What
Others Have to Say About Richard's Letter
See
Richard's Letter (Christian Man Practices Contemplative)
Please
tell Richard from Florida a huge thank you for the letter he sent
to you regarding his experience with "centering prayer." I am
fighting this heresy with close friends and Richard's letter will
hopefully be very useful in the battle (actually the Lord's battle,
but I am in the middle of it).
Richard's
letter was very helpful to me. Even more uplifting was Simon's
(South Africa) response. I identified with everything he had to
say, especially the part of suffering mild depression by being
told by the contemplatives that my faith in Jesus was not enough
and that my spirituality was weak and if I did not "get the annointing",
etc. I have wondered many times if I was missing out on something.
Thank you Simon, thank you! I know that I am not missing out on
anything at all and this is exactly what the Bible has been constantly
telling me. I agree totally with Simon where he said "Be careful;
don't add anything to your Faith in Christ Jesus!" Do not add
anything! It is by Faith in Jesus alone I know I am saved." I
really did need to hear those words.
Dennis
Massachusetts
I
want to say thank you for the latest newsletter where Richard
from Florida shared his story about how he got involved in contemplative
prayer. I too was confused by their teachings for a long time,
it seemed like my "spirituality" was never good enough and that
Faith in Jesus was "just not enough" it really did seem that way
and I suffered severe depression because of the heavy burden that
the contemplatives put on "spirituality."
I
thank God for the day I came upon Lighthouse Trails ministries,
on the pages on your website I found many helpful articles that
opened my eyes to the dangerous heresies of the contemplatives.
Many of my friends still think I have gone a bit mad, because
from recommending the books of the likes of Brennan Manning and
Richard Foster; I have gone to the opposite, recommending the
Bible above all other books. Strange that Christians so lightly
esteem the Bible. I know I did, until I hit rock bottom in the
spirituality of the contemplatives and was considering "alternative
spirituality as an option.
Until
I read the book by Ray Yungen, about where all this strange "spirituality"
was headed, I really did not think it was such a big deal and
I see now that the devil really waits till you hit a low in your
low to make you consider things that are not of God. I now propagate
that according to the Scriptures I am justified by faith alone,
and saved by grace alone and above all others, I value and treasure
my Bible, and all off a sudden my friends and family think I have
become conservative and eccentric. Truly our God is a God who
is gracious.
I
wish I could say to more people "Be careful; don't add anything
to your Faith in Christ Jesus!" Do not add anything! It is by
Faith in Jesus alone I know I am saved. It is hard and sometimes
bitterly lonely, when even your local church is permeated with
these foreign practices. I have spoke to our elders too and many
of them do not see it! The road indeed is very narrow that God
ordained for the Christian to travel and the notion to add to
your faith, works and prayers centered on the inner self is so
prevalent.
The
common response I still get is, so what is wrong with centering
prayer? What is wrong with the writings of contemplative authors?...
I must not be so narrow minded!! God loves everybody and all roads
lead to Rome, don't they. It requires a steadfast faith in Christ
Jesus and the Bible as the infallible Word of God to escape these
heresies. They are so subtle and I too was ensnared by them.
I thank God that I never felt comfortable with them though. So
to our friend Richard in Florida I simply say: God bless you—your
testimony is powerful, and God will pull down many strongholds
only stand firm in your faith in God's Word alone. It is sometimes
a very lonely road but when it comes to matters of our eternal
destiny, we cannot compromise. To my friends at Lighthouse Trails,
God bless you for your ministry, I pray many more will receive
the light of the glorious gospel through your ministry and be
delivered from the terrible deception of contemplative prayers
and the occultist roads it leads to. God knows. I wish with all
my heart that Christians everywhere would see this deception for
what it is and be spared the pain I experienced. Be alert! the
enemy of our souls comes in like an angel of the light. Grace
and Peace Be with you.
Simon
South Africa
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