Branching out to make rosary bracelets now. They are the same as a traditional rosary with fifty-three Ave beads and six Our Father beads. The beginning of each bracelet has a small cross to start the Creed and moves around until a full rosary is prayed.
The one pictured is a beautiful bracelet that changes color when light hits it - green, purple, all sorts of pretty colors. If anyone needs to place an order for Christmas: Rosaries, chaplets, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rosary bracelets, or any jewelry made for please let me know as soon as possible. You can see the Assisi Rosaries Facebook page HERE to place an order or check out other rosary or jewelry options. And HERE are several pictures showing various rosaries. It's super important to get orders in as soon as possible because come December I would need to mail out asap for your gifts. Forgiven much, Tamara Jack To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE!
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"The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy. Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." - Proverbs 14.20,21,31 Help those who are poor and needy. Not because you will be blessed, but because God commands it. You will be blessed, yes, but your heart must be right in your giving. God says to help the household of faith, especially. That means those who are Christians. Many Christians put their money and help toward those who are not Christians to keep them from homelessness, making sure they are fed and not helping Christians - much of this is done to "get people into church," and "attracting them to Christ." This is unbiblical when it is at the expense of those who are already in Christ. It's not because Christians are more deserving. It's because we are a family. Going outside the family to be sure they are taken care of instead makes the family member know they are not cared about. That they do not matter. "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." - Galatians 6.10 Help the poor. Help the needy. Help those less fortunate than yourself. Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”” – Genesis 3.9
Even in the worst of times, God comes to us. When we rebelled against Him in the simplest thing: “don’t eat that!” He still comes, promises, and clothes. In the Garden, God did three things to show His compassion on the rebels in Genesis 3. * He came to the sinners, Adam and Eve, not waiting for them to rush to Him. “Where are you?” (God came!) * He gave a promise that one of Eve’s children (Jesus Christ) would overcome evil for us. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (God promised!) * He clothed their nakedness by killing the first animal, making them not ashamed, but revealed His love and mercy. “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (God clothed!) Notice the norm in the Church today. But, not just in this day and age. Mankind has always tried to self-justify. It is just the opposite of God’s Word: * We come to God. “I made a decision for Christ.” Yet God says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” – Romans 3.10,11. No, God comes to us. We are dead in our sins and trespasses and can make no move toward God. Our Lord must make the first move, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and free us from the bondage of sin. * We make promises to God. “I promise to always love You and love others!” Yet God says, “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” – James 3.8,9. Sin is deceitful. We think we are making wonderful promises to God and to others, but, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7, we do the things we ought not to do and do not do the things we ought. Our hearts are deceitful and wicked above all (Jeremiah 17.9) Let us trust God’s promises, not ours. He is faithful and if we find ourselves faithful, it is because of His grace toward us. Praise God! * We clothe ourselves with good works. “Look what I did. I’m worthy now!” Yet God says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2.8,9. Good works are a good thing and are pleasing to the Lord. In fact, He created them for us to do them while here, but all praise and glory go to Him. Not one good work will give us salvation. God, instead, clothes us in Christ’s good works – His perfect, active obedience to the Law of God is the only way to the Father and everlasting life. When God comes to us in real time, adopting us as His children, again He comes, promises, and clothes us. * He comes to us through His Holy Word. ”For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” – John 6.38 (God came!) * He promises us eternal life. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” – John 6.40 (God promised!) * He clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” – Isaiah 61.10 (God clothed!) How opposite the Creator from the creatures. Thanks be to God that His Word never changes. That we can rely on His coming to us, His promises, and His clothing us even to the end of the age. Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE Since the writing of this blog post, Dr. Mike went on to be with the Lord. The content of this post is worth the read. So helpful to me and I hope helpful to my readers.
Dr. Mike Ferguson has been a great help to me lately. Watch video of me talking about his ministry and professional help HERE. I’d highly recommend him as someone you can trust. He’s trained as a psychologist to help de-escalate situations that are high level anxiety problems, as well as deep depression. He’s helped me tremendously during a very stressful time in my life. He’s also a Suicidologist, therefore, helps those who are in an acute state (ready to commit suicide) and chronic thinking on suicide. God has used Dr. Ferguson in many cases, so I would not hesitate to offer his information to anyone in distress or heading in that direction. His website can be found by clicking HERE or text or call him at 417-502-9662. His email is [email protected] (the site, number and email are no longer in existence as Dr. Mike is with the Lord, but if you need help, reach out to me and I can find help for you, or you may talk with me - all conversations are confidential, and I share with no one.) A helpful tool he gave to us is the file called, “List of Self-Encouraging Thoughts for Greater Distress Tolerance.” We noticed that the sayings are good and helpful, and wondered if they are rooted in Scripture so Christians may benefit from the Word of God being sown into their thinking, which is most helpful as God can and does use His Word to transform the believer throughout his or her entire life. May these Scriptures, as well as the original coping thoughts be a help to those who need it. See the following below with links you can click on to get to the Bible itself: COPING THOUGHT: “I’ve already been through many other painful experiences, and I’ve survived.” SCRIPTURE: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43.2) COPING THOUGHT: “This, too, shall pass.” SCRIPTURE: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24.35) COPING THOUGHT: “My feelings make me feel uncomfortable right now, but I can accept them.” SCRIPTURE: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12.9) COPING THOUGHT: “I can be anxious and still deal with the situation.” SCRIPTURE: “For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.” (Psalm 18.29) COPING THOUGHT: “I’m strong enough to handle what’s happening to me right now.” SCRIPTURE: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6.10) Note: our true strength comes from God alone. So, though we really are weak, not strong enough to handle life’s trials, God’s strength is what we are to lean on, that we may not boast nor feel we have to carry heavy burdens on our own. He is our comfort. He is our strength. He is our rock. COPING THOUGHT: “This is an opportunity for me to learn how to cope with my fears.” SCRIPTURE: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1.2-4) Note: this does not mean we need to disregard our feelings of sadness, anger, hurt, or fear when God says to count it all joy. God means we can accept the trial and have a deep-seated joy (separate from happiness) in that He is allowing the test to strengthen you and your faith in Him, not self. Life is a process and He promises to make us more like Christ, who was dependent upon our Heavenly Father as seen in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus’ sweat was as blood, the trial was so difficult. We would never say of Jesus that He was chipper and happy at that moment, but in deep distress, yet with joy, knowing the Father’s will was perfect. That is your hope, also. COPING THOUGHT: “I can ride this out and not let it get to me.” SCRIPTURE: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10.5) COPING THOUGHT: “I can take all the time I need right now to let go and relax.” SCRIPTURE: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” From Jesus Himself! (Matthew 11.28,29) COPING THOUGHT: “My anxiety / fear / sadness won’t kill me; it just doesn’t feel good right now.” (John 11.35) SCRIPTURE: “Jesus wept.” Note: Jesus had real feelings just like us. He is 100% man and 100% God. When in the flesh upon this earth, He was tempted in all points. Can you just imagine someone telling Christ, “Just be positive!” No! He wept. He was very sad. COPING THOUGHT: “These are just my feelings, and eventually they’ll go away.” SCRIPTURE: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21.4) COPING THOUGHT: “It’s okay to feel sad / anxious / afraid sometimes.” SCRIPTURE: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Note: this is just saying that God understands. We don’t have to change our feelings to fit anyone’s desire for how they want us to be. Allow yourself to go through the feeling with the knowledge that God went through it, too. COPING THOUGHT: “My thoughts don’t control my life, I do.” SCRIPTURE: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3.2) COPING THOUGHT: “I can think different thoughts if I want to.” SCRIPTURE: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12.2) COPING THOUGHT: “I’m not in danger right now.” SCRIPTURE: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27.1) COPING THOUGHT: “So what?” SCRIPTURE: “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2.22) COPING THOUGHT: “This situation sucks, but it’s only temporary.” SCRIPTURE: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4.17,18) Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE I was having a difficult time at one point with the question: “what is my purpose in life," and so began my quest. I’ve been ill, unable to serve anyone or do much at all for quite some time. I’m so accustomed to using my vocations God has given me throughout life that when I was down and unable to do anything, I felt out of sorts. Really out of sorts and started becoming depressed.
Someone sent a text to me asking how I was doing for the day. I responded that I don’t feel worth much lately because I can’t do anything for anyone. That I don’t feel worth much anymore and struggling. The friend responded with something which shocked me: “You aren’t defined by what you can do.” It struck my heart to read those words. I know this to be truth in my head and my heart, but I have had feelings of being upset, even angry that I can’t use my vocations in life like I want to do so. Like a swirling carnival ride, my mind went round and round with stories of people recorded in the Bible who also struggled in life and with those who, in times past, have been sick and unable to do much like they had. David Brainerd came to mind. How he wanted to serve, yet became so ill, he had to be served. He couldn’t go out to give the Gospel to the lost. How did he become okay with God’s allowance for him to be in bed, awaiting people to bring stale bread to him? How does one submit to that kind of will from God? How hard this is! It’s not at all that I think God is not pleased. It’s that I was not pleased. I am a workaholic. If I had my way, I’d wake early, work all day, and go to sleep late. It’s how I’m wired. And yet, it’s sin. Why? Because God doesn’t want us to worship our vocations. He wants us to worship Him and to rest, too. We’re to use our vocations, but not to the point of neglecting other things in life. The Bible says God gives His beloved sleep, the Psalmist wrote: “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” I pray Martin Luther’s Evening Prayer in the Small Catechism each night: In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you choose, you may also say this little prayer: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. Then go to sleep at once and in good cheer. This came to mind, also: Why do I pray this every night, knowing the instruction is to go to sleep in good cheer, yet I’m unhappy that I couldn’t do what I wanted that day to “serve God and man?” The striking thing was this: I have an idol. Many idols, in fact. I love something over loving God – work. I do not think it’s work that is pleasing to God. I do not believe for one second that work and serving gets me closer to God nor Heaven. It’s that my heart desires it so much, it comes before other things that are also godly. And this is where the story of Mary and Martha comes in, as recorded in Luke 10.38-42: I am a Martha. I am the epitome of Martha. She dared be too busy for the God of the universe: “But Martha was distracted with much serving.” Jesus was gentle with her, though, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” How that must have grabbed Martha’s heart. Martha, David Brainerd, and I are not defined by what we do. And as they learned how to submit to God’s will, so must I. I’m told by a friend often, “be compassionate with yourself.” I’m still learning to walk this journey in this fallen world in a failing body. I will never finish learning to submit to His ways as I fight the sin in me with the Spirit of God. Kyrie Eleison! So, on that day, I repented of my “doingness” and called out to God, “I want to repent. Help me repent and believe every day that this is Your perfect will for my life. Teach me how to worship You again.” Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE The Bible is the book God tells us about Himself, ourselves, and the way to salvation. You can read the entire Bible HERE. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points to Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE The debate between the iconoclasts and those who still use art and images to point to Jesus Christ still rages on today. The passage in question comes from Exodus 20.4-6 of the Bible (ESV):
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” The argument is important because the iconoclasts consider those who have a carved image of Christ to be sinning. That is quite a charge. Take, for instance, a crucifix or a Nativity scene put out during Christmas time: both have images of the Son of God which, to the iconoclast, would be sin. “The Westminster Larger Catechism” says: “Question 109: What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment? Answer: The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and anywise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; tolerating a false religion; the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creatur...” According to the Calvinist who holds to this catechism, a Christian is sinning against God if that person wears a crucifix necklace, uses a Nativity scene, has an image of Jesus Christ on the cross in church, or even makes a likeness of any creature. But what does God’s Word say? It states: “You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” The sin is not having a carved image of the Son of God. The sin is bowing down to it. That is idolatry and is the thing about which God is concerned. If having a carved image were the sin, then God would be contradicting Himself when He commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent for the people to look at to be saved in Exodus and the cherubim of gold in Numbers (see citations below): “And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.” Those who are against carved images are not fully understanding God’s Word as seen in the two passages above. As one man who went from wearing a cross necklace to a crucifix said about his mother who uses Nativity scenes in their home: “I came home for Christmas break and my mother, a devout Southern Baptist lady, noticed disapprovingly the crucifix I’ve begun to wear around my neck. I was informed Jesus wasn’t on the cross anymore, upon which I looked around at the eighteen (18) Nativity scenes on display in our house during this season, and pointed out that Jesus was no longer in the manger either. That concluded our discussion.” – Timothy Sheridan If a person who is against carved images is consistent, then we should never have a dove as the symbol of the Holy Spirit who came down at the baptism of Christ, a dolphin trinket sitting at the bedside, nor an angel for all these are forbidden according to the iconoclast Note, also, that the command says nothing about making an image of God or the Trinity. It only mentions anything that is in heaven above, but we need to keep in mind that the problem is the bowing down, not the making of or possession of the carved image. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Doves, dolphins, and angels would be within the scope of this command. According to God’s Word, carved images are not forbidden. This is adiaphora for the Christian. It is not forbidden nor commanded, therefore the disciple of Christ is free to have images so long as they do not worship them. Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE There are many Church history resources, but I picked out a few that may be helpful to readers. If nothing else is ever read, I’d say start with The Three Ecumenical Creeds, the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, which sums up the Christian faith over the many years of Christ’s followers fighting for the faith to be kept pure.
I found one of the most interesting, yet difficult-to-wrap-my-mind-around stories in Eusebius’s writings: This story from Eusebius on the famine gives a good understanding of famine and what man will do during one. Eusebius quotes Josephus in the links. It’s one of the most awesome and horrifying accounts I’ve ever come across in history. You may read the text. Or, if preferred, there is an archive of the audio of Eusebius's History of the Christian Church. I bring this story of the famine first to help readers understand that though we live in very tough times in the 21st century, life has always been difficult since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was good to tell us, as recorded in John 16: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” If Church history has taught us one thing, it is that men and women of faith suffer just as much as those who are not believers, yet we have the hope and assurance that Christ is with us and died for us that we may go to live with Him eternally. This life is passing by so quickly, though it may feel like it’s going by slowly. There are children of God in places such as North Korea who are not even allowed to hear the Word of God. If they do something “wrong” according to their government, there is the law of punishment for three generations. In other words, if one person, say a woman was caught reading the Bible, she and her immediate family, plus three generations down, will be put into a concentration camp, which is a work camp. They are worked to death, starving the whole time. This is current day happenings. There are defectors of North Korea, but if caught, they are punished or killed. When we look at the horrible things going on around us, we are able to put our lives in perspective, and even praise God that we have the life that we do, along with praying for those who have it much worse off that we do. There are modern day famines happening as I type this right now. Women and children starving to death. Some children sick and needing medicine and vaccines, but are unable to obtain them, so they just die. In all of this, we ought suffer with them, grieving the sin that has caused all of this, yet rejoicing that it will all come to an end One Day. As God promises, we read from Revelation 21: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The site with Eusebius’s writings is: “Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace.” You may also get “Eusebius: the Church History” book on Amazon HERE. The free resources are wonderful of the audio and text, but some may prefer the actual book. I have it myself and find it to be helpful as I love to read about our mothers and fathers who came before us. A book my priest and I are going over is a great one: "The Fathers of the Church" by Mike Aquilina. There are anywhere between two and ten pages per Church Father. Easy to read. I recommend Philip Shaff’s eight volumes: “History of the Christian Church” in hard back on Amazon. It is also on Kindle for a much, much more affordable price. Another resource is of the Church Fathers. If you are interested in the Church Fathers, you will find a gold mine HERE. At the same link, the site gives the Church Councils, from Carthage under Cyprian to Nicaea II. More on the Church Fathers is found at The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL). Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE
Paul Washer is a loved preacher by many evangelicals, but his message is twisted when it comes to the Law and Gospel Distinction.
Instead of me writing too much about him and his message, though I have much to say, I’ll give some resources for those who would like to know for themselves what Paul Washer says. Fair critiques. I’ve said for quite some time that he is in direct violation of Scripture. Look what Jesus says and then compare it to what Paul Washer does going from church to church, city to city, yanking up the weeds (tares / unbelievers) in the Church only to harm the wheat (true believers). Note what I put in bold: He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 13.24-30) We are told not to do this. I have run into many Washerites who are so bogged down with the Law, yet they have sensitive consciences, needing the Gospel. It is true that when a minister of the Word of God gives the Law, it is through the Holy Spirit that people will feel conviction, contrition, and finally repent, but to slam people with the Law is unbiblical! It is hurtful. I’d highly recommend reading online for free C.F.W. Walther’s Law and Gospel or you can purchase it HERE. If you follow Washer and read Walther, there will be many light bulb moments. As promised, here are the resources of critiques of Paul Washer. Also, if you know someone hurting from his neonomian teachings, people feeling like, “what use is it? I can’t ever seem to advance in my sanctification,” please give them this blog post or at least the resources and give them Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! He is the healing balm for those suffering under what Martin Luther’s description of despair is: anfechtung. That troubled soul already crushed by the Law ought not be compounded with more Law. Resource 1: Gospel Assurance and Warnings—Book Review This is a book review by Rev. Rich Shields, whose blog can be found HERE. “I am writing this review as someone who is outside the Reformed/Evangelical community, namely as a pastor in the confessing Lutheran tradition, but also one who is keenly aware of the need to challenge much of what passes as the Christian faith.” Resource 2: The Preparationism of Paul Washer This is a podcast from Rev. Jordan Cooper, whose blog posts, podcasts, and books can be found HERE. “On today’s program, I discussed the connection between the preparationist theology of early American Puritanism and it’s connection to the theology of Paul Washer. I review of ten minute segment of a Paul Washer sermon…” Resource 3: A Critique of the Theology of Paul Washer A fair critique by Rev. Jordan Cooper: “On today’s program I reviewed clips from sermons by Calvinistic baptist preacher Paul Washer. I discussed why I believe his theology to be dangerous.” Some notable quotes by Paul Washer: “Don’t come down here and just pray a little prayer and think every thing’s okay and go back. Deal with the fact that you are being confronted with the Gospel that demands everything from you.” ~Paul Washer The Gospel does not demand anything. The Law demands. The Gospel says, “I did this for you.” The Law says, “do this.” He has it backwards, the same as James White does when he says, “The gospel is not a suggestion. It is a command.” – James White and “The gospel is not what God has done for you. The gospel command is ‘Repent and believe.” – James White “I don’t need to be a prophet or the son of a prophet to know what your God is. I only have to watch your life.” ~Paul Washer Interesting since Mormons are ofttimes much better at serving their neighbor. Paul Washer’s wife doubted her salvation, brought it up to her husband, and she found she was not saved (I’m skeptical), so if it’s true that Paul Washer can just watch your life to know who your God is, why didn’t he detect it from his closest neighbor, his wife? Forgiven much, Tamara Jack Check out my 90 lb. Weight Loss Journey with Weight Watchers HERE! To contact me, email: [email protected] (You can contact me for prayer, too.) Where to find me: Facebook: AssisiRosaries Page HERE YouTube: AssisiRosaries Channel HERE YouTube: Tamara Wigs Out Channel HERE Instagram: AssisiRosaries HERE Instagram: TamaraWigsOut HERE |
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