“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Romans 10:11

In The LORD Jesus

“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:”
“‘That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
John 5:21-24

God The SON

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 2:8-9

Believe

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”
John 11:25

And Be Blessed Beloved Of The KING

Love, Joe

Michael left the religion a long time ago and was rebuked for his Thriller video by the religious body because it was thought to be Satanic. He apologised and pulled video from play for a while. But later left JWs and studied other beliefs including Islam. If I recall only one of the sisters and the mum are still JWs.

Funny response your sister gave. I am surprised that they did not still speak to her, that is uncharacteristic of JWs to let that turn them away, unless they felt some sort of aggressive conversation would ensue. -M.

I have to believe that in his adulthood, his many strange behaviors and decisions were his child/adult responses to the disfunction of his growing up years. It’s as if he was rebelling against his blackness, his maleness and his authorities while at the same time, trying to reinforce his committment to the innocence of his childhood, as he understood it. Yes, it was all done in a way that was most unacceptable but that seems to be the way his need for control over his life manifested itself.

The heart of God loved Michael every bit as much as He loves you or me. Michael was searching all his life for love in all the wrong ways and places. As Christians, we should have a heart of compassion not of judgment for people like Michael. I did not like or agree with most, if not all of what he did but if our judgments are purely superficial, then we are also children who have not grown up emotionally or spiritually. God’s heart is one of compassion and we should be able to feel that same heart that He has for others, if we are truly His followers and His Spirit is in us.

Jesus was always criticized for eating with and hanging with the so called sinners of that time. He was God in the flesh, showing us the Father’s heart toward the lost. It was the Religious of that day who faulted Jesus for His associations. It is Jesus, however, who will fault us for our judgments toward others. We are NOT their judge and never will be and we will be judged as we judge others, according to the Lord’s prayer example given by Jesus. He and He alone is to judge. Our hearts should be broken for our fellow man, especially when there is evidence of pain in their lives and this man was a classic example.

May God forgive us all for our judgments and grant us His mercy in our ignorance.

nanazona@juno.com