O Holy Night

Tags

Bible, christian, Christianity, Christmas, faith, God, holidays, Jesus, Lutheran, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, religion

“O Holy Night…” **

How I see Christmas:
The secular Christmas takes Christ out but emphasizes good works and sharing. The world takes that as the central theme of Christmas. Yet the Bible clearly says that all of our good works are like filthy rags.
(Isaiah 64:6English Standard Version (ESV)
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.)

 

Non-Christians also see “peace” as a theme. Yet, Jesus said he came to bring a ‘sword’.
(Matthew 10:34English Standard Version (ESV)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.)

Christians see Christmas as Emmanuel, meaning God with us. With this in mind, Jesus’ birth is simple and a miraculous gift from God. His birth makes us humble and we fall on our knees.

We repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness. We partake of the Eucharist and receive life. Only then can we share and pass on His gifts of love, joy, and celebrate in Jesus as a result of the Holy Spirit within us.

**
“O Holy Night…” **

How I see Christmas:

The secular Christmas takes Christ out but emphasizes good works and sharing. The world takes that as the central theme of Christmas. Yet the Bible clearly says that all of our good works are like filthy rags.
(Isaiah 64:6English Standard Version (ESV)
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.)

 

Non-Christians also see “peace” as a theme. Yet, Jesus said he came to bring a ‘sword’.
(Matthew 10:34English Standard Version (ESV)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.)

Christians see Christmas as Emmanuel, meaning God with us. With this in mind, Jesus’ birth is simple and a miraculous gift from God. His birth makes us humble and we fall on our knees.

We repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness. We partake of the Eucharist and receive life. Only then can we share and pass on His gifts of love, joy, and celebrate in Jesus as a result of the Holy Spirit within us.

**
“O Holy Night
O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels’ voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels’ voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine”

(Picture above From SELC -Siberian Ev. Lutheran Church)

 

 

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Making Decisions-Right and Wrong Ways

Tags

Bible, Book of Mormon, Christ, christian, Christianity, cults, false doctrine, General Conference, LCMS missionaries, LDS, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Mormons, Word of God

[POSTED BY THE COMPENDIUM]

I’m posting 2 reblogs on decision making. Both were back-to-back in my inbox.

The first post is from Life After Ministries which is posting about a LDS leader at their General Conference in April 2015. Life After Ministries is a Christian website assisting Mormons with their questions and leading them to the TRUE JESUS. Many Mormons want to leave but don’t know what to do. Life After Ministries assists them with their decision.

In the first post and explanation by Life After Ministries, you can see that the Latter Day Saints (LDS, Mormons) go by “what is revealed” to their ‘prophets’. These revelations are NOT biblical-based but depend of the prophet’s feelings on the subject. Like their religion, which is non-Christian, their doctrines are also not biblical-based. Their Elder talks about making decisions…

In recent years, however, the LDS wants to look like and sound like another Christian Church. Checking what they say with the Bible shows us that they have not changed from their past doctrines or refuted them. To the newly converted in Mormonism, the LDS “seems” Christian but later on those leave the LDS church, usually after a year. As these converts find out more and more, see all the ordinances and rules that they have to follow, they don’t want to stay.

The LDS is an evolving religion and changes constantly with their leadership’s views. It’s sad that the Mormons have no real base to check what their leaders say. The Bible is told to them as ‘translated incorrectly’ but no specific errors are mentioned. The Mormons rely on the Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Convents (D&C), Pearl of Great Price, and other Mormon writings instead. Even the Book of Mormon has over 4000 changes! Their Jesus is of another kind with the words having another meaning altogether. They worship another god entirely.

In reality, it is a false religion and false doctrine. Compare that with Christianity and you’ll see the differences readily. We Christians believe that the Bible is the SOLE scripture and word of God. We can check what others and pastors say with the Bible. We let scripture interpret itself from other parts and verses. All that God wants us to know is in the Bible. There are no ordinances and such to follow but we follow what Jesus said and told us to do.

The second post is from Pastor Klaus of the Lutheran Hour. He speaks of making decisions but from the Christian side. Pastor Klaus show us how to correctly make good decisions with the help of the Holy Spirit. He also tells us what he has learned throughout life.

The comparison of these posts will show you how deceptive the LDS is and that they sound good to the person who doesn’t know their Bible. If only they would check what they hear and read with the Bible many questions and concerns would be clearly answered. That is the primary goal of Christians who witness and minister to the Mormons- have them read and check things with the Bible.

Yes, the Bible has been translated from the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages. Scrolls and writing have be found to verify that the Bible has been correctly translated. There is nothing that verifies the existence of the Book of Mormon that has been found. We hope that this information helps you with a deeper understanding. Please pray for the Mormons that they will come to the REAL Jesus of the Bible.

Don’t be duped! Warnings on Pseudo- Christians, Webpages, and Speakers-PART 1

Tags

Bible, false prophesies, false prophets, Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lies of the Mormon Church, pseudo-christian, pseudo-christianity, the church of the latter day saints of jesus christ, Triune God, Word of God

Compendium: The next 3 posts are warnings of posts, web pages, and speakers who sound ‘Christian’ but are not. Be sure to check out their origins, statement of faith, etc. It is VERY easy to fall prey to pseudo-Christian cults through deception.
These 3 posts are written by former Mormons, 2 of which joined and then found out later about the lies. They know!
Test the Spirits and know your Bible. 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

My introduction to Mormonism…

Tags

Bible, christian, cults, false prophets, Jesus, LCMS, Lies of the Mormon Church, Lutheran, Lutheran Church-MS, Mormonism, pseudo-christian, pseudo-christianity, religious movements, the church of the latter day saints of jesus christ, Trinity, Triune God, Word of God

…came at the NY World’s Fair of 1964. Wandering about the exhibits, I came across what looked like a castle. Two people approached me as I went in. The table inside held some literature and The Book of Mormon.
All that I remember from that encounter was that the man and woman who approached me asked if they could help me. I was looking at the literature, not picking it up, and I said something about if they believed in the Bible. The woman said to the effect of yes, but we use The Book of Mormon…
I made a quick exit out the door before there was any witnessing to me saying, “No, thank you “to their offer of help. It made a lasting impression on me as to what was this “Mormonism” thing. A few years later in church, our pastor had a series of classes on the cults. I learned much each week about this.
This was in the early 1970’s, perhaps 1973-4, that I took those classes. I was in my early 20’s and what did I know about anything at that age? The thing that stuck with me all these years is that the pastor said that those who get involved in these cults, etc. have NOT read their Bibles; people do NOT know their Bible. Yes, that and not attending church regularly, going away to college and getting away from the weekly attendance, and the like, are other ways that the pseudo-Christian religious movements and cults attract people.
The Bible, though, is the foremost reason of keeping people, especially the youth, with the Triune God of Christianity. I can see it in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, and other cults where the false doctrine is really difficult to distinguish at times without studying the Bible to find the truth. I still have to go back all the time and study. It is a lifetime education. We forget things, don’t understand the ideas that are put out by these movements and groups, and could easily be diverted away from God. I use the Lutheran Study Bible, Published by the Concordia Publishing House, all the time.
In the case of Mormonism, they use the same terms as Christianity but with completely different meanings. Take this one point:
God the Father and Mary produced Jesus through sexual relations. Strange but true doctrine in Mormonism. There are so many other false statements in their doctrine that I could not find the space to list them all. You can see in-depth discussions and read the comparisons of Mormonism with Christianity on this website (by Christians who are ex-Mormons):

http://lifeafter.org/

You can also read more on other religious movements, etc. and the false doctrines on these Lutheran (LCMS) websites:

http://www.soundwitness.org/

http://lutheranmissions.org/teachings/my-church-and-others/

Thanking God daily for keeping me with Him in truth all these years…

[POSTED BY COMPENDIUM]

Reason For the Boston Bombings…

Tags

Bible, Christ, christian, cults, encouragement, faith, false prophets, Father, forgiveness, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, LCMS, Lutheran Church-MS, religious movements, Trinity, Word of God

…there is sin in the world. “…for all have sinned and have fall short of the glory of God…”

[Please read the chapter for the context…]
‘Romans 3:22-24
English Standard Version (ESV)
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,’

Plain and simple. To read the information on Islam and the extremists, and other religious movements, you might find this page helpful (all PDF files cam be downloaded):
http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=695

God is in control although we may not think so at the time. We know that these people and groups are out there but God knows more. When we ask God to help us, He does. He loves all people and sent His precious Son for us to pay for our sins. Forgiveness is ours and it’s free. We don’t have to die for our sins

It is with this assurance that we can go on each and every day. We can rejoice in His blessings and gifts. We thank Him for His grace (undeserved love) to us. He will provide us with the comfort that is found only in the Cross of Christ.

We move on with Jesus…

By COMPENDIUM

Thank You For Your Prayers!

Tags

encouragement, God, healing, Jesus, Prayer, thanksgiving

[COMPENDIUM POST]

Thank you for your prayers for my recovery from a mini-stroke. As of this date, I have not fully recovered all of the movement and feeling on the right side. My arm and shoulder feel as if a dead weight yet so it is still difficult to use the PC. The top of my leg has some feeling lost.

I may or may not get all of the feeling back but I rejoice that God has kept me safe and in His continuing care. I can walk and talk and generally do many things and am very thankful for what I have, my husband, family and many friends.

 

God takes care of me

Tags

encouragement, faith, God, Word of God

[COMPENDIUM: This is MY post, not a reblog, so I am allowing comments this time.]

God takes care of me. I had a TIA or mini-stroke on Sat. Oct. 13, 2012; it set me back. I cannot use my right hand too well and much of my right side but I will try to keep up with the reblogs as I can.

Progress is slow at this point but I hope with physical therapy to get back use of my arm and hand . Fortunately, I recognized the numbness as something different from what I usually get with the lumbar spinal stenosis when I got up and could not stand.

God takes care of me and He will see me through this challenge! Thanks for your prayers for recovery.