BEYOND FATIMA – THE ALLEGED APPARITIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY TO LUCIA SANTOS BEYOND 1917 – LEARN TO DISCERN

After the alleged miracle of the sun took place at the Cova de Iria in Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917, it caused many people to come to the conclusion that the little shepherd children were not lying about the visions they had claimed to have seen of the Virgin Mary. At this point even more people began to flock to the homes of the children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The disturbing details concerning what happened in the years that followed were revealed on the final pages in the little book about the apparitions of Fatima that I received back in the 1980s from my Aunt Lee who was a nun for many years. Most people (including myself), who are familiar with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that took place at Fatima, are unaware of the fact that Lucia allegedly continued to see visions of the Virgin Mary after 1917. Before we look into these events, here is a very brief summary of what happened a few years after that last apparition took place at Fatima based upon the information that I learned from reading my little book:

Francisco and Jacinta, the two little shepherd children and cousins of Lucia, died as a result of the 1918 influenza epidemic that broke out in Europe; Francisco died on April 4, 1919, and Jacinta died on February 20, 1920. Because of the constant intrusions in the lives of Lucia and her family, it got to the point where the local Bishop thought it best to have her sent away to a convent school where no one would know her. She was given a new name and was told not reveal her true identity or to ever mention anything about Fatima.

Here are a few more brief excerpts from my book concerning the apparitions at Fatima. The pictures that you will see below are examples of the illustrations that were included in this little book and should cause those of you who are truly born-again, Bible believing, discerning Christians, to shudder at what they are clearly conveying!

The main thing I would like to draw your attention to concerning the first vision is the fact that Jesus Christ is revealed as a mere child. Thus the focus, once again, is placed upon Mary as the one who is presented as having the more dominant position of power.

“In the convent, Our Lady did not leave Lucia alone. She came to visit her many times. At the Cova da Iria , Our Lady had already told Lucia of the bitter sorrow of her heart over the ingratitude and sinfulness of mankind. She asked that the first Saturday of each month be set aside by all as a day of reparation to her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady again appeared  to Lucia on December 10, 1025, while she was in her room at the convent. The Child Jesus was at Our Lady’s side, elevated upon a cloud of light.”

“Our Lady resting one hand upon Lucia’s shoulder, held in her other hand a heart surrounded with sharp thorns. The Child Jesus spoke first to Lucia:

“Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”

Then Our Lady said to Lucia:

“My daughter, look at my Heart encircled with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you at least try to console me and announce in my name that I promise to assist  at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to me.”

“Lucia could never forget this vision of Mary’s bleeding heart. She informed her confessor and her superior of this apparition but they felt unable of themselves to spread this devotion. A year passed and on the 15th of December, 1926, the Child Jesus again appeared to Lucia, inquiring if she had spread this devotion of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. She told Our Lord how her confessor had pointed out to her so many difficulties, and thought the Mother Superior ardently desired to propagate the devotion, her confessor also warned her that she could do nothing by herself.”

“It is true that your Superior alone can do nothing, but with My grace she can do all,” Our Lord answered.

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“Lucia had not yet been given permission to reveal all that Our Lady had spoken to her at the Cova da Iria. She did, however, had permission to reveal the need of reparation and the devotion of the First Saturdays. It was in 1927, while she was praying in the convent chapel at Tuy, Spain, where she was then stationed, that she received permission from Heaven to reveal the first two parts of the secret, the vision of Hell and the urgent need for devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. …I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart.”

“Two years later, in 1929, Our Lady again appeared to Lucia while she was praying in the chapel at Tuy. This was the time chosen by Our Lady  to ask the fulfillment of her previous request: “I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart… If they heed my request, Russia will be converted and there will be peace.” Our Lady explained that this consecration should be made by the Holy Father in unison with all the bishops of the world.”

In the picture above that depicts the vision that Lucia allegedly saw as she prayed in the chapel, you will notice that God the Father is revealed as having a body, which reflects the teachings of Mormonism, not Biblical Christianity!

“God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He is perfect, has all power, and knows all things, He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.” (Mormonism – Doctrines and Covenants 130:22) (See videos below under Related Videos to become aware of the unbiblical nature of Mormonism).

God’s Word says the following:

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

Also in the illustration above of the alleged vision, you will notice that instead of  Jesus Christ being revealed as our Risen, Glorified Savior, He is revealed as the crucified Christ, which is how Jesus is mainly presented to Catholics through their teachings, especially during the Sacrifice of the Mass when it is said that the bread and the wine become the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ through the process of what’s called transubstantiation. This also is symbolized in the illustration of the vision by the host and the chalice representing the body and blood of Christ being offered again and again during every Mass for the sins of the living and the dead. Once again, this vision does not present Biblical truth since God’s Word clearly says:

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1,2)

“If God is for us who can be against us, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, –how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died –more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”             (Romans 8:31b-34)

“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:11-14)

“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.  Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.  But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)

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

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear you.” (Isaiah 59:1,2)

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16,17)

“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:35,36)

“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36)

“Against all hope Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead –since he was about a hundred years old –and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why it was credited to him as righteousness. The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness –for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to live for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 4:18-25-5:1)

^“Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he [Jesus Christ], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Hebrews 10:8-23) (Insertion [Jesus Christ] added).

Dear Catholic — and each and every one of you — did you grasp the good news of the Biblical gospel after reading God’s life-giving truth in all of those verses? For those who choose to place their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as our sin offering — our substitute who bore our sins and took upon Himself the full wrath of God that was intended for us because of all of our sins — and believe that Jesus Christ arose from the dead for our justification, we are then covered with His righteousness, and we can then draw near to God in full assurance of faith. That truly is good news!

Jesus Christ is our only Mediator! (1 Timothy 2:5) We cannot come to God through the saints or through Mary, even though you are being taught that. God did everything necessary to remove the barrier of sin that separates us from Himself, a God who is thrice Holy. Peace can only be found though Jesus Christ.

There is no need for God to send Mary with messages for us. His Word is filled with all of the truth and hope that we need to help us find peace and forgiveness for our sins through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

God’s Word is also filled with many prophecies that have already come to pass which shows the accuracy of His Word. Many prophecies in God’s Word reveal the condition that our world will be in shortly before the return of Jesus Christ. The things that we are presently witnessing in our world signifies that we are indeed living in the last of the last days!

“People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” (Luke 17:23-36)

NOTE: I would like to point out here that many wrongly teach that this passage presents an example to support the pretribulation rapture view, a position that I hold to because it teaches the only position that lines up with Scripture by having us look for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. I always accepted that interpretation of this passage, until one day as I was reading it again, the next verse caught my attention and my eyes were opened to see the truth! As I read the reply Jesus gave when He was asked where these people were taken to, it clearly shows they were not taken to a glorious place like heaven, as you will also see!

“Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)

Continuing on with a few more Scriptures to show how God’s Word shows us how the condition of our world will be like in the last days before Jesus Christ returns:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

“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 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 4:2-4)

The return of Jesus Christ could be much sooner than any of us could ever imagine! Look to Jesus, not to Mary!

Some of the messages given in these many different apparitions (which I will share with you in the next post –Lord willing) make it appear as if Mary is the one who is accurately predicting the condition of our world, when in fact it is God who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, moved upon those holy men in times past to record His Words to us concerning what the condition our world would be like when the time was drawing near for the return of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our very eyes!

Please do not be deceived by thinking that these apparitions are of the virgin Mary when so many of the messages given contradict God’s Word!

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For those of you who read Glenn Chatfield’s blog, THE WATCHMAN’S BAGPIPES, you may have seen one of his recent posts in which he shared how he found some cards at a Catholic church with some artwork. These cards were to be given to those who would be attending Mass. Notice how the depiction of the Trinity looks very similar to the illustration of Lucia’s vision:

(SOURCE)

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Let’s continue on with a few more disturbing excerpts from the book on the apparitions that continued after 1917 before we bring this post to an end:

“Lucia asked for the consecration of the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart with a special mention of Russia. The Pope deliberated long and prayerfully upon this request of Mary. In 1942, the clergy and people of Portugal celebrated the silver anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima. On the last day of October of the same year, the Bishops gathered at the Cathedral of Lisbon to join with the Holy Father in fulfilling the request of Our Lady. The Pope at that time consecrated the Church and the world to her Immaculate Heart, including the people of Russia by these words:

“Give peace to the peoples separated from us by error or by schism and especially to the one who professes such singular devotion to thee and in whose homes an honored place was ever accorded thy venerable icon (today perhaps often kept hidden to await better days); bring them back to the one fold of Christ under the one true Shepherd…” Six weeks later, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in the presence of 40,000 people, the Holy Father repeated this consecration at St. Peter’s in Rome. This consecration was a decisive event in the history of the world; it marks the beginning of a new era, the Age of Mary.” (Emphasis added)

“The following spring, Our Blessed Lord appeared to Lucia to express the joy of His Heart over this consecration.”

“Last Thursday at midnight, while I was in chapel with my superior’s permission, Our Lord said to me, “The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance that I now seek and require.”

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Below you will see one of the very last statements in this little book concerning Mary that clearly reveals how Catholicism attributes to Mary the power to do what only Jesus Christ alone has already accomplished and will ultimately bring to fulfillment at the very end of time:

“Also, the Rosary gives Mary new power to crush the head of the Serpent and to destroy his evil power over the world.” (Emphasis added).

No, dear reader — Catholic or otherwise — Jesus Christ alone defeated the Serpent known as Satan at the cross! The final words that He uttered from the cross, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) made that abundantly clear!

Here are some more Scriptures that show Jesus Christ destroyed Satan’s power at the cross, and will ultimately be the one to send him to the bottomless pit for all eternity!

“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 2:13b-15)

“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:23-33)

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:7-11)

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Romans 16:20)

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”              (Hebrews 2:14,15)

Dear Catholic, though Mary was humble and obedient, and had a deep love for God, she played no part in bringing  about our actual salvation no matter what you have been taught. Out of her love for God she put aside all of the concerns that she must have had and willingly submitted to God and became the virgin mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the second Person in the Trinity. Jesus took upon Himself human flesh and willingly came into our world to live the perfect, sinless  life that you and I could never live, to become the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God –He became our substitute and died in our place for all of our sins, guilt, and shame.

In the following video you will discover that after the death of the two little shepherd children, Jacinta and Francisco, it has been said that “they were in constant communication with her [Lucia] until the very end of her life.” 

Communicating with the dead is referred to as “necromancy,” and is forbidden by God according to His Word! (Leviticus 19:31, 20:27) (Isaiah 8:19)

To accept the many teachings of the Catholic church concerning Mary — or anything that cannot be found anywhere in Scripture — is to go beyond what has been written, which is something that we are commanded not to do. (1 Corinthians 4:6) It is also adding to Scripture, as well as taking away from Scripture, which is something that God clearly forbids! (See Deut. 4:2, 12:32, Rev. 22:18)

When Mary is exalted to a position of power that is equal to or that surpasses that of Jesus Christ’s, (which sadly is often the case if one takes the time to compare the teachings of the Catholic church to Scripture, as I have been trying to do for you in these recent series that focuses on Catholicism), or when Jesus is presented to you as a baby, a child, or still on the cross, then you, dear Catholic, are being prevented from seeing the greatness of all that Jesus Christ alone has accomplished for you out of His love for you and out of His obedience to God the Father!

The foundation for our faith must be built upon Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, and it is not to be built upon any particular church or denomination.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22)

“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16)

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”               (1 Corinthians 3:11)

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”                  (Ephesians 2:19,20)

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:2-8)

IN CLOSING:

While it is true that the Catholic church does not demand Catholics to accept these apparitions (that are classified as private revelations) in order to be Catholic, the fact that some of these apparitions have been fully approved by the Catholic church (some of which we will examine in an upcoming post) is enough to cause many Catholics to fall prey to the clearly unbiblical and spiritually deceptive messages that are given during these apparitions.

Dear Catholic, (and those of you who may be seeking after signs and wonders), please do not allow yourselves to be led astray from the simplicity of the Biblical gospel by  apparitions and by Catholic traditions that are not based on Scripture, and yet are put on the same level as Scripture, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.” Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own *”always, to the close of the age.” *(Matthew 28:20)

“Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit” “And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it abroad by their preaching.”

“As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

(Para 80, 81, 82 Catechism of the Catholic Church) (Emphasis added to point out serious concerns).

Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), His name is the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and He is the door (John 10:7-10) that leads to eternal life. And yet below you will read a quote that was taken from an interview with Lucia in Fatima in 1957 in which she stated that Mary is to be considered “as the certain door by which we are to enter heaven.”

Dear Catholic, and those of you who may have become captivated by these apparitions. Will you continue to believe the messages given during these apparitions that appeal to your emotions? Or after examining the evidence in light of Scripture will you make the decision to reject these apparitions and place your trust in Jesus Christ alone, who is the only Savior that God has provided for you? The choice is yours. I am praying for all of you.

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:38-42)

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” (John 4:48)

“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there. and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:22-40)

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…” (Exodus 20:3-5)

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false  prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

 

RELATED VIDEOS

In spite of the fact that the following apparitions received full approval by the Catholic church because nothing contradicts their teachings, if tested against Scripture each one fails to line up with the truth of God’s Word:

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I added this video to show you what some of the teachings of Mormonism are because of the fact that Lucia claimed to have seen a vision in which God the Father had a body, which is one of the many unbiblical teachings of Mormonism.

 

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THE TOMB INDEED WAS MADE SECURE

 

Matthew 27 King James Version 

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

 

DO NOT BE DECEIVED, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!

Matthew 28 King James Version    

¹  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

² And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

³ His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

⁴ And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

⁵ And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

⁷ And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

⁸ And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

⁹ And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

¹⁰ Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

¹¹ Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

¹² And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

¹³ Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

¹⁴ And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

¹⁵ So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

¹⁷ And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

King James Version

King James Bible

The Resurrection of Christ – 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

The Order of Resurrection

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

 

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John 5:11,12)

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

IN CLOSING:

Precious Jewish person, the true elect and chosen of God, Jesus Christ truly is the Messiah you  have been waiting for:

 

Isaiah 53 King James Version (KJV)

 

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹ He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

 

For those of you who have placed your full trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, have a Blessed Resurrection Sunday!

For those of you who have not yet come to the understanding of all that Jesus Christ has done to provide the only way for you to be accepted by a thrice Holy God, please take some time in the days and weeks ahead to read the Gospel of John, the Book of Romans, and the Book of Hebrews, especially Chapters 7 through 10, praying all the while that God will open up your understanding to grasp the truth that is in His Word.

Jesus Christ and the truth of the Biblical gospel has the power to set you free from sin and spiritual deception, to transform your life, to fill you with true hope, and to give you a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

TESTIMONY TUESDAY – EXPOSING SPIRITUAL DECEPTION IN THE CHURCH

I am sure that many of you can remember at least one time in your life when out of a deep desire to seek after God, you somehow became captivated by some pastor, teacher, or speaker who ended up leading you astray. At the time you truly believed that the person  you placed yourself under in order to come to know God’s Word in a deeper way was a Biblically sound teacher. Then over time red flags began to pop up and then the warnings given to you by the Holy Spirit within you (if you are indeed a genuine follower of the true Jesus Christ of the Bible) made you realize that something was very wrong!

Now to get to my point:

A few of you may remember that back in February of 2016 I shared the testimony of Mishel McCumber of DECEPTION BYTES with you on this→ MYSTICISM MONDAY post. Well, back in October of 2016 Mishel stopped by LIVING4HISGLORY’S FACEBOOK PAGE to let me know: 

“…that the full book based on Adrift in the River  of God is now available on Amazon and on Kindle.” 

I promised her that I would let those who read my blog from time to time know about her new book, and I have been meaning to do so for quite some time now. So today I finally  decided that a Testimony Tuesday post would be the perfect way to do so!

Please pray for Mishel because it must have been extremely difficult to write a book like ‘The View Beneath’ and to relive the spiritual abuse and deception and heartache that she most certainly went through! However, all of us who have been through similar circumstances can attest to the fact that God always uses  what we have been through to help others who are still trapped in the web of deceit and manipulation. We can also say that God’s grace has been sufficient and His strength is always made perfect in our weakness, for when we are weak, then we are strong. May God use Mishel’s book for His glory to open the eyes of many who have been deceived by false teachers!

Truly we must finally come to  the point of realizing the extreme importance of being a follower of Jesus Christ alone, and to read and study His Word so that we will come to know it so well that we will immediately be able to discern truth from error; we must always test the teachings of every man and woman who claims to speak for God against the truth of God’s Word to see if what is being said (and done) is true or not.  (Acts 17:11)

And now, I present to you the testimony of Mishel McCumber, who is a former  member of Rick Joyner’s Morningstar church:

(SOURCE)

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)

“Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”         (Acts 20:26-31)

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (2 Timothy 4:1)

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

 

 

RELATED VIDEOS

UPDATE:

I am very sorry that I am still not finished writing my post that will be focusing on the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. There is so much information that I need to share with you that I finally realized the only way I can present it to you without it being extremely long is to make it into another series. Lord willing, I am truly hoping to have Part 1  finished for you by this Sunday evening  as long as I am able to gather up all the information that I will need in order to have my taxes done by Friday evening.

COMPARING SCRIPTURES IN THE CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE TO TEACHINGS FOUND IN THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH – DEAR CATHOLIC, ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD, OR THE WORD OF MAN? PART 2

SERIES INTRODUCTION

There are two very important reasons why I felt compelled to write this series of posts, and I’d like to briefly share these reasons with you now before I go any further:

1) Since I am a former Catholic who is very aware of the teachings of the Catholic Church because I attended twelve years of Catholic school, attended Catechism classes, made my First Holy Communion, was Confirmed, and faithfully attended Mass not only every Sunday for many years, but also before school began for three years (as required by the school that I attended at the time),  and who came to the knowledge of who Jesus Christ truly is and what He actually accomplished for us by reading a Catholic New Testament Bible exactly like the one pictured above, I decided to write this series with the hope of reaching Catholics so that they can not only come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is as His Word, the Bible, declares Him to be, but also so they can see by reading God’s Word that they can have complete forgiveness, lasting joy, true peace, and the assurance of salvation if they choose to believe God’s Word and place their trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. Also, since many Catholics do not realize everything that the Catholic church actually teaches (as I once did not realize until after doing research and reading the CCC), I thought that it was extremely important to share this information to make Catholics aware of many things that are quite disturbing, as you will all soon become aware of as this series continues.

2) This series of posts is also being written with the intention of helping those of you who are born-again, Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ who have no idea of what the teachings of Catholicism are so that you can become aware of their teachings and be prepared to offer hope and assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ to Catholics based solely upon the truth that is recorded in God’s Word.

As we continue on in this series together comparing Scriptures in the Catholic New Testament to teachings found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we must keep these important thoughts in mind:

When it comes to our eternal destination — heaven or hell — we must be certain that we place our trust in solid truth and not in speculation or in the traditions of men. The Catholic church claims to be the “one true Church.” Therefore, it stands to reason that their teachings must line up with God’s Word and not contradict it since God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), and His Word stands firm forever. (Psalm 119:89, Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:24,25) If a contradiction is found it must be rejected because God’s Word is our plumb line by which we must measure (or test) the teachings of every religion to see if it lines up or not. If it is off in one point we can be certain that it will lead us further and further away from Biblical truth and lead us into spiritual deception.

This series will cover many different subjects ranging from what does the Catholic Church teach about the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, priests, the pope, sin, forgiveness of sins, salvation, prayer, and what must a Catholic believe in order to receive eternal life. Some of these teachings will shock even many Catholics when they learn what their church actually teaches!

Lord willing, I hope to share at least one post every month with you in this new series until I have covered all the most important teachings that need to be brought to your attention. The main goal that I have in writing this series is to present the Word of God to Catholics — and to every person — in order to point everyone to Jesus Christ, who is our only hope and ‘the only name under heaven given among men by which we can be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)

Dear Catholic, please take a minute now to pray, asking God to open your mind to the Scriptures and to reveal the truth to you –whatever that may be.

Because only God can reveal the truth to you, I will refrain from making any comments unless I find it completely necessary. Since God’s Word is truth I trust that He will not only give you eyes to see the truth, but also I trust that He will give you the courage to respond to His leading. However, each one of you will find yourself having to answer this question when you come to each point that I present to you in these posts after realizing that there are oftentimes extreme differences between what the Word of God says and what Catholicism teaches, and the question that you will have to answer is:

“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”

 Please keep in mind, as you are carefully reading all of the statements made from the following Catholic sources, that every time you see the word “church” spelled with a capital c they are referring to the Catholic church, since they believe that the “Catholic Church” alone is the “one true Church.”All of the information that I will be sharing with you I have obtained from the following sources:

1) CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (pictured above) – Imprimi Potest – Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict) – Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church

2) THE WORD OF GOD – THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR  IN TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION – SACRED HEART LEAGUE EDITION – IMPRIMATUR JOHN FRANCIS WHEALON, ARCHBISHOP OF HARTFORD, APRIL 15, 1971 SIGNED AND SEALED BY BISHOP JOSEPH B. BRUNINI, DIOCESE OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

3) Occasionally when I share a Scripture with you from the Sacred Heart League (SHL) Catholic New Testament and notice that it lacks depth and clarity, I will then follow it with the same verse but in the King James Version in order to give you a better understanding of what is being said, and so that you can see what is missing from the SHL translation.

4) Very briefly in this series, I will also be quoting from THE CATHOLIC DOUAY RHEIMS VERSION OF THE BIBLE – in which you will find the following statements:

“EXCERPT FROM ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF OUR HOLY FATHER BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE POPE LEO XIII ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE:

“The God of all Providence, Who in the adorable designs of His love at first elevated the human race to the participation of the Divine nature, and afterwards delivered it from the universal guilt and ruin, restoring it to its primitive dignity, has in consequence bestowed upon man a splendid gift and safeguard–making known to him, by supernatural means, the hidden Mysteries of His divinity, His wisdom, and His mercy. For although in Divine revelations there are contained some things which are not beyond the reach of unassisted reason, and which are made the objects of such revelation in order “that all may come to know them with facility, certainty, and safety from error, yet not on this account can supernatural Revelation be said to be absolutely necessary; it is only necessary because God has ordained man to a supernatural end.” 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.” (Page ix)

“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.” (Page xvii)

“Wherefore the first and dearest object of the Catholic commentator  should be to interpret those passages which have received an authentic interpretation either by the sacred writers themselves, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (as in many places of the New Testament), or from the Church, under the assistance of the same Holy Spirit, whether by her solemn judgment or her ordinary and universal magisterium –to interpret those passages in that identical sense, and to prove, by all the resources of science that sound hermeneutical laws admit of no other interpretation. In the other passages, the analogy of faith should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively proposed by the Church, should be held as the supreme law; for seeing that the same God is the author both of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can by legitimate means be extracted from the former, which shall in any respect be at variance with the latter. Hence it follows that all interpretation is foolish and false which either makes the sacred writers disagree one with another, or is opposed to the doctrine of the Church.” (Page xviii)

“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.” (Page xix)

(If you’d like to read PART 1 first, click HERE).

In PART 1 of this new series I shared the most concerning information with you that can be found in the first fifty five pages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). To those of you who are Catholic, you were also presented with the question of making the decision to choose between believing what God’s Word has to say, or what Catholicism teaches in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The format in this particular post will be a little different due to the fact that the information in this next section of the CCC I will be sharing with you in this particular post requires me to address some serious concerns

Now, please take a minute to pray for discernment again, and then we will continue on in this series comparing the teachings from the CCC to the Scriptures in the Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament.

In this installment you will begin to see a few glimpses of how some of the teachings presented in Catholicism are rooted in mysticism which is what made me realize that I needed to change my original plans concerning how I was going to present these posts to you. When I first began writing this series I just wanted the content of each post to simply be the teachings that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and on  God’s Word as presented in the Catholic New Testament Bible, and I was going to address any concerns that came up in these teachings in separate posts after I was finished going  through the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, realizing that not everyone who reads one post in this series is going to read every post in this series, I prayerfully came to the decision to begin sharing important information with you when these issues pertaining to mysticism come up to keep things as orderly as possible in this series. That means that I will be going back to PART 1 in this series in order to add something that I intentionally left out concerning mysticism which I was going to address at a later time.

As this series progresses, I will be presenting you with at least two posts devoted to showing you just how steeped in mysticism some of the teachings of Catholicism truly are, which will shock many of you –especially some of you who are Catholic. Once again I will be refraining from making any additional comments at this time, except for adding a few  ‘notes’ and some important information in order to point some things out to you in order to help you learn to discern. It is my prayer that God, by His Holy Spirit, will open your eyes to see the serious problems in some of these teachings. With all of that in mind, let’s begin:

CHAPTER 1 – PART 2

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH (CONT).

SECTION TWO – THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH – THE CREEDS

“Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles’ Creed, which constitutes, as it were, “the oldest Roman catechism.” The presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed which is often more explicit and more detailed.” (Para 196)

“As on the day  of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the “standard of teaching,” let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and whose midst we believe: This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.” (Para 197)

“Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of “another Paraclete” (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously “spoken through the prophets,” the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them “into all the truth.” The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father.” (Para 243) (NOTE: I will be referring back to some of these statements concerning the Holy Spirit when we get to another related topic further along in this series, so please keep the above thoughts in the back of your mind. I will share those certain statements above with you again later, as well).

Now please carefully read the following Canticle of the Creatures which was written by St. Francis, and ask yourself if the terminology used lines up with Biblical Christianity, or if it more closely resembles New Age mysticism/paganism:

“There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory:

“May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High…”

“May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste… “May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses…Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility…” (Para 344) (St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures)

Thoughts for you to consider:

Is the sun our brother? Is water our sister? Is the earth really to be considered as our sister, and our mother? Is the earth responsible for bearing and feeding us? Or is it God who created us and who provides for us? Yes, Francis clearly gives praise to God in his Canticle of the Creatures, but by presenting his readers with imagery that attempts to establish some sort of a relationship or a unity/oneness that we have with creation, he seems to be painting a pagan or pantheistic world view instead of a Biblical world view in the minds of those who read his Canticle.

Here is a Scripture that came to mind as I was reading the Canticle of the Creatures:

“God’s wrath is revealed coming down from heaven upon all the sin and evil of men whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God punishes them, because what men can know about God is plain to them. Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen. Men can perceive them in the things that God has made. So they have no excuse at all! They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise but they are fools; instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Because men are such fools, God has given them over to do the filthy things their hearts desire and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator Himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:18-25) Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament (SHLCNT)

At this point I now find it necessary to share some further information with you concerning St. Francis of Assisi:

The only thing that I remember learning about St. Francis as I attended Catholic school as a child is that he was a kind and gentle Roman Catholic friar. Due to the fact that he is considered to be the patron saint of Italy and of animals and the environment, he was and is often pictured in the scenic outdoors with little animals:

However, after doing research for this post, I discovered that he was a mystic as well as “the first recorded *stigmatic *(a person who claims to manifest the wounds of the crucified Christ in their hands, and sometimes in their feet and side,  from which blood oftentimes flows from these wounds) in Christian history,” according to the following information on Wikipedia:

(SOURCE)

For those of you who have never heard about those who have claimed to have borne the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, below you will find some information to test in light of Scripture. I would like to draw your attention to the following paragraph that you will find in the second quick capture below to point out the unbiblical nature of these manifestations:

Facts concerning the wounds of the stigmata

The purpose of the wounds is to draw and unite the chosen individual into a special union with Jesus in his passion for the conversion of sinners and to make reparation for sins. Thus, individuals who are given the grace of the stigmata are always considered “victim souls” because they suffer in union with Jesus for the conversion of sinners.

To claim that those who suffer with the wounds of Christ have “a special union with Jesus in His passion” in order “to make reparation for sins” is clearly denying the sufficiency of Jesus’ “once for all” sacrifice for our sins when He willingly died in our place on the cross, and it is also adding to Scripture. Yet many Catholics will choose to believe this because it is accepted and taught by the Catholic Church as part of Tradition which is  put on the same level of importance and authenticity as the Bible, but, once again, one must make the choice to believe God’s Word over the words of men when they come in conflict with one another, and especially when a teaching somehow clearly denies the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s “once for all” sacrifice.

“For those of you who are Catholic, here is a quick capture of a portion of a similar article from a Catholic source that you might prefer:

(SOURCE)

As you can see from the quick capture below of some rather revealing information, mediums and Buddhists have also been stigmatics which should add to one’s concern about the source of these manifestations:

(SOURCE)

 

 ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD? OR THE WORD OF MAN?

So, dear Catholic, are you going to believe the Word of God and place your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in your place as full payment for your sins? Or will you instead choose to believe that more suffering needs to be added to the sufferings of Jesus Christ in order for you to receive God’s forgiveness?

Rejoice in what Jesus Christ has already done for you and place your trust in Him alone! In John 6:28,29 we see a crowd of people asking Jesus a question that is in the hearts of many people even today, because accepting the free gift of salvation that was paid with the high price of the blood of Jesus seems to be too simple and too good to be true:

“So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do God’s works?” Jesus answered, “This is the work God wants you to do: believe in the one he sent.”

A similar account is recorded in Acts 16 after Paul and Silas had been severely beaten and thrown in jail, and the jailer was given strict orders to lock them up tight:

“Upon receiving this order the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open he thought that all the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. Then he led them out and asked, “What must I do, sirs, to be saved?” “Believe in the Lord Jesus,” they said, “and you will be saved–you and your family.” Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.”

One must keep in mind though, that in James 2:19 it says that “the demons also believe [in God]–and tremble with fear.”  And Scripture also records that the demons know exactly who Jesus Christ is (Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 1:23-27, Luke 4:3-35,41, 8:26-29), and yet they will not be saved; their fate was already sealed after they chose to rebel against God.

Here are a few of the above cited Scriptures:

“Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, on the other side of the lake, and was met by two men who came out of the burial caves. These men had demons in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road. At once they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to punish us before the right time?” (Matthew 8:28-30)

“They came to the town of Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath Day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people who heard him were amazed at the way he taught. He wasn’t like the teachers of the law; instead he taught with authority. Just then a man with an evil spirit in him came into the synagogue and screamed, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God’s holy messenger!” Jesus commanded the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!” The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. The people were all so amazed that they started saying to each other, “What is this? Some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!” (Mark 1:21-27)

Hell – Created for the devil and his angels:

“Then he [Jesus] will say to those on his left, “Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!” (Matthew 25:41)(SHLCNT) (Note: I inserted “Jesus” in this verse).

 

True belief unto salvation means that we must rely fully upon and place our complete trust in Jesus Christ’s sinless life, His death in our place upon the cross for our sin and guilt, and in His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead as our only means of forgiveness from sin and guilt and the only way to be able to have a relationship with God; there is only (1) one way to God, (2) one Mediator between God and men, and (3) one name given among men by which we must be saved –Jesus Christ.

(1) “Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) (SHLCNT)

(2) “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) (SHLCNT)

(3) “Salvation is to be found through him alone; for there is no one else in all the world, whose name God has given to men, by whom we can be saved.” (Acts 4:12) (SHLCNT)

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT UPON

“For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked, at the time that God chose. It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may be that someone might dare to die for a good person. But God has shown us how much he loves us; it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s wrath. We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life!” (Romans 5:6-10) SHLCNT

“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 5:18,19) SHLCNT

“The Jewish High Priest goes into The Holy Place every year with the blood of an animal. 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 and for all, when all ages of time are nearing the end, to remove sin through 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 9:24-28) SHLCNT

“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) SHLCNT

“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. He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world, and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.”    (1 Peter 1:18-21) SHLCNT

“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. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually.” (1 Peter 3:18) SHLCNT 

^“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18) (KJV)

In the Book of Revelation God’s Word is clear about the fate of those who add to or who take away from what His Word has to say. Although this verse is specifically referring to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, this should produce fear in the heart of anyone who dares to tamper with God’s Word!

“I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away anything from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from his share of the fruit of the tree of life, and his share of the Holy City, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18,19) (SHLCNT)

If you choose to listen to the following poem by Saint Francis, please pray for  discernment so that you will not be misled by your emotions, and be sure to test his words against Scripture:

Eckhart Tolle is often seen with Oprah, and he promotes New Age mysticism as you will see in the following video:

When you have someone who is a New Age leader promoting Saint Francis, this should be a clear indication to you that the spirituality of Saint Francis was not quite Christian!

Now back to sharing a few more teachings with you from the CCC before I end this particular post:

“After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a  mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (“first gospel”): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between a serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. (Para 410)

“The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who, “because he became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,” makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience of Adam. Furthermore many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium, as Mary, the mother of Christ, the “new Eve.” Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (Para 411)

At this point I find it necessary to pause once again in order to share some important information with you concerning the Protoevangelium before addressing another concern in the above paragraph:

As you can see from the quick capture below, “…the Protevangelium is God’s statement to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden about how the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.”

(SOURCE)

“I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” (Genesis 3:15) (Douay-Rheims Version)

If you click HERE, you will discover that the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible version is the only one that translated the second half of Genesis 3:15 as “…she shall crush thy head…”

In a video that I will be sharing with you at a later time in this series, Rob Zins of ‘A Christian Witness to Roman Catholicism,’ (CWRC) says the following concerning Genesis 3:15: 

“Now this “she shall crush thy head” is interpreted by Roman Catholic scholars to be a reference to Mary. This is the beginning. Now we object to this right at the start of it. The Douay Rheims version of the Roman Catholic Bible has a footnote under verse 15 which says, “she shall crush; ipsa; the woman.” The ipsa here is a mistake. The Latin Vulgate translated this with an ipsa –she. It should have been ipse –masculine; he.  Every Protestant Bible and every other version of the Bible written has “he” in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ; He shall crush thy head.” It is not she, it is he. The Latin Vulgate mistranslated this, and as a result it was carried through. The original Hebrew text has masculine pronoun. Even the Greek Septuagint is masculine in this case. Why do the Catholics continue to say, “She, she, she.” The answer is at the Council of Trent the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible was declared to be the one and only translation acceptable to the Roman Catholic religion, so they are stuck with “she” here, even though their own theologians will admit it’s a mistake; it should be he. But the greater mistake, other than the language mistake, is the idea that this she here is in reference to Mary, and they begin with a tiny ice particle at the top of the hill and they say, “Well if it’s a she it must begin with  Mary,” and they begin building a doctrine of Mary right from this point. It’s a little ice particle that rolls down the hill, and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger until at the bottom it’s a giant, thundering, bulldozing boulder of Marian theology, but it begins right here in Genesis 3:15.”

Here is a Commentary by Matthew Henry followed by a portion of Barnes’ Notes on the Bible concerning Genesis 3:14,15 that you might be interested in reading`:

(SOURCE)

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:20)

The other concern from Para 411 of the CCC that I would also like to bring to your attention is the following statement:

“Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (Para 411)

God’s Word reveals to us that all of us are sinners — and oh so much more — in these passages of Scripture:

“As the Scriptures say: “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 3:10-12)

“Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God’s judgment. Because no man is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make man know that he has sinned. 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. But by the free gift of God’s grace they are all put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. God offered him so that by his death he should become the means by which men’s sins are forgiven, through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In the past, he was patient and overlooked men’s sins; but now in the present time he deals with men’s sins, to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.” (Romans 3:19-26)

“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.” (Romans 5:18)

 

END OF CHAPTER 1 OF THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS:

In 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), I shared a lot of disturbing information with you concerning the Virgin Mary in regards to much of what Catholicism teaches about her, as well as the  information that I discovered after doing many hours of research on the Virgin Mary and the many Feast Days set aside to honor her. As this series continues I will be sharing more information with you concerning Mary and what the Catholic Church teaches about her, and I will continue sharing many Scriptures with you, as well.

For those of you who are Catholic, all that I ask you to do is to please pray for God to reveal His truth to you if you decide to read that portion of my testimony and if you choose to read the rest of the posts that I (Lord willing) will be sharing with you in this series.

Lord willing, in the next post in this series (that I am hoping to have completed in August) we will begin going through many of the teachings in Chapter 2 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and continue comparing them to Scripture. In the mean time I hope and pray that many of you — those of you who are Catholic and those of you who have placed your complete trust only in the finished work of Jesus Christ as full payment for your sins — are coming to realize the importance of testing the teachings of every pastor, teacher — and priest — against Scripture, as God’s Word clearly shows us that we are to do:

“As soon as night came, the brothers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.” (Acts 17:11) (SHLCNT)

“Put all things to the test: keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil.”                    (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22) (SHLCNT)

 

Dear Catholic, when I was still a Catholic I believed with all of my heart that the Catholic Church was the “one true church” as we were taught. However, after reading God’s Word in that little Catholic New Testament I discovered too much evidence that proved many of their teachings not only contradicted Scripture, but also their teachings did not give Jesus Christ the honor and praise that was due to Him for all that He did for us by paying the debt for our sins and guilt in full!  As hard as it was at first, the moment God opened my eyes to see the truth of the glorious good news of the gospel — that Jesus Christ’s death was enough to satisfy God’s wrath that He has towards us because of our sins — I finally came to realize that I must choose to believe God’s Word over the words of men. When it was Jesus Christ whom I chose to believe and to follow, true joy and peace filled my heart. It then became easy to leave the false teachings of Catholicism behind, and all fear of death and doubt of where I would spend eternity vanished.

The Virgin Mary was a humble, obedient woman who chose to obey God and who willingly gave her consent to God to carry Jesus within her womb, but it is Jesus Christ who willingly came to lay His life down by dying a horrendously painful death in our place on the cross and who paid the price for our sins and therefore deserves all of our praise and attention –not Mary. When it comes to our eternal destination we must be certain about where we should place our trust. Our trust must not be in a church, in creeds, in deeds, or in anything or in anyone else, other than in the truth revealed in God’s Word, and in Jesus Christ alone! 

 

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your relaxing weekend (at least I hope that it has been) to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

MORE SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT ON:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“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 the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:6-9)

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s 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)

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.” (2 Peter 2:1)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matthew 7: 13-15)

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men. after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

“Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:26-31)

 

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN READING:

TO JESUS THROUGH MARY – ANOTHER UNBIBLICAL TEACHING OF CATHOLICISM KEEPING PRECIOUS CATHOLICS FROM THE TRUTH

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COMPARING SCRIPTURES IN THE CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE TO TEACHINGS FOUND IN THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH – DEAR CATHOLIC, ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD, OR THE WORD OF MAN? PART 1

There are two very important reasons why I felt compelled to write this series of posts, and I’d like to briefly share these reasons with you now before I go any further:

1) Since I am a former Catholic who is very aware of the teachings of the Catholic Church because I attended twelve years of Catholic school, attended Catechism classes, made my First Holy Communion, was Confirmed, and faithfully attended Mass not only every Sunday, but also before school began for three years (as required by the school that I attended at the time),  and who came to the knowledge of who Jesus Christ truly is and what He actually accomplished for us by reading a Catholic New Testament Bible exactly like the one pictured above, I decided to write this series with the hope of reaching Catholics so that they can not only come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is as His Word, the Bible, declares Him to be, but also so they can see by reading God’s Word that they can have complete forgiveness, lasting joy, true peace, and the assurance of salvation if they choose to believe God’s Word and place their trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. Also, since many Catholics do not realize everything that the Catholic church actually teaches (as I once did not realize until after doing research and reading the CCC), I thought that it was extremely important to share this information to make Catholics aware of many things that are quite disturbing, as you will all soon become aware of as this series continues.

2) This series of posts is also being written with the intention of helping those of you who are born-again, Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ who have no idea of what the teachings of Catholicism are so that you can become aware of their teachings and be prepared to offer hope and assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ to Catholics based solely upon the truth that is recorded in God’s Word.

As we begin this series together comparing Scriptures in the Catholic New Testament to teachings found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we must keep these important thoughts in mind:

When it comes to our eternal destination — heaven or hell — we must be certain that we place our trust in solid truth and not in speculation or in the traditions of men. The Catholic church claims to be the “one true Church.” Therefore, it stands to reason that their teachings must line up with God’s Word and not contradict it since God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), and His Word stands firm forever. (Psalm 119:89, Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:24,25) If a contradiction is found it must be rejected because God’s Word is our plumb line by which we must measure (or test) the teachings of every religion to see if it lines up or not. If it is off in one point we can be certain that it will lead us further and further away from Biblical truth and lead us into spiritual deception.

This series will cover many different subjects ranging from what does the Catholic Church teach about the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, priests, the pope, sin, forgiveness of sins, salvation, prayer, and what must a Catholic believe in order to receive eternal life. Some of these teachings will shock even many Catholics when they learn what their church actually teaches!

Lord willing, I hope to share at least one post every month with you in this new series until I have covered all the most important teachings that need to be brought to your attention. The main goal that I have in writing this series is to present the Word of God to Catholics — and to every person — in order to point everyone to Jesus Christ, who is our only hope and ‘the only name under heaven given among men by which we can be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)

Dear Catholic, please take a minute now to pray, asking God to open your mind to the Scriptures and to reveal the truth to you –whatever that may be.

Because only God can reveal the truth to you I will refrain from making any comments unless I find it completely necessary. Since God’s Word is truth I trust that He will not only give you eyes to see the truth, but also I trust that He will give you the courage to respond to His leading. However, each one of you will find yourself having to answer this question when you come to each point that I present to you in these posts after realizing that there are oftentimes extreme differences between what the Word of God says and what Catholicism teaches, and the question that you will have to answer is:

“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”

Let’s begin:

Please keep in mind, as you are carefully reading all of the statements made from the following Catholic sources, that every time you see the word “church” spelled with a capital c they are referring to the Catholic church, since they believe that the “Catholic Church” alone is the “one true Church.”

All of the information that I will be sharing with you I have obtained from the following sources:

1) CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (pictured above) – Imprimi Potest – Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict) – Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Portion of statement made by Pope John Paul II – Page 6 – Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum:

“At the conclusion of this document presenting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word and Mother of the Church, to support with her powerful intercession the catechetical work of the entire church on every level at this time when she is called to a new effort of evangelization.”

“Given October 11, 1992, the thirteenth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the fourteenth year of my Pontificate.” ~Joannes Paulus II(Signature in Latin)

2) THE WORD OF GOD – THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR  IN TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION – SACRED HEART LEAGUE EDITION – IMPRIMATUR JOHN FRANCIS WHEALON, ARCHBISHOP OF HARTFORD, APRIL 15, 1971 SIGNED AND SEALED BY BISHOP JOSEPH B. BRUNINI, DIOCESE OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

3) Occasionally when I share a Scripture with you from the Sacred Heart League (SHL) Catholic New Testament and notice that it lacks depth and clarity, I will then follow it with the same verse but in the King James Version in order to give you a better understanding of what is being said, and so that you can see what is missing from the SHL translation.

4) Very briefly in this series, I will also be quoting from THE CATHOLIC DOUAY RHEIMS VERSION OF THE BIBLE – in which you will find the following statements:

“EXCERPT FROM ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF OUR HOLY FATHER BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE POPE LEO XIII ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE:

“The God of all Providence, Who in the adorable designs of His love at first elevated the human race to the participation of the Divine nature, and afterwards delivered it from the universal guilt and ruin, restoring it to its primitive dignity, has in consequence bestowed upon man a splendid gift and safeguard–making known to him, by supernatural means, the hidden Mysteries of His divinity, His wisdom, and His mercy. For although in Divine revelations there are contained some things which are not beyond the reach of unassisted reason, and which are made the objects of such revelation in order “that all may come to know them with facility, certainty, and safety from error, yet not on this account can supernatural Revelation be said to be absolutely necessary; it is only necessary because God has ordained man to a supernatural end.” 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.” (Page ix)

“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.” (Page xvii)

“Wherefore the first and dearest object  of the Catholic commentator  should be to interpret those passages which have received an authentic interpretation either by the sacred writers themselves, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (as in many places of the New Testament), or from the Church, under the assistance of the same Holy Spirit, whether by her solemn judgment or her ordinary and universal magisterium –to interpret those passages in that identical sense, and to prove, by all the resources of science that sound hermeneutical laws admit of no other interpretation. In the other passages, the analogy of faith should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively proposed by the Church, should be held as the supreme law; for seeing that the same God is the author both of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can by legitimate means be extracted from the former, which shall in any respect be at variance with the latter. Hence it follows that all interpretation is foolish and false which either makes the sacred writers disagree one with another, or is opposed to the doctrine of the Church.” (Page xviii)

“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.” (Page xix)

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: PART 1 – THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

1) SCRIPTURE OR THE TRADITIONS OF MEN – WHICH WILL YOU BELIEVE?

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:

“The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.” (Para 66)

“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called”private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. Christian faith cannot accept “revelations” that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such “revelations.” (Para 67)

“Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (Para 82)

“It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”  (Para 95)

“The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope, and to the Bishops in communion with him.” (Para 100)

CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT:

“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)

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2) SALVATION THROUGH JESUS OR THE CHURCH? WHICH WILL YOU BELIEVE?

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:

“I believe” (Apostles’ Creed) is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during Baptism. “We believe” (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. “I believe” is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both “I believe” and “We believe.” (Para 167)

“It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes, and sustains my faith. It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ by Baptism.” Para 168)

“Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: “We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation.” Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.” (St. Cyprian, De unit. 6: PL 4, 519). (Para 169)

“Believing” is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports, and nourishes our faith. The Church is the Mother of all believers. “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother.” (Para 181) [NOTE: Ecclesial: Something related to a church or its function and teachings.]

CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its Judge, but to be its Savior. Whoever believes in the Son is not judged; whoever does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in God’s only Son.” (John 3:16,17)

KJV says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

“If you declare with your lips, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For we believe in our hearts and are put right with  God; we declare with our lips and are saved.” (Romans 10:9,10)

“So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

KJV says: “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

“I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ–in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)

“I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are going to another gospel. Actually there is no “other gospel,” but I say it because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell! We have said it before, and now I say it again:  if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, , may he be condemned to hell!” (Galatians 1:6-9)

“We believe  the witness that men give; the witness that God gives is much stronger, and this is the witness that God has given about his Son. So whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in his heart; but whoever does not believe God has made a liar out of him, because he has not believed what God has said as a witness about his Son. 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 these things so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13)

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IN CONCLUSION:

I truly hope and  pray that many Catholics will take the time to read this first post and continue reading this new series. It is also my prayer that God’s Holy Spirit will begin a work in their hearts, open their minds to the Scriptures, and give them eyes to at least be able to get a glimpse into the truly good news of the Biblical gospel that is there for them to discover if they will only read God’s Word and choose to believe it!

More good news coming soon –Lord willing!

Dear Catholic, your salvation truly does depend on Jesus Christ alone and not on the “Church,” the Sacraments, or upon obeying the ten commandments. For God’s Word says the following:

“I do not reject the grace of God. If a man is put right with God through the law, it means that Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)

“What was the purpose of the law, then? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and was meant to last until the coming of Abraham’s descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between. But a go-between is not needed when there is only one person; and God is one. Does this mean that the Law is against God’s promises? No, not at all! For if a law had been given that could bring life to men, then man could be put right with God through law. But the Scripture has said that the whole world is under the power of sin, so that the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:19-22)

“Salvation is to be found through him alone; for there is no one else in all the world, whose name God has given to men, by whom we can be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Another post in this new series will be coming next month (Lord willing), and we will look further into what the Catholic Church actually teaches on other important issues. We will also continue to  compare everything against the truth of God’s Word because, when it comes to knowing the truth, the only one we can truly trust to reveal the truth to us is God, and God alone.

This post already has over 3,500 words, so I will end now to prevent my computer from crashing as it has done many times before when my posts began to get quite lengthy.

Thank you very much for stopping by and for taking time out of your relaxing Father’s Day weekend to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

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MYSTICISM MONDAY – WARNING YOU OF HOW MYSTICISM IS NOW RAPIDLY ENTERING THE CHURCH AND DECEIVING MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY

Have you unknowingly been lured into New Age mystical practices by teachers claiming that certain “new ways to pray” will bring you closer to God? Have you signed up for classes in Spiritual Formation, or has your pastor been preaching on it? Have you been involved in “Christian“ Yoga, Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, or Lectio Divina? Well, this series of posts in the new Category of posts that I have entitled, ‘MYSTICISM MONDAYS,‘ will attempt to not only peel back the layers of the many forms of spiritual deception that have been entering the church in order to reveal them to you as being lies of the enemy of our souls, but also the intention of these posts is to present you with the truth of God’s Word in order to expose the spiritual dangers of these practices.

Lord willing, at least once a month on a Monday, I will be sharing teachings with you from Christian experts on the subject, some of whom have even been personally involved with these dangerous practices. All of these teachings that I will be presenting to you will focus on many Scriptures; those who speak on these topics will not just be talking about these practices, because it’s only the truth of God’s Word that will expose the dangers of these practices and set a deceived person free.

Lord willing, when time allows, I will be writing many posts in the future zeroing in on specific Christian programming and Christian teachers who are promoting these deceptive practices, (I recently posted a very lengthy one concerning Moody Radio which I recently updated, and when time allows I will complete it by adding notes that I took as I listened to many of Moody’s, now cancelled, Midday Connection programs) but since my time is getting rather limited these days because of other important responsibilities that I now have, I will oftentimes simply be sharing a video or an article with you.

When time allows, I truly hope and pray that you will take the time to listen to these messages or read these articles, as well as read the upcoming posts that — Lord willing — I will be writing on these important topics so that you can be aware of these false teachings that are deceiving many Christians –possibly even you!

Please be sure that you test the teachings of all those whom you listen to against Scripture as God’s Word shows us that we are to do (Acts 17:11) so that you will never be deceived.

I hope and pray that all of you who are Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ are constantly testing what your pastors and teachers are presenting to you against the truth of God’s Word as we are shown in Scripture to do (Acts 17:11) no matter how long they have been in ministry, because many pastors and teachers are now embracing and presenting New Age mystical practices to their people through things such as yoga, as well as  though meditation practices which often times are found in Spiritual Formation classes and are referred to as Contemplative Prayer, silent prayer, Lectio Divina, Taize, etc.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Mysticism in the church is one of the many ways that Satan is now using to bring about the oneness and unity that is being promoted in the world to bring about the One World Religion. Sadly, many pastors and teachers lack discernment and have now become tools in Satan’s hands to promote these mystical practices. We must keep in mind what God says in His Word:

“Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) 

Are you a follower of  a man (or woman) and their ministry? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Will you be a Berean and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what they are saying is true? Will you walk in the light and in truth and leave, if necessary, if Yoga and other mystical practices  are being promoted at your church? Or are the relationships that you have developed over the years while you have attended your church more important to you than being obedient to God and the truth presented in His Word? True followers of Jesus Christ will follow Him –no matter what the cost.

“For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” (2 Corinthians 2:9)

Now for today’s Mysticism Monday:

Today I would like to share some very good information with you concerning Mysticism and the Emergent Church from a ministry that I recently discovered through someone on Facebook who has been posting some of their videos. The name of this ministry is Youth Apologetic Training. Please continue to test everything that you hear and read in light of Scripture, but so far everything that I have seen and heard seems to be very Biblical. Although this series on the Emergent Church was written in 2013, it is still very relevant for us today. This article addresses labyrinths, yoga, Contemplative spirituality, breath prayers, mantras, and more. You can also click on links to listen to many podcasts concerning the Emerging Church, and many other topics, as well.

(SOURCE)<–Click here to continue reading.

Because of how drastically our world has changed, and is continuing to change, especially morally and spiritually, I have a deep concern and burden for the youth of today, and I know that many of you do, as well. I hope and pray that you will find this website to be a good source for helpful information for you to help your children and teens, and that you will be able to share some of this information with them, as well, so that they might learn to discern and realize just how relevant God’s Word is for today. The Bible is not an old book with outdated information, as some sadly seem to think it is. God does not change, and His Word does not change either. It is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), and with 100% accuracy it has already revealed what will happen before it has happened, and it will continue to do so, thus verifying the Bible is indeed the very Word of God!

The Bible is filled with prophecies! It is said that almost one third of Scripture is prophetic. Here is a very good article by Let Us Reason Ministries for those of you who would like to read more on this subject:

THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES

 

If you had a chance to watch the videos from Calvary Chapel Cypress‘ ‘CHANGES WITHIN THE CHURCH ROUND TABLE MEETING‘ with Pastor Chris Quintana, Roger Oakland, Xavier Ries, as well as the videos from Hosanna Christian Fellowship’s Conference,  ‘THE REMAINING AND ONGOING DANGERS OF THE EMERGENT CHURCH MOVEMENT‘ with Roger Oakland, Warren B Smith, Paul Smith, and Xavier Ries, (I also posted these videos further below for you) then I am sure you realize that the Emergent Church Movement is alive and well today! This movement elevates having experiences with God over the Word of God, and, sadly, they do not place very much emphasis on God’s Word at all; they do not acknowledge it as absolute truth, but rather something that can be debated and adjusted in light of how the culture is  today.

Please pray and take time to read and to study God’s Word so that you will not be one of the many who are being deceived and led astray by these movements and mystical practices that are coming into many churches these days!

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“I am the LORD: that is my name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:8,9)

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”     (2 Peter 1:16-21)

“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:1,2)

“When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:18-20)

 

 

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

YOUTH APOLOGETICS TRAINING – EVIDENCE FOR THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE – PROPHECIES OF JESUS

 

 

 

RELATED VIDEOS

EMERGING CHURCH ROUND TABLE MEETING – POSTED BY ROGER OAKLAND

 

 

 

Posted by Hosanna Christian Fellowship (Please read the concerns that I addressed in my post about what Xavier Ries said in the first video at the 1:27:56 – 1:28:09 minute mark in this Conference by clicking HERE and reading the 2/6/16 UPDATE, or just pray for discernment before you listen to these videos. Always make sure that you test everything that you listen to and read against Scripture. – Acts 17:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The following videos from the Remaining and Ongoing Dangers of the Emergent Church Movement Conference were posted by Roger Oakland. For whatever his reason may have been, he chose not to include any of Xavier Ries’ presentations from this Conference, which I am thankful for, because even though Xavier had a lot of good things to say, he did cause a lot of confusion for many as they watched and expressed their concerns during the live streaming of this event.

REMINDER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED:

Don’t forget about the Calvary Chapel Cypress Defending The Faith Conference coming up this weekend! If they live stream this event or upload it onto YouTube, Lord willing, I will post it here on my blog for you.

MYSTICISM MONDAY – WARNING YOU OF HOW MYSTICISM IS NOW RAPIDLY ENTERING THE CHURCH AND DECEIVING MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY

Have you unknowingly been lured into New Age mystical practices by teachers claiming that certain “new ways to pray” will bring you closer to God? Have you signed up for classes in Spiritual Formation, or has your pastor been preaching on it? Have you been involved in “Christian“ Yoga, Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, or Lectio Divina? Well, this series of posts in the new Category of posts that I have entitled, ‘MYSTICISM MONDAYS,‘ will attempt to not only peel back the layers of the many forms of spiritual deception that have been entering the church in order to reveal them to you as being lies of the enemy of our souls, but also the intention of these posts is to present you with the truth of God’s Word in order to expose the spiritual dangers of these practices.

Lord willing, at least once a month on a Monday, I will be sharing teachings with you from Christian experts on the subject, some of whom have even been personally involved with these dangerous practices. All of these teachings that I will be presenting to you will focus on many Scriptures; those who speak on these topics will not just be talking about these practices, because it’s only the truth of God’s Word that will expose the dangers of these practices and set a deceived person free.

Lord willing, when time allows, I will be writing many posts in the future zeroing in on specific Christian programming and Christian teachers who are promoting these deceptive practices, (I recently posted a very lengthy one concerning Moody Radio which I will continue to update when time allows until completed) but since my time is getting rather limited these days because of other important responsibilities that I now have, I will oftentimes simply be sharing a video or an article with you.

When time allows, I truly hope and pray that you will take the time to listen to these messages or read these articles, as well as read the upcoming posts that — Lord willing — I will be writing on these important topics so that you can be aware of these false teachings that are deceiving many Christians –possibly even you!

Please be sure that you test the teachings of all those whom you listen to against Scripture as God’s Word shows us that we are to do (Acts 17:11) so that you will never be deceived.

I hope and pray that all of you who are Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ are constantly testing what your pastors and teachers are presenting to you against the truth of God’s Word as we are shown in Scripture to do (Acts 17:11) no matter how long they have been in ministry, because many pastors and teachers are now embracing and presenting New Age mystical practices to their people through things such as yoga, as well as  though meditation practices which often times are found in Spiritual Formation classes and are referred to as Contemplative Prayer, silent prayer, Lectio Divina, Taize, etc.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Mysticism in the church is one of the many ways that Satan is now using to bring about the oneness and unity that is being promoted in the world to bring about the One World Religion. Sadly, many pastors and teachers lack discernment and have now become tools in Satan’s hands to promote these mystical practices. We must keep in mind what God says in His Word:

“Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) 

Are you a follower of  a man (or woman) and their ministry? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Will you be a Berean and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what they are saying is true? Will you walk in the light and in truth and leave, if necessary, if Yoga and other mystical practices  are being promoted at your church? Or are the relationships that you have developed over the years while you have attended your church more important to you than being obedient to God and the truth presented in His Word? True followers of Jesus Christ will follow Him –no matter what the cost.

“For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” (2 Corinthians 2:9)

 

Now for today’s very short, but very important, Mysticism Monday:

Before I begin though, I first want to thank those of you who have already taken the time to participate in my Survey Saturday poll:

SURVEY SATURDAY – GIVING YOU, THE READER, AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE YOUR REQUESTS

For those of you who would still like to vote on your favorite Category of posts that you enjoy reading on this blog, you still have until Saturday evening, February 6th, to place your vote.

If you prefer, you can also send me a message using the ‘If You’d Like To Contact Me’ form at the top of my blog, or you can send me a message using the Contact Form that I added to my Survey Saturday post if you’d like to give me suggestions on what you would like me to prayerfully consider writing about over this coming year.

I would also like to sincerely thank those of you who sent me personal messages concerning what you would like me to write about. In doing so, God used you to  confirm to me what I see the need to write about because of the heavy burden that I have upon my heart to warn Christians about these specific things. Please pray for me as I seek God’s help in writing these posts. Thank you so much!

Today’s Mysticism Monday has to be another short one because of unexpected circumstances that I have to deal with.

And now, finally, here is today’s Mysticism Monday:

The following videos are concerning Rick Joyner, of MorningStar Fellowship Church which is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, in order to demonstrate the power of suggestion, emotional manipulation, and his unbiblical teachings.

These videos will also demonstrate how mysticism and doctrines of demons are being accepted without question by Christians who are lacking discernment not only because they fail to read and study God’s Word, but also because they fail to pray for discernment and do not test what is being said and done in light of Scripture. (Acts 17:11) (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)

Watch how the leaders of Rick Joyner’s Morningstar Church first declare what will happen, thus preparing the people to accept this as from God. Listen carefully to what is being said and how the people are acting. Does God’s Word reveal to us an account of anyone acting like this? How many Christians are accepting the words of men (and women) and ignoring the many warnings in Scripture about spiritual deception and doctrines of demons? Sadly, it appears that many do these days. Please do not be one of them!

RICK JOYNER CHURCH OF ALTERED STATES

 

RICK JOYNER INTERVIEWED BY SID ROTH

SID ROTH AT RICK JOYNER’S CHURCH

 

PEOPLE SO MANIPULATED AND SO DEEPLY LACKING IN DISCERNMENT THAT THEY ARE LED TO DO UNBELIEVABLE THINGS, SUCH AS THE HOLY GHOST HOKEY POKEY

TESTIMONY OF MISHEL MCCUMBER OF DECEPTION BYTES, A FORMER MEMBER OF RICK JOYNER’S CHURCH:

MISHEL MCCUMBER – TESTIMONY – ADRIFT IN THE RIVER OF GOD

INTERVIEW WITH MISHEL MCCUMBER – SHE ALSO WARNS ABOUT THE FALSE TEACHINGS OF DOMINIONISM THAT RICK JOYNER IS INVOLVED IN AND IS ALSO PROMOTING

 

RELATED VIDEOS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory

 

UPDATE:

I am sorry that I was unable to update my post on Moody Radio over the weekend, but, Lord willing, I am hoping that I will be able to do it throughout this coming week –if time allows.

If you didn’t see that I updated my

HOW DISCERNING ARE YOU?

post by adding a link to Chris Rosebrough’s sermon review of Levi Lusko’s message in which he clearly makes the shocking and even blasphemous statement that “Jesus had suicidal thoughts in His head,” please be sure to listen to that clip from Levi Lusko’s sermon, as well as what Chris has to say in his short review.

MYSTICISM MONDAY – WARNING YOU OF HOW MYSTICISM IS NOW RAPIDLY ENTERING THE CHURCH AND DECEIVING MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY

Have you unknowingly been lured into New Age mystical practices by teachers claiming that certain “new ways to pray” will bring you closer to God? Have you signed up for classes in Spiritual Formation, or has your pastor been preaching on it? Have you been involved in “Christian“ Yoga, Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, or Lectio Divina? Well, this series of posts in the new Category of posts that I have entitled, ‘MYSTICISM MONDAYS,‘ will attempt to not only peel back the layers of the many forms of spiritual deception that have been entering the church in order to reveal them to you as being lies of the enemy of our souls, but also the intention of these posts are to present you with the truth of God’s Word in order to expose the spiritual dangers of these practices.

Lord willing, at least once a month on a Monday, I will be sharing teachings with you from Christian experts on the subject, some of whom have even been personally involved with these dangerous practices. All of these teachings that I will be presenting to you will focus on many Scriptures; those who speak on these topics will not just be talking about these practices, because it’s only the truth of God’s Word that will expose the dangers of these practices and set a deceived person free.

Lord willing, when time allows, I will be writing many posts in the future zeroing in on specific Christian programming and Christian teachers who are promoting these deceptive practices, (One coming very soon –Lord willing) but since my time is getting rather limited these days because of other important responsibilities that I now have, I will oftentimes simply be sharing a video with you.

When time allows, I truly hope and pray that you will take the time to listen to these messages and read the upcoming posts on these important topics so that you can be aware of these false teachings that are deceiving many Christians –possibly even you.

Please be sure that you test the teachings of all those whom you listen to against Scripture as God’s Word shows us that we are to do (Acts 17:11) so that you will never be deceived.

Now for today’s Mysticism Monday:

If there’s ever a topic that I cannot warn you enough about, it’s Spiritual Formation! Many churches today are presenting Spiritual Formation classes to the people in their churches not only by their own pastors and teachers, but also through the teachings of women such as Ruth Haley Barton and Mindy Caliguire, as well as offering Bible Studies by women such as *Beth Moore and *Priscilla Shirer. *(Consider reading THIS POST to learn about Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer). These women strongly promote unbiblical, New Age/New Spirituality mystical practices in their teachings! (More about these women in upcoming posts –Lord willing).

While these Spiritual Formation teachings may be presented to you as ways to help you grow in Christ, as well as to grow closer to Him and help you to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, the practices they incorporate into their teachings, such as Contemplative Prayer, Lectio Divina, silent prayer, and entering into “the silence,” are unbiblical; they are all forms of Eastern Meditation cloaked in somewhat Christian terminology. Instead of leading you closer to Jesus Christ, these practices will lead you away from Him and into spiritual deception and even into the world of the occult!

When teachings become more focused on leading you to have experiences with God, and less focused on teaching and preaching verse by verse through God’s Word, or when verses are taken out of context to make it mean something entirely different in order to promote these mystical practices, those should be huge red flags to you that the direction they are going in is unbiblical!

Consider checking your church’s web site and the classes that they offer, as well as the topics of the sermons that they present to you. If you see Spiritual Formation and/or any of the above forms of prayer or people that I previously mentioned, you need to be on guard!

If there is no doubt in your mind that these mystical practices are being presented at your church, then it very well may be time for you to prayerfully consider leaving your church and looking for another church where God’s Word is preached verse by verse through many books of the Bible, and the pastor guards his sheep by exposing these false teachings and false teachers.

I hope and pray that all of you who are Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ are constantly testing what your pastors and teachers are presenting to you against the truth of God’s Word as we are shown in Scripture to do (Acts 17:11) no matter how long they have been in ministry, because many pastors and teachers are now embracing and presenting Spiritual Formation teachings and mystical practices to their people.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Mysticism in the church is one of the many ways that Satan is now using to bring about the oneness and unity that is being promoted in the world to bring about the One World Religion. Sadly, many pastors and teachers lack discernment and have now become tools in Satan’s hands to promote these mystical practices. We must keep in mind what God says in His Word:

“Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Are you a follower of  a man (or woman) and their ministry? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Will you be a Berean and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what they are saying is true? Will you walk in the light and in truth and leave, if necessary, if Spiritual Formation and mystical practices  are being promoted at your church? Or are the relationships that you have developed over the years while you have attended your church more important to you than being obedient to God and the truth presented in His Word? True followers of Jesus Christ will follow Him –no matter what the cost.

“For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” (2 Corinthians 2:9)

I hope and pray that you will guard yourselves and your precious children and leave your church if these mystical practices are being promoted and taught at your church before you and your loved ones are led into spiritual deception!

Lord willing, in future posts I will be going into greater depth concerning the pastors who are promoting Spiritual Formation (such as Rick Warren of Saddle Back Church and Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church), and I will also be warning you about some of the other writers and speakers who are teaching these things. But for now, in order to continue to inform you and to show you how  mysticism is entering the church, here is what I would like to present to you for today’s Mysticism Monday.

When time allows, please pray for discernment and listen to the following  short presentation of Mike Oppenheimer and Ray Yungen as they discuss mysticism and the Emerging Church movement and compare everything  against Scripture. Many names of those who have written about these unbiblical,  mystical, new age practices are also mentioned so that you can become aware of what names to watch out for, because sadly, some of these writers and their books are being promoted by some pastors and teachers, and their books are sold in many Christian book stores, as well.

 

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”          (1 Timothy 4:1)

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”          (2 Peter 2:1-3)

“Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” (3 John 1:11)

“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall he speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

“And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)

Thank you for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary Dalke/Living4HisGlory

UPDATE:

Due to many responsibilities that I now have, and the need to get up very early for my new three days a week part-time job, I still have not had the time to finish my main post on Mysticism. Lord willing, I hope to have it finished within the next couple of weeks.

MYSTICISM MONDAY – WARNING YOU OF HOW MYSTICISM IS NOW RAPIDLY ENTERING THE CHURCH AND DECEIVING MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY

Have you unknowingly been lured into New Age mystical practices by teachers claiming that certain “new ways to pray” will bring you closer to God? Have you signed up for classes in Spiritual Formation, or has your pastor been preaching on it? Have you been involved in “Christian“ Yoga, Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, or Lectio Divina? Well, this series of posts in the new Category of posts that I have entitled, ‘MYSTICISM MONDAYS,‘ will attempt to not only peel back the layers of the many forms of spiritual deception that have been entering the church in order to reveal them to you as being lies of the enemy of our souls, but also the intention of these posts are to present you with the truth of God’s Word in order to expose the spiritual dangers of these practices.

Lord willing, at least once a month on a Monday, I will be sharing teachings with you from Christian experts on the subject, some of whom have even been personally involved with these dangerous practices. All of these teachings that I will be presenting to you will focus on many Scriptures; those who speak on these topics will not just be talking about these practices, because it’s only the truth of God’s Word that will expose the dangers of these practices and set a deceived person free.

Lord willing, when time allows, I will be writing many posts in the future zeroing in on specific Christian programming and Christian teachers who are promoting these deceptive practices, (One coming very soon –Lord willing) but since my time is getting rather limited these days because of other important responsibilities that I now have, I will oftentimes simply be sharing a video with you.

When time allows, I truly hope and pray that you will take the time to listen to these messages and read the upcoming posts on these important topics so that you can be aware of these false teachings that are deceiving many Christians –possibly even you.

Please be sure that you test the teachings of all those whom you listen to against Scripture as God’s Word shows us that we are to do (Acts 17:11) so that you will never be deceived.

Now for today’s Mysticism Monday:

In the Playlist that you will find below, Pastor Bob DeWaay of CRITICAL ISSUES COMMENTARY, addresses the New Age teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Marianne Williamson, and Ronda Byrne, and how many Christians are being deceived by these very teachings because they are now being repackaged and presented to Christians by being disguised in somewhat Christian terminology. When time allows please listen and learn about these teachings that are being blended with Christianity and presented through spiritual practices in Spiritual Formation classes which may now be in your very own churches! 

Watch out for some of these key words as being huge red flags to warn you that these teachings are slowly being presented to you. Some words may sound innocent enough, but beware of their hidden, true meaning that you will learn about in these Mysticism Monday posts, as well as some main posts that — Lord willing — I will be writing in the future:

Spiritual Formation, the silence, sacred space, be still, breath prayers, Contemplative Prayer, Lectio Divina, Taize, Centering Prayer, body prayer

Also watch out for books or teachings that may be recommended to you written by people such as: Ruth Haley Barton, Bill Hybels, Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Richard Foster, Richard Rohr, Dallas Willard, Mindy Caliguire, Sue Monk Kidd, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, and Thomas Merton, just to name a few, at this point. (More to come at another time).

Beware also of pastors and teachers who attempt to distort Scripture in order to attempt to show you that Jesus Himself did these spiritual practices.

The most obvious thing that you will notice if these unbiblical, New Age practices are entering your church will be a sudden emphasis on having experiences with God, and simultaneously you will also sadly realize that there is much less of an emphasis on the preaching of God’s Word in its proper context.

These videos in the following Playlist have some basic, but very important information for you so that you know what to watch for. I will be presenting even more detailed and disturbing teachings from other pastors and teachers to you in the future –Lord willing.

In this Playlist of videos Pastor Bob DeWaay passionately warns Christians to “wake up” concerning how Biblical truth is being replaced in churches by these false, new age teachings:

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES

“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 people 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 4:2-4)

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:3,4)

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”          (1 Timothy 4:1)

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“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 the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:6-9)

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s 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)

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them,and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:12-18)

RELATED VIDEOS

WHY WE MUST CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH – PASTOR BOB DEWAAY

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH IN PERILOUS TIMES – DAVE HUNT

 

COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY: OPRAH, MAYA ANGELOU, AND IYANLA VANZANT

IYANA VANZANT

UNBIBLICAL – PRAYING WITH YOUR BODY

DEBATE BETWEEN PASTOR BOB DEWAAY AND DOUG PAGITT THAT HE MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION

 

PASTOR BOB DEWAAY – CRITICAL ISSUES COMMENTARY – FACEBOOK PAGE

BOB DEWAAY’S LATEST POST – HOW GOD CHANGES LIVES

Summary of Bob DeWaay’s article that you will find at the link above:

“What do the Pope, the Dalai Lama and Donald Whitney have in common? They all promote freestyle spirituality where feeling close to God replaces drawing near to God on His terms. Religious experimentation replaces practices ordained by God and sincerity replaces revealed truth. We will begin with a narrative from the Old Testament and proceed to revealed truth in the New Testament to show that we must come to God in faith on His terms. We cannot trust our spiritual well-being to experimentation.” ~Bob DeWaay

UPDATE:

As I mentioned earlier: One main post focusing on ‘Mysticism’ coming soon –Lord willing. I’m not exactly sure when it will finally be finished though.

Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary Dalke/Living4HisGlory/Living For His Glory

SURVEY SATURDAY – GIVING YOU- THE READER, AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE YOUR REQUESTS

Welcome to another SURVEY SATURDAY. Thank you so very much to those of you who have taken the time to participate in some of my previous surveys! However, even though I now know that some of you are interested in seeing me write posts ‘exposing false teachers,’ and you also desire to see ‘book reviews‘ here, I would truly appreciate it if you could please let me know who it is that you would like me to write about, and what books you would like me to review for you. So, instead of the usual poll that I post for you to answer the few questions that I post and to vote accordingly, I am going to try something different this month to see if I receive more feedback to assist me in what I will be writing about in the future –Lord willing. Could you please just take a few minutes of your time and send me an email with a short comment with your request? Or, if you’d like, you can send me a personal message by going to my Page above, entitled: ‘If You’d Like To Contact Me,’ and share your requests with me that way.

I am here not only to honor God and to share Biblical truth and to expose error through what I write, but also I am here with the desire to help those of you who are searching for answers. With that being said, I would truly appreciate it if those of you who read this blog from time to time would please provide me with a little more information so that I can serve you better through what I write. It’s quite frustrating to me now that I know what some of you are looking for, but don’t quite know the false teachers that you would like me to write about, or the books that you would like to see me do reviews on. 

As I mentioned in my previous SURVEY SATURDAY posts: I will be presenting some type of survey to you normally once a month, (Lord willing) on the last Saturday of each month, to give those of you who read this blog from time to time, an opportunity to submit your requests to me as to what you would like to see me write about here on this blog in the future. Would you like me to write more poems? Then when I post a poll, please vote accordingly, and I would truly appreciate it if you would leave me a short comment as to what topic you’d like me to write one about, and I will consider writing on that topic which I will always write from a Christian perspective.

Do you have some concerns about your pastor or a certain pastor or teacher that you have been listening to, or something that they are teaching or something they have taught in the past that has been troubling you, and you’re searching for some information and answers? Then please vote accordingly and please leave a comment or send me a personal message using the ‘contact form‘ below or leave a comment in which you can choose to remain anonymous and let me know who it is that you have concerns about, and why, and I will be happy to do some research on that pastor, teacher, or topic, and focus on that particular person or teaching in the new series of posts that, Lord willing, I will continue to write more posts entitled, ‘FALSE TEACHER FRIDAY- LEARNING THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A BEREAN.’ I may share an in depth report on that certain pastor or teacher, or I may simply write briefly about the person or teaching and then include links to some good posts addressing that person or teaching that have been written by other Christians who are well respected and trusted. However, I continue to urge you to always test everything you read and listen to against God’s Word to see if it is true or not (Acts 17:11) –including everything that I write.

Please always keep in mind that no matter how many years a pastor or teacher has been preaching or teaching, or how well respected they may be, we must always continue to examine the Scriptures daily to see if what is being said (and done by those who claim to speak for God) is true,’ (Acts 17:11) because God’s Word is filled with warnings about deception and false teachers! (Matthew 24:4-11, Acts 20:26-31, 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:1-4, 2 Peter 2:1-3, to name just a few).

Maybe you have some concerns after reading a certain book that left you feeling very troubled, and you’re searching for some information on the author to see if what they are teaching is Biblical or not. Share your concerns and the name of the author and book, and I will do some research and write a post addressing the author and book in question. I am considering the possibility of writing some book reviews later this year –if time allows. I am not an expert on any certain topic, by any means, but I am definitely a Berean and a detective-at-heart and will gladly do all that I can — with God’s help — to give you some helpful information to put those troublesome thoughts to rest, and to encourage you in the process.

I post these surveys because it is my desire to help those of you who are searching for Biblical truth concerning what may be troubling you, so your participation is very important to me in order to help you.

FYI: As I mentioned in a previous post, I will — Lord willing — be writing  posts in the near future addressing ‘mysticism in the church‘ and ‘spiritual formation,’ because, sadly, these teachings are leading many Christians astray these days. If you are interested in learning more, please be watching for these important posts.

I am now in the process of writing a post on the important topic of mysticism and how it is merging with Christianity and deceiving many Christians. In this post I will also be addressing how many Christians are being led astray by Spiritual Formation. Lord willing, I hope to have this post completed within the next few days. So if you’re interested, please check back here from time to time.

When time allows, I also encourage you to please visit LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH, HERESCOPE, and many other very good blogs that I posted links to in the side bar where you will find many very good articles on these subjects, as well.

Do you have a suggestion of your own? Then please send me an email. Your participation in this survey will be greatly appreciated!

Here’s my email address: marydalke@yahoo.com

I’ll be looking forward to receiving your requests! 🙂

Thank you for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.

God Bless You

~Mary Dalke/Living4HisGlory/Living For His Glory

UPDATE:

AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, NEW POST EXPOSING MYSTICISM COMING SOON –LORD WILLING