. They’ll start pulling out their bibles and their publications and want to engage in a religious argument with you if you start talking about anything doctrinal. If you start talking about anything secular they’ll ask you where you got it. If you say “the internet” they’ll roll their eyes and laugh at you and try to make you feel stupid. If you quote any apostates they’ll look at you like you’re demon possessed. There really isn’t ANY way to justify your decision to a JW. You just need to say what you want to say and move on. Prepare for the worst reaction possible and you won’t be disappointed.

Is it true that you are once saved always saved?

 Paul talks about this:

Hebrews 6: 4-6

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, becauseto their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

So to answer your question I don’t believe in “once saved always saved”. I do believe that our being saved is a choice that we make and that anyone who comes to God with repentance and accepts Jesus Christ as their savior is saved.

Have you ever seen or heard of someone successfully fading that moved out of state from their family?

Only once and that was the son of an elder that actually married me and my wife. He moved to another state and never went back to the meetings after that. He ended up attending a different church with his family and to my knowledge was never disfellowshipped for it.

With regard to relatives of influential JW’s who never get DF but remain associating with the family: Do these people have some secret that I am not aware of or do their parents just keep their “apostasy” hidden for them?

I think they are just keeping up the façade. A lot depends on how influential the parents or family are in the organization. Does it serve the org to DF or to ignore the situation? That is the question. If it is to their advantage they will DF. If it isn’t they won’t.

Why do you feel strongly that we read Combating Cult Mind Control?

Because it will show you what has been done to you. It will allow you to see the mechanics of cult programming and how you were duped. Until you do that you will probably always have to deal with the emotional and mental loops that rear their ugly heads every time something traumatic happens in your life.

Will reading the above book benefit us in reaching my family’s heart or is it to obtain the courage to speak out and leave?

You do what you need to do with regard to your family. That is your call. Combating Cult Mind Control will help you to “fix yourself”. It won’t really help you to fix others. Until they are objective enough to question what is being done by the Watchtower then reading the book will just infuriate them.

Can you explain what you mean a little more?

This “intervention” is more for you than it is for them. You need to know that you “said your piece” and that you confronted them with the truth about how you feel, think and believe. If you don’t then you will always wonder why you didn’t. You’ll wish that you did. That isn’t to say that you won’t have a future opportunity to speak your mind to your family but once that wall of hatred and fear has been erected by your family then anything you say will be discounted.

Why did you become a “born again”? Aren’t they kind of wacko?

Being born again is a much misunderstood and maligned idea. People think that a born again Christian is someone who hops around, speaking gibberish, waving the bible, ranting and raving about Jesus’ coming etc. That simply isn’t the case. Being born again is the process where “His spirit bears witness with our spirit”.

Romans 8:16

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

 Jesus also stated quite clearly that if we aren’t born again that we aren’t saved.

John 3:3

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

All true Christians, according to Jesus’ own words at John 3:3, are born again. That is what baptism symbolizes: The death of the physical man and the birth of the spiritual man.  (Romans 7:24-25)

Right now you are on “toxic religion overload”. You aren’t in any condition to make a hard and fast decision about new beliefs.

My advice: Take your time, read the Bible (New Testament first please!) for yourself, and figure out what it is that YOU believe.

Pray. Pray. Pray and when you think you’re done praying PRAY AGAIN!

God knows what you are going through. He will comfort you, guide, you and love you. Whether or not you EVER attend another church is up to you. God doesn’t live in a church.

Standing in a church doesn’t make you or I anymore Christian than standing in a garage makes us cars. It is irrelevant.

Now at some point you may wish to associate with other Christians. That is when you may wish to engage in the process of finding a church home. However, being a member of any church isn’t a requirement of God. It is a personal choice of the believer.

A lot of your previous programming in the JW’s will influence many decisions that you make going forward. You’re going to stop and go: “Wow I don’t HAVE to do that anymore!” It will become an interesting process of peeling back the layers of self delusion, much like an onion. Once one layer falls then here come two more right behind it.

This process is about finding yourself, figuring out what is acceptable to you instead of what has been mandated by a legalistic and judgmental leadership! Reading the Bible for yourself is a fantastic personal process in itself. Reading God’s word with new eyes instead of the old filters will enable you to really grasp what it is that God wants for you and your family.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Got this question from a reader recently. I’m going to answer this purely from a Biblical perspective. 

Baptism is a necessary step on the path of salvation. Even Jesus Himself had to be baptized if you’ll recall. John the Baptist tried to refuse but Jesus insisted that this happen. It was then that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove and the voice came out of heaven giving Jesus the approval of God. (Matthew 3:13-17)

It only makes sense that if the Creator of all that is (John 1:3)  had to be baptized then we shouldn’t balk at the process.

Another interesting scene was that of the Roman Centurion Cornelius when Peter was instructed to deliver the message of Christ to him:

Acts 10:44-48

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tonguesand praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Some people take that event and say that the Holy Spirit came before baptism and they would be right. However, splitting hairs as to whether you are saved before or after baptism is a futile exercise. The fact is that it is necessary according to the scriptures.

And of course finally the commission from Christ Himself to His disciples found in Matthew 28:19-20:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Do I believe it is necessary for a Christian to be baptized? Yes I do and I believe that the Bible backs this up completely.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Christ wasn’t created. He has always been.

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Colossians 1:16:

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

With regard to John 14:28 and Luke 18:19:

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

I have but one question. When did Jesus say this?

Was it while He was in heaven or when He was on the earth?

If it was while He was on earth then naturally the Father would be greater. Even an angel was greater at that point because the scripture is quite plain:

Hebrews 2:9

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Philippians 2:6-8

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

The scripture PLAINLY states that Jesus existed as God prior to coming to earth. Now the following is one that you try to use to prove that Jesus isn’t God.

Luke 18:19

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.

Here Jesus was talking to a ruler who called Him “Good Teacher”. I love that Jesus used sarcasm in His remarks to those who weren’t led to Him. He did the same with the Pharisees and the other Jewish leaders.

Jesus here was making a point. It was no doubt lost on you but those who read the Bible know that this was Jesus stating quite frankly, in His own unique way, that He was God.

The scriptures are filled with accounts of Jesus being worshiped while He was on earth. (Matthew 14:33, Luke 24:52, Matthew 18:26, Matthew 8:2, Matthew 2:11) How could this be if He wasn’t God?

Jesus never once refused this worship. Now, if He was just a man and undeserving of such worship then He would have to have refused would He not? The Watchtower tries to say that this was a common custom and that it wasn’t worship but just a polite bow to another man or show of respect. Note the scripture in Acts that blows that argument right out of the water.

Acts 10:24-26

The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

What about angels? Since the Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus is merely Michael the archangel then any worship of angels should be allowed given that Jesus Christ freely accepted this worship. Note the following scripture that again blows the Watchtower’s false claims completely out of the water:

Revelation 19:9-10

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!

You mentioned

Matthew 24:36

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

That scripture has nothing to do with equality or Christ being God. You’re trying to say that all three persons of God are exactly the same and have the same thoughts all the time and they quite obviously aren’t and don’t.

My wife and I are equal partners in our marriage. My business partners and I are all equal partners in our enterprise. However there are certain things that I do very well that the others don’t and so on! Just because we are unique in ways doesn’t negate our common bond of being co-equal or legally the owners of our business or, in the case of my wife, our home!

The fact remains that these words were spoken while Christ was in a human form, made lower than angels, and had left His glory in heaven. (John 17:5) That would also give you some very interesting clues as to why Christ prayed that the cup would pass Him by.

Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Greek is quite a simple language. I had to learn it in order to see the ways that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society had mistranslated scriptures and twisted them to deceive me and everyone in my family. Now Hebrew? That one is a toughie but Greek? Piece of cake!

With regard to your last statement:

The only way to know for sure is to have learned the language or know someone that does.

Your statement is entirely false! The scriptures are there for anyone to read. To maintain that someone has to have a degree in Greek to be an informed Christian flies in the face of everything that Jesus Christ stood for or taught.

I prefer to read several scriptures in a parallel so that I can see how ten, twenty, or even a hundred different versions translate a particular scripture.

That lie about Greek was started by Fred Franz (two year degree in Greek and NOTHING in Hebrew) when he supposedly translated the New World Translation. What he really did was pick and choose what scriptures he would use at key points in the gospels that indicated the divinity of Christ as well as other key points. He basically “sanitized” the bible for his own uses and to bolster the mistaken theology of his organization.

Saying you have to know Greek to know God is nothing but a cop out and falls into the same mistaken belief system of the early Jews! Somehow having a “ruling class” to tell you what to believe is going to save you? Not hardly! Christ most definitely blew that idea up! You can understand just fine by reading the Bible (virtually any other than the NWT).

Have you ever really sat down and read the Bible from Matthew to Revelation?  If you haven’t you need to.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields

www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Hi Brady,

Sounds like you’re growing up fast young man!

You’ve obviously got an honest heart and you’re searching for truth in the scriptures. That has its good points and its tough points. The toughest part about being a truth seeker is that other people look at you funny as if you’ve got something wrong with you. You are asking too many hard questions and most people get uncomfortable around those that do this regularly.

What other people simply “accept” as fact you have to prove to yourself before you can incorporate it into your belief system.

Notice what Peter had to say about this amazing quality:

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” – Acts 17:11

Now if Peter, one of the closest disciples to Christ, said this, then perhaps that quality of holding everything to a Biblical standard isn’t bad but in fact is a good thing…a “noble” thing.

One thing that I will say to you is that no specific belief about the nature of God is required for salvation. The only thing that you and I have to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and to accept Him into our lives. The rest is simply icing on the cake.

Romans 10:9

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

One thing that makes it hard to understand that all three of these personalities of God are both separate and unified is that we tend to associate ourselves with one or the other. Either we are worshipping the Father (Jews) or the Son (Christians) or the Holy Spirit (Pentecostals) or some version of that.

I prefer to think of each personality as a distinct facet of God. You know water can exist in three states: Water, Steam and Ice. Yet they all partake of the same molecular structure do they not? Each has its uses and plays an important role. Yet when examined on the molecular level, they are all the same. They are just in different states. If you put each of them into a bottle they will all return to the same common state i.e. water.

I believe that is how God is with us. When we need a good stern “talking to” then the Father does this. When we need a shoulder to cry on Jesus comes to the fore. When we need instruction or help finding our way then the Holy Spirit comes to help us and teach us!

All of these concepts are scriptural and all are valid.

With regard to Jesus, there is NO OTHER NAME by which we must be saved period.

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.”

That should at least tell you and I how important Jesus Christ is in our path to salvation.

Jesus is God. John 1:1 states that plainly. So does Colossians 1:16. The fact that Christ’s disciples worshiped Him by bowing down and grabbing his ankles shows this in the gospels on numerous occasions. (Matthew 14:33, Luke 24:52, Matthew 18:26, Matthew 8:2, Matthew 2:11)

Now if there is only ONE GOD and the Bible states that emphatically, then we have to figure out what that means because quite obviously Jesus Christ was worshipped by His disciples. The Bible is very easy to understand once you consider GODSHIP as being a QUALITY rather than a PERSONALITY. Once you understand that then everything else falls into place.

Bottom line:

We shouldn’t ever allow what others think to influence what the Bible says to us. We are all individuals. We will be judged based upon our decisions and not what others do. That is a fundamental flaw in the herd mentality of most Christians. They follow their preachers and pastors around as if they have come down from the mountain with the very words of God. That simply isn’t true. Are there leaders in these churches who are doing good? Of course! However for anyone to demand that you or I accept their words as gospel, especially when they aren’t congruent with what the Bible teaches, is a practice that originates from men and not from God.

1 Corinthians 1: 10-17

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephasa”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

1 John 2:27

“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”

There are all sorts of idiosyncratic ideas floating around in churches and the Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly don’t have the market cornered on teaching commands of men as doctrine! Notice the words of Christ regarding the Jewish leaders of His time:

Matthew 15:9

“Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.”

Teaching that drinking alcohol is a sin is but one of the ideas of men taught as doctrine. Jesus turned water into wine at a party! If that doesn’t make one take pause then nothing will. Teaching that smoking is a sin is also an extruding or adding to the Bible. Teaching that wearing your hair long is a sin is also teaching commands of men as doctrines.  These are all personal choices that Christians can make for themselves. They don’t need a list of dos and donts to get them into heaven!

John 4:46

“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.”

One of my favorite scriptures is the following:

Acts 10:34-35 

“At this Peter opened his mouth and said: “For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.””

No membership in any particular religion or church is going to get you any closer to heaven. The only membership that counts is being in the body of Christ!

I hope this helps you in your walk with Him.

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Hey Doug.

My name is Brady and I’ve found your blog while searching Google for answers on some questions I had about a few different doctrines..

I’ve grown up in a Baptist church and now attend one with my wife I’m 19 and really in doubt about a lot of things so I’d appreciate your advise..

But I am surely confident that there will never be a true man made doctrine that completely parallels with Scripture. because there are so many things about God that we will never know but I was amazed with your blog because since I have been growing and wanting to learn more and doubting certain things that I have been told by other peoples beliefs and there absolute only way doctrine I have found it nearly impossible to find anyone that would even begin to go into why they believe the things that are not in Scripture .. they simply say well Brady your just going to have to believe and have faith ..

And I’m like I have faith In the things that don’t contradict its self..
I believe that there is a God and I believe he has a son and I believe that there is a holy spirit and I believe that they are three persons..

Now where it gets gray for me is when baptists say that they are all three the same in equality and eternally existing.

When I read Scripture I have yet to see where it says these things.
I mean from what I have gotten out of it Jesus gets all of his power and authority from God his father and God has granted his son to also have life in him self now where does it say that they are the same in authority when it comes to each other.

can anyone say that Jesus created God..

The way I see it is that God gave Christ everything he has because he loves him it just doesn’t make any sense to me for some one to say anything different I mean did Jesus give life to God did Jesus give authority to God!!  I don’t think so ..

This is why I have a problem with the Baptist church I attend and so many religions believe these same things..

And there’s definitely no way I will ever even consider believing what Pentecostals believe I mean I just doo not understand where they come up with there idea that God Jesus and the holy spirit are not three persons but one person I mean JESUS WAS NOT PRAYING TO HIMSELF LOL that’s all I have to say about there beliefs.

But the doctrine that REALLY caught my attention at first was the jw doctrine because they actually acknowledged that Jesus is not God but the son of God but I have fallen away from a lot of there core beliefs because of the way they change up Scripture to adapt to there man made ideas but in all reality don’t all religions do that!!?

I guess what I’m saying is that It is a sigh of relief when I find independent people like you who stand up to nonsense and refuse to fall into any certain man made thought but instead try to find the truth that is seemingly getting extremely harder and harder to find with all the trash in the world.. but I guess we are in good hands right :)

Praise God for his understanding and mercy…
And for the gift of his spiritual guidance..

But anyways I’d like to know what you think about the position I’m in I can appreciate people that can openly talk about there thoughts.

So feel free to speak freely my ears are open..

Thanks!

Hi A,

Thanks for the “attaboy”!

You know that brother was absolutely right.

We have a moral obligation to ourselves, our families, and to God Himself to make sure of what we believe and IF we find that it isn’t congruent with what the Bible teaches we MUST make changes in our lives based upon truth and our conscience and not upon falsehood or the path of least resistance.

Jehovah is truly with us when we make decisions for Him and not for ourselves or our “leaders”.

When David went up against Goliath, he had to show extreme faith in his God. Any “sane” person would have taken one look at Goliath and said “No way that boy is going to win this battle!”

God’s power wasn’t revealed in David until he showed the willingness to depend on Him in spite of the dangers to himself.

Daniel was another great example of someone unwilling to compromise his beliefs even in the face of sure death in the lion’s den.

What about Shadrach Meshach and Abednego? They wouldn’t worship any God but Jehovah even in the face of a burning furnace!

The Bible is chock full of examples of brave men and women who put God before their own interests and lives and were delivered by the hand of God Himself as a direct result of their faith!

All of these servants of God showed bravery and faith where it counted and THAT was when Jehovah came running to their aid.

What if you were around when Jesus Christ was preaching? What if you were a member of the Pharisees? What if Jesus’ message really struck a chord with you? Yet because of your affiliation as a Jew, instead of embracing Jesus and His message you chose to go home to your family and stay with the “status quot” because it was “easier”.

Not only would you have missed out on true salvation in Christ but your family would more than likely have missed out as well.

One of my favorite stories was told to me years ago.

“The devil and his demons were plotting on how to get more souls down to hell. The devil asked all of his wisest demons to bring their best ideas to the table for immediate consideration and possible implementation.

The first demon came to Satan and said: “I have the perfect plan. We’ll tell everyone that there isn’t a hell. There’s only a heaven and that it doesn’t matter what they do since everyone will go to heaven regardless!”

Well Satan was quite excited with that idea until the next demon came in to the room.

“Satan, I have an even better idea. We tell everyone there is no heaven and there is no hell. When you’re dead, you’re dead. Live for today because there is no tomorrow.”

Well Satan was even more excited about this idea and was just about ready to start working on spreading this lie to the humans when a third and most wise demon entered the room.

“Satan, I have an idea that will make all others obsolete. We tell everyone that there IS a heaven, and there IS a hell and we tell them that they must make a decision for Christ while they are yet alive or they will be sent to an everlasting hell when they die.”

Satan looked at the demon incredulously and screamed: “That’s what Christ and His apostles taught! You want us to teach the same thing?”

The wise demon smiled a wicked smile and replied:

“With one major difference master. We tell everyone that they have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO THINK ABOUT IT!”

Tick…Tick…Tick…

Yours in Christ,

Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com

Hello Doug,

Just read your response to the question about why you write your blog. You’ve succeeded as far as I’m concerned. Keep it up!

I just wanted to share something I heard in the public talk yesterday. The brother said, referring to people not in the truth:  ”What if you found out that your religion had been lying to you? You’d get out of there as quickly as possible, right? But should you be afraid of what will happen to you if you leave? Read Psalm 118:6 ‘Jehovah is on my side; I shall not fear. What can earthling man do to me?’”

(Feel free to comment on that in your blog.)

I just sat there and smiled. That verse gave me strength. As does your blog.

Thanks,

A