Beggar for the Spirit

Hi Brother Eryk. Thanks for creating "con[VER]sum". Can you please make this an easy download from the "Community Downloads" in Obsidian?

Wow Sister Ross I think you expressed this perfectly about collecting!! That is how I feel. Throughout history people have enjoyed thrill of the "chase", the "seeking of gold", "archaeological digs finding items of historical significance", etc. But even today on a small scale, when finding something we enjoy collecting, it may not be gold, but whether it is a music CD or an old record, or the colorful feather of bird, or a well-designed bookmark, it is the "chase" and the "find" that can be very fun! (BTW - I have always liked the Bee Gees! )

This is what I was hoping for. To hear the variety of very interesting things our dear brothers/sisters collect! A Saxophone and Guitars from the 1970s & 60s I really like instruments, I just wish I could play them Various bookmarks, post cards,and fridge magnets I never thought about collecting Bookmarks. Good idea! Bird feather collection I love birds!! So finding different feathers of various colors would be fun to collect Judge Rutherford Rainbow books I also like collecting older literature from our organization. It is fun building a Theocratic library!

Are you a Collector/Hobbyist/investor? How did you start collecting? What are your favorite collectibles? What’s your favorite item you own, and why is it special to you? How do you usually find good deals—shops, shows, auctions, online marketplaces? I have a collection of sports cards and music CDs. I thought this topic might be fun! A chance to have some enjoyable discussions and walk down "memory lane" about various things we have collected over the years!

Why some of us are hesitant to recommend a specific mate is... - because unlike recommending a car or job - marriage is "sacred" and eternal in Jehovah's eyes - so we want to be very, very careful in overly influencing, motivating, pressuring a brother/sister toward another mate, even if they are seeking recommendations. However, we want to help our single sisters/brothers if they want/need. But rather than recommending a specific person as a marriage mate - we would try to recommend "qualities" - the good spiritual and loving qualities we have observed in someone - another single brother/sister we know well may have certain qualities our friend is seeking. - so since our friend has asked for our help, it would be a kindness to share our observations it is not carrying another person's "load" of responsibility to simply give some guidance and "recommend" qualities we observe in others. In the end, it is our friend who makes his/her own personal decision. Are there any Bible examples that can help with the question of whether it is right or wrong to give some help/guidance to singles ones who seek a mate? So a single brother/sister who is interested in finding a mate... - may have to "inquire" of others, like the article mentioned. - some single ones may need help from others in finding a mate because they find no one in their area - or some may need help, not just finding any mate, but a good spiritual person. - But what good would "inquiring" do if everyone "shut their door" to this single brother/sister? - What if no one was willing to share any "favorable comments" about the qualities they have observed in another person to help their friend find a potential mate? Yet, we still have to be very careful... - influencing or pressuring our friend to marry someone we know - our friend may view us like an "Uncle", "Big Brother", "Father Figure", "Big Sister", "Mother Figure" or we have a measure of authority in the congregation, and so any opinion, advice, recommendation we give to our friend, may have much more impact or influence on our friend's decisions than we could know! Even if we feel a certain sister or brother would be a "good match" - it is better if we are only recommending certain qualities we have seen. - that is different than recommending a specific person for our friend to enter into a sacred marriage with! So it is not "wrong" to help a single friend seeking help/guidance in finding a mate. However, as mentioned above, what will our recommendation be? - To motivate our friend to marry our cousin or some brother/sister we know in another congregation? - To try and quickly set up a "date", to be a "matchmaker"? - Or to ask our friend what qualities are important to him/her? - and to help them by sharing some good qualities we have observed in a "Ruth" or "Boaz"we know

Here are some other factors we could consider as Christians in evaluating whether or not Jehovah would approve of our entertainment choice of reading or watching the "The Odyssey" The "divinities" or gods in the the Odyssey (Info from Encyclopedia Britannica and Stanford University) The “divine” means the Greek immortals (gods/goddesses and other supernatural divine figures) who intervene in human lives—sometimes helping Odysseus, sometimes blocking him, and sometimes demanding punishment/revenge after wrongs. Athena — protector/strategic counselor; supports Odysseus and Telemachus Poseidon — sea god; Odysseus’s main divine antagonist (especially because of Polyphemus) Zeus — chief god; supreme authority; intervenes to allow Odysseus’s release and later sends storms after appeals Hermes — messenger/facilitator; helps in crisis situations (e.g., mediating for Odysseus’s release) Helios — sun god; avenges his cattle being harmed by sending catastrophic consequences (via Zeus’s storm) Ino (Leucothea) — a sea goddess/supernatural helper who rescues Odysseus at sea Other immortals/supernatural powers (important in the plot) Aeolus — “master of the winds” (a supernatural power who provides winds that are mishandled) Circe — enchantress/different divine-sorceress power who transforms men (clearly a supernatural “immortal-level” figure in the story) Calypso — nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for years; release is secured through divine intervention

What if a person at the door is an apostate? We have to use discernment and insight at the door. As Brother Mike @Mike047 said, "apostates are not likely to wear badges" Simply because a person at the door raises a controversial topic or their words/tone sound "apostate", does not make them a true former Witness who turned traitor. Sometimes a householder(HH) who has never been a Witness has heard rumors or myths from relatives, friends, internet, about certain "hot" issues involving JWs, such as child abuse, the blood issue, etc. And their personal conscience or sense of justice may cause them to be frustrated or even angry at us! And therefore they may act and speak "like" an apostate, but they are not. Jehovah understands that some unbelievers will hear rumors/myths/lies and become upset or angry with His people or even Him! Yet Jehovah is compassionately reaching out to such ones through us in the ministry. So here are a few suggestions to help us try and determine if the HH is a real apostate or not: If the HH raises a controversial topic or their words/tone sound "apostate". And if you are concerned the HH might be an apostate, then... ask kind but discerning questions like, "Have you ever been to a Kingdom Hall?", "Have you attended any meetings or assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses?" Questions similar to these might draw out the person to express how he/she used to go to meetings or that he/she used to be a JW. We can gain insight from their answers. If the HH is being evasive/suspicious in his/her answers, then we can... use a more penetrating question to expose the HH's motives Just as Jesus did with opposers in his day: "...the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to (Jesus) while he was teaching and said: "By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?”  In reply Jesus said to them: “I will also ask you one thing. If you tell me, then I will also tell you..." If our penetrating questions reveals in some way that the HH used to be a former Witness, then we can politely end the conversation and leave like Sister Hannah @TheKid23 mentioned she did in 1 of her posts above. But If the HH's answers seem genuine and indicate that he/she has never been a Witness, then we can... decide how we want to respond to their "hot" questions. If we give a kind, gentle answer and the HH seems to be a little more responsive or at least calms down from their initial "attacking" words, then we may be able to continue giving a witness. BUT if the person still seems agitated/upset/angry. we can use good judgement/discernment to determine whether it may be better to politely take our leave even though the HH is not an apostate, but to follow Jehovah's higher ways concerning any potential arguments, "Before the quarrel breaks out, take your leave" (Prov 17:14)

Hi TIm, Good to hear from you. And we are all glad you are hanging in there. Has there been any news about your wife's situation?

I love this new feature for JW Library!!! Here is a screenshot below. This is just 1 way a person can set up their iPad to study the WT Lesson. (Left Side) WT Lesson (MIddle) English NWT (Right Side) Spanish NWT

Great update! Thanks

HI Julie, So sorry about the situation with your son. I understand your concerns and worries. So what can be said to your son to help him? You mentioned that your son has "...a lot of mental health issues, he hasn't experienced romance before and this is a very synthetic version." But even people who have no mental issues can get very confused when it comes to the complicated emotions involving our deep inner feelings, love, sex, etc. So it could be that anyone could feel confusion about their feelings after having started some kind of connection with someone who is transgender. So do you think this illustration and suggestion could help your son? (Illustration) I have a drawer full of old computer & iphone cords and wires. Somehow they get all tangled up even though I try to keep them separated. When I pull everything out of the drawers, there is such a tangled, complicated mess. I don't even know where to start in "untangling" the mess. In a similar way, maybe some people who feel some form of connection to a person who is transgender is also all "tangled" up inside? Meaning that maybe they just like the "person", and possibly they feel some kind of closeness or bond because the transgender person understands them, sympathizes with them, etc. We have to remember that a "transgender" is a person. He/she was born with Jehovah's qualities of compassion, kindness, goodness, love, etc. So it is understandable why a person could feel a connection or bond with a transgender person. So your son could just be all "tangled" up inside, and may not really desire a romantic/sexual relationship but he is just so confused? Your son may have a "tangled" mess inside him trying to sort out if he just likes the "person" or if his feelings stem from romantic or sexual feelings or is this just friendship?? So since the most powerful thing that can be said to any person, including your son, who is sadly dealing with these tangled feelings, is from "the word of God" which is "... alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern (and "untangle") thoughts and intentions of the heart", then how about this powerful story in the Bible about a special friendship BUT... that some people have confused to be about a homosexual relationship? Maybe having this story explained to your son from the perspective of trying to help him "untangle" his feelings could be very powerful? Sister Julie, This story can be explained to your son from this perspective: "Notice that 2 men had "feelings" for each other. They even developed a stronger bond, a stronger love, than the love of women that some men have had. Yet both David and Jonathan did not mix their feelings of male friendship with any romantic/sexual feelings that should only be directed toward a wife. David and Jonathan didn't think that just because they found some things in common between them and became friends and developed a bond that this could mean that other emotions were involved such as romantic or sexual feelings. No, these 2 good spiritual men did not confuse their friendship, their bond, for a homosexual relationship". And so maybe using this powerful example from the Bible could help "untangle" some of the tangled feelings your son may be experiencing?

Hi Sister Hanna, I have heard of a method to create a "copy" or a duplicate of an app on an Apple device. However I think this requires: either possibly a "Jailbreak" of the iPad or pay Apple to access "Developer Mode" then I guess you have to know which app can copy or duplicate other apps So it is possible to have 2 JW Library apps. But it requires extra work and knowledge. Sorry I wish there was an easier way. I also would love to have 2 copies of JW Library, so that I can put them in Split View for studying. Great idea!

I first saw Jacob Collier on YT a few years ago when he was a little younger, but was already receiving a lot of attention for some of the music he was creating in his videos. He has been described by some musicians as a "Modern Beethoven", a musical genius The music he created was not really what I prefer to listen to, yet in creating his music he seemed like he had been a professor of music for 100yrs! I realized that likely skilled and experienced musicians are the ones who can truly "see" his genius. Whereas for people like me, that have little experience with instruments and have never composed, we probably cannot fully comprehend his musical talent and genius. But I can tell you that when I watched him create music, I greatly desired to be an "artist" like him! Someone who can "paint" his canvas with brushes of notes, chords, and even mathematics! Likely most of us non-musicians generally do not think of music and mathematics being related, however Jacob has shown how math & music are intertwined like words & language. I hope in the New World, with a much higher functioning brain compared to now, that I could compose some music 1/2 as good as young Jacob does now as an imperfect young person!!!

A media interviewer was asking this to random people, "If you had the chance to ask God any question and get the answer immediately, what would you ask Him?" What question would you ask? While you meditate and consider this question, I want to share with you the interview with 1 young man who gave what I consider the best one:

(This post was made especially for those who feel low, depressed, worthless or suffering due to a trial, or you have a chronic illness or disability) Mephibosheth (we will nickname him Mephib (for short) The son of Jonʹa·than, from King Saul (Grandpa) We remember the account, when he only was 5 years old, his nurse picked him up fleeing from danger, she was fleeing in panic, and he fell and was crippled." (2 Samuel 4:4) But then when we hear next about Mephib, he is living in some town called, "Lo-debar" So where is Lo-debar? After the tragedy when he was 5, Mephib thereafter lived in the house of Machir, at Lo-debar. This was far north of another town, Gibeah, which evidently was the first capital under King Saul. So likely Saul's family, including first son Jonathan, were living in Gibeah with their father the King, and therefore possibly this is where Mephib was born/raised So how would young, crippled Mephib ever be able to return home from far away Lo-debar? In Lo-debar Mephib may felt this his life was basically over before it really began! - Mephib's grandpa, Saul, was wounded in battle and then killed himself! - His father, Jonathan, was murdered in the same battle! - And Mephib was now permanently lame, crippled! - All these tragedies happen at a very young age. How traumatizing! - There were no hospitals, no Disability Services, No Disability Income - No help for depression and PTSD But when Mephib prayed for help, his life finally got better right? - Well his feet never miraculously healed - He was still stuck in a far away town in Lo-debar with no family - No family or relatives came to bring him home - The great "family business"(Dynasty) was destroyed, so no money or resources from the family business - His overall family situation was very tragic and super-complicated - Mephib likely developed very low self-esteem, deep "depression", childhood PTSD (before these words even existed) But then something that must have seemed like a miracle happened to him!!!! "Cheʹsedh" arrived! Cheʹsedh took the initiative to find and bring Mephib all the way back home! Cheʹsedh did not wait for Mephib to clean himself up, get "UN-depressed", and get more rehabilitated from his handicap Cheʹsedh did not wait for Mephib to somehow prove his loyalty to the new king Cheʹsedh did not wait for Mephib to do certain acts that "earned" favor Cheʹsedh sent for Mephib as he was, accepted him as he was Wow! So who is this awesome "Cheʹsedh"? Cheʹsedh is not a person Cheʹsedh is a multi-faceted GEM of a quality that is inside our loving Father Jehovah and was inside King David! Cheʹsedh is the Hebrew word for a humble quality, an exquisite blend of loyal love, loving kindness, mercy, which means then... that it was really Jehovah and His Cheʹsedh through King David's Cheʹsedh who then took the initiative to find and bring back Mephibosheth! Today it is Jehovah and His Cheʹsedh that does not wait for you to get your life fully together first before He comes to your side to help you It is Jehovah who does not wait for you to "earn favor" first before He will show loyal love to you It is your dear Father Jehovah who takes the initiative and seeks you out and finds you when you are in your lowly "Lo-debar" That town should have been called "LOW-debar" right? And it is your loving Father and His beautiful Cheʹsedh that will find you in your LOW-debar where you feel like nothing, worthless, and He will save you just like He did with little Mephiby! Do you feel lately... like you are in LOW-debar? that you have little to no future? do you sometimes wonder, "Why would the King care about a weak person like me? "I cannot do much for Jehovah, I can't pioneer, I can't attend all the meetings due to my sickness/weakness/disability? I can't donate very much! So why should Jehovah care so much about me?" Well the cheʹsedh inside Jehovah proves you so very wrong!

Some years ago while studying intelligent design, I came across what is to me, 1 of the coolest benefits of these total solar eclipses, this amazingly perfect 400-to-1 match by the Grand Creator. In the early 1900s Albert Einstein made a shocking prediction about the universe. A prediction that all light will bend or curve when near a massive body like the Sun! That prediction sounded "crazy" to even some scientists! And Einstein could not prove this in some lab. So in 1919 guess what happened? 2 scientists went on an "eclipse expedition". They went to 1 of the best locations on Earth to observe the solar eclipse in 1919. This gave them a rare opportunity to verify if Einstein's shocking prediction in general relativity was actually real, the bending of light by gravity! It would only be possible to confirm Einstein's theory by the solar eclipse because the Moon could cover the Sun well enough to show the stars in the background. Their test was actually simple. During the eclipse, they just photographed star positions near the Sun. Then they compared these with the normal positions of the stars taken at night. And if the positions of the stars were different, meaning they had shifted, that meant the Sun’s gravity was deflecting or bending the starlight! This "eclipse expedition" proved something that was really beyond most humans' comprehension at that time, that light from stars amazingly will change its path, bending wherever gravity was bending the "fabric" of Spacetime! So is it possible that 1 of maybe many reasons that the Grand Designer created this "400" ratio with the Sun and Moon was to allow humans advanced study of the universe, of light, of gravity? Even today scientists use the Solar eclipse to study things like: the Sun's corona helping to better understand it's structure, temperature, magnetic loops, etc how the Sun’s sudden dimming during an eclipse affects Earth’s atmosphere, weather systems, etc. to improve predictions of the corona and space weather, which affects satellites, radio signals, power grids. I really like how the FDS asks this thought-provoking question in various "design" articles. So I will try to copy it for this topic: How did the remarkable 400-to-1 perfect relationship between the Sun and Moon happen, by chance or by design?

Ok these are my first 2 songs. I grew up loving R&B ballads from the 80s/90s So I have wondered if the Israelite composers of Psalms would have been able to time travel to our modern day, how would they have created their psalms/songs in an R&B ballad style? And how would these have sounded? So here are 2 song versions of PS 139 composed in a modern R&B Ballad style The lyrics are the exact wording in our NWT for PS 139. Only some verses were removed to make the song shorter since PS 139 is longer than most modern songs. Please give me your music review! The lyrics are shown on the site (1st Version) PS 139 Dramatic R&B Ballad https://suno.com/s/ddtBP2g55wMFLAfr (2nd Version) PS 139 Dramatic R&B Ballad https://suno.com/s/vYl3x5pEYtzva6EV

Yes we play our leagues in Yahoo and ESPN also. If ever there is ever an opening, I will let you know. However these leagues remain full for many years, even decades. Great team name: "Just the Tua Us" But since Tua and Waddle have sadly been shipped away, how about: "Miami  Finatics"

Dan Marino is 1 of my favorite QBs of all time!. Love the Dolphins!

Hi Sister Gretel, A big NFL fan here. I play in Fantasy Football leagues with brothers. My favorite teams are: Arizona Cardinals Miami Dolphins Denver Broncos Jacksonville Jaguars Why are some brothers/sisters in your area talking NFL now? Because of the many interesting Free Agent signings? Looking forward to the NFL Draft next month!

Hi Tim, I may have misunderstood. But I was sad to learn that you were quite sad. ”…pouring out my heart to this lovely older couple when suddenly the sister stepped forward, hugged me tightly” The following thoughts are a bit long, but I hope somehow these thoughts touch you and raise you up!

Hi Tim, I hope the following thoughts help when you contemplate the questions you are struggling with. So, not just principles, but Jehovah’s laws also, give us deep insight into the wise and loving thinking of the Grand Lawgiver! Any law from Jehovah, actually comes with principles wrapped inside it!!! So when Jehovah gave ancient Israel a specific law, He was giving them certain principles also, which were imbedded in that specific law (Ex) When Jesus was asked to summarize the entire Law, he gave the 2 greatest principles from inside the Law that involved love So really then, it is not Principles vs Laws. It is love for Jehovah’s principles AND laws. 😍 While Bible principles are fundamental truths Jehovah’s Laws are based on those truths and are needed for specific circumstances. No wonder the Psalmist said, “How I do love your law! I ponder over* it all day long.” You were asking questions about what it would be like for you, if you had been an Israelite? Good meditation! I think that Israel could be compared to a child. Spiritually speaking. Why do I say that? Today we have 66 “vaults” or books of Jehovah’s great wisdom! Israel did not have any spiritual books, scrolls, until the 10 Commandments. So this young “child” needed laws quickly! Those laws helped Israel greatly and protected them. And as an Israelite, you would have loved those laws, why? Because like King Asa, you would have searched for God, you have today, and rooted out apostasy in Judah. Because you would have studied deeply God’s laws, like you do today, and you would have meditated on them, which would have strengthened your love for what is good and your hatred for what is bad! If you had been a Israelite in the first century, after the Messiah had come to Israel, you would have heard the Apostle Paul tell you and all his fellow Jews something like this: I love that expression! By the Jews having learned Jehovah’s divine laws ”…such ones had the advantage of possessing a “framework of the knowledge and of the truth” concerning Jehovah and his righteous principles. So my conclusion about Tim is this: Tim loves Jehovah Tim loves to study the deeper aspects of Jehovah’s laws & principles. Tim cares deeply about how his Father Jehovah views him and so he strives to be a man of integrity despite struggling with the ugly self-doubts that are inside many of us, including myself! And Tim has a great advantage! Because he digs and digs to find Jehovah’s precious gems, Tim has the advantage of possessing the now advanced “framework of the knowledge and of the truth” concerning Jehovah and his righteous principles! Therefore, Tim will always be growing spiritually and in faith too because he will… ….always do his best to confront any “private doubts”, “frustrations” or "private" sins and he will slowly strip them away with Jehovah’s help because Tim will always be striving to put on the beautiful “New Personality’ made in the image of our wonderful Father ….always do his best to work on erasing, deleting, destroying any wrong feelings that have arisen that “criticize” those taking the lead And he will always “survive without encouragement from others” if necessary, because although we like encouragement and love from others, yearn for it even, Tim’s faith will continue growing due to the encouragement and love from just 1 person! From Jehovah, whose encouragement and love far outweighs 8 million fellow brothers/sisters!

QUESTION: For those of you who have JW Library running nicely on a virtual machine, Waydroid, Wine, etc? Are you able to sync all your study notes? Or is JW Library just the basic library with no personal notes, highlighting, etc?

Yes, I think this may be a common reaction. A problem we have is that we know someone powerful, almighty who can end our pain. So we ask the Almighty to please make our suffering go away. But if nothing changes, then… “Why hasn’t Jehovah taken this away yet?” But right now, Jehovah is not the God of “all removal” (of suffering). Why? Because we know that greater issues are involved during this “universal court case” still on going. So instead, a Witness must view Jehovah in 1 of His roles during this “landmark court case”. His role is the “God of all comfort who comforts (me) in all (my) trials” How does our loving and active Father “comfort” us during our trials?  “When anxieties overwhelmed me, You comforted and soothed me.” (Psalm 94:19) “He heals the brokenhearted; he binds up their wounds.” (PS. 147:3) What does Jehovah want us to know from these inspired words? That He, our loving Father, “binds up our wounds” both during and after the trial. Our Father soothes and he “heals” us both during and after the pain/suffering. Therefore… we don’t need to see the end of a trial to feel Jehovah’s comfort. we don’t need our pain to end to know that Jehovah cares about us! Instead… “feel” Jehovah’s comfort during your trial. “sense” Jehovah soothing you during the suffering. “appreciate” Jehovah’s healing you during your pain. How do I feel, sense, and appreciate Jehovah during my suffering? By taking notice of everything little thing and big thing He sends you: Holy Spirit, “a word spoken at the right time—how good it is!”, a dear friend, elders, help from others, His soothing promises in the Bible, and much more!

Hi Tim, Do you think this idea could tie in with your good story? Your post reminded me of the possibility of why the apples in PROV 25:11 don’t just have silver carvings, but are made of gold. We know that gold is a precious metal, very valuable. So a good word spoken at the right time is like gold, very valuable! But also, if I give you as a gift, apples made of yarn or even made of wood with silver carvings, these may also look nice. And you may appreciate my effort in making this gift and you may even like the wood or yarn design of the apples But how long will my gift of wood or yarn apples last? 5 years? 20 years? Gold however, is 1 of the most stable elements in the periodic table! So if I give as a gift, apples made of gold, how long will your gift last? Well gold is resistant to corrosion and can last thousands of years! So a good word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in another way, besides being very valuable! For example, the nice couple you had lunch with, had precious cards saved from the 1970s onward. But if those cards were good words given at the right time, or read again at a right time when they were in need of comfort or encouragement, then like apples, not of wood or yarn, but of gold, 1 of the most stable and long lasting elements that exist, then there is a possibility that a comforting card, or an encouraging email, or a touching word verbally spoken at just the right time may last as long as gold, for thousands of years!!! 😮 And what if those valuable, precious words are remembered by someone when they enter into the New World? What will happen to those precious words they had barely remembered in the “Old World”, but now their mind and memory has progressed to perfection? The result may be that a perfect mind with a perfect memory that perfectly recalls those precious, valuable words that were a gift to them way back in 2026 or in 1978, could be remembered FAR longer than just thousands of years!!! 🧠