Drew says "Jesus Loves You" on the X FactorThe phrase “Jesus Loves You!” (with or without the exclamation point) is well known.  In fact nearly all people on planet earth have heard it  which of course to some extent makes the phrase a cliché. But the fact remains that Jesus does love us. He loves you, and he loves me. It can also be admitted that we all sometimes forget that God and his Son loves us. We forget in the sense that we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day pressures of life that we forget to reflect and exemplify Godly Joy as a fruit of His Holy Spirit.  (Galatians 5:22; 1 John 4:8) Due to pressing problems such as stress on the job, making ends meet, health issues, our sinful nature, etc. we can become discouraged. And of course a large source of turmoil for many of us relates to our awakening to the flaws within the Watchtower Organization and its leadership. It has taken the place of Christ for some Witnesses, and many of us too were enmeshed in this false conviction at one time. We are here reading and commenting together on JWS because of our shared confusion and pain, even resentment. Most of us feel misled by things that have been written in the Watchtower publications that we have been forced to follow. These include how we should worship God, what we should believe, what we can and cannot do for a living, etc.  Our Christian consciences have been stunted to some extent because of it. Our thinking processes have been controlled for years and we are now struggling to “grow up” spiritually as mature Christians who ought to know “right from wrong” for ourselves and be trained in our perceptive powers. (Hebrews 5:12-14) So yes, we acknowledge that Jesus loves us. I was able to find this statement just once in the Watchtower Library CD-ROM, in a 1995 magazine. It said:

Believe without reservation that Jesus also loves you, and he proved this by dying for you. (John 3:16) (The Watchtower 1995 11/1 p. 27 Comfort for Those With a “Stricken Spirit”)

If we dwell on this simple, “clichéd” fact at least once or twice a day how might that affect us?  Would some of our anger and hurt over the injustices of our situation melt away or lessen? Perhaps yes. And in sharing our faith and encouragement with others, a simple “Jesus Loves You” expression or idea can go a long way. It does not always have to be articulated in those exact words of course. There are a myriad of ways to build someone up while sharing the love of the Christ and the good news (gospel) with a person. Fellow believers and non-believers alike can benefit from it. The simple truths of God’s word and of his Son are not complicated. Meditate for a moment if you can on Romans 10:9. This beautiful, clear, and inspiring verse of the Bible simply says this:

If you publicly declare that ‘word in your own mouth,’ that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved. (NWT)

Two other translations render it this way:

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)

If you should acknowledge in your mouth the Lord Jesus, and should trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be delivered. (Apostolic Bible)

Barne’s commentary makes a brief remark on the final part of this verse about our salvation when it says, “This is the doctrine of the gospel throughout; and all this shows that salvation by the gospel was easy.” This illustrates that gaining salvation and a good conscience before God does not have to be excruciatingly difficult. We do not need to live the life of an ascetic, nor do we need to impress other believers with our rigid devotion to meetings, hours spent in formal preaching, or how well our magazine is underlined and how many notes we have written into the margins of it on Sunday. Our devotion to God is personal and it can be natural and easy; it’s not a burden when we follow His commands, as opposed to following commands of men that bind up heavy loads upon our back. (1 John 5:3; Matthew 23:4)

But sometimes it takes courage to share a positive message with someone informally. Witnesses and other Christians alike understand how hard it is to “informal Witness” as it is called at the meetings. Whether we express our faith in the love of God and Christ publicly before a crowd of people, or to a coworker while in a break room, or to family members over a meal, it is a requirement of our faith is it not? One example that touched me recently was while watching a singing competition on television called The X Factor A  young girl name Drew was narrowly voted off of the show, in front of an audience of millions.  It was a tearful moment for her, and even for some of the judges- including  Simon Cowell, who you would expect to be hardened to that sort of sentiment. When the microphone was given to this young teen she said that the reason she was on the show was because she wanted everyone to know that Jesus loves them, and that she had not been allowed to say it sooner but now she felt she just had to, and that’s the main reason she did the show to begin with.

A wave of emotion hit me instantly; appreciation and love for God first. But also pride for this young girl, who no doubt was brought up in the Lord by her parents. She is our little sister in the faith. She is trying her best to be a Christian! She was witnessing about Jesus out of a sincere heart. (Rev 1:9 NWT) By telling everyone in attendance, indeed the “whole world” that was viewing her up front and center onstage this simple truth, she lived the gospel in that moment. Should we be proud of her courage and her true expression about our Master Christ? Some no doubt thought her comment cliché and silly. A check of the blogosphere confirmed this. Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses would undoubtedly feel the same way about her exclamation, but I no longer shared that opinion. I swelled with pride and joy at what she said.

Tens of MILLIONS of people heard her words. In those few seconds did she do more good than the 7 million active publishers did in the last month or the last year in their witnessing work? Only God and Christ know for sure. But how ironic if that was the case. How many people out of the millions that heard her words on a singing reality show will consider this simple truth and become believers? Or reconnect with God and Christ again because of her words? Or even go to church for the first time or pick up a Bible and read some of it?  I believe a few, or perhaps even hundreds will- and that is an encouraging thought. It brings praise to the Father and especially to the Son that have inspired so many and by the love they first showed to us as sinners.

A person can memorize dozens of proof-text scriptures, and be prepared to refute false teachings such as the trinity doctrine or hellfire, but what does that really accomplish in the long run? Might a shorter route to a person’s heart be through Jesus and the love he has shown us by dying for our sins? An individual Christian could mitigate so much stress and fear by pondering those simple words often. They would truly then be helping themselves and those who listen to them- indeed, Jesus DOES love us, for the Bible tells us so. Sounds like a cliché doesn’t it? Happily we say, “so be it”.

 

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24 Comments on Jesus Loves You!

  1. John S. says:

    AWESOME.I see this every time I attend Christian churches of any faith.As Witnesses.we vilified”false religion”,and were ordered upon grounds for d’f’ing,not to go into any church for any reason.Baloney,they were afraid we’d see the truth about people worshiping God best way they knew.Only after I started attending different churches did the lights fully get turned on in my mental cell.We,of course,I believe, have a very good chance of clearing the mire of falsehood,by doing just what some are saying to do.Discuss some basic things about the simple Christian gospel,and move on gradually from these more important teachings.Bravo,JJ,well done,move the king’s pawn forward 1 space;and let the game begin.

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    • phil says:

      I go to any Church. Not because of its teachings but to fellowship and find other who Love the Lord. I would say all denominations have a wrong understanding or teaching but that does not mean they do not love the Lord. Yes many denominations say they are the only way when in fact the only way is through Jesus. Once we surrender to him accept him into our hearts get to know him.Ask him to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Then all truth will be revealed .You will have no need for anything else or anyone else to teach you. You will have the confidence to accept everything until you discover its false then discard it. Walk is spirit and truth. Live a life of Justice and mercy to others look after orphans and widows bless your enemies. Its all very simple but man mad organizations have made it all so complicated through man mad philosophies and ideas.When i was a witness i used to hate trying to tell someone their faith in Jesus is wrong then it dawned on me .Who did i think Iam to tell someone else what they believe is wrong and i realized i was like a sheep in wolves clothing leading others away form their relationship with the Lord. I thank the Lord set me free as he says the Truth will set you free and that Truth is him.

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  2. greybeard says:

    Well done JJ! I love this article!

    At the district conventions sometimes they let us know how much the governing body loves us. I never have heard the words, “Jesus loves you” at one of them. That would probably sound way to “worldly” I would think. How crazy is that? Jesus really is cast into the shadows and they are in the lime light.

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  3. Loved the post brother. I particularly like this quote, “A person can memorize dozens of proof-text scriptures, and be prepared to refute false teachings such as the trinity doctrine or hellfire, but what does that really accomplish in the long run? Might a shorter route to a person’s heart be through Jesus and the love he has shown us by dying for our sins? ”

    Thanks,
    Dennis

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  4. Disappointed says:

    JJ, this is a beautiful post and very encouraging. It brings tears to my eyes to think of that young girl. I think I know the young lady you speak of as I have seen some of the US shows here on TV. The love she feels for Jesus and that she knows he feels for her is heartwarming as is her need to share it with the world. Even the ‘cold-hearted’ Mr. Cowell (which I think he rather puts on a bit!)must have been moved. I recently came across a song by the Christian band Lifehouse. A song called ‘Everything’. It’s such a wonderful song that I listen to over and over. The relationship between him and God, or him and Christ Jesus comes through so powerfully, it’s very very moving.Who needs to knock on doors to tell others of our love for our Father and his Son and theirs for us?!!

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  5. Ruth says:

    JJ
    Thank you bringing to our attention the love and peace of our Lord Jesus. He truly is a wonderful calming place to be with when hell seems to going on all around us.

    Disappointed thanks for that lovely song. Now I have one for you! Its called.
    Press On-Selah – YouTube.
    You all will love this if you really love Jesus. Another song for people who love the name Jehovah.
    He is Jehovah_Lord God Almighty Video utube.
    How can we get that name out of our heads. Just listen you will want to dance in your seats.

    Ruth.

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  6. siam says:

    Great Work JJ,

    Jesus and his role as our savior has been pushed to the fringes of Watchtower doctrine. To be honest the words Jesus loves you is at first startling to my ears simply because this truth is rarely mentioned in Witness meetings. I am so grateful to finally see the simplicity of the “good news”.

    SIAM

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    • greybeard says:

      If a believer in Christ, not the JW type, were to go to a district convention and hear “the governing body loves you” what would they think? Paul never submitted to any governing body nor did anyone else. They were not to have titles such as leader and that is exactly what one who governs is. Matthew 23:10

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  7. John S. says:

    I know,when I first heard that expression from the Assembly,I almost choked.I told a couple of the elders that I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around that,as I didn’t know any of them at all.I had been really asking rhetorically for years how we could really think of ouselves as followers of Christ,when none of our costume dramas ever featured Him.I always subconsciously doubted the ‘remnant’/governing body rule as a poorly disguised dictatorship in ‘Theocratic’ cammo.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Ruth – Our church choir sings “Press On” from time to time. What a wonderful uplifting song.

    Mike

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  9. chris says:

    Thank you for an excellent post JJ. This subject has been on the tip of my brain for some time and I am so glad someone has articulated it so well.
    It seems the WTS is so paranoid about not worshiping Jesus that they forget to honor him.(A bit like the Jews with Gods name don’t you think?)
    I recently tried to explain it to someone with the following illustration, which is somewhat simplistic, but I hoped would help them get the point.
    (Please feel free to improve or correct it anyone:)

    The beloved owner of very large company has appointed his oldest and most trusted Son to get the company(mankind) out of potential ruin caused by his other son dealing deliberately with a corrupt and evil businessman who has set up another company in competition.
    The Owner tells all the members of the company, from the cleaners to the managers that nobody will lose their jobs and they are welcome to write to him with their problems but they must recognize that his Son has been put in complete charge until the company is restored. All correspondence with the Owner must be directed through, and be authorized, by his Son.
    Over time many of the employees leave and take up various positions with satan’s company and blame the Owner for the company’s problems and ridicule his Son.
    Others stay and work hard to apply the things the Son tells them to do. They make a lot of genuine mistakes, but he is patient, loving and kind and does not dismiss them.
    The Son has invited any who want to take the lead in helping to manage their fellow employees to work hard and tells them not expect any more pay or praise than the others but to do so out of love for what the Owner has done for them. He specifically warns them that the role of training other employees has a high degree of accountability because the Owner does not want to lose anybody.
    Some of the managers seek to ingratiate themselves with the Owner and try to deal directly with him by trying to act as mediators with the other employees. They have become unhappy that the Son has promised all faithful employees the same wages and they begin to tell the other employees the Owner has reserved a bonus just for management and all positions are closed, and if any do become available, they will decide who is qualified,not the Son.
    Furthermore they tell the employees that they are not worth the wages they have been paid and need to work harder.
    Some employees become depressed and discouraged and leave but because they cannot bring themselves to work for satan’s company they become unemployed. Some desperately want to leave because of the conditions but are told the Owner will hate them if they do.
    All employees are told to hate those who leave or they will not be paid.
    These problem persists for a long time and eventually after repeated written warnings the Owner becomes enraged with these managers because they have chosen to pay lip service to His Son. He tells them “Because you are presumptuous and consider that you can deal directly with me and make claims and promises in my name you have insulted my Son and in doing so you have insulted me. You are fired!”

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    • Amos says:

      Greetings Brother Chris,

      An excellent illustration, & well presented.

      I would not limit it to only the WTS, but would extend it to ALL denominations & groups that claim to represent GOD!

      I personally don’t see any difference between ANY of the above, they are ALL false & in my view, are ALL part of satan’s company, including the WTS! Sorry, but I have to say what the HS has led me to understand & believe.

      My belief has become such that to have a relationship with our Father & His Son, we MUST go through His provision… His Son, & we MUST sidestep ANY denom. group, etc.

      The only type of organization(?) that I would be associated with would be fellow believers, in a non-structured fellowship, without any doctrines & statements of belief, etc. If this arrangement is blessed by The Father, the HS will direct all proceedings, discussions, etc, no need for any elected elders, deakons, we are ALL brothers. I firmly believe that the Father speaks to EACH of His chosen children personally through His Written Word, by means of the Holy Spirit under the direction of His Son.

      Why do we need to belong to ANY organization?

      We are ALL part of a brotherhood….the body of Christ.

      BTW, I can’t wait to see ALL the self exalted ones get “fired”.

      Your brother in the Lord,
      Amos

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      • chris says:

        Hi Amos,
        Yes increasingly I am inclined to agree
        Its ironic that the WTS has told us for years that Christendom is the “dragnet” in Jesus’s illustration and yet they may be part of it themselves.

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  10. John S. says:

    Yes,Chris good job.And by the way,I wish to hear more of your thoughts as I heard you briefly on a phone line with the Bible students,and liked your research;and as usual,Amos,too.I would even submit that we can learn a lot too from the sisterhood,who are also acting like prophets in these last days,teaching,comforting,encouraging,mothering.I so much welcome the embraces they offer as much as our brother’s spiritual gifts.(Acts 2:17,18)

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    • chris says:

      Thank-you Amos & John,

      Its a long-winded and clumsy illustration, but it was the best I could come up at short notice.
      It makes me appreciate our Master who put things so simply, but so precisely.
      Oh for that gift :)

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  11. John S. says:

    To Amos,I think as far as Elders and Deacons,in any setting,these sincerely doing the work of ministering to the needs of a group of Christians becomes apparent to a congregated(or gathered)group.If there is a need for administration of provisions,the right-hearted ones will be moved by the Spirit to get the provisions or comfort with the word,or whatever.This appointment to a rank like the Army does had got way out of hand,and why?If the Spirit wasn’t fully operating to bless that arrangement over in that camp,nothing gets done for the right motive.It becomes fleshly in nature.Lording it over the flock is what occurs,instead of a washing of the feet.That doesn’t mean the provision of gifts in men that Christ promised won’t ever happen in a spirit-filled situation.But the need for the congregation(group being ministered to)to input or have a say is what got thrown out by Watchtower,and why?control,control,control,more fleshly thinking,Lording it over the flock,instead of “feed my sheep”.”And the terrible teaching they’re spewing out….”We’re the anointed remnant,and you’re just Great Crowd ‘grunts’,how dare you defy us.”How could such a Satan-like rulership have taken over such fine people and our minds?So sad.Fortunately,Christ is tearing those walls down at this moment.And how beautiful to watch it happen.We were in a captive situation like the Jews in Babylonat Psalm 137,I’m sure being mocked and ridiculed by our captors.But these cruel men don’t believe in Christ’s ability to reach right down to this earth with his mighty hand and scoop thousands out,and bring them to the word and the spirit.Their surprise will come in one night,just as Babylon fell while everyone was drunk.These will be drunk on their power and their properties and “capital,or cash,whatever”,the fall will be a retribution from the Almighty,and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.Don’t worry,They have watched it all.Retribution is on its way,I believe.

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  12. Heavy Heart says:

    I have a few questions. How does a believer keep the command of preaching? I feel I can do fine on my own without an organization but not having a way to preach the good news feels like I am doing what Satan wants….to not tell people about Jehovah and Jesus. How do you all fulfill this? Also, where in any of the publications does it state the governing body is our mediator? I have been told that from a sister but want to see it in writing. I am just really scared about getting caught up with false religion. So many churches teach Jesus is God and scripture just does not support that. I was looking into the Bible Students but saw the masonnic looking cross and crown on their front page..my head is spinning. Am I making the right decision by wanting to seperate myself or am I falling into doing what Satan wants. Help

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    • DanielB says:

      Ah , Heavy Heart . Minister to us right here . The whole world is the field . Pray for God’s spirit , and talk to us . We are listening for encouragement .

      Since you have the will , just walk us toward the Son .

      And , ” The Lord be with the spirit you show . His undeserved kindness be with you .” 2 Ti 4.22

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  13. andrew says:

    Hi Heavy Heart. As JWs or former ones we may tend to think of spreading the good news with door to door preaching. This is often an unproductive activity. Many Christians spread the good news in the course of their daily life. Networking is the most productive way of spreading the gospel. Just talk with your acquaintances and people you see regularly.

    Oftentimes our example as Christians speaks much louder than words.

    To my knowledge the GB hasn’t come out and said directly that they are the other sheeps mediator. However it is implied. It is claimed that non-anointed JWs do not have Christ as their mediator. See the video on this site “Is Jesus you Mediator”, in the media downloads section. Also, statements such as “come to the organization for salvation” are found in the publications indicating that only through the organization can one be saved and have a relationship with Jehovah. A relationship with Jehovah and his son is impossible outside the org. so it is said.

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  14. Bro. Ed says:

    Heavy Heart, Andrew has rightly said that there are many ways to preach. I take every opportunity to arouse non-believers interest in God and Christ in everyday situations. I don’t have a script to go by, no magazines to offer, no preconceptions of the end result, no expectations on getting in a set number of hours, no reporting of hours; nope, all I go off of is my trust in the Spirit. You see I know that the Spirit will direct me to people that are being called to God. What the Spirit expects of me is to be ready and aware of the situation that leads to the Gospel being given. If this sounds a little airyfairy and disorganized then you have to understand the power of Jesus’ words; “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8 ESV)

    As for joining another “organized” church group, I would be careful that you don’t go from one centrally controlled man made system to another. Spend time fellowshipping here first and take the opportunity to learn about Christ. You already have an understanding of God, now set yourself free of men to become a slave of Christ, our Master and Savior.

    Your brother in Christ

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  15. paul carroll says:

    Eric (JJ)just watched your “apostasy trial” I’m with you 100%. I long to be there for my brothers & sisters escaping the holocaust of the organization. The past at present escapees from the concentration camp that is the organization I want to be there for. Im one of those escapees, and I can’t wallow in self pity. I want to join you in the schindler class to help free the millions of victims. God bless my brother.

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    • JJ says:

      Thanks Paul- that’s a great comparison and so true. Thousands of the JWs under the control of the WT Corporation are being killed off due to ignorance and bigotry. A much larger scale cult killing field than Jim Jones or David Koresh.

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  16. rupunzelsawake says:

    Lovely article JJ.

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