My Life Story My Way Day 61

My search for God was strong. I really felt the punch in the gut when I concentrated on His words in James 3:1 about teachers being held more responsible for their teaching His word. Keep in mind that by this time when our own kids were in their late teens, I had read several Bible versions and didn’t know everything. I did know that things were not adding up to what I was taught and what I had been teaching.

Part of the reason for other’s rejection toward me was my questioning what we were taught and what The Bible teaches. It came to teaching the kids about saints and praying to them. I know that His Word, not mine, says we have only One advocate and that is a Jesus Himself. No where in any Bible does it say we are to go through anyone else or anything else.

Praying to saints as I had done in years past was bothering me as I was suppose to be teaching my religion class to pray to them when I really was not. I was going to be held responsible for teaching God’s way and this clearly was not in the Bible.

An advocate is someone that goes to someone higher on our behalf. All throughout Hebrews He was made the one and only High Priest and Advocate. When He died to go to His Father, He promised us that the Holy Spirit would be here on this earth for us. He wasn’t leaving us alone. In John 14:6, He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Because there is no other example where anyone else in the New Testament went to God except through Jesus and His Word said there is only ONE Advocate and that is Jesus Himself, I knew that God doesn’t lie and this idea of praying to saints was not correct. I would bring this up to a few people when in conversation and their concept was “it’s like me asking you to pray for me.”

I understand that we ask others to pray for us and that in God’s word we all are considered saints because saints are those who do the work of The Lord, but when we ask others to pray for us, they too should only be going through Jesus. Dead saints are not alive with the Lord yet because the Bible tells us so. That is another Story for maybe tomorrow!

I had to make important decisions on how to teach. My conscience would not allow me to continue teaching what I considered not Biblical. So, I decided to skip the material handed to me and just teach the Bible. I planned on starting with the New Testament and reading a few chapters and discussion. I wanted to come up with ideas to help these youngsters understand what each verse meant. I was pumped!

I sent out a letter to each family and explained that all I felt was for the kids to understand The Bible. I basically asked permission for their kids to be taught nothing more nor less than what His Word said. Most were on board and welcomed the idea! However, one or two families pulled their kids out. I could never understand that! It was the Catholic Bible I was teaching and they sent their kids to Catholic schools so why wouldn’t they want the Catholic Bible taught!

Doctrine. Catechism. Creed. I thought of these words and what they meant. It wasn’t about His Word, it was about going against ground in principles and imbedded beliefs. I also studied a bit with these words. Some concepts created by this Council Of Trent who came up with some of this ideas was not Biblical as well. When reading a few of them, one had to be well educated with His a Word first to understand why they were wrong.

For example, on page 210 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it reads that we become Christ just because we as a whole become His church. That is incorrect. We are His children but to even say we become Christ is absurd. Yes, He is the head and we His body, but to say we are right up there in His Holiness is not a good thing. He is the almighty, the alpha, and the omega! We are not and never will be. This concept is metaphorical not literal. On page 116 it says that just because God made His Son Jesus into a man, we might become gods because we are of man. Sorry, but we will never nor should ever want to be thought of as gods. There is only ONE God. Period!

So many questions arose in my brain and my heart hurt! The sparks under my skin were lighting my veins on fire! But what was I, a measly ole me, going to do about my feelings and knowledge? God was holding me more responsible for teaching and I was seeing things anew and I wasn’t sure of myself or what He wanted of me!