FRONT PAGE - here you will find the last 20 postings about recent conversations. Please pray for these people!

The Real Thing

1/2/13                 Rico                              about 30
During a morning Bible study at Dunkin’ Donuts a man named Rico sat down near us with his coffee, and after our study and prayer time I asked him about his beliefs. Rico is a Catholic with a solid faith that Jesus is indeed the Son of God who died for our sins, but he doesn't read the Bible and has very little additional biblical understanding. His said he attended catechism as a teenager, and thinks he has pretty much “been there and done that” when it comes to reading the Bible and attending church. “But the Bible isn't like a newspaper or magazine that you read and throw away” I told him. “It’s meant to be read every day. I’ve never actually heard God’s voice in my ears, but reading the Bible is the main way we can hear God speak to us.” We talked about the importance and benefits of daily Bible reading for a while. Later Rico asked me what I thought of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, as he has been in some debates with a JW coworker. Rico is aware that they are a cult, a distortion of biblical Christianity, but he wasn’t really sure why - other than focusing on some of their strange practices such as their refusal to allow blood transfusions to save a life. I talked about some more central doctrines, such as their denial of the biblical truth that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, as opposed to their teaching that He is only a created being, Michael the Archangel. I reminded Rico again of the importance of reading the Bible – “The devil has always been trying to counterfeit God’s work throughout the Bible. But the way to be able to detect a counterfeit is by comparing it to the real thing. You need to study and learn the Bible to keep from falling for Satan’s lies, because there are a lot more false teachers all around us than just the Jehovah’s Witnesses”. Rico agreed, telling me about others he has come across. By God’s grace, he has somehow avoided their lies and deceit, but I don’t know how much longer he can do so without regular exposure to the truth of God’s word - “…for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14)

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