If you’ve read my story and my blog, you now know that I am a true Christian. I am, because I placed my Trust in Christ Alone. Because I did this, I know for absolutely certain that I have Everlasting Life. I formerly fancied myself a catholic christian because I was a part of the catholic church (the church of Rome) but now, thanks to the precious gift of Eternal Life, I now know that the church of Rome is a false church, it is not the One True Church, which is Christ’s Body.

Now, because I am a part of God’s salvation plan, I have received the counsel of the Holy Spirit to guide me. Once I was enlightened by Him, I came to know that the celebration of Christ’s birth on December 25th each year is nothing more than another man-made holiday that at best is completely misguided and at worst, intentionally designed to glorify a pagan holiday.

Isaac Newton argued that the date of “christmas” was chosen to correspond with the winter solstice. History tells us that in ancient times the winter solstice was marked on December 25. In 1743, Paul Ernst Jablonski stated that “christmas” was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a “paganization” that was essentially an insult to the True Church.

We know that the “True Church” is not an organized religion here on Earth, but rather “The Body of Christ” Himself, and thus any of us who are True Christians are a part of that Body. We make up that True Church as we are a part of Him, and He is It.

It should be quite obvious to even a non-religious observer of the Scripture that December is not the actual month of Christ’s birth, since events in the Holy Scripture clearly indicate circumstances which would not make a winter birth feasible. The most obvious Scriptural reference is from the Gospel of Luke which tells us that shepherds were tending their sheep in the fields when He was born.

The rains stopped and temperatures first allowed shepherds to tend their sheep in the fields around April. By December, the sheep were no longer in the fields. But does it matter exactly which month it was? No, certainly not. What does matter, however, is that once again the false church, the church of Rome, has developed a man-made declaration and set it down as truth to their followers. A “truth” for them which history proves to be a falsehood.

If you celebrate this pagan holiday, take a closer look at it. Refuse to allow yourself to continue to be misled.

It happens that at times when I talk to others about my catholic Christian journey, they sometimes try and categorize my message as a Christian vs catholic attack. I think some of that may be rooted in the fact that I spend a lot of time speaking to catholics directly about my transformation from catholic to christian, and I’m quite certain that they are immediately on the defensive because I’m telling them things that challenge their long-standing beliefs.

I know what they’re feeling, because remember that I was on the opposite end of that debate myself.

I have never, ever considered this online ministry to be a catholic vs. christian battle, but rather my intent is that perhaps through my story — as a former life-long catholic of 44 years — some who are currently a part of the church of Rome, a church which calls itself the catholic church, will begin to look at their church with a new perspective and will challenge the things this “religion” has taught them.

Unfortunately, catholics have generally been told that they are to strictly follow the teachings of the Roman church and to deviate from them would lead to dire consequences. I believe that it is this teaching, a teaching that prevents many practicing catholics from exploring the Holy Scriptures fully, which forms the basis of this impression that I’m setting up some sort of a Christian vs. catholic attack.

It isn’t true.

I know for certain that the vast majority of practicing catholics are sincere about their faith. I know this, because I was one for 44 years. I know for certain that the vast majority of lay people who have advanced into leadership positions within their parishes are sincere about their faith and their leadership roles. I know this, because I was one for nearly 30 years. I know that those in local parishes who teach others about the catholic religion are sincere as well, because I was one of those too, for many, many years.

So this isn’t a Christian vs catholic argument. My ministry, inspired by the Holy Spirit, isn’t set up to be a catholic vs. christian debate. In no way do I intend this to be a christian vs. catholic attack on another’s beliefs. Instead, I mean this to be a method for delivering my personal catholic to christian transformation story, and in the process of revealing my journey, I hope that others who are currently practicing catholics will take a step back and open themselves up to the fullness of God’s Word. If they do that, they will discover that God’s plan for salvation is a simple plan for salvation.

Remember, too often those who are members of the so-called catholic church believe that their religion should not be challenged. The Roman church has claimed for itself the sole right to “interpret” Holy Scriptures, and because of that many practicing catholics are simply too afraid or too accepting to compare the teachings of their church to the Word of God. The Holy Scriptures tell us that we should use the Scriptures to test what we are taught, not that we should accept without question what we are told and to be afraid to test it against the Word of God.

As you can probably imagine, I receive many, many e-mails a day. Dozens actually, perhaps as many as one hundred on a very busy day. Many of the e-mails I receive are encouraging, some talk about reading my catholic Christian conversion story and taking great joy in it, others detracting of my message, some saying that I am attacking the catholic church or that my message isn’t a Christian one or that catholicism is superior to my own faith.

Today I received an e-mail from someone who took the rather unusual approach of boasting to me about how much they know about the Bible, and how much more they know about it than I. It was clear that they were intent on acting superior to me, to prove through their claim exactly how much more they knew about Holy Scripture than I do (or my family did or does — combined, as a matter of fact):

“I know the Bible better than your or your parents or even your
grandparents ever did while they were Catholic. And I bet that
I still know it better than all of you combined now”.

Of course this person went on to attempt to lecture to me about what God REALLY meant in certain portions of the Word. Unfortunately for the e-mail’s author, they don’t realize exactly how truly lost they really are. Their statements made it abundantly clear that they do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them in the Scripture, a counselor that everyone who receives the Gift of Eternal Salvation has to help them understand the Word, as He promised us:

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

What this assurance means to all of us who have received Eternal Life is that we (you or I) don’t have to worry about being as learned about the Holy Scripture as some, like the e-mailer above likes to believe — and publicly boast — that they are. God our Father in Heaven knows that we all need help to understand His Word, and what better way for us to understand it than for Him to sit beside us as we read the Holy Scripture and to impart unto us, one at a time, the full meaning and power of His Holy Word?

This person’s boast of Bible knowledge reminds me of a very poignant passage from Matthew…

Matthew 13

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Remember that in Jesus’ day there were many people who were supposedly much more “knowledgeable” about what was written, yet they were incredibly ignorant about the Truth of God. Their Savior stood right there before them, in the flesh, yet they were unable to see it (”because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, nether do they understand).

Just like the e-mail author who pridefully boasted about how much they “know” about the Bible, yet despite all of their “knowing” they do not understand.

Jesus Himself spoke to the common people, He surrounded Himself with followers who believed in Him and placed their Trust in Him Alone for their Salvation and did not attempt to preach to others by lecturing them about how much more they knew about what was written. And when Jesus left us on earth, He left behind for us the Holy Spirit that we may fully understand everything about God’s Word without having to spend our entire lives intently studying every single passage of Scripture.

We are very, very fortunate to have this counsel once we have the Gift of Eternal Life.

My Christian catholic story, which you may read here if you haven’t done so as yet, is my humble exposition of how I made the journey from catholic to Christian. How I was led from the darkness into God’s Wonderful light. I, like the e-mail author who boasted to me about their knowledge of the Scripture, thought that I knew a lot — remember that I even taught the catholic faith as an instructor in the RCIA program — but I never really knew the Holy Scripture, I never really KNEW Him, until I put aside the false teachings that I had received throughout my entire life and allowed myself to Trust in Christ Alone.

This part is something that is very important, and something I only learned once I’d received the Gift of Eternal Salvation: He will fill us with the fullness of His Word, but in order to be filled, we must first be emptied. Until we empty ourselves of the false teachings that obscure His Word and its meaning, we can never truly be filled.

It seems more and more these days that people are attempting to place their trust in others instead of just realizing that they must Trust in Christ Alone for the Eternal Salvation. I know that it can be a hard thing to understand, but once understood, it is difficult for one to even fathom how we may have believed otherwise.

To Trust in Christ Alone means to completely surrender your trust in anything or anyone else. That means you can’t trust in yourself to try and save yourself (it is impossible, there’s nothing you can do of your own accord that will give you eternal life), you can’t trust in a priest or an organized religion like the catholic church or catholicism to save you (they aren’t able to do that, either), and you can’t trust in the words or actions of any other human being to save you.

It’s all up to you, and only you. God’s plan for Eternal Salvation isn’t complicated.

You must put aside your past beliefs and surrender your trust to Christ and to Christ Alone. Once you are able to do that, then you will open the door to your Eternal Salvation. It is then that you will begin to see how organized religion can get things all messed up, then you will be able to understand what is the difference between catholic and christian.

It isn’t easy, I struggled with this myself as I made my journey from catholic to christian, so I fully understand. I only ask you to remember this: if you cannot Trust in Christ, then in whom can you trust?

To Jesus through Mary?

I was following a van the other day, and I noticed a bumper sticker affixed to the back of the vehicle. The message was simple:

“To Jesus through Mary”

Now I’m guessing that was a catholic person’s van, I’m sure they’re a catholic who considers themselves a Christian, a genuine christian catholic I’m sure. But to be honest, it doesn’t really matter if it was or wasn’t. The fact is, the entire message on the bumper sticker is wrong. Jesus doesn’t require an intermediary for us to reach Him. As a matter of fact, Jesus is the ONE and ONLY intermediary between us and the Father:

John 14:6 says…

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

What else is necessary? Why add another layer when it isn’t required?

We shouldn’t strive to reach Jesus through anyone. Not any living person, not anyone who is no longer on this earth, and not through Mary, even if she was the woman who gave birth to our Savior’s physical body. Instead, we should strive to reach the Father through Jesus, exactly as He told us we must.

As human beings, most of us are very fond of our mothers. We love them dearly, and we care about them deeply, and we hurt and mourn when we lose them. There is no getting around that, it is our nature — most of us are attached to our mothers. After all, they gave birth to us. But as Christians, if we are truly Christians, then we must not fall into the trap of assigning human values to the things of Heaven.

Some catholics may believe themselves to be Christian or to be a Christian catholic. If so, they would understand that it is NOT God’s Will that we should find it necessary or desireable to seek our Savior through another human being. He sent his Son here, for us, and because he walked this earth Himself there is no need — ever — for us to reach “Jesus through Mary”.

If you want to know more about catholicism and my journey from catholic to christian, please read my story and learn how I came to better understand the issues with the Roman catholic church.

Organized religions make salvation complicated. People in general seem to want to make salvation complicated. Well, the fact is that God has never meant for salvation to be complicated. In fact, He made salvation as simple as it could possibly be. He sent His only Son to earth, in human form, to die for our sins.

That’s it.

Because of His incredible sacrifice, all of our sins are forgiven. He died once and for all, and that was sufficient for our forgiveness. There is nothing more that we can do, as human beings, that will be greater than His dying for our failings.

When I talk to people who don’t understand salvation, they often get hung up on the issue of exactly which sins He died for. They believe that there is something more that they must do to gain forgiveness. They think that forgiveness is something they get at some point, then they go out and sin again, and they have to seek forgiveness all over again. Usually, they’ve been taught this by their “church” and sadly, they’ve been misled.

God’s plan is very simple and not at all complex: He died for ALL of our sins. Every single one of them — past, present, and future. At no point along the way did He say anything at all resembling: “Okay, this sacrifice is going to cover you until you’re 18 years old, after that you’re on your own”.

He died for our PAST sins.
He died for our PRESENT sins.
He died for our FUTURE sins.

Apparently, the last one is the one that seems to trip so many people up. They say: “I know that Christ died for my sins. But how could He have died for sins I haven’t yet committed? How do I know that He died for my FUTURE sins?”

The answer, my friends, is as simple as God’s plan: we know for an absolutely undisputed certainty that Christ died for our FUTURE sins as well as past and present sins because none of us were alive when Christ died on the cross. Not a single, solitary one of us. ALL of our sins — even our past sins — were “future” sins when Jesus Christ made His incredible sacrifice.

Every single one of them.

Sadly, I was once as misled as millions of others about this. If you read my Catholic Christian story, the story of my transition from Catholic to Christian, then you know my background and how entrenched in the church of Rome I once was. So firmly entrenched that not only did I believe everything that this man-made religion told me, but I also taught it to others. That false church taught me that I constantly had to go back to the church to be forgiven for my sins — that I had to confess my sins to a priest acting as a conduit to God — in order to be forgiven. And when I went out and sinned again, my only hope was to turn back to their priests in order to receive forgiveness once more.

Do you see how the church of Rome is intent on keeping its followers so tightly controlled? How that so-called “church” is dead set on locking a person in and forcing them to behave in a way that makes their participation (and their financial support) a necessity?

It’s wrong, and completely against God’s Word and His plan. God makes this completely clear to us:

Hebrews 10:

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.

Simply Trust in Christ Alone, for His sacrifice is sufficient to save all of us.

One of my wonderful supportive sources provided me a link to a catholic Web site which expounded on the fact that they believe that catholics, members of the Roman church, are quite “obviously” Christian because they believe in Christ. My how wrong they are without even knowing. This is the power of evil at work in their “church”. They are being deceived, being led astray by false teaching, and they have no idea that their Eternal Salvation is at risk. Let me put this as bluntly as possible:

Believing in Christ is NOT the criteria necessary to be a Christian. Believing in Christ DOESN’T make you a Christian.

Judas believed in Christ, but betrayed Him. Would we call him a Christian? Of course we wouldn’t.

What it takes to be a Christian is to totally Trust that Christ paid our sin debt in full (past, present, and future sins) on the cross. His sacrifice is all that is necessary for us to receive the gift of Eternal Salvation. If something more were required of us, then this would negate Christ’s sacrifice and would render this Gift from God something to be earned, rather than simply received.

For the Word of God tells us:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” (Romans 11:6)

It cannot be more clear than this, yet there are millions who erroneously believe otherwise. The only thing that we can do as horrible sinners and mere mortals is to Trust in Christ Alone and we will then receive the Gift of Eternal Salvation.