Initial Knock at the door, November 3...

Initial Knock at the door, November 30, 2009:

I was working from home and had been at home all day while my wife, Tracey, had just gotten home from work.  As per our routine, we settled into the bedroom and closed the door while we watched TV and contemplated the daily question, "What's for dinner?".  Our daughter, Naomi, was still living with us and had not left to go to school in Delaware just yet, so I was kinda hoping that she would get up and cook something (I liked it when she cooked pork chops).  When we heard the doorbell ring, we both looked at each other because we knew that could only be one of two things, since we NEVER invite people over to our house -- either the Mormons who we had been seeing riding around the neighborhood on their mountain bikes or the Jehovah Witnesses, whom I had turned away a few weeks earlier.

I got out the bed and threw on some pants and went to the door and was greeted by a tall dark elderly gentleman with salt and pepper hair, glasses, dressed in a black suit, black tie and white shirt carrying a brief case, and his female companion who was conservatively dressed on wool earth tones with the prerequisite head covering.  I normally would simply listen to what they had to say then insist that I was already saved and knew the bible, so they didn't need to waste their time witnessing to me, since I'm sure I'm going to heaven.  However, this time I felt sorry for them standing out in the cold, (it was much colder this year in Southeast Georgia than it was at the same time the year before), so I asked them to come in and have a seat.  The door to my bedroom, where I'm sure my wife was curiously listening to see what in the world I was doing, and my daughters door, where I'm sure she was oblivious to the fact that the doorbell had even rung since she kept her ear-buds plugged in her ears, were both closed as the witnesses both sat on the sofa facing the front door.  I did a quick scan around the room to see if there was anything I needed to put away or move since I had just had all of my computers and cables all over the floor.

This was the first time I had invited any random stranger, yet alone Jehovah Witnesses into our home.  I knew they wanted to conduct a "bible study", so while I wasn't nervous, I was amazed that I was actually allowing this to happen since I had grown up seeing my family shun the JW's like radiation poison.  As they both sat down and got settled into the couch which is one of those couches that when you sit on it, you sink down into the cushions, he gave me a copy of a book that another Jehovah Witness had left with me just a month or so earlier.  If I recall, there were no formal introductions or even a short prayer during this first visit.  As I do with any book thats placed in my hands, I started looking for and examining the pictures like a kid who hates to read, while they pulled out the rest of their Watchtower materials.  Frank, an gentle, elderly black gentleman with a booming deep voice that could go from a soft deep whisper, to a loud and boisterous laugh and an un-named soft-spoken black female who accompanied him seemed excited that they got a "bite" so to speak, especially a "bite" who seemed to know a little about the Bible.  Of course, we didn't get past the first two pages of their "bible study" book, "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" during this first 3 HOUR meeting.

On the first two pages of this book, I kept reading about what God WILL do and how we WILL live in the future, and I went off on a tangent talking about how we as bible believing Christians could have heaven on earth now.  Of course, at the time, I had no idea that JW's didn't believe in the Holy Spirit dwelling in us or that we as bible believing we as Christians have authority on this earth.

Frank seemed rather surprised that I agreed with some of their beliefs that a lot of other Christians can't get to.  For instance, we both agreed that God is not in control of things on this earth as most people especially deeply religious Christians believe that he is. (2Cor 4:4; Gen 25:34; John 14:30; Eph 2:2)

I kept them over here for about 3 hours just talking about different things but I didn't record this session, neither did I have my computer and projector setup to search and find scriptures.  However, I did have my Mantis Bible Study on my iPhone and that was pretty cool as scriptures popped in my mind, but I didn't remember where they were.  At one point I even deliberately spoke in tongues to prove a point about how limited my English vocabulary is when I know I need to pray about something or someone but don't know how (Romans 8:26), but I was excited, refreshed and energized about studying the bible with them. Thus we set a time for them to return the following Monday and we would designate every Monday evening as our bible study time, however, as you'll see in my later posts, it's not so much as a bible study as it is a WBTS publication study which I later turn into a WBTS history study.