Port Canaveral, FL
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This report comes from team leader Beth with the National Team in Warren, MI:
I encountered a woman named Karen at Pickleball who was an on-fire Christian. She was so excited to talk about faith, and even more excited to talk about the Bible! It was a pleasure to try
and keep up with her. She told me her story and was very interested to hear my story. She was Catholic but didn’t find Jesus until she left the church. She was so proud that she studied the Bible with Moody Bible. She jumped right on Faith alone and the Catholic Church is works based. We spoke a bit, and I asked her which verse says faith alone. She pulled up James and then explained it away (based on her tradition). Then she spoke about Mary and not praying to dead people. I asked if the saints in Heaven are dead and pointed to a few verses about the great cloud of witnesses, and the transfiguration and the other things the Lord put on my mind that very morning. It was hard for her to take it in, but she did listen. I laid out some basic truths such as everything taught about Mary is because of her unique relationship with Jesus (it’s never just about her). Also we are one body of Christ with Jesus as the head – not a living body on earth and a dead one in heaven. In the end, Karen told her husband that I gave her something to think about.
As a recovering alcoholic, Karen is very dedicated to staying close to Jesus in the scripture. She also mentioned that she needs to have things in black and white, not leaving a lot of room for the beautiful mystery of God. Sadly, she has taken in the Catholic distortions taught by the Moody tradition. Still, We had a lovely conversation with some back and forth but I left her with encouragement: we are all on a journey to the infinite, and I asked her to pray for God to continue to show you the next steps. When it comes to the Catholic distortions I challenged her to ask God, “if it’s true, please show me and explain it to me”. It’s important to respect where someone is on their journey. Karen is clearly moving closer to God, the Holy Spirit is alive and working in her. And although I do believe she needs to be shook up a bit to find the fullness of truth in the Catholic faith, I understand that the Moody tradition she holds so closely is what pulled her out of her addiction, and she can’t let go of it easily. But God’s got this. He will bring her gently to the fullness of truth as long as she keeps searching.
Praised be Jesus Christ!