Worship that God Approves - How to Identify the True Religion - Part 1 of 2

How are my beautiful readers today? Welcome back. It is good to 'see' ya!

Before I became one of Jehovah's witnesses, I was Pentecostal, by name and not practice, and thought I had the correct religion. Oh yeah, I was right, and everybody else was wrong. I shake my head at myself now when I think back on that time in my life. I was so misinformed about the information in the Bible. Oh some of it was accurate, but there was a lot I was not taught, from the Bible. I also remember my husband saying, "I'm not sure what religions out there are right, but Jehovah's Witnesses are the closest," or something to that effect. He was always the one who encouraged our contact and Bible studies with them. Even back then, they taught me things that I hadn't been taught by my religious parents, but, I wasn't ready to hear 'the truth' yet. 

Which Religion?

How can we recognize those who practice the true religion? How can 'the road to life' be found? Well, we need look no further than the pages of the Bible. Jesus said that the true religion would be evident in the lives of the people who practice it. "By their fruits you will recognize them," he said. "Every good tree produces fine fruit."(Matthew 7:16,17) In other words, those who practice the true religion would be recognized by their beliefs and their conduct. (I UNDERSTAND THAT NOW. Back then, I didn't realize the importance of ones conduct, how it reflects on ones religion.) Although they are not perfect and they make mistakes (me), true worshippers as a group seek to do God's will.

There are 6 features that identify those who practice true religion.

How do God's servants view the Bible? God's servants base their teachings on the Bible. The Bible itself says: "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man (or woman) of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16,17) To his fellow Christians, the apostle Paul wrote: "When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Therefore beliefs and practices of the true religion are not based on human views or traditions. They originate in God's inspired Word, the Bible. And y'all know how important that is to me, if it ain't from the Bible, to me it's just an opinion, and we have enough of that running around, and that's just my opinion... hee hee hee.

Notice how Jesus set the example in this regard... Jesus Christ set the proper example by basing his teachings on God's Word. In prayer to his heavenly Father, he said: "Your word is truth." (John 17:17) Jesus believed the Word of God, and everything he taught harmonized with the Scriptures. Jesus often said: "It is written." (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Then Jesus would quote a scripture. Similarly, God's people today do not teach their own ideas. They believe that the Bible is God's Word, and they base their teachings firmly on what it says.

Isaiah 42:8
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Do you know what is involved in worshipping Jehovah? Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name know. Jesus declared: "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matthew 4:10) Therefore, God's servants worship no one other than Jehovah. This worship includes letting people know what the name of the true God is and what he is like. Psalm 83:18 reads: "You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth." Jesus set the pattern in helping others to get to know God, as he said in prayer: "I have made your name manifest to the men whom you gave me out of the world." (John 17:6) Similarly, true worshippers today teach others about God's name, his purposes, and his qualities.

God's people show genuine, unselfish love for one another. In what ways? Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples - if you have love among yourselves." (John 13:35) The early Christians had such love for one another. Godly love overcomes racial, social, and national barriers and draws people together in an unbreakable bond of true brother. (Let's read Colossians 3:14) Members of false religions do not have such a loving brotherhood. How do we know that? Well, they kill one another because of national or ethnic differences. True Christians do not take up weapons to kill their Christian brothers or anyone else. The Bible states: "The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Whoever does not practice righteousness does not originate with God, nor does the one who does not love his brother......We should love one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother." - (1 John 3:10-12, 4:20, 21.) I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a child of the Devil. 

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One time, I remember a friend of my son's was invited to an Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses and made the comment, "We don't have Black People at our Church." IJS...

Of course, genuine love means more than not killing others. True Christians unselfishly use their time, energy, and resources to help and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) They help one another in times of distress, and they deal honestly with others. In fact, they apply in their lives the Bible counsel to "work what is good toward all." - Galatians 6:10.

OK... we've covered 3 of the 6 features that identify those who practice true religion. 

1. God's servants base their teachings on the Bible.
2. Those who practice the true religion worship only Jehovah and make his name know.
3. God's people show genuine, unselfish love for one another.

I don't want to overwhelm you, so I will stop there so that you can absorb this information. It will give you time to ponder over the scriptures. This is important information, especially if you are trying to find the true religion, and you personally see things in the churches that just don't sit well with you. 

To continue on, the next blog in the series will be: Worship that God Approves - How to Identify the True Religion - part 2 of 2

The above information was taken in part from: 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Right Way to Worship God

Worship that God Approves – Are all religions pleasing to God?

If each book represented a Religion,
how could you choose the correct one?
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Hello again, my beautiful readers, and welcome back. 

Is there a True Religion from God's Standpoint?

There are a lot of religions out there, and no doubt, from what people are taught in the churches, they are worshiping God correctly. But... what if... just what if... that's not true? What if traditions are being taught, instead of being taught what God really wants? How would you know? Does it matter? 

How will we benefit if we worship God in the right way? Let's face it, there are hundreds of religions that claim to teach the truth about God. Yet, they differ greatly in their teaching about who God is and what he expects of us. Jehovah God deeply cares for us and wants us to benefit from his loving direction. If we worship him in the right way, we will be happy and will avoid many problems in life. We will also have his blessing and his help. He promised that at Isaiah 48:17.

jw.org

How can we learn the right way to worship Jehovah? I assure you, one does not have to study and compare the teaching of all the many religions, one need only learn what the Bible really teaches about true worship. If I may illustrate it to you this way: In may lands, there is a problem with counterfeit money. If you were given the job of picking out such false money, how would you go about it? By memorizing every kind of counterfeit? No. Your time would be better spent if you studied real money. After you knew what real money looked like, you could recognize a counterfeit. Similarly, when we learn how to identify the true religion, we can recognize those religions that are false.

According to Jesus, what must we do if we want to have God's approval? Well, it is important that we worship Jehovah in the way that he approves. Many people believe that all religions are pleasing to God, but the Bible does not teach that. It is not even enough just to claim to be a Christian. Jesus said: “Not everyone saying to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the Kingdom of heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” To have God's approval, therefore, we must learn what God requires of us and do it. Jesus called those who do not do God's will “workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23) Like counterfeit money, false religion has no real value. Even worse, such religion is actually harmful. Can you imagine religion that is false being harmful? Wow!!!

narrow & cramped...broad and spacious
WHICH ROAD ARE YOU ON?
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Allow yourself to entertain yet another question, what do Jesus' words concerning the two roads mean, and where does each road lead? Jehovah gives everyone on earth the opportunity to gain everlasting life. To have eternal life in Paradise, however, we must worship God properly and live now in a way that is acceptable to him. Sadly, many refuse to do so. That is why Jesus said: “Go in through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it.” (Matthew 7:13,15) True religion leads to everlasting life. False religion leads to destruction. Jehovah does not want any human to be destroyed, and that is why he is giving people everywhere an opportunity to learn about him. (2 Peter 3:9) Really, then, the way we worship God means either life or death for us.

What do you think, Are All religions pleasing to God? I ask that question because I had the privilege of being able to listen in on, via phone, the Sunday Discourse given at the Kingdom Hall, and the title of the talk was: “Is there a True Religion from God's Standpoint?” and the speaker showed us from the scriptures that there is a True Religion from God's Standpoint.

The reason for me starting this conversation is because of something the Sunday Speaker said during his Bible discourse that really Really REALLY got me to thinking. From time to time, “people will say” 'that it doesn't matter what church I go to, they all lead to the same place' or 'God knows what's in my heart,' “so if it doesn't matter what church you go to, or that what you are doing is OK because God knows what's in your heart, then... (ready for this) “If God knows your heart, then ISIS is correct. If just the heart condition alone is enough, than what ISIS is doing is correct. They think they are doing the right thing, killing people who don't follow their religion, killing people who worship and practice pagan things.” He went on to say that, of course that is not correct, but, yet, in a way, that's the thinking of some people. 

POW... Think about it! That is crazy! Yeah?!?!?! Because we all know that what ISIS is doing is not correct, just as the Speaker I was listening to reasoned. So that means what? That the heart condition my not be in harmony with what Jehovah wants. I had never thought about it like that before, and it makes sense. I am glad that I was able to benefit from that Bible discourse. Now I would know how to answer someone if they say that it doesn't matter what church they go to, or that, God knows what's in their heart, because, it might not be in harmony with what Jehovah requires of us a true worshipers.

In order to be truly pleasing to Jehovah, then, we must know how to worship him correctly. Thankfully, he has left us a guide, his words written down within the pages of the Bible. Are you wondering, with hundreds of religions out there, How to Identify the True Religion? Let's talk about that next.

The above information was taken in part from: 

What Can the Bible Teach Us? 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

The Right Way to Worship God

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Do you believe in the Trinity? (Response to a Question)

How are my beautiful readers today? Welcome back. I am glad you could join me.
As you have probably guessed, I enjoy writing, just about any subject. The Trinity is a subject that comes up from time to time, and so here I am, gladly answering a question from a reader.

I have experienced for myself people who have been raised and taught the Trinity, and believe in the Trinity. I have come across such people while engaging in my public Bible ministry when calling on people at their homes. As a child, I myself was NOT taught the Trinity from my father, a Pentecostal Preacher, and years later, after dad died, I found out that my mom believes in the Trinity, though she never mentioned such teachings that I can remember whilst dad was alive.

photo from: jw.org

I was given some information, (I forget now the particulars,) on the Trinity from my Bible Study conductor and his wife as a result of my asking what the Trinity was, as this topic was coming up in my Bible Study Guide: What Does the Bible Really Teach? Chapter 4, Subheading: WHERE DID JESUS COME FROM? Paragraph 12, and it popped up again in Chapter 15, Subheading:  WHAT WILL YOU DO? Paragraph 17, and at that point, I had heard of the Trinity, but didn't know what it was. I remember commenting that I didn't know what the Trinity was to my Bible Study Conductor, and his response was "That's because there isn't a Trinity." So I asked a follow up question, "What is it that people are believing then?" That is when I was give addition information to ponder over, as such as is supplied in the following link. (Further information is available on the Trinity and the Origin of the Trinity at jw.org: search: trinity.)

All of this is leading up to the following conversation with one of my readers:
Q..."Just to be clear. You do not believe in the trinity?"
A..."The only trinity I believe in is: me, myself and I... a joke I tell friends. But in all seriousness, the trinity is not taught in the Bible. My mom, who is hardcore trinity, has yet to prove to me from the Bible that the three are one. If it ain't in the Bible, I don't teach it."

I went on to explain that there are 9 main scripture that we use from the Bible when trying to reason with people who do believe in the trinity, trying to help them see what the Bible says about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that I would share with them, as this person was taught there was a Trinity, but couldn't find evidence of it within the pages of the Bible.

• Let us start with Jesus himself. Who did he say that he was?

John 10:36 - do you say to me whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?+ Now... after reading this scripture, Jesus is speaking, who does HE say that he is?

• Now, let's read from the Bible who Jesus' Apostles said he was.

Matthew 16: 15,16 -  15  He said to them: “You, though, who do you say I am?” 16  Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ,+ the Son of the living God.”+ Notice here that Jesus was asking his Apostles a direct question. What was the answer from Simon Peter?

• This next scripture is how 'Neutral people' described Jesus.

Matthew 27:54 - But when the army officer and those with him keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and the things happening, they grew very much afraid and said: “Certainly this was God’s Son.”+ This statement is coming from a Roman Army officer. Even he recognized who Jesus was. Look at the scripture again, who did this Roman Army officer say that Jesus was?

• OK... so far we have heard who Jesus himself, his Apostles and Neutral people said that he was. Now let's see what Jehovah God says about Jesus.

Matthew 3:17 - Look! Also, a voice from the heavens + said: “This is my Son,+ the beloved, whom I have approved.”+ God spoke from the heavens... How did God acknowledge Jesus? What did God call Jesus?

• Now lets move on to Jesus' enemies... Oh yes, Jesus had enemies... and let's see what they had to say as to who Jesus was.

John 5:18 - This is why the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father,+ making himself equal to God.+
This is a powerful scripture, because even the Jews at that time knew that there was no other god. Jehovah was it. That was established for them with the Mosaic law when the Ten commandments were written on stone tablets. So even these Jews knew that Jesus was not God, not equal to him.

• Lets switch our focus from Jesus to Jehovah. Let us now establish who Jehovah is.

Psalm 83:18 - 18  May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah,+
You alone are the Most High over all the earth.+Again, another powerful scripture. Why? Whose name is mentioned in this verse? And what is he establishing about his position in the scheme of things? Really ponder over this scripture, because this scripture right here is establishing who God is, and who he shares his Godship with, NO ONE! Not even his son Jesus Christ. Jehovah is establishing that NO ONE is equal to him... NO ONE.

• And just so we are clear on who alone is God, please read what Jesus had to say about his father, Jehovah.

John 14:28 - You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.+
When you look at this scripture, notice that Jesus is talking about his father. Notice also that he has placed his Father in that 'greater' position than himself. He is not claiming to be equal to God. Jesus has established that there is one God, Jehovah, his father.

• This next scripture deals with the teachings to the Christian Congregation.

I Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ;+ in turn, the head of a woman is the man;+ in turn, the head of the Christ is God.+
In teaching the congregation in Corinth, this scripture clearly lays out for us the headship arrangement. Did you notice who is the head of the Christ? Notice, the head of the woman is the man, the head of every man is the Christ, who is head of Christ? Again, not an equal positioning of Christ with God.

• The last scripture to me is equally impelling as it describes Jesus' mental attitude.

Philippians 2:6 - who, although he was existing in God’s form,+ gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.+
Here, we learn that the thought of being equal to God was never anything that Jesus considered. It says that he gave no thought that he should be equal to God. He knew the headship arrangement, believed it, taught it, as did others, teaching that there is one God.

In conclusion, with regards to a question from one of my readers: Q..."Just to be clear. You do not believe in the trinity?" I put the question to you, based on the above provided scriptures, what do you think? Is there a trinity? Is God part of a trinity?

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How Jehovah Got my Attention: (Part 5) Overcoming Heavy Baggage

Welcome back, my beautiful readers... Well, you have traveled a long journey with me, and we are pulling back into the driveway. This is the final stretch. I truly hope that you have enjoyed the journey with me. 

I mentioned previously that I had baggage. Heavy baggage. Pride and Resentment. (Sadly, these two seem to always keep revisiting me, and I haven't even invited them...RUDE.)

Although I was slowly letting go of the Hatred and learning Forgiveness, I still had one more thing holding me back Spiritually. My continued studies helped to develop a love for Jehovah and a desire to make him happy, and the change within me became more noticeable to me. Hatred did not seem to matter anymore. I simply did not have time for it in my life anymore.

Does anything good ever come of it?

A negative feeling

What held me back was Pride and Resentment towards Papa. I realized that as I was studying, I wanted to be the one to share new information with Paul, I wanted to be the one teaching HIM, so when I would share my new findings out of the Bible with him, he would say: “You did not know that?” Boy did I resent that. And that is when I was no longer able to make comments at any of the meetings. I did not feel I had the right to comment while carrying around this resentment. I kept hearing this voice inside my head that told me that 'I did not have any right to be making comments.' This resentment also made me feel guilty about the field Ministry.

In the end, after talking for a couple of hours on the phone with a Sister from my book study, she asked me: “Did you pray about it?” I must confess, I had not. That was her first suggestion. Next, she suggested I do as search on the WT CD program as the society has wonderful articles out to help people deal with all sorts of things. As soon as I got off the phone with her, I did the search and the very first article that comes up in the search deals with my problem. (Like, how cool is that?!?!?!) So I prayed to Jehovah for his help, and from that moment on, I felt as though a burden was lifted from me.

Then while watching the video: 'Questions Young People Ask,” one of the young girls said that it doesn't matter whether you are baptized or not, you are still accountable to Jehovah. What was left to say after that? I knew then it was time to get Baptized. So I talked to Mark and he talked to the C/O and because I am sentimental, I wanted to get Baptized at the upcoming D/C which would be one year to the date of the last D/C I had attended. Three sets of questions later, and I was set to get Baptized. So, on June 30, 2007, I had the joy of being baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I was one of 35 baptized that day, two of which were from our congregation.

In closing, I would like to say, I thank Jehovah and Mark and Shirley for not giving up on me.

The end of my story, not my journey...

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Everybody needs encouragement... Everybody

After hitting rock bottom last week, I was in need of encouragement and it was provided for me, by Jehovah God, at the Sunday meeting, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's witnesses. We were helped to see, that no matter our circumstances, Jehovah values us, he values our service, he values our love. Yet, we can become discouraged over our trials and tribulations that weigh us down. Sometimes, it's hard to get back up. That is why I love the constant reminders from Jehovah that we are loved and that we should not give up.

This blog, my dear readers, is especially for my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, but I hope that ALL will be encouraged by it.

JEHOVAH wants us to be happy, that is evident in that he gives us so many blessings that should bring us happiness, like life, his love for us, and help to keep us going in our service to him. We have the spiritual paradise which includes true peace and unity, a loving brotherhood, and regular reminders of Jehovah's love for us. Plus, we have a precious hope for the future. Yet, even though we have these reasons for happiness, some faithful servants of God struggle with negative thoughts about themselves. They may feel that Jehovah does not value them or their service to him. Those who have constant negative feelings may think that the idea of enjoying "many years" is just a dream. Life may feel like one dark day after another.

Such negative feelings may be caused by disappointments, illness, or getting older. (All of the above for me.) We also know that our heart is "treacherous" and it can make us feel guilty even when God may be pleased with us. (Bummer.) The Devil spreads lies about God's servants. Satan moved Eliphaz to say that we are worthless to God. That was a lie in Job's day, and it still is today. —Job 4:18, 19.

Jehovah assures us, from the Scriptures, that he will be with those who struggle with negative thoughts. One way that he is with us is by means of his Word. The Bible is 'powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things." This means that it can change wrong or negative ideas about ourselves. (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5) So let us discuss how we can use the Bible to help us develop and maintain a positive viewpoint. You may personally benefit from this and also find ways to encourage others. (I know I have.)

The Bible is powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things.

Take this article, for instance: How to Maintain a Positive Viewpoint. It helps us with the following: 

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

• What can make it difficult to keep a positive viewpoint?
• How can we use the Bible to keep a positive viewpoint?
• How can the examples of the poor widow, Elijah, and the writer of Psalm 102 help us to develop a positive viewpoint?

Of course, the story that always touches my heart deeply is that of the poor widow.  (Read Luke 21:1-4.)  At the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus watched a poor widow. Her example can help us to maintain a positive viewpoint even if we cannot do everything that we would like to do. Think about her circumstances. First of all, she had to endure the pain of loosing her husband. (And while I have not experienced that personally, I have many friends who have lost a marriage mate, and I see some of the pain they go through.) At the same time, the religious leaders were greedy and stole... yes, STOLE from widows like her, instead of helping them.  (Luke 20:47)  She was so poor that the best contribution she could give to the temple was the same as what a worker could earn in just a few minutes.

Imagine, if you will, how the widow might have felt as she entered the temple courtyard holding only two small coins. Would she be thinking about how small her contribution was compared with what she would have given when her husband was alive? When she saw the large donations of others, would she be embarrassed and feel that her contribution was worthless? Even if she had such feelings, she still gave what she had in order to support true worship.

Soo... How did Jesus show that the widow was VALUABLE to God? Jesus said that the widow and her contribution were valuable to Jehovah. He said that she gave more... yes MORE... than all the rich people gave. Here contribution would be mixed in with what others gave, but Jesus especially appreciated her gift to Jehovah. Those who counted the temple contributions would never know how 'important those two small coins were to Jehovah' or 'how precious the widow was to him.' Still, God's opinion was, and is, the one that really mattered, not what other people thought or even how the widow felt about herself.

What can you learn from the account of the widow? What have I learned? Your circumstances may affect what you can give to Jehovah. Because of age (me) or health problems (me), some are not able to spend as much time preaching as they would like. Should they feel that their field service time is not worth reporting? Even if you are younger or have good health, you might feel that your efforts are only a small part of the many hours that God's people spend in worshipping him. The story of the poor widow teaches us that Jehovah notices and treasures every...little...thing we do for him, especially with our circumstances are difficult. Think about your worship to Jehovah during the past year. Did one of the hours you spent serving Jehovah require you to make a great sacrifice? If so, you can be sure that he values what you did for him during that hour. And that, my dear readers, is such an encouragement to me... I hope it is to you as well.

You and I can both use the experience of the 'poor widow' to develop a positive attitude.

• First, think of the ways Jehovah has supported you. Has an elder or another mature Christian given you help at the right time? (Galatians 6:2) Have the Bible, our Christian publications, and the meetings helped you to feel that Jehovah cares about you? (That's a big YES from me!) The next time you are helped in one of these ways, think about where this help really comes from, and remember to thank Jehovah in prayer. —Psalm 121:1, 2.
• Second, remember that a negative viewpoint can mislead us. God's opinion of us is what REALLY maters. (Read Romans 14:4.) Jehovah values our devotion and our faithfulness to him. Our value to Jehovah does not depend on how much we do for him. It could be that, like the poor widow, you have done more for Jehovah than you realize. You have probably helped others in the congregation without knowing it. And people in the territory may have heard the truth because of your (or my) hard work.
• Finally, think of each assignment from Jehovah as proof, yep, proof that he is pleased with you... YOU. (Jeremiah 20:11) You might be discourage if your service seems unsuccessful or if goals in your service to Jehovah seem impossible to reach. Yet, you and I still have the greatest honor that any of us can have. This is the honor to preach the good news and to be called one of Jehovah's Witnesses. So stay faithful to Jehovah. Then, as Jesus said, you will be able to "enter into the joy of your master." —Matthew 25:23.

Soo if you are discouraged and this keeps you from doing as much as you want to in God's service, pray about it. Ask God to hear your prayer not only so that you will find relief from your problem, but also "so that the name of Jehovah will be declared." —Psalm 102:20, 21.Yep, we can use the Bible to prove to ourselves that we are valuable to Jehovah. It is true that in Satan's world we may not be able to get rid of all negative feelings or discouragement, however, all of us can please Jehovah and have everlasting life if we faithfully endure in his service (—Matthew 24:13.).... and that, my dear readers, is good enough for me. I...J...S... :-)

How to Maintain a Positive Viewpoint

The above information was taken in whole or in part by the following article: