Weeds sure can appear beautiful. I’d probably welcome this if it grew in my backyard. It reminds me of the purple Allium/Chive flowers. However, in Oregon’s noxious weeds list, Musk Thistle is classified as a B-rated weed. Regarding its impact, this is verbatim from a Dept. of Agriculture publication, “Musk thistle is unpalatable to wildlife and livestock hence selective grazing leads to severe degradation of native meadows and grasslands as grazers focus their foraging on native plants, giving musk thistle a competitive edge. It is also thought to produce chemicals that hinder the growth of other plants. The spines can be harmful to animals and can hinder their movement through heavily infested areas.”
Beautiful and harmless? Apparently not.
A Jehovah’s Witness knocked on my door a few months ago. Our brief conversation got to a point of her saying we both believe in the same God. If only that were true. One thing I find commendable about the Jehovah’s Witnesses is their dedication to go about door to door. I am not claiming to be a mind reader when I say that their motivation is to be able to make a tally on how many brownie points they amass to gain God’s favor. Understanding grace through faith is an outlandish concept to those who have gotten so used to works-based salvation which happens to be a common thread with cults. The Watchtower Society is known for doomsday date-setting and getting a basic truth about Jesus all wrong which puts them in the category of false prophets promoting a false gospel. There is an inevitable and inconvenient truth that we Christians cannot skirt around, that Christ brings division.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”
Matthew 10:34
The division spoken of by Jesus is familial, both physical- your literal family as evidenced on those who have renounced their previous faith who have decided to follow Jesus and spiritual- the need to separate ourselves from those who have other notions of who Jesus is apart from what’s already revealed. No true Holy Spirit-filled believer will keep asserting a clear contradiction to what God has already revealed about His nature. Any sect that denies the supremacy of Christ is disqualified. Though some profess the name Jesus, we don’t all worship the same Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23). The folks who belong to Christian cults are genuinely deceived and door to door cult missionaries are intent to proselytize, but God is allowing them to come to you so that they may hear the truth.
“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!“
2 Corinthians 11:3-5
There is a false gospel. Plenty as a matter of fact. This false gospel – whatever a person chooses to believe that contradicts God’s Word will be taught to those who read it especially when it comes to WP and it will keep souls captive and keep people from the truth. However, when it comes to the door to door missionaries, instead of going with your initial thought of ignoring them, you can choose to tell them the unadulterated Biblical truth. They are not your enemy. They are your mission field. If it happens to be the first time you have ever encountered the individual(s), you can reason with them, but if they are set on their erroneous theology again and again, we need to remember that conviction IS solely the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-9). Most likely, they will not come back, but you would have planted a seed that leads to salvation, truth.
[Image: Musk Thistle SE result via plants-animals-northeast-colorado dot com]
Same thoughts as well. Had a few JW’s come up while I was raking leaves the other day. I thought, “At least they are out there.” I told them I wasn’t interested because I am KJO. She said, “Oh, you can use any Bible you want to.” It turned me off because they take scripture that lightly. If they take it that lightly, what is showing them the scripture going to do? I would have took them to Hebrews 1 context & specifically verse 1:8. Anyway–we have similar reactions. I’d like more people to come to my door & have these discussions.
They say you can use any bible because they have studied it along with their watchtower material/script. They are hoping they knock on a complacent and biblically-illiterate Christian’s house. Sad but true.
I asked the lady what her personal encounter with Jesus was and she mentioned something along the lines of her parents this and that. We all have to make the decision for ourselves, not our parents.
I’ve had others besides JW’s say the same thing. Try a Bible study where everyone has different Bibles–total confusion.
I have tried that in my own household and we could follow along, though not word for word, believe it or not, the differences somewhat helps with clarity. My husband jumps from the HCSB to the NKJV. I read from the NKJV and the NIV.
I do not have an issue with the King James except for its non-contemporary structure. If you prefer it and the structure is crystal clear to you, that’s great.
I don’t know how your area is Caeli, but the missionaries here have apparently stopped knocking on doors. I used to invite them in and in the form of questions revealed how much they don’t know. Such as like they believe they are the chosen ones, and that they believe in only ONE prophet.. their own. I asked them about the Biblical prophets. They said that their Joseph was a prophet to the Americans. I then asked them how it was that their religion extends outside of America. That’s when they said they had to go.
Lol. Just last year, you could see them around in pairs, but since the whole health crisis thing started, I barely see them anymore. Funny thing you asked them about Joseph’s myth. You can make a scripted false teacher go away when you start asking outside the parameters of their script.