Weekend Meeting
You can’t go wrong when Frankie is giving the talk, and he is today, streaming from Florida. Most brothers will draw complaints at one time or another—too much of this, too little of that—but nobody has an unkind word for Frankie
Frankie is the one who, when we were a car group in his brand new SUV, all the bros were carrying on about its new features. When it was my turn, I said, “Frankie, does this car have a RADIO?!” But Frankie is cool and he said, “Naw—it doesn’t have one of those.”
Even if you didn’t ask (and I did) you would think Frankie is speaking from Florida from the pastel colors in the background. Florida is big on that.
He opens with an illustration of making bread, listing the ingredients, then considers how it will louse up the recipe if you mess with the proportions, then extends it to all the things of life that have to be in the right proportion for it to work.
The major application will be on how God’s standards are better than those of the overall world and that they don’t mix too well.
Certainly (my words, not his) not everything Bible based is a masterpiece, nor is everything of the overall world garbage, but using the former as a base from which to build around works much better than the latter—which is too apt to produce “educated fools.”
Now he likens the Christian organization to the cake pan that molds the bread into edible form.
Now kneading the bread, without which it will not rise, is likened to praying for holy spirit. I would think Christian activity would more closely fit the bill, but he will probably link the two—I know how these talks go.
He ties it all together to recap his theme: ‘Why Live by Bible Standards.’ Good Frankie.
“A certain Samaritan village refused to show them hospitality. What was John’s response? He asked about calling down fire from heaven and destroying all the inhabitants of the village! (Luke 9:52-56)” I have commendably never done this on those inhospitable in the ministry. #watchtowerstudy
That was my comment. “I’m trying to recall if I ever called down fire on unresponsive ones like John, and I won’t say that I never did it, but if so I outgrew it long ago.” The #watchtowerstudy conductor said he was glad to hear it.
“Little children, we should love, not in word or with the tongue, but in deed and truth.” 1 John 3:18. Of course, verses like this of Christ’s love and his emphasis on followers to do the same, will be emphasized throughout the Memorial season. #watchtowerstudy
A paragraph of John confined on the island of Patmos. I did include in the Dear Mr. Putin—Jehovah’s Witnesses Write Russia update (and original) that older Russian Witnesses will identify with this….1/2
Exiled starting in 1949, officially “rehabilitated” in 1991, now again in jeopardy as a result of 2017 ban….2/2
That Jesus (John 6:53) used metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood—which messed with some even then—was spun by then-enemies into charges that early Christians went in for cannibalism.
“I wrote something to the congregation, but Di·otʹre·phes, who likes to have the first place among them, does not accept anything from us with respect….he refuses to welcome the brothers…1/2
&those who want to welcome them, he tries to…throw out of the congregation.” (3 John 9) What a jerk!…2/2
After the meeting ends, when we are all chatting on Zoom, should I don a parka for Frankie’s sake, who is Zooming from Florida?
After the meeting, Frankie said how his wife supplied him with the bread recipe he used in opening illustration. I said, In other words, I could have substituted cement for one of the ingredients and he just would have read it off.
It reminds me of when I had to do a demonstration for an Assembly part. For the life of me, I couldn’t think up a plot line that wasn’t ridiculous. When I spilled to my wife, she promptly came up with one.
Midweek Meeting: Scheduled Bible reading: Numbers 9-10, Pure Worship Restored book: chap 6, para 1-6
Whenever we stay at a hotel, we make it for at least two days. That way there is at least one day you don’t have to pack and unpack. I thought of that during the cloud and pillar discussion of Numbers 10.
If an avant-garde brother was to open a restaurant, might he call it the Cloud & Pillar? And would the Circuit Overseer go there on coffee breaks? Or better yet, a B&B? Didn’t Dathan and Abiram open such an establishment?
Whoa. One year ago exactly was our last meeting at the Kingdom Hall. The pillar of cloud has sat on Zoom for 365 days now. #midweekmeeting
One my chums oversees (oversaw?) the laundry services at a Bethel. He has traveled to help other Bethels get set up. I wonder his new role now that laundry is handled by individuals?
I used to counsel him as School overseer. He did not always get ‘G’s. Nor was there any indication he was Bethel bound. One day he caught fire. Next thing I knew he was pioneering, and then in Bethel.
Huh! I thought the part ‘Why We Came to Bethel’ would be the music video of 2 years ago. Then I saw it wasn’t. Then I saw it sort of was—same kids & Bethelites but new footage.
Here is the original: Here is the present: I like them both. Who doesn’t like kids? I like the original best because in it the adults have NO role whatsoever other than as chumps who clap their hands or play the guitar.
Hmm. Why is there a white brother with a customized brown Zoom hand?
….Visit Smashwords bookstore. Also available at Amazon & other ebook retailers
Leave a Reply