Posted on 06/19/2009 1:35:56 PM PDT by NYer
Yes, and catholic means universal, thus the Catholic Church.
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Beautifully said.
“Is there a alter call?”
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Do you mean an altar?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar
***A alter call is just challenging a person to invite Christ in to their life, you can call it whatever you like.***
I call it nonsense. It is showmanship by a prancing dancing medicine man upon the Protestant prayer barn stage with lights and dazzle providing a show no different in intent than anything that Phineas Barnum ever concocted. There is no Jesus except in name only. It is a contrived peer-pressure design in order to get people to do things that they otherwise would not do. The end effect is a good show for the rubes and money in the basket.
***Are you suggesting it`s not Scriptural to invite Jesus in to your live?***
Nope. I’m saying that the altar call as practiced by the evangelical and Prosperity movements is completely unScriptural and non Christian. I’d like you to prove otherwise from Scripture or from the early Church.
***Jesus said I stand at the door and knock, anybody that opens the door, I will come in.***
If the house is a rockin’, don’t bother knockin’. This is not opening the door to Jesus; it is a county fair midway game in which the rubes are separated from their money.
***It is the quiet acceptance in one’s heart of Jesus into the contrite heart and the fervent prayer that God will save me, a sinner. It is not a one time event; it is a process in one must persevere for their entire life.
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Beautifully said.***
Jesus is not a rock star; the acceptance of Jesus comes where He instructed us to pray. Matthew 6:
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1 “(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
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When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites 2 do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
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But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
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so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
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“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
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But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.
There is one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus!!!
Also there is nowhere in the Bible where it tells us to pray to previous Christians, such as St Christopher etc.
The term Saint has been turned upside down by the Catholic Church. A Saint is simply a follower of Christ. So this whole business of Sainting people is totally unsriptural.
That is it in the nut shell!!!!
Anybody that prays that prayer from their heart will be saved!
That is basically the prayer that you will be asked to pray if you call the 700 Club or 100 Huntley Street etc.
That is a prayer of salvation!
***And btw there is nothing Scriptural about the Pope at all. No where in my Bible does it mention anything about such a person as the Pope.***
Here is some Scripture that indicates the appointing and the authorization of Peter as the steward of Jesus.
Matthew 10:
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1 Then he summoned his twelve disciples 2 and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
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The names of the twelve apostles 3 are these: first, Simon called Peter
Simon, called Peter by Jesus, is named first.
Mark 3:16 - Jesus appointed Simon first and named him Peter.
Luke 5:
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1 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
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He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
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Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
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After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
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Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”
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When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.
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They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.
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When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
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For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,
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and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Simon, who will be named Peter, is first chosen and first among the equals of the Apostles.
Matthew 16:
8 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi 9 he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
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They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, 10 others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
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11 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
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Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood 12 has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
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And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
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I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 14 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Peter is given the keys to heaven, thus appointed to be steward, and is given the power to forgive sins.
John 21:
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8 9 10 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
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He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
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He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (Jesus) said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Simon Peter is appointed to be the steward, or fill-in shepherd for when Jesus departs the earth.
Acts 1:
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During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said,
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“My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
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He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry.
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He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out. 7
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This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the parcel of land was called in their language ‘Akeldama,’ that is, Field of Blood.
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For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.’ And: ‘May another take his office.’
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Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
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beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
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So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
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Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
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to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
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8 Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Peter was the unquestioned leader of the Apostles after Jesus departed.
Acts 2:
1 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
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And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, 2 and it filled the entire house in which they were.
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Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, 3 which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
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And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, 4 as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
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Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
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At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
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They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
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Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language?
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We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
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Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome,
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both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”
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They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?”
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But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.”
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5 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
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These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
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No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
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‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
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Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.
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And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.
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The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,
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and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’
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You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
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This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
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But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
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For David says of him: ‘I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
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Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
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because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
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You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
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My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
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But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
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he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.
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God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.
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Exalted at the right hand of God, 6 he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear.
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For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand
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until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
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Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?”
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Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, 7 every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.
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For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”
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He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
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Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.
Peter’s authority is unquestioned.
***A Saint is simply a follower of Christ. So this whole business of Sainting people is totally unsriptural.***
The Church defines anyone in heaven as a saint. The Church believes that some individuals can be identified as being a saint based upon their lives, and these individuals are canonized, the recognition is termed Saint. The Church does not confer sainthood; it only attempts to recognized those individuals that it can.
***O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.
That is it in the nut shell!!!!***
Yes.
***That is basically the prayer that you will be asked to pray if you call the 700 Club or 100 Huntley Street etc.***
Jesus instructs us to pray in private. 700 Club and 100 Huntley Street are scams. I grew up in the area of where 100 Huntley Street is located; it is a complete scam.
If you hie yourself to a Christian Church, you will be far better off.
That exerpt came from his Angelus reflection on Sunday, June 7, 2009. If you liked that quote, you may appreciate the entire meditation on the Holy Trinity.
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