MY TESTIMONY : FROM FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY TO PEACE AND ASSURANCE — HOW GOD REVEALED THE TRUTH TO ME AS I WAS READING A CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE (PART 2 OF 3)

 

If you’d like to read ‘Part 1’ first, click HERE

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

 INTRODUCTION

Besides sharing a little more of my testimony with you in this post, I will also be sharing some information with you that I found while doing further research over this past month (April) concerning Mary the mother of Jesus as taught by the Catholic church, as well as some other information that I found last year.  I will be sharing the teachings of the Catholic church with you in much greater detail concerning Mary in Part 3, as well as sharing some of the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning the Sacrifice of the Mass, purgatory, some of the ‘Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent,’ information from ‘Vatican II,’  and also information directly from the book, ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ which I purchased last year.  I will then share many Scriptures with you from an exact copy of the Catholic New Testament that God used to reveal the truth to me back in 1980 and will compare the teachings of the Catholic church to God’s Word with the hope that many of you who are Catholic will read those Scriptures and come to the knowledge of the truth.  Unless otherwise noted, all the verses I will be using in this post will be from my copy of the Catholic New Testament.

In this post, however, I just wanted to touch on a few important points to show you how Catholicism places much more emphasis on Mary than they do on Jesus, and therefore precious Catholics never come to the understanding of what Jesus actually accomplished through His sinless life and His death and resurrection.  Even as I am writing this I am praying for all Catholics, and especially for those Catholics who may come across this post and other posts on my site; I am asking and trusting that God has already drawn them to Himself and that He will one day give them eyes to see the glorious ‘good news’ of the gospel that is clearly revealed in Scripture, but hidden by some of the twisted teachings of Roman Catholicism.  I don’t want to offend any of you who are Catholic by saying that, but when you read all the information below, as well as all the information I will be sharing in Part 3, I hope you will then realize why I left the Catholic church, and that the reason I am sharing all this information is out of concern for you so that you might come to know the true gospel and understand what the Catholic church actually teaches.

While doing this research much of the information that I found filled me with a deep sadness and a righteous anger because of how the complete atoning work of Christ on the cross has been perverted in so many ways by some of the teachings of the Catholic church.  However, God used all this new information that I have learned to give me an even deeper love and appreciation for what Jesus did when He died in my place on the cross, and I am so very thankful that He so graciously chose to reveal the truth to me through His Word!

Finding the disturbing information that you will see below also gave me a stronger desire to “earnestly contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints,” (Jude 3) and intensified my desire to share Biblical truth with Catholics.

My prayer is that God has already prepared the hearts and minds of many Catholics, as well as any person who will find their way to this site.  And even though some of you may be offended by some of the information you may read here, I pray you will each realize that all the information I share with you on my site I share out of love and concern for you because I don’t want anyone to be deceived; for your eternal destiny depends upon what — or who — you place your trust in for your salvation.  A true Christian follows Christ, not a man or a religion.

FINDING THE TRUTH THAT SET ME FREE

As I shared with you in Part 1, ‘I had tried all that was humanly possible to try and make my marriage work.’ And what I forgot to include in Part 1 — which I will share with you now — is that in less than 2 years after we were married, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, whom my ‘husband’ proudly showed off to all his friends when I’d bring her with to many of his baseball games. He would completely ignore me, and would just talk to my daughter telling her how pretty she was, and I must confess to you that sometimes I found myself feeling jealous and even envious of my own precious daughter during the first year after she was born! Fatherhood did not cause him to change his priorities either; he continued to go out with his friends and involve himself in either playing or watching the sport of each season as they came, and would leave me home with my daughter most of the time.

When I gave birth to our precious son a few years later, I was hoping that then my ‘husband’ would finally love me because he was hoping for a son. But as delighted as he was that he now had a son, his feelings and behavior towards me did not change. (Let that be a lesson to any of you out there if you believe that having a child will finally make your husband love you! I did not personally try to have a child with that thought in mind; both of my children were complete and delightful surprises to me).  Though all children are gifts from God, I clearly see that my daughter and son were gifts from God, because both of them gave me joy, love, and a reason to live in the midst of the deep and overwhelming sadness and rejection that I was feeling because of how my ‘husband’ was treating me.  Oftentimes I would pick up my sweet daughter whom I loved with all my heart, and I would walk around the house and hold her close as I talked to her. I made up a word for these special times and referred to them as ‘wuggies; a combination of ‘walks’ and ‘hugs.’ Though she was four years old when my precious son was born, these special times continued for a while longer. I tried to carry on with this new tradition with my son, but when he got a little older he would usually squirm around just wanting to be put into his bed so he could go right to sleep.

Though I was deeply depressed in my marriage before I became a Christian, I never became suicidal.  Suicide and divorce were never (and never will be) acceptable (or Biblical) choices for me to even consider in order to release me from painful circumstances that life can bring –no matter how devastating. I did, however, (as mentioned in Part 1) shut down emotionally because I lost all hope; I had tried all I knew to do to get my ‘husband’ to respond to me, and felt like I had exhausted every idea I could possibly think to try with the hope that he would then love me and allow me to be a part of his life.

And after attempting to seek God through ‘my Catholic faith’ by going back to ‘confession’ in order to receive  forgiveness from the priest for the sins I had committed over the many years since my last confession, all I ended up with was more guilt, as well as shame and an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness which led me into an even deeper state of depression.

I wish I could remember what the very first passage of Scripture was that I actually read when my ‘husband’ gave me that ‘Sacred Heart League Edition’ of the ‘Today’s English Version’ Catholic New Testament,’ (SHLTEV) but as I mentioned in Part 1, I do remember that two of the very first books I began reading in it were Romans and Hebrews, and that Romans 4:3-8 and Hebrews 8:12 were some of the very first verses I read that caused me to seriously stop and think and question what I was taught as a Catholic. Those Scriptures brought both joy and confusion to my mind. To refresh your mind, this is what they say:

“The Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.”  A man who works is paid; his wages are not regarded as a gift, but as something he has earned.  But the man who has faith, not works, who believes in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is his faith that God takes into account in order to put him right with Himself.  This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the man whom God accepts as righteous, apart from any works: “Happy are those whose wrongs God has forgiven, whose sins he has covered over!   Happy is the man whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!”

“I will have mercy on their transgressions, and will no longer remember their sins.”

All I can say is that it was totally God who led me to read those two particular books; He knew right where to lead me in His Word by His Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to me that I needed to see that would begin to rip apart at the very foundation that the Catholic religion is built upon, which is: 

1)That salvation, in part, is earned by our ‘good works.’

2)The necessity of the ‘Sacrifice of the Mass.’ 

I was amazed at how  the Book of Hebrews focuses completely on Jesus, declaring Him to be “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being…”  (Hebrews 1:3)  And when I finished reading Hebrews — especially chapters 7 through 10 — God opened my eyes so that I could finally see the truth that Jesus death on the cross was sufficient to pay the debt for my sins in full!  I now saw Jesus in a completely different light; I saw Him as strong and mighty and as the Victor instead of the ‘victim’ as the teachings of the Catholic church refer to Jesus during the ‘Sacrifice of the Mass.’ (I will go in much greater detail of the teachings of the ‘Sacrifice of the Mass’ in Part 3 of my testimony).

Below are the words that the Catholic priest says as his hands are extended over the offerings of bread and wine:

“Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable , so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

“Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ your Son, our Lord, we your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.  Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in the faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.“ (Emphasis in red is mine).

Definition of victim on – thefreedictionary.com: “A living creature slain and offered as a sacrifice during a religious rite.” 

And from my research back in 1980 I discovered that the word ‘host’ actually means “sacrificial victim.”

SOURCE

But God’s Word says Jesus was never a ‘victim’; He gave His life willingly and only once:

“I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd is willing to die for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd.  As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me.  And I am willing to die for them.” (John 10:11,14,15)

“The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again.  No one takes my life away from me.  I give it up of my own free will.” (John 10:17,18)

“In order to set us free from this present evil age, Christ gave Himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father.” (Galatians 1:4)

“For the blood of bulls and goats can never take sins away.  For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: “You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me.  You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar, or with sacrifices to take away sins.  Then I said,  ‘Here I am, God, to do what you want me to do, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.” (Hebrews 10:5-7)

“He is not like other high priests; he does not need to offer sacrifices every day, for his own sins first, and then for the sins of the people.  He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, when he offered himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)

“But Christ did not go in to offer himself many times; for then he would have had to suffer many times ever since the creation of the world.  Instead he has now appeared once for all, when all ages of time are nearing the end, to remove sin for the sacrifice of himself.  Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.  In the same manner, Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many.  He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.”           (Hebrews 9:25-28)

“Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all made clean from sin by the offering that he made of his own body, once and for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)

“For Christ himself died for you; once and for all he died for sins, a good man for bad men, in order to lead you to God.”  (1 Peter 3:18)  [NOTE:“A good man for bad men?”  The Sacred Heart League translation is SO lacking in its ability to present the sinless nature of Christ by the words in that verse, but praise God that He still used many verses in that translation to reveal the true gospel to me and set me free!]  Here’s how that same verse reads in the NIV translation: 

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.”

Even though the Catholic church does teach that Jesus indeed is God, for me to see how God clearly revealed to me through His Word who Jesus really is and what His death actually accomplished was an amazing eye-opening  ‘experience’ moment for me!  (Ugh!  I do not like using the word ‘experience’ any more because of the fact that the focus in many churches today is on having an ‘experience’ with God instead of getting to know God through reading His Word, the Bible).  After my eyes were opened concerning the ‘Sacrifice of the Mass’ and that the sacrifice that Jesus had made upon the cross was sufficient to pay the debt for our sins in full, I knew I couldn’t go back to the Catholic church.  But because I was filled with such joy after discovering this truth, as well as an overwhelming concern for Catholics, I wanted to somehow find a way to share what I had found with Catholics on a grand scale so that they too would come to see the truth that can be found in God’s Word and be filled with joy when they realized that Jesus indeed paid the debt of our sins in full, and that if they would just repent of their sins and place their trust in Christ alone, they could have the assurance of going to heaven when they died and not to ‘purgatory;’ a place that Catholicism teaches where one goes after death “…to undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”  (‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ Para 1030)

So, with that strong desire in my heart to reach Catholics, I gathered a large amount of tracts entitled, ‘How A Roman Catholic Can Be Sure Of Heaven,’ and for one last time I went back to the Catholic church I had attended for many years at a time when I knew many people would be in church for Mass.  I quickly ran around the parking lot praying for the people and placing a tract under the windshield wipers of each car in the parking lot.  And just as I was finishing, the people started coming out to their cars to find the tract  with the life giving ‘good news’ of the gospel that they sadly had never heard before.  I left there trusting that ‘God’s Word would not return void but would accomplish what He sent it to do’  (Isaiah 55) in the hearts and minds of those who would read it.

I now found myself determined to dig even deeper in order to find the truth concerning all that the Catholic church actually teaches.  So with a Catholic Douay Version Bible, as well as the little Catholic New Testament Bible that I amazingly received from my ‘husband,’ along with information about Vatican ll and the Council of Trent, I sat down and earnestly prayed for God to show me the whole truth as I began reading through all the information.

As I opened the first few pages of the Catholic Douay Version of the Bible, these are some of the first things I found:

INDULGENCES

“Pope Leo Pope Leo XIII granted to the faithful who shall read for at least a quarter of an hour the Books of the Sacred Scripture with the veneration due to the Divine Word and as spiritual reading, an indulgence of 300 days.”  

Preces et Pia Opera, 645

For those of you who are not aware of what an ‘indulgence’ is, here’s how the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it:

INDULGENCES

What is an indulgence?

“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church, which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints” 

“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” 

“The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church Para 1471

In other words, an ‘indulgence’ allows you to earn time off from the time you may have to spend in the purifying fires of ‘purgatory,’ though no one has any way of knowing how long one may have to stay there.

Are you now beginning to see how the teachings of the Catholic church take away from the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work on the cross and His death and resurrection? 

I will continue:

On Page 7 of the Catholic Douay Version of the Holy Bible, under ‘The Movable Feasts,‘ I found in part, these words written under the following sections:

‘THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST’

“The church, inspired by the Holy Ghost, has established a special feast in honor of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord.  This saving blood was first shed at the circumcision of the divine Infant; it was next poured out in the bloody sweat of agony in the Garden of Olives; again it flowed under the cruel blows of the savage soldiery; then when the crown of thorns was pressed into His temples; and finally when “one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side and there came out blood and water.”  St. Augustine, explaining these words of St. John, points out that the Evangelist does not use the words struck or wounded but says distinctly,  “one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side,”  that we may understand thereby that the gate of life was opened, and from that sacred side issued all those sacraments of the Church without which we can never hope to gain eternal life.  This precious blood was symbolized by the victim of the Old Law; but while these latter sacrifices served only to purify the outer man, the blood of Jesus Christ, by virtue of its infinite efficacy, washes us free from all sin, provided we avail ourselves of the means established by our divine Saviour in His Church for the application of its infinite merits. (Emphasis in red is mine).

REFLECTION

“Let us ever be attentive at Mass, where this adorable blood mystically pours forth again upon the altar to plead our cause before the throne of divine justice.”

In the front of the Bible I found a section entitled in part:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

OF OUR HOLY FATHER BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE

POPE LEO XIII

ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

And on Page ix this is some of what I found which speaks for itself:

“This supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal Church, is contained both in unwritten Tradition, and in written Books, which are therefore called sacred and canonical because, “being written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author, and as such have been delivered to the Church.”

And on Page xvii I read the following:

“Wherefore it must be recognised that the sacred writings are wrapt in a certain religious obscurity, and that no one can enter into their interior without a guide; God so disposing, as the Holy Fathers commonly teach, in order that men may investigate them with greater ardour and earnestness, and that what is attained with difficulty may sink more deeply into the mind and heart; and, most of all that they may understand that God has delivered the Holy Scriptures to the Church, and that in reading and making use of His Word, they must follow the Church as their guide and their teacher.  St. Irenaeus long since laid down, that where the charismata of God were, there the truth was to be learnt, and that Holy Scripture was safely interpreted by those who had the Apostolic succession.  His teaching, and that of other Holy Fathers, is taken up by the Council of the Vatican, which, in the renewing of the decree of Trent, declares its “mind” to be this–that “in things of faith and morals, belonging to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture which has been held and is held by our Holy Mother the Church whose place it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; and therefore that it is permitted to no one to interpret Holy Scripture against such sense or also against the unanimous agreement  of the Fathers.” (Emphasis in red is mine).

But God’s Word says:

“The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and make you remember all that I have told you.” (John 14:25)

“But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all the  truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak of what he hears and tell you of things to come.” (John 16:13)

“But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you.  As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you.” (1 John 2:27)

And on Page xix I read the following:

“For although the studies of non-Catholics, used with prudence, may sometimes be of use to the Catholic student, he should, nevertheless, bear well in mind–as the Fathers also teach in numerous passages –that the sense of Holy Scripture can nowhere be found incorrupt outside of the Church, and cannot be expected to be found, in writers who, being without the true faith, only gnaw the bark of the Sacred Scripture and never attain its pith.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 82 states:

“Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

But God’s Word says the following:

“Jesus answered them,  “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you!  You are hypocrites, just as he wrote: ‘These people, says God, honor Me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.  It is no use for them to worship me because they teach man-made commandments as though they were God’s rules!’  “You put aside the commandment of God and obey the teachings of men.”  “In this way you disregard the word of God with the teachings you pass on to others.” (Mark 7:6-8,13)

“See to it, then, that no one makes a captive of you with the worthless deceit of human wisdom which comes from the teachings handed down by men, and from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ.”             (Colossians 2:8)

“For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life you received from your ancestors.  It was not something that loses its value, such as silver or gold; you were set free by the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)

When I was in my teens and attending Mass one day, I remember looking around the church at all the statues.  And when I looked at the statue of Mary the mother of Jesus, this troubling thought suddenly came to my mind:

“Why is it that there are so many statues of Mary holding Jesus as a baby when He is no longer a baby?”

Even though the Roman Catholic church definitely teaches the deity of Christ, they place much more emphasis on Mary than they do on Jesus; Jesus was always being sacrificed during the Mass, always hanging on the cross, and  only presented to us clearly as the Risen Savior on Easter.

CONCERNING MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS

In Roman Catholicism, the month of May is always dedicated to Mary.  During this time there is what’s called a ‘May crowning,’ where there is a procession of children walking into church, and a girl would be chosen to place a crown of flowers upon the head of the statue of Mary.  Many songs are sung about Mary and to Mary.

In the video below you will hear the young girl say some of the following:

“We have come to crown this statue of the virgin mother of God.”

“Mary, whose glory we proclaim today, was a humble servant of the Lord when she was on earth.  With Him and under Him she was an instrument in our redemption.  Now, in the glory of heaven she is still the God-bearer to Christ’s brothers and sisters.  She cares about us.  She is the minister of holiness and the queen of love.”  (Emphasis in red is mine).

May Crowning and May Pole Dance

 

Oftentimes when Mary is crowned, the ‘Maypole dance’ is done that day, as well.  The Maypole dance actually has its roots in paganism.  It is a pagan celebration called ‘Beltane’ — ‘Celebrating the Fertility of Spring.’  This is how one site describes — ‘How To Celebrate Beltane with a Maypole Dance’

“The pole was erected on the village green or common, or even a handy field–thrust into the ground either permanently or a temporary basis–and brightly colored ribbons attached to it.  Young people came and danced around the pole, each holding the end of the ribbon.  As they wove in and out, men going one way and women the other, it created a sleeve of sorts — the enveloping womb of the earth — around the pole.  By the time they were done, the Maypole was nearly invisible beneath the sheath of ribbon.”  SOURCE

 

SOURCE

In the ‘quick capture’ above it says the following:

“The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries.  It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane.  Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe.  A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America.  In this form May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen of the May.” In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary’s month, and in these circles May Day is usually in celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary’s head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.”

You may now be asking the same question I asked when I found that page this week.  And that is,  “Who is the Queen of the May?”  The answer to that question may startle you as it did me when I read the following that I also ‘quick captured’ for you below:

“The May Queen or Queen of May…a mythical figure and as a personification of the holiday and of Springtime…” 

“Today the May Queen is a girl who must ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations.  She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown.” 

“She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins.” 

“According to popular British folklore,the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over.”

“…frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult, and human sacrifice are still to be found in popular culture today.”

SOURCE

If you watched the video I posted above, entitled, ‘May Crowning and Maypole Dance,’ then you saw how the girl who was chosen as the ‘May Queen’ wore a crown of flowers and made a speech before the dancing began,’ just as it describes above.  And I remember when I was young and our whole school class would celebrate the ‘May Crowning of the Virgin Mary,’ each girl would wear their ‘white communion gown and ‘a tiara or crown’ on their heads, also as described above.  But as disturbing as it is to see how these pagan rituals have been ‘Christianized’ and although I never took part in a Maypole dance and never even remember us ever having one at the Catholic church that I attended as a child, I did take part in many ‘May crownings,’ and find it extremely disturbing to see how Mary is receiving such adoration when Jesus Christ alone is deserving of our adoration!

Mary the mother of Jesus Christ would never want to be revered in this manner!  She was humble, and though she was definitely ‘blessed among women‘ because she was chosen to give birth to Jesus, she was not sinless as Catholicism teaches her to be.  She revealed her humility and admitted her need of a Savior by proclaiming the following:

“My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, because he has remembered me, his lowly servant.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, however, teaches the following:

490 “To become the mother of the Savior, Mary “was  enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.”  The angel Gabriel at the moment of  the annunciation salutes her  as “full of grace.”  In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly born by God’s grace.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church Para 490) 

491 “Through the centuries the Church has become even more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception.  That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by the virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. 

492 “The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by the reason of the merits of her Son.”  The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love.” 

493 “The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia) and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.”  By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.” (Emphasis in red ink is mine).

In spite of what the Catholic church may say, Mary, a virgin and highly favored by God, was a sinner as we all are. But she chose to completely trust God and acted in humble obedience when she was told that ‘she would be with child’ and give birth to Jesus. Her response was:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” (Luke  1:38)

God’s Word makes it very clear that Jesus was sinless, but goes on to declares that ‘all have sinned.’  And the emphasis throughout Scripture is on Jesus Christ concerning every aspect of our salvation:

“There is no one who is righteous, no one who understands, or who seeks for God.  All men have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is good, not even one.” (Romans 3:11,12)

“But now God’s way of putting men right with himself has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with the law.  The Law and the prophets gave their witness to it: God puts men right through their faith in Jesus Christ.  God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: all men have sinned and are far away from God’s saving presence.”         (Romans 3:21-23)

He committed no sin; no one ever heard a lie come from his lips.”                      (1 Peter 2:22)

“Our high priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy with our weakness. On the contrary, we have a high priest who was tempted in every that we are, but did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

“So then, as the one sin condemned all men, in the same way the one righteous act sets all men free and gives them life.  And just as many men were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way many will be put right with God as the result of the obedience of one man.” (Romans 5:18,19)

After discovering there was a connection between the ‘May Crowning of the Virgin Mary‘ and the ‘May Pole dance,’ and how the ‘May Pole dance‘ is the pagan ‘Celebration of Spring,’ I then decided to dig a little deeper by doing a little more research on ‘May Day‘ celebrations and came across the following startling information on Tuesday which I ‘quick captured’ for you below:  ‘A Chapel of Our Mother God.’  This was enough to confirm to me — and I believe will clearly show you, as well — how the ‘Queen of Heaven’ — a title often given to the Mary of Catholicism — is someone other than the Mary of the Bible.  And yet some of the similarities to the Mary of Catholicism are not coincidental.

SOURCE (All three ‘quick captures’)

First take a good look at the picture of the ‘Queen of Heaven‘ directly above, because I will be referring back to this picture a little later in this post.  Now note what the writer of the article above has to say in the very last sentence in this same ‘quick capture.’  She clearly sees the  connection between the Mary of Catholicism and how Mary is crowned in the month of May, with their ‘Mother God’ whom they refer to as the ‘Queen of Heaven‘ by saying the following:

“It is no coincidence that having re-acclaimed the Queen of Heaven, the Church should also dedicate May as Mary’s month.”

After reading the above article, my heart became burdened for the writer at this site and all the people who are involved in these types of pagan religions, because if those of us who are true Bible believing Christians were exalting Christ the way we should be doing by sharing who Jesus Christ is and what He accomplished when He died in our place on the cross and rose again with all the people that God allows to cross our path in life, there wouldn’t be so many people lost and wandering and finding their way into paganism and exalting pagan goddesses!

My heart also became even more burdened to reach Catholics because I want them to come to the realization that it’s Jesus who deserves all their praise and honor and only He is worthy to be exalted!  The humble and obedient virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, but our salvation came through Christ alone from start to finish!

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11)

“It is true that through the sin of one man death began to rule, because of that one man.  But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ!  All who receive God’s abundant grace and the free gift of his righteousness will rule in life through Christ.  So then, as the one sin condemned all men, in the same way the one righteous act sets all men free and gives them life.  And just as many men were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way many will be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.”                     (Romans 5:17-19)

You may be a Catholic who came across my blog and find yourself reading this right now and  feel very hurt and offended and even angry by what I have shared so far concerning Mary. You may still strongly believe all that you have been taught about Mary and feel I have not presented you with clear evidence to link the pagan ‘Queen of Heaven‘ goddess with the Mary of Catholicism.  But I’d like to draw your attention to the middle of the three ‘quick captures’ above where it says the following:

“After Her resurrection, she returns to the Middle World (where she first came at Her earthly birthtime of Nativity) and takes up Her full royalty as Princess of the World.  This is celebrated on the Day of Our Sovereign Lady (Culverine 5th/March 25th).

Not remembering all the feast days of the Catholic church, I decided to do a ‘search’ to see if there was a feast day devoted to Mary the mother of Jesus on March 25th and this is what I found:

SOURCE

Then I decided to do a ‘search’ on another Marian feast day –August 15th, The Assumption of Mary into heaven.  The Catholic church teaches that Mary did not die but was assumed into heaven, body and soul.  And in a matter of seconds, as you can see from the ‘quick capture’ below, I found this:

“August 15 was originally THE ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY SOPHIA…”

SOURCE

Are you now beginning to realize the seriousness of this information?

Does the Catholic church promote the ‘worship’ of Mary?  Or does it simply teach its people to “honor her” as they say they do?  Lord willing, in Part 3 of my testimony, I will present  information from Catholic sources to answer that question, but I believe what I have to share with you next will answer that question even before I share any further information with you.  First, may I ask you to please read the following Scriptures slowly and think carefully about what God is saying?  Instead of me personally emphasizing certain portions of the Scriptures below, I have prayed and trust that God will speak to you through His Word as you read it and accomplish all that He desires to do within your hearts. (Isaiah 55:6-11)

“LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.  You have made heaven and earth.” (Isaiah 37:16)

“The LORD said to Moses,  “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering.  You are to receive the offering for Me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.  These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.  Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them.  Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.  Have them make an ark of acacia wood–two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.  Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.  Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.  Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.  Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.  The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.  Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.  Make an atonement cover of pure gold– two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.  And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.  Make one cherub at one end and the second cherub on the other.  Make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.  The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them.  The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.  Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you.  There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law I will meet with you and give you all My commands for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:1-22)

My jaw literally dropped and I gasped in utter shock when I first saw what you are now about to see.  As the saying goes,  “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and the picture below very clearly reveals  what the Catholic church believes about Mary:

The unveiling of this ‘iconic monstrance‘ took place on May 31, 2008, and they are still seeking to raise the funds for the sanctuary.  The amount needed for the building for the sanctuary that will house this monstrance is estimated to cost between 15 and 20 million dollars!  (I may add some more comments concerning this ‘iconic monstrance‘ when time allows).

Granted, the angels/cherubim are not “one piece with the cover” as God’s Word commanded the ark of the covenant to be made, but the cherubim are facing each other looking toward the cover.  And the most disturbing and even blasphemous thing of all, is the fact that Mary is seated between the cherubim, exactly where God said He would manifest His presence!  And although the Catholic church tries to explain why they believe ‘Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant,’ you will see through the information in this post and what I will share (Lord willing) with you in Part 3, that they are attempting to elevate Mary further than some of you could ever imagine!

“There above the cover between the cherubim…I will meet with you.”

Below, note in part some of the disturbing things that are said in the ‘quick captures’ that I posted for you below concerning this ‘iconic monstrance.’  Much more could be pointed out, but those of you who are true followers of Christ will have the necessary discernment to see the many unbiblical things that have been said concerning the ‘Our Lady of the Sign-Ark of Mercy.’

“The idea of the iconic monstrance was conceived nine years prior to its unveiling.  At that time a call was heard which resulted in the entrustment and consecration of the parish of Saint Stanislaus Kostka to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  A discernment led by Fr. Anthony Bus C.R. inspired a parish wide response to establish in the heart of Chicago a Sanctuary to The Divine Mercy.  The doors of the parish were opened and eyes were turned to Mary, Holy Queen and Mother of Mercy…”

“It was accepted that the Blessed Virgin Mary had asked for and created space for sacred silence that the voice of her Son would be heard anew and that He would be adored in the Blessed Sacrament.”

SOURCE

 

 

 

Sadly, the glorious resurrected Jesus Christ is being replaced with the ‘Eucharistic Christ’ as the one who is to be worshiped when displayed in a monstrance like the one pictured above. Roger Oakland makes that very clear as you can see by watching the video below:

 

 

The teachings of the Catholic church try to make parallels between the Ark of the Covenant and with Mary in order to declare her as the Ark of the New covenant: 

Now note the identical picture of Mary in the video below with the image that I told you to “take a good look at” which is in the third ‘quick capture’ of  ‘A Chapel of Our Mother God,’ ‘May Day: The Exaltation of the Queen of Heaven‘ that I posted for you above.  In the following video here are some of the unbiblical things you will read:

“She intercedes on our behalf as our mother in Heaven.” 

“She has appeared to many throughout two millenia since the Assumption.” 

“Mary pray for us.”

 

But  God’s Word says:

“For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and men together, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself to redeem all men.” (1 Timothy 2:5)

But Jesus lives on forever, and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else.  And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him because he lives  forever to plead with God for them.”           (Hebrews 7:24,25)

“Jesus, then, is the High Priest that meets our  needs.  He is Holy; he has no fault or sin in him; he has been set apart from sinful men and raised above the heavens.”  (Hebrews 7:26)

“I write you this, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ, the righteous who pleads for us with the Father.  And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but  also the sins of all men.” (1 John 2:1,2)

Here are some videos concerning the so-called appearances of Mary:

 

 

The Catholic church also claims that the woman in Revelation Chapter 12 is Mary, but watch the following video, and you will see this is not so:

  IS MARY THE WOMAN IN REVELATION 12 AS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CLAIMS?

A FEW THOUGHTS BEFORE I CLOSE

In this post I have tried to demonstrate to you how, in Catholicism, Mary is being elevated to a position where only Jesus Christ should be, and Jesus Christ — the one and only Son of God who alone lived a sinless life and is King of kings and Lord of lords, and God in the flesh who conquered sin and death — has been reduced to being continually sacrificed again and again, day after day on the altars in Catholic churches around the world, thus denying His death as having been sufficient to atone for our sins.  Lord willing, Part 3 I will go into much greater detail to show you from the Catholic Church’s own teachings what they believe about Mary to make my statement about Mary clear to you.

When I learned much of this back in 1980 I was deeply grieved and felt betrayed because I was taught that ‘the Catholic church was the ‘One True Church,’  and I realized by what I read in God’s Word that this was not true since much of what I learned did not line up with what God’s Word has to say.  I was filled with anger and hurt that I had been deceived and that the true gospel was never taught to us through their teachings.   Although I learned about God and His love for me, and learned to fear Him as we all should, I never knew what Jesus had actually accomplished for me so that I could rejoice and be filled with appreciation and peace.  Instead I was terrified of death thinking of burning in the fires of ‘purgatory’ and wondering how long I would have to burn in the flames until I suffered enough so that I would finally be purified and then able to enter heaven.  However, after reading and understanding what Jesus had accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection, I no longer had a fear of death.  And it wasn’t until God showed me another verse in Hebrews one day, that the powerful truth clearly presented in that verse made me realize how I had been released from the grip of fear that had held me in bondage since I was six years old!   Here is what that verse says:

“Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature.  He did so that through his death he might destroy the Devil who has the power over death, and so set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their of death.”  (Hebrews 2:14,15) [Note: This version capitalized “devil” ]

God gave me complete assurance of my salvation and removed the final traces of fear and doubt one day shortly after I became a Christian by having me read these verses for the first time:

“This, then, is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write you this so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.”                                (1 John 5:11-13)

I am no longer bitter or angry; the truth that God revealed to me through His Word has filled me with compassion for Catholics, as well as for all those who have been deceived by false teachings.  And I have a deep love for God’s Word and the gospel that alone has the power to set a person free.  I am saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.  When I believed the good news of the gospel and repented of my sins, I became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17); God transformed my mind, healed my broken heart, and has used all I have been through to become a Berean (Acts 17:11) ;ever since He opened my eyes to the truth in His Word so that I could see the glorious news of who Jesus really is and what He accomplished, I have continually tested all I hear (and read and see) in light of Scripture so that I will never be deceived again!

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first  the Jews and also the Gentiles.” (Romans 1:16)

“All Scripture is God-breathed , and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:16,17)

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what we accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:3-9)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;  all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation– if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.  This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”                (Colossians 1:15-23)

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15)

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived was deceived by the serpents cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your traditions that you have handed down.” (Mark 7:13)

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form…”  (Colossians 2:8,9)

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”         (Romans 3:10)

  “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:20)

“But now a righteous from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”              (Romans 3:21-24)

“Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-20)

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:20)

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

“Now there were many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to intercede for them.  Such a high priest meets our need–one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.  Unlike the other high priests He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.” (Hebrews 7:23-27)

“For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

All verses used in this post were obtained from ‘The Word of God The New Testament Of Our Lord And Savior In Today’s English Version’ — Sacred Heart League Edition

Imprimatur: John Francis Wheaton, S.T.I., S.S.L.

Archbishop of Hartford April 15, 1971

RELATED VIDEOS

‘MATTERS OF FAITH’ PURGATORY-MASS-INDULGENCES-SALVATION PART 1 AND 2 CECIL ANDREWS OF ‘TAKE HEED MINISTRIES’ — DEBATE BETWEEN ROB ZINS AND CATHOLIC PRIEST, PATRICK MCCAFFERTY THAT TOOK PLACE ON SEPT. 22, 1995

THEOLOGICAL DEBATE WITH A CATHOLIC MONSIGNOR

ROMAN CATHOLICISM SERIES #2 THE ROMAN MASS – RE-SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

ROMAN CATHOLICISM SERIES #3WHAT IS YOUR FINAL AUTHORITY –

THE ROMAN CHURCH OR SCRIPTURE

To view many more videos in this series, go to YouTube and “search” “Larry Wessels Roman Catholicism Series.”

‘DOES ROMAN CATHOLICISM TEACH ANOTHER GOSPEL?  DEBATE BETWEEN LARRY WESSELS AND ROBERT FASTIGGI.’ PART 1 and 2.  A very informative debate, and definitely not boring!

DEBATE BETWEEN THE LATE DAVE HUNT AND ROBERT FASTIGGI

For the most shocking information concerning the Catholic church, (although I personally think the ‘Iconic Monstrance’ is extremely shocking) I will end with these two videos that I just found last year as I was searching for information to add to this post.  The first one features eye-opening pictures taken in the Vatican itself that will leave you stunned and wondering just what is the purpose for the supposed ‘One true Church’ in having such things!  Please pray for discernment and wisdom, and also ask God to reveal the truth to you before you watch.  (UPDATE 4-26-14: Upon finding out that the video I originally posted below was defective, I now replaced it with one that plays completely to the end.   I’m sorry for not realizing it was defective when I originally posted it).

In this last video series , Doc Marquis, a former Luciferian witch who is now a Christian, draws many parallels between the occult practices he was once a part of, and the rituals in the Catholic church.  He shows many detailed pictures, as well as  reads many Scriptures to prove his points.  As he does, he shares the truth lovingly, because his desire is to see many Catholics come to see through the deceptive teachings of the Catholic church so that they will realize that Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay the debt for our sins in full!  That’s also my main reason for sharing my testimony with all of you. 

In this series, Doc Marquis also shares the teachings of Roman Catholicism concerning Mary the mother of Jesus, and compares them with the teachings of the ancient Babylonian religion.  Once you see the parallels it will confirm in greater detail what you discovered if you watched the ‘Messages From Heaven’ video.

 

 

FURTHER INFORMATION FOR YOU

>ROB M. ZINS – 14 SERMONS CONCERNING CATHOLICISM ON ‘SERMON AUDIO.COM‘<

To visit former Catholic, Rob Zins’ website where you can read more information, as well as watch many videos of his well done debates  concerning the teachings of the Catholic church in light of the Word of God, click HERE

To visit former Catholic, Mike Gendron’s website where you will find information on Catholicism and how to lovingly share the gospel with Catholics, click HERE

To visit Cecil Andrews website where you can also find much more information concerning the teachings of the Catholic church and many other topics, click HERE

To visit former Catholic priest, Richard Bennett’s website where you will find numerous articles pertaining to the teachings of the Catholic church comparing them to God’s Word, click HERE

To visit David Cloud’s website where you will not only find information concerning the teachings of the Catholic church in light of Scripture, but also hundreds of articles and DVD’s on many topics, click HERE

 

IN CLOSING

As I shared with you earlier in my ‘INTRODUCTION,’  in Part 3 of my testimony I will (Lord willing) be focusing completely on many doctrines of the Catholic church and will be sharing information with you directly from the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ book that I purchased, as well as some of the teachings of Vatican II and the Council of Trent, and then share what God’s Word has to say from the Catholic New Testament that I was given, and will be praying that many of you will then clearly see the truth that God showed me in His Word.

And for those of you who are Roman Catholic, many of you may then find yourself having to make the same decision that I had to make when God opened my eyes to the truth; you will find yourself torn between choosing to believe much of what you have been taught as a Catholic, or rejecting it and believing what is clearly revealed in Scripture and have to answer the same question that God presented to me on that glorious spring day right before Easter in 1980:

“Are you going to believe the Word of God?  Or the word of man?

I pray you will make the same choice that I did to believe the ‘Word of God,’ because your eternal destiny is at stake; there is no purgatory, therefore there is no second chance after death.  I pray the day will come, O precious Catholic, when you will realize that Jesus paid your debt to sin in full and that there is nothing you can do to earn God’s love and forgiveness!  You simply place your complete trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross as full payment for your sins, make the choice to turn from your sin (repent) out of deep sorrow for your sins to show your decision to accept what Jesus has done for you.  He will then break the hold that sin has upon your life, fill you with His Spirit, and give you the ability to obey Him which you will desire to do simply out of love and appreciation for what He has already done for you.

I also pray the day will come when God will open your eyes so that you can see the truth and you will then be filled with the same joy that flooded my heart when, after believing God’s Word over the teachings of men, I heard the following song for the first time at the Bible believing church that I started to attend after leaving the Catholic church.  Tears of joy flowed from my eyes when I first heard these words:

“My sin, O, the bliss of this glorious thought! 

My sin not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!

 

LORD WILLING COMING SOON

MY TESTIMONY: FROM FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY TO PEACE AND ASSURANCE — HOW GOD REVEALED THE TRUTH TO ME AS I WAS READING A CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE (PART 3 OF 3) (Already completed).

The beautiful picture I chose for this post is one of many beautiful pictures I found on the  KingJamesBibleonline.org page on Facebook that you can choose for your ‘Timeline.’