This is an observation about how "hiding" the name of God causes confusion of beliefs and appears to reduce God's role in our salvation.
In Romans 10:13, Paul says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," He was actually quoting a portion of the Hebrew scriptures, or Old Testament. Joel 2:32 says "And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered."
These quotations are taken from the King James version. In this translation, the Hebrew name for God (the Tetragrammaton YHWH) is shown as LORD in capital letters.
So, if someone reads Romans 10:13 in this translation, they will think that the Lord referred to is Jesus Christ. "Call on the name of Jesus and you will be saved" say many road-side pulpit signs. Er, no, actually. Paul meant for people to call upon the name of Jesus' father, Almighty God. That is why he quoted Joel 2:32. Jews knew that scripture meant the name of God, and Paul was a well-educated Jew and former Pharisee.
So, true Christians must call upon the name of Almighty God to be saved. Jesus Christ is vital for our salvation, but it is calling on the name of Almighty God that saves.
Notice how the New World Translation makes this clear:
Joel 2:32 "And it must occur that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe."
Romans 10:13 "For 'everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.'"
The name of Almighty God is JEHOVAH. The name of the son of God is JESUS. These two must never be confused in our understanding of the scriptures.
If you have to call upon the name of God to be saved, you have to use his name, not substitute the word God or Lord for his name.
Jesus said we should pray "Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9 King James version). He expected us to acknowledge his father's name in our prayers.
Jesus prayed (John 17:26) "I have made your name known to them and will make it known." If he publicised Jehovah God's name, SO SHOULD WE.
Compare the above with this:
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=60153
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
13 February 2011
30 January 2011
The circle of the earth
In our public talk today, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the speaker read out Job 26:7-10 while holding up a photograph of the earth taken from space by Apollo astronauts. The scripture describes the earth as seen by Jehovah God.
"7 He [Jehovah] is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing; 8 wrapping up the waters in his clouds, so that the cloud mass is not split under them; 9 enclosing the face of the throne, spreading out over it his cloud. 10 He has described a circle upon the face of the waters, to where light ends in darkness."
From space:
o- The earth hangs upon nothing.
o- Clouds envelope the earth like white blankets covering the blue seas.
o- The earth is a circle, or globe, of light surrounded by the darkness of space.
The only way Moses could have written these words is under inspiration by God. There was no concept amongst most of mankind 3,500 years ago of any of these ideas.
Although the Bible does not set out to be a scientific textbook, when it touches upon science what is says IS accurate.
"7 He [Jehovah] is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing; 8 wrapping up the waters in his clouds, so that the cloud mass is not split under them; 9 enclosing the face of the throne, spreading out over it his cloud. 10 He has described a circle upon the face of the waters, to where light ends in darkness."
From space:
o- The earth hangs upon nothing.
o- Clouds envelope the earth like white blankets covering the blue seas.
o- The earth is a circle, or globe, of light surrounded by the darkness of space.
The only way Moses could have written these words is under inspiration by God. There was no concept amongst most of mankind 3,500 years ago of any of these ideas.
Although the Bible does not set out to be a scientific textbook, when it touches upon science what is says IS accurate.
01 August 2010
Using several Twitter accounts
A thought about your Twitter "audience". When you tweet, it's a good idea to think who you are writing to. Do you use Twitter to share all your thoughts with whoever might listen? What about being more precise? Can you be? Should you be?
For example, if you are a JW, and you want to tweet a witness to non-JWs, you may write a tweet referring followers to a specific page on watchtower.org, such as "What is the Bible's view of Death?". However, fellow JWs may well already know this information. So, if most of your followers are brothers, they might want to hear something about how well you got on in the ministry instead.
There is a way to write tweets for both witnessesing AND for fellow JWs. Have two separate Twitter accounts. This is allowed, it doesn't break any rules!
You could have one account for witnessing-type tweets and you would try and get followers from non-JWs.
You could have a second account which you use for exchanging news, encouragement, etc., with JWs and you wouldn't witness using this account.
How can you manage this form of tweeting? Well, a lot of Twitter helper software will easily support multiple accounts, with THIS SORT OF USE in mind. I personally use Tweetdeck to manage several Twitter accounts, including some for business use. There are numerous software tools that can do the same, and an internet search will soon give you a list to work with until you find one you like the most.
So, onward and upwards! Enjoy tweeting, and remember your "audience".
For example, if you are a JW, and you want to tweet a witness to non-JWs, you may write a tweet referring followers to a specific page on watchtower.org, such as "What is the Bible's view of Death?". However, fellow JWs may well already know this information. So, if most of your followers are brothers, they might want to hear something about how well you got on in the ministry instead.
There is a way to write tweets for both witnessesing AND for fellow JWs. Have two separate Twitter accounts. This is allowed, it doesn't break any rules!
You could have one account for witnessing-type tweets and you would try and get followers from non-JWs.
You could have a second account which you use for exchanging news, encouragement, etc., with JWs and you wouldn't witness using this account.
How can you manage this form of tweeting? Well, a lot of Twitter helper software will easily support multiple accounts, with THIS SORT OF USE in mind. I personally use Tweetdeck to manage several Twitter accounts, including some for business use. There are numerous software tools that can do the same, and an internet search will soon give you a list to work with until you find one you like the most.
So, onward and upwards! Enjoy tweeting, and remember your "audience".
09 August 2009
Fantasy or Reality
Our congregation today had a public lecture given by a traveling overseer, Brother Anibaba, standing in for our normal Circuit Overseer. His theme was to do with comparing fantasies with realities.
He made several points about the danger of relying upon fantasies to cope with daily life, but one thing he said really stood out to me. About whether our hope is a fantasy or a reality.
If you read Matthew 24:14, Jesus Christ stated that the Good News would be preached in every nation before the end comes. Now, in 33CE, how realistic would it have been to expect that everyone in the world WOULD hear the message? If you had a copy of the Yearbook of 33CE, what would have been the worldwide report?
Number of countries preached in? One
Number of publishers? 12
Number of memorial partakers? 12
Ratio of publishers to population? Too hard to calculate!
So was it a fantasy to think that the message would be preached worldwide? NO.
Look at the success of those following this preaching commission nowadays. JESUS PROPHECY HAS BECOME A REALITY. The Good News is preached in hundreds of countries, in hundreds of languages by millions of people. Far from being a fantasy, Jesus was simply stating what WOULD happen!
How many other prophecies of his are coming true and will come true? The Kingdom hope is a reality, something we can depend upon.
What an incredibly upbuilding thought from a scripture that I have read dozens of times. I am so grateful to Jehovah for this encouragement!
He made several points about the danger of relying upon fantasies to cope with daily life, but one thing he said really stood out to me. About whether our hope is a fantasy or a reality.
If you read Matthew 24:14, Jesus Christ stated that the Good News would be preached in every nation before the end comes. Now, in 33CE, how realistic would it have been to expect that everyone in the world WOULD hear the message? If you had a copy of the Yearbook of 33CE, what would have been the worldwide report?
Number of countries preached in? One
Number of publishers? 12
Number of memorial partakers? 12
Ratio of publishers to population? Too hard to calculate!
So was it a fantasy to think that the message would be preached worldwide? NO.
Look at the success of those following this preaching commission nowadays. JESUS PROPHECY HAS BECOME A REALITY. The Good News is preached in hundreds of countries, in hundreds of languages by millions of people. Far from being a fantasy, Jesus was simply stating what WOULD happen!
How many other prophecies of his are coming true and will come true? The Kingdom hope is a reality, something we can depend upon.
What an incredibly upbuilding thought from a scripture that I have read dozens of times. I am so grateful to Jehovah for this encouragement!
22 July 2009
Children's Bible in a Nutshell
A child was told to write a "book report" on the entire Bible. Through the eyes of a child . . . .
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti.
Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.
After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed upon the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Any way's, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti.
Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.
After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed upon the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Any way's, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.
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