Testimonies from Ex-Roman Catholic Priests and Others

[Solo]

Christians Cared for Me

By Kirk Patrick Haggerty

I was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles, California. My parents were devout Catholics. I remember going to Mass with my mother when I was a young boy. The priests were consecrating the host, and the altar boys were ringing bells at their sides while kneeling next to the altar. I asked my mother what was happening, and she told me to be quiet because Jesus himself stood before us in the form of the bread-host. I didn’t understand what she meant. I couldn’t see Jesus. I only saw the priest holding the bread-host high in the air. Jesus, to me, was a picture of a man I had seen in a children’s Bible.

It wasn’t intellectual thinking that started me questioning the Catholic faith, but a personal event. When I was nineteen years old, I was involved in a Catholic teen retreat called Turning Point. We were planning a seminar when one of the girls attending the retreat asked us a question. Her name was Rose, and she had recently become a born-again Christian. She asked the group, “Who is Jesus?†She asked me, “Who is Jesus?†I couldn’t give her an answer. I was stunned. After years of going to retreats and attending Sunday Mass, I couldn’t say who Jesus was. Rose provided her own answer by saying, “Jesus is my savior.†The whole concept of Jesus as savior was new to me! I had never heard that before. What did it mean?

One day in the fall of 1986, when I was going to college, I saw some elderly men passing out little green books to the students. Most of the students didn’t take them or left them lying all over the campus grounds. I found one of them on a bench. It was a Bible. More specifically, it was a New Testament and Psalms (King James Version) printed by the Gideons. I found it interesting, so I placed it in my book bag and went on my way.

A couple of months later, I found myself facing a variety of trials. I had little money and had to work to pay for college. My mother was a widow and had to work hard to make ends meet, and my older brother had become very rebellious. Life in the household became very difficult. Nothing seemed to be right. In addition to my financial struggles, I wrestled with what I should do with the rest of my life. All in all it was a very difficult time.

Shortly after Christmas, I was sitting in my room thinking about all the problems whirling around me and feeling very sad. I opened my book bag and found the little green Gideons Bible. I thumbed through it and in the back found something like a “Romans Road†tract. It was a simple four-point presentation of the Gospel using passages from the Book of Romans to explain the Gospel. It talked about God’s love (Romans 5:8), our sin and condemnation (Romans 3:23), Jesus’ death for our sin and salvation (Romans 6:23) and our decision to accept by faith, Jesus as our savior (Romans 10:9-13).

I suddenly remembered Rose’s statement about who Jesus was in her life. At first I thought it looked too easy. As a “good†Catholic I had to admit that I was a sinner, but at the moment none of my good actions were helping me very much. There was a signature line at the bottom of the page where I could mark my intention to accept Jesus as my savior. I hesitated, but thought to myself, “Yes, this is what I want to do. It is not what my mother wants or what the church wants, but what I want.†So I signed it!

At first nothing happened. For several months, nothing happened. Deep inside me I somehow began to feel a calling from God. There is no other way of explaining it. I was still going to Mass and doing all the Catholic things. I thought God was calling me to be a priest!

In October 1987, God opened another door in my spiritual journey. He led me to a Christian meeting at the student center. Here was something entirely different. It was completely new. The students wanted to know and worship God. They wanted to study about Him in the Bible. I liked it so much that I kept going back. I joined one of the Bible studies and met once a week to go over the basics of the Christian faith.

At this point I was still very confused. My Bible study group knew I was a Catholic, but I never told them I was thinking of becoming a priest. I saw the dynamic faith and knowledge of Jesus that these non-Catholic believers possessed. I still believed that the Catholic Church was the true church, and I thought that God was calling me to take these principles with me to seminary and ultimately to the Catholic Church as a priest.

I approached my parish priest and told him I wanted to go to seminary. Little did I realize that I was setting myself on a collision course. I had three unforeseen problems. First, the Catholic Church would never accept me as a priest if I were to apply and preach the biblical principles I was learning at this Christian organization. Second, I was going into the priesthood to escape problems that God wanted me to deal with. Third, I was not prepared to live the celibate life of a priest. I had dated girls since high school and had a girlfriend during this period.

In 1989 I moved away from home to live in a house with 4 other students. All of them were born-again Christians. One evening one of my roommates named Don approached me about the Catholic Church. He was convinced that the Catholic Church was apostate and cult-like. He claimed it taught a works-salvation, an unbiblical priesthood, an unbiblical sacrifice, and an idolatrous worship of Mary and the saints. He also claimed the Church was led by a pope who was accountable to no one.

At first I was angry with Don. I tried to defend my Catholic faith, but I had no good counter-arguments. Don told me, “Kirk, I can see your sincerity, but I am convinced that you are sincerely wrong.†He challenged me to prove him wrong by comparing Catholic doctrine with the Bible alone. I did my research and did some asking around, but it took time.

I graduated from college in 1990, and that same summer I decided not to apply for seminary. By now I had learned that ALL believers in Christ are priests (1 Peter 2:4-9), and they ALL have direct access to God (Romans 5:1-2). Furthermore I had concluded that Jesus made the final sacrifice for sin on the cross almost two thousand years ago. A constant priestly sacrifice of the Eucharist is absolutely unnecessary and unscriptural (Hebrews 10:11-18).

In 1992 I moved to Germany to get married. I met my wife at college a couple of years earlier. A foreign student from Munich, she was also a Catholic who became a born-again Christian. Meanwhile, spiritual growth for us was slow until 1994, when a new pastor, Lars, arrived at the expat church in Munich. One evening my wife and I visited Lars. He pulled out a Bible and showed me from the Gospel According to Mark where Jesus accused the Pharisees of subverting God’s truth with their own religious traditions (Mark 7:1-13). Lars then made an analogy between the Catholic Church and the Pharisees, and showed how the Gospel was smothered layer upon layer with traditions that have accumulated through the centuries by the Catholic Church. This impressed me very much and I wanted to learn more from him.

After a period of study and prayer, My wife and I decided to receive believers’ baptism. In March 1995, we were baptized along with a small group of other believers in the Olympic swimming pool in Munich.

God has shown me many things in my growth as a Christian, and I am confident that Jesus will guide us by His grace daily until we see Him face to face one day in great joy.

For Catholic readers who perhaps wants to know more. I would recommend the following books for study:

• The Gospel According to Rome; by James McCarthy [/*:m:8a97e]
• Faith Alone; by R.C. Sproul [/*:m:8a97e]
• Far from Rome, Near to God; by Richard Bennett.[/*:m:8a97e]

There may be much confusion to former Catholics after accepting Christ as saviour, just as it happened to me. Many teachings in the Catholic mindset could take years to work out. The Catholic who is recently born again may still have a performance attitude stuck in his/her mind; that is, one may not completely understand God’s perfect love, grace, forgiveness, and acceptance for the sinner who pleads to Jesus for mercy in prayer and repentance. To some Catholics, deep down inside, one still needs to do something, or perform, in order to be saved, loved and accepted.

Communication with other Christians involved in biblical churches is essential for former Catholics to grow in their faith! Don’t be afraid or ashamed to be honest with other Christians and say to them that you are confused over many things concerning Catholicism and the Bible. In my early years as a Christian I hesitated for a long time before I was able to open up and get help. Because of this my spiritual growth was stifled. In my case, it was not “head knowledge†that finally made me decide to leave the Catholic Church, it was personal relationships with Christians who love and care. Remember as a new believer, you need to be reminded daily of the following biblical facts:

You are deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted,
And complete in Christ!
Amen

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test11.htm

 

[Solo]

Knowing Jesus my Saviour

By Dr Abraham Cutajar

I was born and brought up in Malta, an island that is "more Catholic than the Vatican". Some days after I was born I was sprinkled with "holy water." By this ceremony I was supposed to have been made a Christian. I was sent to the nun's school just before I was three. I used to be stood upon the nun's table and called to recite in front of the class. Not only could I recite the "Hail Mary" but also the much longer "Hail holy Queen." The sister would make the class tell me "bravu" (good boy). Pride was pouring in.

One day came the "Dun" (the honourable title of Maltese priests) and I was called to recite in front of him. Forty-five years later I still remember them talk that I should become a priest. An aunt was persuaded that I should become take holy orders and accordingly bought me a toy altar, a leaden cross and a set of candlesticks.

The candles burned out in minutes and the leaden candlesticks were first misshapen and then used to make graffiti on the walls that my father had labouriosly white-washed with lime. The box-like toy altar imprisoned a hapless baby gecko, some ladybirds and woodlice.

For this unseemly behaviour I was taken to a much-loved pious priest called Dun Gorg (who recently became the first Maltese to be canonised, that is, declared a saint by the pope). He granted them their wish -- he laid his hand upon my head and prayed. Many years later I was to become one his disciples.

At this point I want to make very clear that although the actions of these people were totally against the Word of God, they were acting in good faith as children of Rome. I am sure they were doing their best for the good of my soul in accordance with the teaching of Rome and the culture of the Maltese nation. They are very dear to me and I pray daily for them that if it is God's will He may save them.

I went through the state-school system, Catholic to its core. By the age of five I was attending mass, garbling in Latin without understanding. Then I passed the examination for my First Holy Communion and received a certificate and a "Bravu" for parroting the question and answer of the Catechism (by the Italian Gasparri) notebook which was translated into Maltese many generations ago. I was then led to "Confession". I had to confess my personal sins before my First Holy Communion the night before and had to be extra good lest I sin and would not be able to receive Holy Communion.

The first Communion is a momentous event in the life of the Maltese. Each family spends a small fortune for each child -- the girls in splendid miniature bridal costume and the boys in immaculate white. Even though it was hot June I wore a frilled shirt, a white jacket and short trousers, white gloves, socks and shoes. All adorned with the medal of the "sacred hearts" of Jesus and Mary. A beautifully embroidered armband with golden tassles depicted the Bleeding Sacred Heart, a golden Chalice and the host and ears of wheat and black grapes. O what a contrast did these make with the white apparel! No wonder that an aunt "who knew how" came to dress me up early in the morning. Then I was escorted to church. The fashion parades of the parents and their relatives, the priestly festal robes of gold and purple, the candles and huge crystal chandeliers, the red carpet strewn with red and white carnations and roses; then the church bells, the fire-works, the church organ, the Latin choir, the smells of incense, crushed flowers and herbs mixed with that of cordite from the fireworks.

Truly I believed that Jesus had come to me on that day and I felt very happy. Soon I was whizzed in a car to have my photo taken. My great-uncle, a professional, made a splendid job to make me look so angelic reading a little white children's missal....Then off to a party at home where I was met by numerous relations who bestowed upon me more little white missals, fonts for holy water, rosary beads of every weight shape size and colour -- some already blessed by a priest and some others still awaiting the needed blessing at my next confession -- various statues and pictures of saints, angels crosses and even pictures of our Lord. The new toy candlesticks were hastily removed from sight as my pyromania was to be feared.

Can you imagine what a powerful influence Romanism has on a child's mind? My experience was not exceptional but average for a working class family. Poorer families would have borrowed so that their children would not be at a disadvantage. I shall thus not elaborate on Confirmation the following year at the age of seven. Rome believes in "catch 'em early and you've got 'em". Suffice the sight of the mitred archbishop, his escorts, his Cadillac, pearls, purple, scarlet and gem on his ring underneath which I was told lay a splinter from the Lord's cross. And then he approaches and "confirms" and anoints the lad with a fragrant ointment. I still remember the slaps on my cheek, a token that henceforth I was to prove myself a "soldier of Christ".

Indeed I was soon enrolled in the "Milites Christi Regis", the soldiers of Christ the King, a branch of an organization called Catholic Action. There I learned to defend the pope and his magisterium while playing billiards. But we also played a brutal game called "harba," part pitched battle, part rugby without a ball and part wrestling on stones. I lost blood, skin and clothing but still have my front teeth. If the pope needed us we were ready -- we were so reckless...

Our enemies were no longer the legendary Turks but the Russian Communists and the notorious Protestants. We were told to pray for them but never to have anything to do with them. When Kennedy was killed we were told to mourn because he was one of us -- a Catholic. I concluded it was either Russians or Protestants who killed him.

One may conclude that life in a " Catholic" country was blissful. At the time the Maltese seemed "truer" than most people but as I grew I learned more and more about treachery in politics, in business as well as in private and public life.

During secondary school I could have been carried away by the currents of worldly and devilish evil. Some of my mates were already fornicating, stealing what they could, fouling with their mouths and going to the cinema for X-rated films. As it happened a disciple of Dun Gorg persuaded me to attend the lessons of the Societas Doctrinae Christianae (Society of Christian Doctrine), also known as MUSEUM. The offer was attendance at catechism classes with football following. I lied about my age so that he'd put me in a class with older boys. I also intended to scorn and taunt and I was successful.

Although they preached nothing but Catholicism they used Scripture, and they used Maltese not Latin. The Lord used them to teach me His word and I love them very much and pray to see them saved. I learned to resist the temptations of the self, the world and the devil. I believed revelation came from the Bible and the Tradition of the Church of Rome. I was a devotee of Mary and other saints. I swore blind obedience to the Pontiff and to his teaching. All the same I realized that I was sinful and sinning constantly.

Sinning constantly left me in fear of losing my soul. One lustful look at a girl out of a bus window on the way to school condemned me to Hell. Weekly confession was not enough. I applied self-mortification intermittently and prayed as often as I remembered. I was getting frustrated with the Lord who was not making me the saint I wanted to be. I played football as hard as possible and ran or cycled to exhaustion so that at night I'd be so tired that evil thoughts would not come to me. I found solace in the rituals of Rome but at other times I found them meaningless. I was paying lip service but my heart was away from the Lord.

Come what may, I had to earn my salvation. Jesus did his part. Now I must do mine. I must start working. So I thought. But how do I placate Divine Justice since His Word says "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

I tried harder. In my late teens I started teaching younger ones. What better sacrifice can one make than giving up one's right to marriage and lead a celibate life, just like the priests? My mentor often said "a great reward demands great work." If this was a ticket to heaven it was still cheap, and I could fortify myself with harsher self-mortification. I decided to have full membership in the "Society" despite my inadequacy. This demanded celibacy. For me it wasn't a problem to be misunderstood even by parents, some priests and fellow Catholics. I was persuaded this was my vocation, the cross I had to bear to follow Christ.

I was happy. The disciples met daily to study Scripture and theology, for prayer, rituals and devotions and for convivial conversation afterwards. We were a brotherhood and all I know from them is brotherly love, sincerity, mutual support and a desire to bring upon earth God's kingdom by preaching the Gospel. We then planned our teaching campaigns under the guidance of the elders and ensured that we were totally obedient to the hierarchy of the church. Some carried the mission abroad. Having to separate from them was a big wrench in my heart, but I had to leave Malta to continue my medical studies in London. The government of the day had closed the medical school.

I remained faithful to the Society as long as possible but lonely and starved of fellowship I was very vulnerable to the devil. The hectic life as a medical student and worse as a junior doctor made it very difficult to pray. I was not made of steel. I understood I had no vocation for celibacy, not any more anyway.

In contrast to the Roman priesthood, my celibacy was voluntary. In tears I wrote my resignation from the Societas Doctrinae Christianae. I married a good Catholic wife in the church at Hamrun.

I was now spiritually comfortable, even smug. I was "not bad" and far less aware of my sinfulness, I performed the rituals and did some good "for God." I became more tolerant and more humanistic and accepted a lot of moral relativism in others. I felt mature. God was so good He'll save us all if we were genuine. Prayer was limited to a residue; occasionally interspersed with some fervour in times of need. Sometimes we said the rosary. We never missed Sunday Mass. God was at a safe distance had not my wife started searching in Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. She was also fond of Dun Gorg, founder of SDC. We left Malta and came back to England in 1990.

In ways which only the Lord can bring up she started questioning the Scriptural basis of the Roman Catholic religion and was finding it wanting. If not wanting, at least it was replete with man-made additions. You can imagine how angry I got and for weeks we argued passionately. I had reason to get angry because despite my intensive teaching I could not rebut that which is contrary to Scripture. I was relying on "Tradition" to persuade her that the Roman religion was true.

One Sunday morning she told me, "I will come to mass as your companion not as a believer." Two Sundays later my son, then aged eight, said he will not come to a Roman Church anymore. I was in tears. I was hale, wealthy, successful and was bringing up the family reasonably well. Why did the Lord let me down? This was seven years ago. My parish priest was unhelpful, he could at least have consoled me and no one could understand. I went on a retreat to ask questions and pray with the monks at Ampleforth monastery.

After some years a truce was established in the family. We were settled as long as we did not talk about religion. But once again the Lord was at work. While arguing with my wife and son about their denial of evolution I found out that not only was evolution (as taught to me by Jesuit biologists and philosophers) anti-Biblical but also very bad science. With time the Lord showed me that there is no logic and no Scriptural basis for purgatory, that works do not save, that there is only One Mediator and only One High Priest and that the Scriptural basis for the "Sacrament" was dodgy and subject to speculation.

Even with these strong fallacies of Catholic teaching I clung even more firmly to Rome. I forced myself, if it was ever possible, to will myself to believe that the host given to me at communion was truly the Lord Jesus. I tried to force myself to believe that at Mass our Lord is truly sacrificed as a re-enactment of Calvary. I got involved with ecumenism even when I could see it was a deceit of Rome and the devil. I kept saying "Rome says so, it must be true". Thus I actively resisted the Word of God to cling desperately to Rome.

While on holiday in Malta I took my wife and my son to the Evangelical church that met at Hal Luqa. I had already made it clear that I was a fervent and convinced Romanist and I was there only as a companion to my wife and son. However, at the end of the service I went to take issue with the preacher who was Paul Mizzi. Rather then rebut my arguments, Paul simply said, 'Just take and read the Scriptures. Then decide what is TRUEST to the Word of God:- What you have seen us do and heard us preach OR What you see Rome doing and preaching ?'

Months of troubled searching in the Scriptures showed me clearly that the Roman Catholic religion is ALIEN and at times AGAINST the Word of God. To be true to my conscience I had to leave Romanism. Yet till the Lord took hold of me I clung to Rome with all my might.

One evening I went Nicodemus-like to Dr. Joe Mizzi while on a week's holiday in Malta. I was not humble though. I wanted to argue my points in favour of Rome. As an evangelical believer he patiently explained the Scriptures. I saw the point but resisted. Likewise I discussed with Mr. W. H. Molland and Mr P Nutkins of North Road Chapel in Bideford, Devon; with Mr. D. Blanton of California and with Mr. R. Lentzch in Malta. They gave me passages of Scriptures to read but I refused to read them. I read The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church instead. But I was not satisfied with the explanations of the catechism. The "two-edged Sword" proved much more powerful. At mass in church I was now a spectator praying to be convinced that I was re-enacting Calvary. My soul was a black hole. The Lord persuaded me to go and read the Scriptures I feared, Romans 3 and the epistle to the Hebrews. It was so clear. I read the Bible more and more, trying to clutch at straws. I found none. Purgatory, Marian devotion, indulgences, salvation by works, infant sprinkling, Peter going to Rome, Sacraments....I found NONE, none at all. Was the mass anywhere to be found? It is so central to Roman Catholicism. Did I find once an exhortation to go to Mass? No. Not once.

Instead I found out about sovereign election by free grace, the ONCE ONLY Sacrifice of the ONE and ONLY Saviour Jesus Christ.

When I saw what the mass really meant, I knew I was excommunicated from Rome ipso facto. Rome fell down upon me with an iron hand. I found myself desperate and bereaved without consolation. I felt that sin was of my very substance. I knew I was abhorrent to God and was going to Hell as I deserved. For many days I endured this state and would have died in it had I not cried, "Lord, what should I do to saved?" The answer came in Acts 16:27-33, so simple as to be a stumbling block, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved"

By the grace and mercy of God, I was quickened by the Holy Ghost who brought me to repentance. Then I stepped over that stumbling block: I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and now I am saved.

I thank and praise the Lord for saving me in His appointed time. Hallowed be His Name!

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test01.htm

 

[Solo]

Ye thought evil against me;
but God meant it unto good

By Ron Kempen

I was raised in a very Catholic home with an older brother, Robert, whom the Lord used mightily later in my conversion. Robert was crippled all of his life. As a child I loved being an altar boy. I was taught that I had to be a Catholic to get to Heaven. After our mother died in 1960, when I was eight, things started to change as the Lord was working His plan to reach us. Our stepmother taught Robert how to physically take care of himself. Praise God, because this eventually enabled Robert to go to college where he got saved.

I got married in 1972 and raised my 2 children as Catholic, even making them attend stations during Lent. Bound to his wheelchair, my Christian brother would try to witness to me, but I wouldn't listen because “he didn't know the real world.†At that time my life revolved around football, bowling and drinking.

Then a series of events occurred by which the Lord got my attention. In 1989, I received a phone call saying that my brother was seriously ill; he was in intensive care and he may not live through the night. He spent ten months in intensive care. Every weekend I'd make the eighty-mile trip to spend time with Robert. He was so weak at first that he could only communicate by eye blinking. Later on he could use his finger to spell his thoughts. Often he'd request that I get a video for us. Hmmmm, they were always Christian videos. Imagine that! After the ten months, he was released, but he needed constant care because when he would fall asleep, he'd stop breathing. So in many ways I was exposed to “true Christians.â€Â

After drinking I’d come home and watch Jack Van Impe because there was nothing else on TV and they would talk about end time events. Things got tough at work and I had to quit. My new job turned out to be much worse. Thanks to God, later on He provided me with a good job. I was 40 and hard of hearing, yet I was one of eight people chosen out of more than 450 applicants. Of course, my brother would send me tapes from his church including one that drew my attention to James 2:10-11 which exposes the ridiculous notion of the so-called venial sins.

In 1993, after all these seeds were planted, I decided to see what the Scriptures say and when Billy Graham offered a study Bible, I ordered a copy. The time was right to know who's telling the truth. It took two years to get through the New Testament, during which time I also was taking Catholic catechism classes. This finally woke me up to the fact that what I was being told as a Catholic did not match with what God's Word had to say.

In April of '95, I came home from my Catholic catechism class and announced that I was leaving the Catholic Church. My wife responded that if I did, she would divorce me. I couldn't shut up; I had to witness. Unfortunately, I did that with much zeal, but often without knowledge, and people didn't appreciate this.

Around December of '98 my wife of 27 years presented the divorce papers. A month later, while Robert was studying Scriptures, the Lord took him home. My life was really falling apart. But God was still in control! A Christian family rented me a room on their farm. All I owned was my brother’s bed, dresser and computer as my former wife got the house that I had just finished the payments for. I also had two very good Christian friends that kept encouraging me to wait and see the plans that God had for me, telling me that God would not abandon His children.

I can assure you that God does take care of His children! On November 6 of 1999, I met a Christian girl on the internet, and we felt it was a divine appointment for several reasons. In February of 2000, I told my friends on the farm that it was time for me to move back to the city. This girl from Pennsylvania married me in July of 2000 and moved to Wisconsin, just one year after my divorce, despite knowing that I now had Parkinson's disease. We looked for a house, but we did not succeed. We wondered if we would ever own a house. Our pastor read Luke 18:29,30: “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake. Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.†This message encouraged us and what follows is almost unbelievable.

Two dear Christian friends had bought an old run down house as an investment. I didn't know what they were doing with their little project, but having no other openings, I finally checked the house they were working on. It was an old house, stripped down to the studs, but it was perfect for what we needed and affordable. This house just happened to be the very same house in which my ex-wife lived when I met her way back in 1971! Coincidence? Not anymore then when I moved off the farm, their daughter moved back home, and we got to use her furniture in our first apartment. Again, God's timing is perfect. How does anyone plan this type of events?

In closing, I'd like to give a praise report. My two children are saved. For the past three years, I need only to look at Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.†The divorce that was meant to harm me because I became a Christian, God used for my good. I learned from experience that He never deserts His children. He provides all my needs and not my greeds. I have a wonderful Christian wife, a house, and a ministry to reach the lost souls of Catholicism. Most of all, I serve the living God.

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test02.htm

 

[Solo]

Saved at 33,000 ft

By Rick Michelena

I would like to share my personal testimony and spiritual journey towards a saving relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

I was born into a very devout Catholic family. I served as an altar boy until the age of twenty. Our family attended church every week. When it was necessary, as a part of my altar boy service, we even attended Mass daily.

I attended a Catholic school and completed many CCD classes.

I eventually left the coal mining area, of my hometown, and pursued a career in aviation. As I worked my way up through various levels of aviation jobs and experience, I eventually was hired by a major US air-carrier when I was just twenty-seven.

During the first day of our "new-hire" pilot orientation

class, we received our freshly issued company ID's, our initial aircraft fleet assignments, and a complete aircraft manual.

I'll never forget the instructor then saying, "Gentlemen, welcome to Continental Airlines. I will be your ground school "systems" instructor over the next few weeks. Before you is the 727 flight manual. While you are employed as a pilot for this company, you will be required to know the information contained within it. Each of you will learn how to research and address any problems that occurs while performing your duty as a pilot."

I left ground school highly motivated and looked forward to simulator training. Before long, I was flying as a line pilot. At the same time, I began to now enjoy some of the things my airline career now offered.

My wife and I moved out of the mobile home we were living in and, at the age of 30, we built a brand new 4600 square ft. home. At the same time, we were both driving new cars and also had money in the bank.

Despite, all the material gains, I had now achieved, I was not happy with my life. I knew something was missing, but at the time, I did not understand that it was God who was missing from my life.

One day, I saw a Flight Attendant whom I had known years before. She told me that her life was now changed and that she had received Jesus Christ into her life. At that time, I backed off and said, "That's nice, I hope you're happy," because I wanted to get away from her.

However, this was only the beginning of God putting people into my life. Others soon followed and told me about Jesus Christ and how I needed Him in my life. I dismissed most of what they said because I was a Catholic and I thought I knew Jesus Christ. Yet, God was still busy planting seeds.

As I began to think about my own relationship with God, I soon realized that I was the one who had pulled away from Him. I then remembered the flight attendants and many others who had challenged me about studying the Bible.

One day, I thought to myself, "If I can trust my flight manual for my career, why can't I trust the Bible for my faith." After all, as a Catholic, I never really read or studied the Bible.

On the night of Oct, 03, 1993, I was flying between Las Vegas and Houston. I was flying with another Christian and had listened to him talk about Jesus Christ earlier in the trip. Over the skies of El Paso, TX, at 33,000 feet, I asked Jesus to forgive all my sins and I have not been the same since.

I went home and told my wife what I had experienced and she immediately said, "You got saved tonight." You see, she was a back-slidden Christian who had no right to marry an unbeliever.

The truth is, we almost divorced because I was lost and I hindered her Christian walk. Incredibly, God has restored our marriage and we just celebrated 22 years together.

From that day on, I earnestly began to study Scripture. I even applied to the Bible, the very same zeal I had for airplanes. As a result, I grew in my spiritual maturity and soon began telling others about Jesus Christ and what He had done for me.

Eventually God allowed me to share the Gospel with many, many, other Catholics. Some of the first people I told were my family and friends. I never realized what God had planned for me. My family became extremely upset that I left the Catholic church and were convinced that I was the one in error. This lead me into an even greater reliance upon the Bible.

I soon realized that God's Will could never go against God's Word. Therefore, I came to rely upon scripture alone. The knowledge gained from the Bible now gave me the confidence to use the Bible as the only authority for my faith. I now regarded the Bible as my "emergency flight manual."

In pilot training, we were told to trust our flight manuals and the procedures that had been established within them, because these procedures have already been tested over time. We also understood that the flight manual keep us from making the same deadly mistakes that others have made.

I did not leave my Catholic faith because of what the Bible said, I left my Catholic faith because of the things the church was teaching that did not line up with the teachings of scripture. I have now been teaching a Bible study class for ten years and over 80% of my class is ex-Catholic.

I grew up with religion, the Bible now pointed me in the direction of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. I still pray for those who remain blinded to the simplicity of the gospel and the incredible life that is immediately offered to every man, woman, or child who comes to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test09.htm

 

[Solo]

Underneath the Everlasting Arms
By Jean Curtis

I was one of eight children born to Roman Catholic parents. As far back as I can remember, religion was very important in our home. My Mom made sure that we followed the rules of the Catholic faith including infant baptism, first Holy Communion, confirmation and confession.

My Dad was a hard worker when he was sober. Sometimes I’d hear my Mom talking to a relative saying that many times my Dad's wages were seized because of unpaid debts. I didn't fully understand what that was all about until I was older. When Dad wasn’t drinking you couldn’t ask for a nicer Dad. But when he got into the booze it was a very scary time for our family.

We lived in fear of my Dad when he was drunk. Many times the town Police Officer would be called to our home because Mom was terrified of what my father would do under the influence of alcohol. Nothing was done to my Dad. The Police Officer would talk to him and try to get him to settle down and the Officer would leave. For some reason we grew up believing that this was normal in certain families.

I married at 18 and left the area where I was born and raised. My husband was from a large family as well. His mother died leaving seven children behind. The baby was under a year old and the oldest was two years short of being a teenager. His Dad tried his best to raise the children on his own.

When my husband and I met, little did we realize where our dysfunctional lives would take us. We had five children of our own. It was the unexpected pregnancy of our fifth child that changed the course of our lives forever.

I didn't want any more babies. Four was about all that I could handle. To my dismay I discovered I was expecting another child; for some reason I was filled with a fear I had never experienced with any of the other pregnancies. I had always felt my healthiest when I was pregnant, but not this time. A fifth baby on the way should not have turned into the tail spin it did. This fear had nothing to do with having another baby to care for. It seemed to be directed at the actual delivery of this baby.

Emotionally I was a wreck. I couldn't understand what was happening. I felt so alone in my fear. I was a woman, and women had babies; it was a normal fact of life. What was there to be afraid of? I'd already had four normal pregnancies and deliveries, but for some reason, this time, I was overcome with fear.

I remember having thoughts like, ‘When I deliver this baby I will either die in the delivery room, or if I survive, I would be sent to a psychiatric hospital because I would have gone out of my mind during the delivery.’ Where were these thoughts coming from, and why? What was happening to me?

One time I did open up, sharing this fear with my Mom (she had given birth to eight babies). Her answer was, ‘Women have babies all the time, we were made to have babies.’ I never again spoke about my fears to anyone else.

In order that no-one would see what a coward I was, I would wait until my husband was away at work, the older children at school, and younger ones down for a nap, then I would cry and cry till no more tears would come. This was my daily routine throughout the duration of my pregnancy. When I had to leave the house to do errands, on the outside I was smiling but on the inside I was crying.

Whenever I tried to rest throughout the day or go to bed at the end of the day, it was as if the room would turn into the hospital delivery room. The doctors in that room looked so cold and unfeeling in their gowns and masks, and the room appeared even colder.

One night my husband went to bed before me. He had to get up early in the morning to go to work and I was dreading the thought of having to go to bed and go through that experience of the room turning into the delivery room. I couldn't confide in anyone how I was feeling, not even my husband. Nobody would understand. I couldn't even understand it myself. I finally did go to bed and again the room (in my mind) began to change from a bedroom to a delivery room.

My husband and I were devout Catholics. We went to Mass every Sunday and holy days; abstained from meat on Fridays; brought up our children in the Catholic faith and were obedient to the teachings of the Church. The only Bible I saw was the one at church. We never owned a Bible when we were growing up. I didn't have one in my own home either. It was just the book the priest read from during the Mass.

We knew about God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but God was in heaven and we were down here on earth. Not only that. God had bigger problems to deal with like wars and famines; He didn't have time to deal with the problems of one little woman who was afraid to have a baby.

That night as I was lying in bed and the fear was beginning to mount, I began to pray the rosary as I had been accustomed. That was the only way I knew how to pray. I didn't dare go directly to God because I was a sinner, and God, from what I understood, ‘hated sinners.’ I had also been taught that Mary was not a sinner and she would plead our case to God because she was His mother. He would listen to her and do whatever she asked of Him on our behalf. As I was praying, the fear was escalating and I was praying like a drowning man going down for the third and last time. Out of desperation I cried, ‘God help me’.

Suddenly I was aware of arms holding me. At first I thought my husband had wakened and that he had noticed my distress and was comforting me. When I looked my husband was still asleep.

At that moment I felt like a small child being cradled in the arms of a loving parent and held close to his heart. In those arms I felt so safe. It was as though a huge weight had been pressing down on me for such a long time and now it was gone. In those arms I experienced the peace that passed all understanding. I didn't want to fall asleep. I didn’t want those arms to stop holding me.

Eventually sleep did come. When I woke up in the morning to get my husband off to work and the children up for school, I was so busy I didn't have time to reflect on anything except the tasks before me. Once things quieted down, I became aware that I was whistling a happy tune while clearing away breakfast. I hadn't felt joyful in months. I was still pregnant but something had definitely changed. The fear that had once held me in its grip was still present, but now it didn't take over my life or control me. Bit by bit, and piece by piece, I found myself remembering the arms that had held me with so much love and compassion.

I could think rationally again, whereas before fear ruled over my thought life. I had to see my family doctor a few days later. When I asked him what my chances were of having a short labor, he told me that this baby was bigger than my other babies. My last baby was nearly nine pounds. I should have felt quite fearful over this news, but I didn’t. Was I concerned, yes; was I frightened, no. Two weeks before the baby was due to arrive the doctor told me the baby still hadn't turned and that if it didn't turn before my due date they would have to do a Caesarean.

A week later the baby still hadn't turned, so I was scheduled for surgery. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with what was going to happen in the delivery room. The big day arrived. After the surgery and the safe arrival of our beautiful little daughter, the doctor came to see me in my hospital room. Still a bit groggy from the effects of the anesthetic, I asked him what the baby weighed. His answer was six pounds three ounces. My first thought was that she had been far tinier than all my other babies. But the doctor began to tell me what they discovered during the Caesarean.

It wasn't until they did the surgery that they found a huge fibroid tumour blocking the birth canal. The doctor went on to say they missed cutting into the tumour by a fraction and that my baby could not have been born the normal way.

All through the pregnancy my fear had been directed at the actual delivery. It was never about my not wanting the baby once a baby was on the way. It was about getting the baby into the world safely and whether I would be able to look after the other children with my faculties intact.

My thoughts went back to that night early in my pregnancy when I had cried out to God. Something happened that night that set me on a path to find the One whose arms had held me.

I always had head knowledge of God as a devout Catholic. I had learned about God when I was growing up but He was distant and uncaring, somebody who punished me whenever I messed up…and I was always messing up.

The arms that held me that night were not the arms of an uncaring and punishing God. These were the arms of a loving God.

As I look back over that time I see all the ways God moved in my life. He guided me gently to a place where one day the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus, and what His life, death and resurrection was really about, would take root in my heart and bring forth fruit. He saved me, my husband, our children, and people who saw the changes in us and wanted to know the secret to our joy.

I accepted Jesus as my Saviour and asked Him to be Lord of my life. My life has never been the same. Has it been free of problems? No, but now I have a relationship with my Helper, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I could take my problems to Him every day and know that He would always be with me. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think according to the power that works in us. That power had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with God and what happened at Calvary two thousand years ago.

For a long time, when I heard about Jesus' crucifixion, I didn't understand what His dying on a cross had to do with me. I wasn't even around when it happened. When I began to read the Bible, I came to understand that Jesus' life, death, crucifixion, and resurrection had everything to do with me. It was because of my sins -- past, present, and future -- that Jesus went to the cross. Nobody took His life. He willingly gave it so that I would be reconciled to God the Father. He died on that cross in my place; He rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, and because of that sin, we were separated from God. We need a mediator between God and us. That mediator is Jesus. There was and is no other way to come to the Father but through the Son. I'm so thankful to God that I am finally able to understand why Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin. He’s the living God. He saved me. He can save you too if you come to Him by faith.

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test12.htm

 

[Solo]

A Seminarian in Search for Forgiveness

By Gearoid Marley

I was brought up in a Roman Catholic family in Ireland. My parents taught me to live a good life, say my prayers and attend mass every Sunday. I believed in God but I didn’t know Him personally. I prayed as my mother had taught me but I never knew whether God was listening or not. Conscious of my sinfulness, I hoped that God would accept me into Heaven if I did enough good to others. It was like balancing the accounts, hoping that my credits (good deeds) would cancel my debits (my sins). I tried to live the best life and do my best to please God. I decided to become a Roman Catholic priest when I was eleven year of age.
However during my teenage years I got involved in much sinful and immoral behaviour. I hated that miserable life and I started to cry out to God. The desire to be right with Him became the focus of my life. I knew I was a sinner and that I needed to be saved from my sin. I wanted to know His forgiveness, but how?

Training for the Priesthood

Once again I thought seriously about becoming a priest. After checking different religious organizations, I finally decided to join the Society of Missions to Africa (SMA). They live together in small communities in different parts of the world converting pagans to the Roman religion. I entered the Roman Catholic Seminary to train for the priesthood. During my two-year stay in the seminary, I learned much about religion but there was nothing to ease my guilty conscience and to cleanse my heart from sin. I attended mass daily and heard many homilies that were focused on pleasing God by doing good works and for us to use psychology to help people. Not once did I hear how to be forgiven!

I started to read the Bible (a Protestant version my parents gave me). My superiors were not too pleased, so they gave me a Roman Catholic version. I asked serious questions to the priests but they could not show me the Scriptural basis for much of the superstition and religious rituals in the Roman Catholic religion. The Bible does not promote the veneration of Mary as practiced in the Catholic Church, nor does it teach us to say ritualistic prayers like the rosary, which are addressed to Mary. I was told that I had to go to confession to a priest but I didn’t find that in Scripture either.

I began to read the Bible every day and learned more about the Lord Jesus. Eventually I left the Roman religion. Yet at that time I still did not know forgiveness of my sins. When I came to London I met a man who told me how to know God and how to be forgiven for my sinful rebellion against God. He gave me a leaflet that emphasized the need to trust in Jesus Christ alone. I read this leaflet many times yet I did not find peace with God.

I began studying as a nurse and met some students who seemed to really know God. I attended their church, Trinity Road Chapel, in London. There were copies of the Bible in the church and the sermon was preached from the Bible. That was something completely new to me. I was also impressed by the way they prayed because it was evident that they knew God in a personal and intimate way. I had never heard anything like it. I knew deep down that these people were genuine Christians. I asked many questions and began to attend church services regularly.

My Conversion

I was listening to a Sunday service on Radio 4 one morning. The sermon was about the Good Samaritan. The preacher spoke of Jesus Christ as the Good Samaritan, who comes to help us in our wretched sinful state. The preacher urged the listeners to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin. Right there and then I knelt down in my room and prayed, “O God, I know that you have sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. Will you save me? I trust in Christ alone and ask that you would come into my life by the power of your Holy Spirit and make me new.â€Â

As soon as I opened my eyes a deep sense of peace came over me. At that moment I knew that I was a Christian and truly forgiven. I was baptised at Trinity Road Chapel in London in September 1998. After my baptism I struggled with temptations and trials, but the Lord was my constant refuge and my fellowship with Him blossomed.

Since my conversion, the Bible is no longer a closed and unintelligible book. Now the Bible is God’s Word speaking to me, and leading me to follow His will. I began to pray to God as my Father and knew that He was listening. The peace of God fills my heart, and I enjoy the fellowship of many Christian brothers and sisters.

I am especially thankful to one man from our church who helped me study the Bible over a two-year period, teaching me about the Lord and his glorious work in creation and salvation through the cross of Jesus.

On my first visit to Ireland, I did not know of any Christian church, so I went to Mass with my parents. I realised that the priest was re-enacting a sacrifice that was done once and for all on the cross of Calvary. For this reason, I could not attend the Catholic mass any longer. I left the Roman church for good.

I pray that many Roman Catholics would read their Bibles and pray to the Lord to lead them to the truth. The Lord promises that those who seek Him with all their hearts will find Him.

My friend, if you want to know how to be freed from the guilt of your sins, I encourage you to turn to Jesus Christ by faith. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). We need no other mediator between us and God, ‘There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus who gave His life a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:5). Trust in Him alone! Please do not delay another moment! Seek Him with all your heart, and you will find Him, just as He promised.

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test05.htm

 

[Imagican]

Amazing that there are STILL those that will deny what has been offered by 'their VERY OWN'. It's kinda like the Republicans were with Bush. Regardless of the facts, let's not let the 'truth' get in the way of our 'feelings'.

Ah well. Just another sign of the power of the human spirit.

MEC

 

[Solo]

A New Man

By Joe Serge

I emigrated to Canada in 1955 when I was 18. Many experiences have come and gone in the past 50 years I’ve lived in this country so far away from the quiet upper Sliema neighborhood (in Malta) that I knew as a boy. But the one experience I treasure most of all happened to me just eight years ago.

I was about to turn 60. By God’s sheer grace alone my eyes were opened and I became aware that nothing I could say or do could get me to heaven. Only Calvary’s cross could pay my sins’ debt in full. Only Christ’s precious blood has the power to justify me – make me just as if I never sinned.

I remember as if it were yesterday. My born again experience was triggered one September morning shortly after daybreak. Stirred from sound sleep, I had stepped out of bed and, coffee cup in one hand and the TV remote in the other, switching channels, looking for something to watch. Nothing seemed to interest me. I had flipped through more than 40 channels when a religious program caught my attention. It was Faith 20, a telecast of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

Here was the program host, Joel Nederhood, telling me that I could be certain of eternal life in glory but it had nothing to do with prayers, penance or good works. Only because of Christ’s saving work on Calvary’s cross. “For it is by grace through faith that we are saved, and this is the gift of God, not by works, that no one may boast†(Ephesians 2:8, 9).

I became intrigued by the good news of a gospel I had never heard before. As I began to watch the daily early morning program, I discovered that much of what I had been taught to believe in my childhood was not found in the Bible. I learned that unless I was born-again, anything I offer to God in prayer is like a filthy rag to Him, contaminated by my carnal depravity and unacceptable to His standard of perfection.

On my own merit I couldn’t get an inch closer to Heaven’s gates. Only Jesus’ precious blood will do. What an awesome feeling to discover that in accepting Jesus as my personal Savior, I became a new creature in God’s eyes.

I’m not the man I used to be. When God looks at me He sees me cloaked in the righteousness of His Son. He sees me blameless, just like Jesus. I am hid in Christ, not having my own righteousness, but the righteousness of God, credited to me through the faith of Christ. I am saved and set apart for eternal glory. No one can snatch me out of His hands. Yes, I remain a sinner, but a sinner saved by grace.

As a Roman Catholic I considered myself to be a follower of Jesus Christ. After all, my parents and countless generations before them were Catholic from birth. I attended Sunday Mass without fail, scrupulously observed days of fasting and abstinence and dutifully confessed my sins to a priest. I cherished holy relics, prayed the rosary, made charitable donations, served on the parish council and for more than 40 years I was a member of the Knights of Columbus. I believed such good works weighed in my favor before God. But I didn’t know Jesus.

Today I know that on the cross Jesus took my sins upon Himself. That is the significance of Calvary’s cross! For my sake Jesus had experienced the horror of God’s wrath for sin, separation from the Father, hell! – that I may be freed from the punishment I deserved. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all†(Isaiah 53:6).

By His sheer grace, Christ’s perfect sacrifice is credited to me. I was bought with a price. Jesus paid my ransom. It is finished.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.

(How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Stuart Townend)

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test10.htm

 

[Solo]

Bill Casey's Testimony

Before Christ, life was lonely, empty, and crazy - and I had a strong fear of death. If you had asked me if I was a Christian I would have said, "Of course. I go to Mass every Sunday, and I'm even the head usher!" Besides, I know and accepted the fact that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, and rose from the dead. But something was seriously missing.

I was born the oldest in an Irish family of four. Dad was a tough disciplinarian, giving me many a licking with the old strap as I was a strong willed child. I had to learn more than one lesson, as Dad would say, "the hard way". He thought a good parochial school education would give me all the tools I would need to deal with life so he paid for that all the way through high school.

As I got older, I was an alcoholic, workaholic, and lustaholic, blaming parents, wife, and church for all my personal problems and inner torment. Using people and loving things to get my way, my favorite song then was "I Did It My Way".

I ran from painful consequences to my make believe worlds of illusion and delusion. My way of living in my lustful, alcoholic, computer world made me feel very guilty and very very bad. I didn't think that there was a person on this earth who would love me if they knew the real me. I escaped reality by fleeing from my home life, spending long hours either at work or playing hard on the ball field or in the bars with the big boys.

Even there reality had a way of creeping in, and sometimes I wondered who was slave to whom, as occasionally I had to spend long hard hours debugging a program over some simple thing that I had missed. Other times I'd be so frustrated often spending all day working on a down computer, knowing I made absolutely no progress!

Payoff for my insane uncontrollable behavior landed me inescapably, in a very controlled program of intense outpatient therapy based on the "Twelve Steps". I moved in with a friend who I thought was somewhat different, as he had no TV, and asked me not to bring one. Little did I realize at that time, that he was a Believer, who attended a church of grace (Ephesians 2:8,9) not works like my church. I thought he just enjoyed all his church activities, and listening to his Christian radio programs.

Life now seem not worth living as I felt odious, and never knew emotional pain like this, with no way to escape it via booze lust or work! I soon wanted not only out, but to get even with my family. I believe prayers on my behalf back in the spring of 82, along with my own last second whispered prayer "Oh God Help!", spared me from taking my life, by freezing my body on top of a bridge railing that I was about to jump off onto a busy highway below. I was then overcome by a very real feeling that I was being safely led by someone to a special place that turned out to be a secluded waterfalls just a few blocks away that I had no idea even existed. There I freely openly wept, in total conviction of my sins and how I had terribly hurt and let down God and my family. I started praying, "Oh God I'm so sorry, so very very sorry," over and over again. This I believe was God's way of softening my cold hard heart, and the beginning of a new spiritual journey.

Listening to Christian radio seemed to help. I told Jesus He could have me if, and I listed off my conditions, and kept my distance as He was just too scary. I heard about the truth and power of Scripture so I decided to test it out literally. Isaiah 40:31 says "They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles wings, they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint." Two guys at work talked me into running the first ever Twin Cities Marathon, so it all fit together. While out on my daily runs over the next ten weeks, I would often say this verse out loud. I ran that entire marathon, and completing it in three hours and seven minutes!

Then on July 27th 1983, 1 took a terrible body slam fall off my ten speed bike that could have killed me as I broke my left collar bone in two places, then the surgery to repair it resulted in a very serious staph infection that nearly finished me off. When I was recovering in the hospital someone gave me a book called Verdict on the Shroud by Stevenson/Habermas. Jesus became real to me along with the painful reality of my sinful life and that I had totally utterly failed as husband and daddy. I was convicted of my sins and ready to do something about it, and there on page 242 it said :.."faith, which always and still remains a trust in God's Son, Who shed His blood for our salvation."

I had found the missing piece! I must simply trust Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior as He has done it all "IT IS FINISHED", nothing needs to be added by me or any church, or can be really it's a done deal. After placing my trust for salvation in Jesus's completed work, a very deep real inner sense of peace and inner solidness came over me, with those bad feelings of loneliness, emptiness and craziness gone! Jesus seemed to talk directly to me when He said in John 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."

I replaced my morning runs with a quiet time with Jesus and reading the Word. The Bible became my supreme authority and seemed so very real and exciting to me now. I started a schedule of reading through It in a year's time. I learned how the Old Testament pointed to Jesus as Savior, and found special healing in the story of Joseph in Genesis. In it I learned that serious sins against our family members have life long consequences. Then the New Testament especially the writings of Paul cleared up many of my old religious misconceptions. Romans Chapter 8 became my most beloved chapter in the Bible.

Now when my old self-centered man is being tempted, I remember an even say out loud at times 1 John 4:4, ". . . greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world" Another verse that was given to me by a friend that I found to be very powerful in my life is 1 Corinthians 10: 13 "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear." What awesome power these verses hold in continuing to change my life.

The Bible story that means I personally relate the most to is Mark 5:1- 20 dealing with the mad man called Legion. I truly was responsible for all my sinful actions, yet like "legion", I was an addict. I felt as if no earthly chains could hold my addiction, as this world and I were powerless to fix or change me. Legion's insanity for me speaks of the cost of addiction. Only Jesus had the power needed to change Legion and Bill Casey. The power that I needed to be not just set free of it, but to be given a new life of meaning worth living. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new."

Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/Casey.html

 

[follower]

"Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

HalleluYAH FOR TRUTH !

 

[follower]

Communication with other Christians involved in biblical churches is essential for former Catholics to grow in their faith! Don’t be afraid or ashamed to be honest with other Christians and say to them that you are confused over many things concerning Catholicism and the Bible. In my early years as a Christian I hesitated for a long time before I was able to open up and get help. Because of this my spiritual growth was stifled. In my case, it was not “head knowledge†that finally made me decide to leave the Catholic Church, it was personal relationships with Christians who love and care. Remember as a new believer, you need to be reminded daily of the following biblical facts:

You are deeply loved,
Completely forgiven,
Fully pleasing,
Totally accepted,
And complete in Christ!
Amen

Retrieved from http://www.justforcatholics.org/test11.htm

AMAZING wonderful testimony of salvation acceptable to God in Christ Jesus Alone ! not religion ....

 

[follower]

The following quotes are taken from the book "Far from Rome, near to God: Testimonies of 50 converted Roman Catholic priests," by Richard Bennet (Carlisle, Penn: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1997). They are quite interesting and valuable since they give an insight to Catholicism from those who were priests in the Catholic Church and then left it to find salvation in Jesus.

Like 50 years in the church of rome, explicit, detailed descriptions of truth vs abominations in the church for hundreds of years !

 

[Free]

This thread is from 2006 and Solo isn’t here anymore.

 

[follower]

The testimonies in Scripture are still speaking to everyone who seeks God Today.
The testimonies from those who were saved from the pagan religions
give true glory to God and HOPE to others who are stuck in similar places.
They are timeless, Truth, and unchanging ,
God Be Praised for His Glory and His Salvation Revealed as He Chooses Today !

 

[Follower Of Christ]

This thread is from 2006 and Solo isn’t here anymore.

Regardless, does not make it less relevant and significant as a thread.

Thank you, follower, for bringing it again to our attention.

 

[follower]

But as far as Rome goes, they never were Christs church to begin with.

Short and sweet Truth for this moment now today.