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When they are left on their own, to be motivated by their own will, their focus is inward.
That was why Israel had to be given the Law IN WRITING, dear WS (good morning and peace to you!)... versus just the Law... and why they were placed under "men in charge."
This why when the CO comes, post visit there is a flurry of shepherding. Things soon fall back to how they were.
Recall James' words that explain that:
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." James 1:23-25These who you mention "have a FORM of godly devotion but prove false to its POWER."
That POWER is what one has when one has the SPIRIT of Christ, which SPIRIT grants FREEDOM:
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17Because Christ, the Truth, SETS us free:
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."[b] [b]John 8:32, 36
"I... am the Way... the TRUTH... and the life." John 14:6)
So when we receive HIS spirit, we ARE free.
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Wow, you can really feel the love can't ya?
It's a shame, isn't it? Because they COULD love, as they SHOULD, if they were granted ACCESS to the One who would TEACH it to them, as well as give them the fruit of JAH's holy spirit that IS love. Sadly, these in the WTBTS are denied that spirit by means of being denied access to the DOOR... Christ (
John 10:8)... because they are denied the FREEDOM to partake OF Christ. Rather, those who lead them "shut UP the kingdom of the heavens" before them (
Matthew 23:13). As a result, they CAN'T
receive the SPIRIT they need... and so the FREEDOM they need... to LOVE...
as they SHOULD.
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In all honesty, I do feel sorry for most of the elders. The WTS keeps them all so busy. There is always something to attend to, or some meeting to go along to. The WTS set up via their magazines the standards of what they expect their elders to be like, meanwhile, in the real world, lots of them struggle to have a family study let alone find the time to mark their WT. Jesus yoke is kind and light. The expctations of the WTS are not - in their eyes you can always do more!
YES, YES, YES!!! Their "yoke"... and the fact that the people LOVE the deceit, though, PROVES that they are Israel! That they are those of whom the MOST Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies, was speaking about when He had Isaiah write to His people their error! The people were crying out to JAH as to why He didn't see their fasting and afflicting of themselves "for" Him! His response, recorded at
Isaiah 58:1-14 was sublime:
“Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’"His reply to them? Surely not what they thought it would be:
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.You cannot fast as you do this day,
And expect your voice to be heard on high.Is it a fast that I have chosen,A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to JaHVeH?“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?"Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of JaHVeH shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and JaHVeH will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’""If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday."There is more (the rest of the chapter, as well as into the first several verses of Chapter 59) but I won't quote it here. Suffice it to say that the members of the WTBTS... BELIEVE they are "observing a fast" to God ("Jehovah") but not only are they "fasting" to the wrong god... but they are not engaging in an ACCEPTABLE fast at all! The MOST Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies, does not want us to afflict our souls (bodies)... but to LISTEN to Him, by listening to His Son, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah):
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire
but my ears you have opened
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require." Psalm 40:6This verse alone should show us that the MOST Holy One of Israel is NOT the "person" many believe Him to be. He did not WANT sacrifices and offerings! And so those who adhere to the OLD Law just do get it, nor do they get the "false stylus" of the secretaries/scribes/copyists. I digress.
The WTBTS aren't taught to be shepherds, however; theirs is training that not only creates and foments "wolfish" behavior, but calls for those with tendecies to be "wolves" in the first place:
"The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." John 10:12, 13The "hired hand", or GB, however, don't give a frick about the sheep, because the sheep
don't belong to them. Like some employees who, rather than caring for the belongings of their employer, steal, let others steal, or abuse the owner's belonging... because it isn't really THEIR business; they're just employees. Likewise, these "hired men," the WTBTS GB. Because they sheep aren't theirs' rather than stand UP for the sheep and PROTECT them from the wolves, which is what a GOOD shepherd does, they run and hide so as to save their own skins, literally handing the sheep over to "wolves" in the process.
That is not to say that all elders/MSs are "wolves", of course... or even continue in the tendencies. Those who aren't either only go so far toward becoming/being an elder (if they seek the position at all), or step down. Because they
realize they don't TRULY fit the role. They can SEE the "wolfish" mentality necessary to fulfill the part and they just can't do it (at all or any longer). They, in essence, "turn around."
Just as Abraham's blood identifies Israel to Him, these things also identify Israel to JAH, to the extent they are those of the "hard-hearted, hard-headed, stiff-necked" Israel... and not the Israel that puts faith in Him... by putting faith in His Son. Repeatedly, THIS organization and its members, show themselves to be THAT part of Israel, not the part (faithful) they THINK they are.
May they be granted ears to hear the call to GET OUT OF HER... so that they don't ultimately share in her sins and so receive part of her plagues.
Again, peace to you!
YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,
Shellama