Immaculate Conception-exposing the lie

What is Immaculate Conception? The answer may surprise you, as one may hear the words, and believe it is regarding the conception of Jesus. I know I used to, and I was born and raised Catholic. I have heard several other Catholics say the same thing. If you are Catholic (or not), and your heart yearns for Truth, please get passed the baggage the church has thrown on you, and continue to read on even though the religious voice in your head tells you otherwise. Make a decision for yourself. Please don’t let anyone continue to mislead you. Your salvation depends on what you personally believe. I urge you to pick up your Bible, and read the truth for yourself. Not just the truth about this matter, but all spiritual matters.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is universally celebrated every December 8, nine months before the birthday of Mary, which is celebrated on September 8th.

The proclaimed Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin".[1] Being always free from original sin, she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth.

There is nothing in scripture that supports this belief. There is only one divine person that has walked on Earth, and that person is Jesus Christ. For man to exalt anyone else into the position of Christ is blasphemous against our Lord and Savior. Further, if Mary was divine, why did she refer to the Lord as her Savior? (LUK 1:46) What did she need to be saved from, if not from original, present, and future sin? The fact is she was born into sin, just like all other believers. If she were on Earth today, as a humble servant of the Lord, I am sure that she would be troubled by this behavior. I know this because the angel in Revelation insisted that John not fall to his feet to worship him, because he is a fellow servant of the Lord, just like all of the Believers in Christ REV 19:10 (including me and you, if you truly believe, I do).

If we had to sum up by using Scripture the character of our Lord’s Earthly Mother Mary, what could we say? There is not much said in the Gospels regarding who Mary was as a person, except that she is a humble servant of the Lord. You will find the most information about who Mary was in the book of Luke, chapter 1. It is here that he compares two different birth announcements, the first of John the Baptist, and second of Jesus Christ. It is of no accident that the Lord has arranged Luke’s book in this manner.

Zechariah and Elizabeth- Zechariah from the priestly division of Abijah (tribe of Levi), and Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Luke states, “They were upright in the site of God, observing all of the Lord’s commands and regulations blamelessly.” (LEVI, LAW, RULES, OBLIGATION)

Joseph and Mary- From the tribe of Judah. He did not say anything in the first verse about their character. He only says that Mary was a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph. (JUDAH, FAVOR, KINGLY DIVISION)

Announcements by Gabriel:

Zechariah- praying in the temple is told by Gabriel that his prayer had been heard, and that God was going to give them a son. He tells him that he is never to have fermented drink, and that he will be filled by the Holy Spirit even from birth. REACTION: How can I be sure of this? I am of old age (Lack of Faith) Because of this lack of Faith; Zechariah was unable to speak until the birth of his son John.

Mary- It does not say what she was doing when Gabriel said to her, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” He let her know that she had found favor (a token of love, gracious kindness), with the Lord. REACTION: How will this be, since I am a virgin? (Faithful response) Mary then responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”

When Mary and Elizabeth get together for the first time after the announcements, Elizabeth makes one of the most profound statements. Luke 1:45...Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Notice, she did not say blessed is she who has been holy since birth, or blessed is she that is without sin. It appears the most blessed you can be in Elizabeth’s eyes, is someone that believes what the Lord says.

It is in Mary’s song that we learn she considers herself a humble servant of the Lord. She sings that her soul glorifies the Lord, and her Spirit rejoices in God her savior. This is the most you will see in Scripture regarding any details of the character of Mary.

So who is Mary as a person based off Scripture? She is a humble servant that received a gift of Favor/Love from the Lord. This is the same gift of Grace that He offers to us. So why then are there so many people that glorify Mary as being a divine person? Why is she placed on a pedestal as if she lived a life that was perfect? Why are some choosing to divide their allegiance to the Lord, by believing that Mary can get their prayer answered for a miracle instead of taking their request straight to the Lord? Why are they refusing to believe in the simplicity of The Promise that He is trying to show them, through the story of this very ordinary woman they are committing spiritual adultery (JER 3) with, by exalting her to the same status as Jesus? My bet would have to be that those that believe this, are either clinging to a comfort zone if they have since read the Bible, or that they have not read their Bible, and are trusting their salvation to the traditions, and teachings of mere men.

The adoration of Mary in a divine sense is a lie created by satan, to keep those that would be true believers from accessing the Throne of God, by belief in The Promise that Christ has given us. He has promised us that if we truly BELIEVE in Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are saved. He also promises that once we truly BELIEVE, we will receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and we are His anointed ones considered worthy in His eyes as long as we believe. A believer approaches His sapphire throne boldly with praise. It is this boldness that shows God we truly accept and believe in His Gift of Grace. Grace is unmerited Favor. You do not work for a gift, you simply receive it. All you have to do is BELIEVE. Repentance (a change of mind and heart that leads to changed behavior) born of Faith rather than obligation will naturally come once you truly BELIEVE. Miracles from God are very active in the life of a true believer. If miracles are happening for a person that is praying to Mary, I would be surprised if they are coming from God. Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Praying to Mary, rather than to the Lord is as if to say that He is unable to answer your prayer, or that you do not believe Him when He says, “by the Blood of my Son, you are made pure and worthy.” Please don’t allow the devil put you in the position of believing his lie, rather than the Truth of God. He knows that as humans, we have been groomed to feel as if there is some type of grand task that we need to accomplish, in order to be considered worthy for anything worth having (2 Kings 5:1). That the world is a world of checks and balances, rather than receiving something because someone loves you, and they do not expect anything in return. However, the natural result of an act of love or gift given is reciprocation, born out of love, rather than obligation. Which is exactly what God wants from you. Note, I am not saying that Mary is from the devil. If you are choosing to go there in your mind right now, it is again satan working on your mind and soul. If he is able to get you to tune me out, he wins. What is from the devil, is praying to anyone but God, and not believing in His Promise to consider you worthy, because the Lamb is worthy. It has nothing to do with anything you can do or not do.

Our God is trying to show us in the story of a simple 13 year old girl that the way to get to Heaven is to accept His Gift of Love. That all we need to do is truly believe, and He will do the rest. It is only when this Gift has been accepted, that true repentance will birth in the believer. We must accept His Grace first. A child believes what his parents tell him. He wants us to believe in Him with that same childlike Faith. I believe because you have said it is so, Daddy. The devil tries to plead his case early in our lives. We learn at a young age that you have to have certain special qualities to be accepted. In order to be picked for a team in gym, you have to be good at the sport, or popular in the eyes of your classmates. It is rare that someone will pick you, simply because you are you. Religions will teach you that you have to work your way into Heaven by performing different man-made rituals or acts, but few speak of the relationship your Father wants to have with you, because He loves you. Be someone perfect! Do something for yourself, or no one else will the world screams!! We learn that we are unworthy, because perfection can never be reached by the standards of this world. We learn abandonment, and that promises were made to be broken. We learn that we are unlovable because someone said they no longer love us, or worse they never did. We project the shortcomings of fallible humans onto our Father as if He is not who He says he is. It is ok He forgives us, and understands our hurting hearts.

I leave you with a couple more thoughts to ponder. Here is Jesus’ answer to what may have been the first attempt of Mary worship:

Lk 11:27 As Jesus was saying these things; a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

In another situation, Jesus is again letting us know that all believers are considered His family, and worthy to be called such:

Mk 3:31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. Mk 3:32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Mk 3:33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Mk 3:34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Mk 3:35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus never encouraged us to worship His Mother Mary.

Worship: 1 : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power 2 : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion ‹a celebrity worshipped by her fans› vi: to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship revere

The truest Immaculate Conception is one of your heart and mind, rather than religious dogma.

Im•mac•u•late having no stain or blemish

con•cep•tion the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something

Choose to BELIEVE in the promise of God that you are without stain or blemish, because of what Christ has done out of Love for you. You are made perfect in His eyes, because He is perfect. Belief in this promise births the savior inside of you, most worthy saint (Rom 8:27). Rest in Him, and find Peace for your soul.

ROMANS 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This last part will speak to some of you, who I know not:

The prophet Samuel anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin (12th son) to be the first King of Israel. Samuel was from the tribe of Levi (3rd son). Aaron and Moses were of this tribe as well. Saul’s son Jonathon would have been next in line to take the crown, however he recognized David of the tribe of Judah ( 4th son, Hebrew meaning gratitude, now I will praise) as the anointed King, and not only saved his life, but stepped down and let David move into his place, when Saul died. He knew that God’s favor was on David, even though by law he should have been the next king. David was a child when he was anointed. A humble Sheppard boy, chosen above his 7 older, and stronger brothers.

Full Definitions:

im•mac•u•late \i-'ma-kyə-lət\ adj [ME immaculat, fr. L immaculatus, fr. in- + maculatus stained — more at maculate] (15c) 1 : having no stain or blemish : pure 2 : containing no flaw or error 3 a : spotlessly clean b : having no colored spots or marks ‹petals ~› — im•mac•u•late•ly adv

con•cep•tion \kən-'sep-shən\ n [ME concepcioun, fr. AF concepcion, fr. L conception-, conceptio, fr. concipere] (14c) 1 a (1): the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both (2): embryo fetus b : beginning ‹joy had the like ~ in our eyes —Shak.› 2 a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols b : a general idea : concept c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking d : the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something 3 : the originating of something in the mind idea — con•cep•tion•al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adj — con•cep•tive \-'sep-tiv\ adj

Mk 16:16 whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.