(Soul Refuge) Do you remember the time when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray?
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. ” (Luke 11:1-2)
Did the Lord tell his disciples to pray “Our Mother which art in Heaven” or did he tell them to pray “Our Father which art in Heaven”? Can you find the Lord Jesus Christ ever telling his followers to pray a “Hail Mary” prayer? Can you ever find the Lord Jesus Christ encouraging his followers to build a shrine to his earthly mother Mary? Of course, you will not find any of this stuff in the scriptures, so why do people do these things? The bottom line is that they have accepted and believed the words of mere men (man-made tradition) over the scriptures (the Word of God). It is of the utmost importance that people search the scriptures for themselves, as the Bereans did so that they may know the truth that can set them free.
“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 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 17:10-11)
When you place the words of mere men (man-made tradition), above the word of God, you are setting yourself up for spiritual deception, and the ultimate destruction of your very soul. I am writing here as a former Roman Catholic who was delivered out of the system of Roman Catholicism, and if you are a Roman Catholic I encourage you to leave that system also. I prayed my Hail Mary prayers like any other Roman Catholic would until the time that I was saved and born again of the Spirit of God in 1989. Here is one of the first scriptures that I learned regarding how to pray and who to pray to:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)
The scriptures make it clear that there is only ONE mediator between God and men, and that is the person of Jesus Christ. There are no other mediators whom God will hear because Jesus is the one whom the Father sent down from Heaven above. Jesus Christ had the audacity to do things that only God could do because he was equal to the Father above. Here is a record of the time when Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years, and one day Jesus told the guy to take up his bed and walk, and that is exactly what the man did. That absolutely infuriated the enemies of Christ, and they let him know that in no uncertain terms.
“Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:12-18)
Did you notice the part where it said that the enemies of Jesus Christ sought to kill him because he made himself equal with God? There was another time when Jesus healed a man who was paralyzed, and once again the religious Jewish leaders were absolutely infuriated by what he did.
“And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.” (Luke 5:17-26)
Did you catch the part where the Jewish Pharisees became infuriated after Jesus Christ forgave the paralyzed man of his sins? They were correct in saying that only God could forgive sins, but they did not believe that Jesus Christ was equal to God, and that is why they were so angry at Christ. So what did Jesus do? Jesus basically told them that I am going to heal this man just to show you that I do have the power to forgive sins, (which only God can do) and that is exactly what he did! I say all of this so that I may point you to Jesus Christ alone. I want you to know that I have not prayed to Mary since the Lord saved my soul out of that gross and demonic deception. I am here to tell you that Jesus Christ is enough. If you are a Roman Catholic, you are reading this article by divine appointment and I encourage you to search the scriptures for yourself, to see if what I am preaching here today is true or not.