Encourage One Another

My husband is away for the weekend, no - I am not complaining since we just had some sweet times together at Alyeska Resort, but if you are married... you know how it goes when your better half is away. I am looking forward to Marriage Monday's as we get to share how we met! You are invited to join us on Monday, May 5, this time the topic is: "The Crazy Way We Met."

Anyway, I went out reading other blogs and decided it was time to share from someone else. This is from The House of Chosun, a blogger that I have recently stumbled across. Enjoy!

Let us beware of tampering with Holy things! Traditions of men make the Word of God lose its power and effect. Traditions of men will kill.

Some examples of Roman add-ons:

• The Word: Jesus is our Mediator alone. Rome: Mary also mediates along with Jesus.
• Jesus: “It is finished,” the sacrifice is made, once for all. Rome: Jesus dies on our altars constantly.
• The Word: We are saved by grace through faith. It is the gift of God, not of works. Rome: Any person who believes he is saved by faith alone is anathema.
• The Word: Water (baptism) cannot take away the filth of the flesh (sin). Rome: Even its babies must pass through the water.
• The Word: The Holy Spirit represents Christ to us. Rome: The Pope is our representative (vicar).
• The Word: We can know we have eternal life! Rome: Such presumption is sin.
• The Word: We are to be buried with Him in baptism. Rome: Any amount of water will do.
• The Word: Mary had sons and daughters after Jesus was born. Rome: Mary is ever a virgin.
• The Word: Jesus lives to make intercession for us. Rome: Mary is the intercessor.
• The Word: Only God is omnipresent. Rome: Mary can hear and answer all prayers.
• The Word: For believers, absent from the body means present with the Lord. Rome: There’s a major stopping-off place called Purgatory after we die and before we see Jesus.
• The Word: Idolatry is condemned. Rome: It’s OK, if the statues are Bible characters, especially Jesus and Mary.
• The Word: Confess your faults to each other and to God. Rome: There’s still a priesthood between the people of God and Himself.
• The Word: Marriage is honorable. Most of its main characters were married, including church leaders. Rome: The leaders of the church must refrain from marriage.
• The Word: All foods created by God are good. Rome: Some are not.

You see how it goes? The time would fail me to tell of angels and candles and saints and miracles. Of relics and bingo and collars and tonsures. Of scapulars and rosaries and rituals and masses. These are traditions for which men have instituted crusades, massacred people groups, fought for power, sold out to the Enemy.

Yet, with such horrible fruit, the Roman system continues to proclaim these items as truth. And men keep trusting these traditions, imperiling their eternal souls.

Traditions of men can also be enumerated in great quantity from Islam, Mormonism, the Watchtower Society, and all the rest. All of them seem to start out with a Bible base, but the add-ons of humans and demons have brought many to eternal loss.

I leave you with Paul’s words on this matter: “Brothers, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught [by apostles], whether by word or our epistle, and withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us [apostles].

Paul [the apostle]

Visit The House of Chosun for more.

"The North Korean people are the most persecuted in the world," said Suzanne Scholte, Chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, "But, because we cannot see the suffering with our own eyes, we ignore it. Having these brave defectors speak and give eyewitness testimony is one of the most critical aspects of North Korea Freedom Week." Defectors will be featured in the movie "Crossing" which is scheduled to be released in South Korea in June and will bring attention the the human suffering in North Korea.

"Crossing"

Remember to pray for the persecuted today.