To those of you who have grown weary and frustrated in your outreach to Jehovah’s Witnesses, I seek to encourage you. Please know your time in prayer and welcoming them into your home is not in vain.
A few years ago, it was on my heart to contact a few people in my home territory that affected me as a JW. I wrote to each one asking for their impression of me as the JW at their door. Billie Sue has given me permission to share what she wrote.
Over all, she perceived me as “hungry for truth.” She also prayed a lot for me. I think she is an excellent example of the power Christians have on the other side of the door.
Imagine if every Christian who encountered a JW saw them as “hungry for truth” and prayed sincerely for them.
Maybe I wouldn’t be here today praying for others to leave if she hadn’t prayed for me? I hope this encourages our Christian readers who are currently witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Thank you!
From Billie Sue:
Julie has come to know Jesus as LORD AND SAVIOR! Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!
We studied together for about a year from 1995-1996. I first met you about one year prior to our studying at the park while I was reading the Word. You had boldly approached and asked what I was reading. My impression of you since meeting you that day was “hungry for truth.” Several times within the time period of meeting you at the park and then when you showed up at my door, God had brought you to mind. It was impressed upon me to pray. Nothing spectacular in my opinion. Just, “God, please open Julie’s eyes to truth,” “God, please draw Julie to you,” “God, please guide Julie’s way.” Just out of the blue for no apparent reason, while playing with the kids, gardening, walking, working, you would come to mind. I would pray. I was not really surprised when you came to my door one day with your JW tracts in hand. I was not surprised to see you. I was surprised that you were holding those tracts and kind of like “huh?” God, What? Still with the impression “hungry for truth.” I remember during our year study once per week, we would study the JW Bible. So much of what I remember hearing was so close to truth. I felt as though you were preaching the truth with a subtle twist. I do not recall being able to share much about my faith and having it received and would pray more constant than before after each meeting time. I felt God showing me to simply listen. The JW Bible still contains (some) truth and I would ask the complete truth to be known to you, Julie through your very own teaching when you thought you were teaching me. I do not recall sharing anything for you to take home. I did not feel it would have been received. I did not keep the JW tracts given to me either and discarded them. I remember you asking if I had looked at them. Of course, I looked at them to gain understanding of what the JW is about but not with an attitude of anything I would be interested in being a part of for myself or my family. I do have a friend that had also studied with the JW woman that you studied under and she and I would compare similarities of the discussions and we would pray together on occasion. There were times in our visits when I would ask God if meeting with you was something I desired or something He desired. He showed me my heart and that my desire was His desire in meeting with you. He impressed upon me that while we were at it, I was to feed you literally food as well which terrified me because I do not consider myself much of a cook and you always received it graciously. After our visits, I would feel energized in knowing that it was God’s will and He was up to something. At no time did our visits cause me to question my faith, only draw me closer to Him in feeling blessed that He had chosen to lead me in truth. I wanted that for you and believed that you really want it to, thus your reason for searching. It came to the time when I became so impatient, I really wanted to try to “make” you taste and see the full truth. I felt compelled to show rather than tell you. Once you get a taste, you will never be the same. I began to pray on how you could have a taste. I felt compelled to show you the video of our praise and worship outreach which knew without doubt was anointed by the Holy Spirit. The viewing of this video was the last day of our study together. Even though you abruptly left that day. I felt a deep, complete sense of peace. I felt as though a weight had been lifted. I still prayed over the years but did not feel the compelling to pray as constant. I did not have you come to mind as often as before.
Years later…..
The day you came to our son Alex’s visitation at our home church of La Crosse Christian, is the day that I knew God had gotten through to you and opened your eyes to His truth, fully. This was the day that I needed this so much. God showed me in this encounter where my heart is and where my focus needed to continue to be going forward. This day was a blur but I will never forget the words you spoke, “He is with Jesus.” I needed to hear this for two reasons. 1) up to this point, I did not fully believe that one who commits suicide could be with Jesus 2) Unless the Holy Spirit enables, a true JW cannot speak the name “Jesus.” It blessed me to the depths of my heart to hear you speak my Savior’s name on this day! It made me be reminded in the fog of how real HE is and what this life is really all about. It made the joy in my heart greater than the pain I was experiencing. I wept with tears of joy which may have been interpreted as grief. Those tears of joy helped to release the grief. ~Billie Sue
Julie’s Comments:
I remember that day very clearly when I knocked on Billie’s door and she invited me into her living room saying she wanted to show me something. As her worship team was singing I was immediately caught in disobedience to Jehovah!! I got all jumpy inside not knowing what to do. I wanted to plug my ears! “Help! Help! I’m listening to the songs of demons! This is christendom, I’m not supposed to be here!”
I could hear her praying in the background “Jesus, Jesus open Julie’s eyes” and I RAN out of there! I was FREAKED! This was serious stuff for me at the time. It felt like if you could imagine walking into a Satanic ritual on Halloween night as a Christian. Of course, as a Christian we’d be there to pray and KNOW we had the armor of God. But as a JW, you have no authority, no salvation, just all the “thou shalt nots.” If touching a candle at a rummage sale could be filled with demons, how much more so this video!!! That was the thinking I had at the time. So of course that was the last time I visited Billie! As she noted, I left ABRUPTLY that day.
Hearing her end of it now helped me realize that the battle had begun right at the BEGINNING of my service to the organization.
Billie was my first “free home Bible study” and she’s the one who prayed for me. The spirit of slavery is THREATENED by the prayers of a righteous one covered by the blood of the Lamb. The enemy flees when it hears anointed songs of worship to Jesus and so I FLED!!! But Jesus KEPT pursuing me and THE TRUTH SET ME FREE!! Hallelujah!!! Thank you Lord.
Keep yourself in God’s love,
