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In September 2017 China passed "new regulations" regarding "Christian" (more crackdown) religions and it looks like they are start enforcing it. Here are five countries where owning a Bible is dangerous. North Korea – In this totalitarian state, the only thing that North Koreans are permitted to worship is the nation's leader, Kim Jong-un. Bibles are banned and those found in possession of one face imprisonment, torture and even death – as do up to three generations of their family. Somalia – Christians residing in Somalia face constant persecution from radical Islamists and government officials. The prevalence of the Islamic extremist group, al-Shabaab means that believers often practise their faith in extreme secrecy and cannot own Bibles. Maldives – The Maldives have a reputation for being a luxurious idyll but a Bible can get you into trouble in this paradise. Under the country's strict Islamic laws, importing a Bible is forbidden. There is currently no complete translation of the Bible into Dhivehi, the official language of the tropical nation. Morocco – It's against the law to carry a Bible translated into Arabic in Morocco. Reports of overt Christian persecution are few but Christian children are not given a religious education. Libya – Like Morocco, Libya has laws against bringing Bibles in the Arabic language into the country. The distribution of Bibles and evangelism is illegal. Uzbekistan – In this Central Asian dictatorship, high penalties are imposed on those who own Bibles. Authorities are known to detain Christians found in possession of the holy book for "keeping and storing extremist materials with the purpose of further distribution." https://www.christiantoday.com/article/6-countries-where-owning-a-bible-is-dangerous/84497.htm

That is such good news! Jehovah is my crag and my stronghold and the One who rescues me

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/#newsAlerts RELEASED!

Yes!!!

Reference Watchtower has more enhanced information (really good!) Will we allow Jephthah’s example to touch our hearts? Perhaps we have experienced disappointment or ill-treatment from certain Christian brothers. If so, we should not allow such challenges to hold us back from attending Christian meetings or serving Jehovah and being with the congregation to the full. In imitation of Jephthah, we too can allow divine standards to help us overcome negative circumstances and continue to be a force for good.—Rom. 12:20, 21; Col. 3:13.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-04/bibles-allegedly-pulled-from-chinas-online-book-stores/9616560

As usual, thanks to Jehovah, the Slave is far ahead of these worldly governments .. 943 Languages on JW.org now. Who needs to carry a physical bible.

Interesting article on CMEs and life on a High Tech Planet: http://theconversation.com/space-weather-threatens-high-tech-life-92711 CME = Coronal Mass Ejection

So, I've wondered if anyone knew anything on this subject. You often see Jews today to many traditional dances, but I imagine these are not Biblical or historical Hebrew dances. Some rumours suggest they may be old Canaanite dances, but I've not found much on it. I mean they look rather cool (but so do many things in this system that Jehovah would not approve of).

This absolutely hit home for me. I used to say that I would just avoid the person, but in essence this is still holding a grudge. This is definitely an opportunity for meditation and prayer for me.

From reference material: Meetings bring us under the influence of holy spirit. The glorified Jesus Christ said: “Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations.” (Rev. 2:7) Yes, Jesus leads the Christian congregation by means of holy spirit. We need holy spirit to help us resist temptation, to embolden and equip us for the ministry, and to enable us to make sound decisions. Should we not take advantage of every provision—including congregation meetings—to receive that spirit? How unwise would be to develop a pattern of missing the meetings....

Oh.Dear. Quite awe-inspiring, isn't it...

I live in the north end of eastern Australia. When I first moved here, public speakers were dear brothers who lived off the land, worked with their hands, strong men. I found however, that I missed the beautiful talks that I had had the privilege to hear when I lived in the south. Over the years - who'd a thunk it! These brothers became wonderful speakers !!! (oh - yeah, and my parents changed from being narrow minded people when I was in my teens, to profound thinkers when I grew older) Anyway, I SO appreciate talks that are posted on the Broadcast site. It has made me feel to much a part, a closeness with witnesses all over the world. It's like we are being drawn together in love. Thank you for posting this.

I don't know, but I do love the music! Klezmer bands are so fun... and I know every word to every song in Fiddler on the Roof!

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/kazakhstan/plea-to-authorities-20180222/

Thursday, April 5 They continued devoting themselves . . . to associating together.—Acts 2:42. Jehovah’s people have always treasured occasions to meet together. Immediately after the Christian congregation was formed, followers of Jesus began “devoting themselves . . . to associating together.” You likely share their desire to attend congregation meetings regularly. Nevertheless, all Christians face obstacles. Secular work, a busy schedule, or fatigue because of our daily routine can make it difficult to attend meetings. Appreciating the value of the meetings can motivate us to try to overcome these obstacles and maintain a healthy pattern of meeting attendance. Granted, some of our fellow believers are unable to attend meetings regularly because of circumstances beyond their control, such as serious illness. Elders may assist these infirm ones to benefit from spiritual programs, perhaps by helping them to tie in by telephone hookup or by recording the meetings for them. w16.04 3:3

Found it! it's been put up again. This is brilliant. And another one - this one is more intriguing, and uses part of our video from the 2016 convention. Not a fan of the distorted voice over.

LOVE the picture.

(Luke 21:25) Also, there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars

Psalm 83:18 - That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most high over all the earth.

Found only 1 article. It says the case has been adjourned by the judge to allow the defendant more time to look over materials in the case. Or am I reading that wrong? I thought it was already adjourned for this reason. Maybe it should say it was adjourned "to" April 3rd and not "on" April 3rd? https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/29142453.html

I loved it. I'm definitely using the 4 directions/4 colors for my Bible study. Until now, It was more an Important/Like color pattern (Red = very important, Blue = classical quote (à la John 3:16), Green = Verse I like, Yellow = verse we considered recently in meeting). From now on, I'll do the God/Earth/Me/Other as Blue/Red/Green/Yellow. I have to change a lot of things in my Bible but it's a good occasion to review al my notes.

Yeah before this talk I really had the perception that Jehovah granted his ancient servants favours like saving them from harm and protecting them. But this talk really put into perceptive that those "special favours" we really just in line with Jehovah's purpose other than that they had to endure trials like the rest of us. What really shined the light regarding that point was the example of Jacob. He stressed and mourned for many years even at the point of wanting to die. Why didn't Jehovah just tell him that Joseph was in fact still alive? Because that was not necessarilyin line with his purpose Jacob had to endure. We have to endure as well in this day

I'm thinking that is an old '40 years in the Wilderness' dance.... 'Ouch, don't step there, don't step there, 'Watch out for that, don't step there.....'

Both

Last time I checked..I had bills to pay...so no! But getting "foretaste" for Paradise for sure Hang on..are you referring to my profile picture or the bird?

A house is not a home - Luther Vandross

*Truly in love song plays* This month's Broadcasting is brought to you by... But seriously, loved the 70's vibe in that video, that was a funky era

I find it funny that in a thread about the JW Broadcast that features a very romantic love song, that the discussion turned into one about web hosting and servers! Where has the romance gone.

After being around horses for 20 some years..I would definitely be wearing steel toed boots around this beauty.

Ugh...

Wednesday, April 4 If you bring me back . . . , then I will indeed become your leader!—Judg. 11:9. Jephthah’s thorough grasp of Israel’s history gave him a clear picture of what was right and what was wrong in Jehovah’s eyes. (Judg. 11:12-27) Godly principles that were embedded in the Mosaic Law molded Jephthah’s thinking as well as his heart. He knew that Jehovah disapproved of holding grudges; rather, God required that His people love one another. The Law also taught that a person must not ignore the needs of others, even of someone who “hates” him. (Ex. 23:5; Lev. 19:17, 18) Examples of faithful ones like Joseph, who showed mercy to his brothers—even though “they began to hate him”—may also have influenced Jephthah’s response. (Gen. 37:4;45:4, 5) Meditating on such examples would have helped Jephthah to choose a course of action that was pleasing to Jehovah. The conduct of his brothers no doubt hurt him deeply, but he would not hold back from serving Jehovah and His people.—Judg. 11:1-3. w16.04 1:8, 9

Pardon me Ma'am. Ah just wanted to show you the donut to eat on the east coast of Australia - it's tropical! Y Well if donuts are out - can we do pizza ???????? (hhmmmmmmm .... New Yorker style !)

"Sin will take you farther than you want to go, Keep you longer than you want to stay, And cost you more than you want to pay." Last summer I saw this quote on Pinterest and it's been my phone's wallpaper every since, reminding me how true it is, as I'm living with the effects of a wrong choice made in 1993.

There are two rules I'm still trying to apply as time goes on: Rule 1. Don't sweat the small stuff. Rule 2. It's all small stuff.

Still no word on jw-russia.org about the trial...

Fun Fact: Brother Turner is from my old neighborhood back in Harvey, IL! We didn't attend the same congregation but our Kingdom Halls were about 3 miles from each other and we were always in the same circuit. He was a classic, nerdy, spiritual teen.. We basically grew up together - it was great to see him on the Broadcast.

I'd like a donut, I have my eyes on two of them ...

I know over the years I’ve seen stories covering JWs, and the blood issue and a few other topics. Usually they are twisted so much to be fake news. Many (not all) journalist have a bias. They hear a situation and naturally form an opinion based on their preconceived ideas and opinions and biases...this sometimes translates into very twisted reports and sometimes outright fake news. Wanting to sell newspapers is a big motivator as well. It’s only to be expected that the more the world becomes divided the more bias we’re going to see. Wt04 9/1 15-16 14. How do the media, at times, publish the voice of strangers? 14 False accusations. Although some news reports about Jehovah’s Witnesses are fair, at times the media let themselves be used to broadcast the biased voice of strangers. For instance, in one country a news report falsely stated that the Witnesses supported Hitler’s regime during World War II. In another one, a report accused Witnesses of vandalizing churches. In several countries the media accused Witnesses of refusing to give medical treatment to their children and also of deliberately condoning serious sins committed by fellow believers. (Matthew 10:22) Even so, sincere people who know us personally recognize that such accusations are false. 15. Why is it unwise to believe everything presented in the media? 15 What should we do if we are confronted with accusations spread by the voice of such strangers? We do well to take to heart the counsel of Proverbs 14:15: “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.” It is unwise to believe everything presented as truth in the media. While we certainly do not distrust all secular information, we do recognize that “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”—1 John 5:19.

Yep .. me too.

You're all very right! Our song for the month sounds like George Benson, or maybe Luther Ingram? I'm not sure who the female singer sounds like. Either way, Truly in Love is for those who are in love with someone special, or for those who wish they had someone special to love. If you would like to put the song on your phone to listen to, I have converted it to mp3 format and uploaded it to my music collection. Help yourself, and happy listening! Truly in Love There is a gift that comes from above, A lovely gift called being in love. When two hearts begin to beat as one, Then a wonderful time has begun. It’s simple, so easy. And it’s something we know. With a threefold cord, Love will grow. With Jehovah to guide us in all that we do, How I love to be truly in love With someone like you, Someone like you. Trials will come our way, But our love will grow stronger each day. We will build a bond that no one can break. We will build a love that no one will take. No, no, no one, no. It’s simple, so easy. And it’s something we know. With a threefold cord, Love will grow. With Jehovah to guide us in all that we do, How I love to be truly in love With someone like you, Someone like you. Nothing can destroy our love. This precious gift is from our God up above. Exclusive devotion —‘love’s as strong as death.’ You are “bone of my bones”; you are “flesh of my flesh,” Such an excellent woman in all that you do. I will spend all my life loving you. I want you to know how I feel ’Cause my love for you is so very real. I bless the day you came into my life. I bless the day I made you my wife. Yes I do. It’s simple, so easy. And it’s something we know. With a threefold cord, Love will grow. With Jehovah to guide us in all that we do, How I love to be truly in love With someone like you, Someone like you. How I love to be truly in love With someone like you.

Slow Jazz!! Like it.

We had a bird join us on the carts today. Brought in some extra attention, but needed a bit of training. Older {still waiting for the 'Wiser'}

I just shot this one 5 min ago ...so hard to catch them ..they are so fast!

10 min ago outside my house

Yup, we are going on a houseboat soon...

I wonder if I can look this comfy when I sleep.

Hello from cochabamba, Bolivia

It's been a while since I posted some steaks... So for you red-meat carnivores after my own heart [emoji813]. .. Enjoy these reversed seared beauties.... I will not show inside of these medium cooked steaks... Almost steakhouse perfect Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Going Glamping in a week. Be gone for a couple of months or longer. Even have new A/C on our hard top ( pop up ) and a 275 watt solar panel, 2 large deep cycle batteries and a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter.