Posted on 05/16/2020 4:23:10 AM PDT by Salvation
-- St. Teresa of Avila
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) "Blessed are you among women, |
That was only one of his heresies.
James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:26
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
I always learned that faith alone can't save me. But, excommunicated Father Martin Luther said that faith alone saves. I guess he thought he knew more than Jesus.
In fact, excommunicated Father Martin Luther changed the Bible. The Bible written before Luther was/is the Bible Catholics use. Faith and works go hand in hand.
Suppose a mass murderer had faith in God but still killed. Would he be saved? According to some of the non-Catholics here on FR that mass murderer's FAITH would have saved him. Faith without good works? That just doesn't make sense...but then excommunicated Father Martin Luther changed the Bible...God's words. Thus, he was EXCOMMUNICATED, from the Church that he loved and served for most of his life.
He was baptized a Catholic and educated as a Catholic. Luther attended the Wittenberg monastery to finish his studies at the university there. He received his doctorate in the fall of 1512 and assumed the professorship in biblical studies, which was supplied by the Augustinian order...a Catholic order of priests.
Father Martin Luther was ordained as an Augustinian priest. I never knew that.
After Father Luther's EXCOMMUNICATION from the Catholic Church that he loved and served...then ABANDONED there was a PLETHORA of new Protestant denominations.
He also CHANGED the Bible. He changed God's words.
Those who believe in Luther's changes can't be blamed for their insistence that FAITH alone saves...because it was what Father Luther CHANGED in the ORIGINAL bible written back in the first centuries.
They believe in AND follow the words of an excommunicated, heretic Catholic priest from only 500 years ago. How ironic.
Protestant denominations today:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism_in_the_United_States
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There is a fascinating and wonderful book available called:
The Early Church in Her Own Words
Clement of Rome 35 A.D.
Ignatius of Antioch 35-108 A.D.
Justin Martyr 100 A.D.
Irenaeus of Lyons 135 A.D.
That looks like a book I have recommended: The Four Witnesses.
They had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. (Acts 16:6)
What should we make of something that seems like a good thing to us but doesn’t ultimately work out? Maybe a job promotion falls through or an illness prevents us from going on a trip. We could guess at the many reasons why things didn’t happen the way we thought they should, but sometimes we just don’t know why.
Paul and Timothy had nothing but good in mind as they sought to share the gospel in Asia. Yet for some reason, the Holy Spirit prevented them, and it seems they are not told why. They may have wondered, but they didn’t let their wondering keep them from moving forward with their bigger vision—to share the good news. They simply went on to the next place where they thought they should go, the territories of Phrygia and Galatia.
We’ll all experience closed doors from time to time—in our workplaces or churches, in our homes or families. When you come up against such circumstances, try to follow the example of Paul and Timothy. Instead of wondering why some opportunity was closed to you, move on and do the next right thing. If one job prospect doesn’t work out, look for the next one. If some kind of service in your church is no longer needed, look for other opportunities to reach out.
It’s only human to be disappointed when something doesn’t work out the way we had hoped. But try not to be discouraged by it. Rather, try to understand what your next step should be—and take it. Stay focused on the larger vision that God has for you. Trust that the Holy Spirit is leading you, guiding you, and protecting you, whether you understand the reasons for the twists and turns in your path or not.
At the end of the day, we can’t always comprehend the bigger picture that God has for us. But he is a good God, and so we can always trust that his plan for us is better than anything we could ever come up with ourselves!
“Holy Spirit, I will trust in you, even when I don’t understand why a door has closed.”
Psalm 100:1-3, 5
John 15:18-21
Daily Marriage Tip for May 16, 2020:
Whose fault was your last fight? Maybe it clearly was one of you, but more often it’s a combination of misunderstanding, forgetting to do something, and spouses having different expectations. To resolve an argument, look at what you contributed more than what your spouse did wrong.
Could you say that through this Easter season that "the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers"? If we don't see Jesus adding daily to the Church's number (Acts 2:47), it's not that His promises are not true but that we are not receiving them. Jesus said: "I — once I am lifted up from earth — will draw all men to Myself" (Jn 12:32). Jesus has been lifted up in His death, Resurrection, and Ascension; therefore, we should see people being drawn to Him and to His Body, the Church.
The fulfillment of God's promises is often conditioned on us obeying His commands. For example, the Lord will daily increase our numbers if we serve as His witnesses. He will give us victory if we obey Him and enter the battle. The Spirit will miraculously give us the right words to say if we expose ourselves to persecution (Mt 10:19-20). We will work signs and wonders if we profess our faith (Mk 16:17). We will rise from the dead into glory if we die in Christ (2 Tm 2:11). Easter will lead to a new Pentecost if we "let it be done" unto us according to God's Word (Lk 1:38). Obey God's commands and inherit His promises.
Prayer: Father, may my delight be to obey Your will (Ps 40:9).
Promise: "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hates you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: no slave is greater than his master." —Jn 15:19-20
Praise: Alice stepped out in faith and now her ministry is bearing great fruit.
Yep, that's the one. WONDERFUL book!
I do enjoy history.
Isn't it amazing? It really IS the Church in HER OWN WORDS. I learned a lot from it and gained a lot of respect and love for our great Church.
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That worked fine until Henry VIII and his quest for a SON. There's a little poem that describes the fates of his six wives:
Divorced.
Beheaded.
Died.
Divorced.
Beheaded.
Survived. (Kathrine Parr)
Eventually he did have a son but the son DIED before his 22 birthday or so. And England was ruled by a WOMAN. THAT is what drove England away from the Church ... and instituted divorce-HenryVIII-style.
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Elizabeth Taylor had Henry VIII beat. She married at lease seven times.
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