Posted on 04/30/2010 8:03:48 AM PDT by Quix
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7 When you pray, dont babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Dont be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, --New Living Translation 7And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. [I Kings 18:25-29.] 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9Pray, therefore, like this: 15But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their [j]reckless and willful sins, [k]leaving them, letting them go, and [l]giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. --Amplified Pray with Simplicity 5"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? 6"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. 7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: 16-18"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well. |
Mark Kirby: O Mother of Good Counsel, I am all thine, Most Holy Mary, There is no part of my life that is not open to thee, I want to be completely transparent with thee, Praying in this way, I can be at rest, |
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Wonderful post.
Thanks.
AND, As I’ve seen in about every congregation I’ve been in
even fairly normal, innocuous courtesy honors can build up and spiritually destroy both the honoree and those doing the honoring.
The Catholic Church quotes from all the authors of the Bible that you listed when it suits their purpose. Your criticism of Protestants for recognizing them is a criticism of the Catholic Church as well.
We have Christ in our Christianity. Why is there Mary in YOUR *Christianity*? We don’t worship Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Paul. We don’t pray to Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Paul. We don’t make statues of them and light candles before them. We don’t equate them with God Himself, assigning to them characteristics that only God Himself possesses.
Drop the worship of her and you just might find people coming back to the Catholic Church, since its focus would again be on Christ instead of her.
Putting Mary in the mix is what makes a mockery of Christianity. She gets more attention from Catholics than Christ Himself. And since not one Catholic has, to the best of my knowledge, said that they give their all to Christ, and actions speak louder than words, it is safe to presume that they don’t.
A Catholic asking Protestants why they don’t have Christ in their Christianity is the height of irony, not to mention that it shows the complete lack of understanding of what Protestantism is all about. You have to stop believing the lies that the Catholic Church is teaching you about Protestants.
Discard your Mary worship and come back to Christ; the only one who hears and answers prayer, the only mediator between God and man, the only advocate we have and need, the only Redeemer that God promised from the beginning.
When pressed or convenient, then it's a formal word with conveniently narrower boundaries within certain Roman Catholic et al circles.
For the rest of the English Speaking world, the word has a much larger, more generic meaning.
As anyone who's read such threads for any length of time has seen year in and year out . . .
All kinds of UNBIBLICAL, SPIRITUALLY DEADLY NONSENSE is VERY dogmatically stated, dogmatically felt, dogmatically propagated, fiercely dogmatically defended etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum by particularly the rabid clique sorts of Roman Catholic et al's.
Yet if a Protty comments on such relentless 'informal' DOGMA so standardly spouted, then the rabid sheeple are quick to note "THAT'S NOT PART OF THE CATECHISM!"
What a pack of straw dogs that notion is.
--Millions of Roman Catholic et al's spout the same dogma;
--make decisions and take actions based firmly in such dogma;
--defend most fiercely and vehemently such dogma;
--hammer Prottys over the head relentlessly with such dogma;
--judge and condemn Prottys to various levels of on the way to--to deeply tossed into hell based on said dogma;
--rationalize all manner of idolatry and blasphemy in the name of such dogma;
YET, when very reasonably and rationally called to account for such UNBIBLICAL INTENSELY HELD, TAUGHT, PROPAGATED, DOGMA--the tired and worn straw dog is THAT'S NOT OFFICIAL VATICAN DOGMA!
What a farce.
he Vatican and all her officials and troops could readily put at least a very heavy damper on such things with any number of edicts. If that didn't work, excommunications right and left should set things more 'officially correctly.'
Trouble is, the Vatican hierarchy and likely most local hierarchies BELIEVE AND LIVE OUT THE INFORMAL DOGMA AT LEAST AS MUCH AS THEY DO THE FORMAL DOGMA.
To DENY THAT, IS TO DENY BRAZENLY PLAIN REALITY.
If he’s prone to be heretical, why use ANY of his writings? Does the church really want to be known as an organization that uses the writings of a heretic?
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Uhhhhhhhhhh, well . . . because . . . uhhh . . . because . . . occasionally, he said things that are . . . uhhhh . . .
convenient to our heresies, that’s why.
Oooops.
You are very correct.
The object of our thinking is through faith in Christ.
To honor Mary by our thinking in Christ, we place Mary before the Son, which adds something to faith not provided by God for salvation.
Our salvation is through Christ, not through Mary.
Christ alone is sufficient in His work on the Cross. His work was in obedience to the Father, not His mother.
I’m inclined to agree.
However, I do think that there have been periods in the Vatican’s history when it did fairly harshly discourage the common reading of Scripture.
And, such times and attitudes are hardly Christ-like or God pleasing.
I am blessed to observe that a number of Faithful Roman Catholics et al hereon do seem to have a genuine respect for and love of Scripture. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT. May He bless their reading and meditating thereon as He seems to be doing.
May God have mercy and open blind eyes to spiritual hideousness.
INDEED TO THE MAX:
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We don’t need a go between between us and God because Jesus is that one.
Saying that Mary is a go between and an Advocate is blasphemy in no uncertain terms. She is NOT omnipotent, she is NOT a medatrix, she is NOT our Advocate.
That prayer by that man does not in so many words say *Mary is God* but attributing to her all the characteristics certainly does.
We come to Jesus on our own. We don’t need to go through someone to get to Him.
Thank you however for admitting the truth about what the RCC teaches about Mary’s position. But for the sake of your soul, go to the One who died for you, Jesus Christ. No one else can save. If you follow someone besides Jesus, you will end up in hell.
I believe that Scripture and test criteria will become a life and death issue increasingly as the END TIMES race on--even an eternal life/death issue.
Scripture is clear that the END TIMES GREAT DECEPTION will be sooooooo GREAT, THAT WERE IT POSSIBLE it would deceive the VERY ELECT OF GOD.
I think it is all toooo human, and particularly American to smugly say to ourselves that I WON'T BE DECEIVED because I'm so brilliant and informed.
TRUSTING IN THE FLESH in that way is a catestrophic danger.
We MUST walk so close to God; become so familiar with HIS VOICE TO US . . . that we KNOW BECAUSE WE KNOW BECAUSE WE KNOW BECAUSE WE KNOW the Voice of our Shepherd and will follow NO other.
And, when the situation calls for it, we must be ready and quick to challenge any pretender with what they believe about Jesus The Christ per the above Scripture you so faithfully cited, Dear Sister. THANKS THANKS.
IF AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN COME, PREACHING ANY OTHER GOSPEL, LET HIM BE ACCURSED.
WELL PUT.
THX
The Catholic Church quotes from the entire Bible in order to form the beliefs of the Church.
We have Christ in our Christianity.
The good Dr. E. does not. Calvin does not. The quotes are from Jeremiah and Isaiah and Paul; they are not Gospel quotations from Christ the Lord.
We dont equate them with God Himself, assigning to them characteristics that only God Himself possesses.
No, you guys make them out as surpassing Christ. I will present the WCF as evidence. Where is the Christ in the WCF?
A Catholic asking Protestants why they dont have Christ in their Christianity is the height of irony, not to mention that it shows the complete lack of understanding of what Protestantism is all about. You have to stop believing the lies that the Catholic Church is teaching you about Protestants.
The Catholic Church teaches me nothing about Protestants. I depend upon everything that Protestants teach me about themselves. You guys are really fascinating. You claim Christianity, yet have no Christ in your theology. You claim that you follow the early Christian churches, but have not a clue about what they believed. You claim that you were Catholic but have no idea about Catholicism. You think that we worship Mary? You were never Catholic. I will defer to St. Luke:
Ping to above.
And truly, from our first breath we must resist the natural man in us - that which keeps insisting we are the center of the universe.
I find the stubbed toe to be a great challenge. Even as I’m hopping around on one foot, faced wrenched in pain, I keep trying to remind myself it’s no big thing, I’m not the center of the universe and turn it over to God. It’s a “toughie” for me. LOLOL!
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7
Thank God for the time He allows us to pray, meditate and adjust our priorities!
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AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
WELL PUT.
THX.
Jesus Himself called people to Himself. Isn’t that good enough for Catholics? They need Mary to tell them as well?
If they’re not going to listen when Jesus calls them, why would they listen when Mary tells them what to do?
Couldn’t they just follow her example without her telling them what to do?
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INDEED! INDEED!
A Catholic asking Protestants why they dont have Christ in their Christianity is the height of irony, not to mention that it shows the complete lack of understanding of what Protestantism is all about. You have to stop believing the lies that the Catholic Church is teaching you about Protestants.
Discard your Mary worship and come back to Christ; the only one who hears and answers prayer, the only mediator between God and man, the only advocate we have and need, the only Redeemer that God promised from the beginning.
AMEN! Great post.
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou not only invitest us continually by the voice of thy gospel to seek thee, but also offerest to us thy Son as our mediator, through whom an access to thee is open, that we may find thee a propitious Father; O grant, that relying on thy kind invitation, we may through life exercise ourselves in prayer, and as so many evils disturb us on all sides and so many wants distress and oppress us, may we be led more earnestly to call on thee, and in the meanwhile be never wearied in this exercise of prayer; until having been heard by thee throughout life, we may at length be gathered to thine eternal kingdom where we shall enjoy that salvation which thou hast promised to us, and of which also thou daily testifiest to us by thy gospel, and be forever united to thine only-begotten Son of whom we are now members; that we may be partakers of all the blessings which he has obtained for us by his death. Amen. Prayer by Pastor John CalvinCHRIST OUR ONLY MEDIATOR
Ping to 757. There is no “intercessor” between God and men’s terrible sins but Jesus Christ who alone atones for every sin of His flock — “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. “ — 1 John 4:10
No other “intercessor;” no “co-redeemer;” no “dispensatrix of all grace.”
Jesus Christ alone.
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AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
Its kind of a stubborn perverseness in men to worship a human when they have God. Old as the oak strewn hills.
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ABSOLUTELY INDEED.
SADLY.
You appear to miss them continually.
"Be not afraid; only believe." -- Mark 5:36
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