Brother Lawrence Dangerous Contemplative Mysticism Warnings / The Chosen / Joni Eareckson Tada (Doreen Virtue)

Sighing she turned off her computer screen. Another one of her favorite teachers had started to show signs of falling away. “Lord,” she prayed, “please open their eyes to the danger.”

I want to open today’s post by stating, like Doreen, I so care for Joni Eareckson. I have benefited from her testimony and her books, as well as videos, encouraging us to turn to the Lord. I have recommended her videos to friends going through trials. With a heavy heart, I again face the deception of contemplative prayer in someone I want to recommend. From the outside, maybe it seems like I’m the cruel one, but it hurts to talk about deception.

Note: The purpose of Recommended is to help individuals find resources to further their research. My main focus isn’t to persuade you in one post, but to help you find resources and be aware of evidence so that you can draw your own conclusions from research.

Contemplative prayer is a topic I became more familiar with from late 2019 onward, finally making blog posts about the topic in 2021. – see: Exposing Contemplative Prayer, Listening Prayer, Christian Mysticism & More | Resources for You. It’s basically a practice that’s emotional, which is why I and so many others were or are deceived by it. You want to “feel connected” to God, not just “know” you’re connected to God because of Christ.

Feelings are fickle, though, and you’re always going to seek after the next “emotional experience that seems spiritual.” People often seek the Lord outside of scripture, and usually it’s connected to the topic of contemplative prayer – whether you’re familiar with the term or not. I was not, for over a decade, so I understand. For clarity, see my list I posted above.

Friends, contemplative prayer encourages the “use of our spirit” but it’s separate from the use of our mind. Christ teaches if we are to worship the Lord (including in spirit and truth) that includes using all of our mind. (Mark 12:30) When we are told to “breathe in, breathe out, be calm, don’t think about it…” that is especially when we need to think, “Why am I being told to do something against scripture?“

In today’s featured Recommended, Doreen Virtue is going to explain Brother Lawrence, a Roman Catholic monk, who is known for contemplative mysticism. Many Christians promote Brother Lawrence, even though he believed in a false gospel, as Roman Catholicism does not teach the true Gospel. – See: Interview With Former Roman Catholic Mike Gendron (Justin Peters)

To encourage you to check out the video, I’ve mostly summarized what gets covered through a series of questions. If you would like the answers to the questions, please check out the video.

• What are some dangerous practices that Doreen lists that are cloaked as Christian?
• What does Doreen appreciate of Joni?
• What is Joni’s new book and what is problematic about it?
• Writers of The Chosen read mystics, why is this a problem?
• Who is Brother Lawrence?

• What is the connection of Jesus Calling and Joni’s book that Doreen makes?
• TERM PHRASE– What is “emptying the heart” and why is this dangerous?
• TERM PHRASE– What is the problem of “manifesting the Presence” and how does this relate to Contemplative prayer?
• TERM– What is an alpha mind, and why is this dangerous?
• Key Point – Why is it startling to pray a prayer of protection before entering Contemplative prayer?

• TERM PHRASE– “Sub-conscious comes front forward.” – what does this mean?
• “Let us enter into ourselves.” Who said this? Why is this a problem and not Biblical?
• How do we seek truth as Christians?
• What did Rick Warren say about Catholic doctrine? Why is this a problem?
• What is a Carmelite?

• Who is Sid Roth?
• Why is Sid Roth concerning?
• TERM– What is pantheism? (See: What is pantheism? By Got Questions)

Please Check Out: Brother Lawrence Dangerous Contemplative Mysticism Warning by Doreen Virtue

The Gospel Message– The Gospel message is good news, which means there’s bad news. We all are sinners and condemned. We all deserve the just punishment of God’s wrath. Christianity is unlike any other religion because we cannot earn our way into Heaven. God saw the weakness of man and his utter depravity. Yet, He showed us grace. Jesus, God, One Person of the Trinity, became God in the flesh, the God-Man. He was always perfect and sinless. And His humanity was perfected on the cross, living the full sinless life. He became our atonement sacrifice. Dying in our place, taking on the wrath of God upon Himself. He died on the cross, and He was resurrected because death could not hold Him. Jesus is the answer. We, as guilty sinners, need His blood to pay off our debt of sin. For all who put their faith in Him – meaning eyes are opened to the Gospel, we see ourselves as a sinner, we see the need for Christ, we desire our Savior, and we see the ugliness of our sin. Putting our faith in Jesus, we seek HIs forgiveness and repent from our sins, we turn away from our old way of life. We, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continue to become convicted of sin daily. Our eyes will never be the same again. We see things in a different light, and the truth of Christ affects how we live and serve Him. Christ tells us to count the cost. Salvation is a serious topic, it is not to be taken lightly. For a breakdown of this powerful message, understanding how Christ could be God and Man, why God required sacrifices, and more -please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?)

If you think you know the Gospel, check out these questions and see how prepared you are for the day someone might ask you why you believe: The Gospel Challenge (30 Question Quiz) – Are You Ready To Defend Your Faith?

Scripture To Meditate On – (ESV) 1 Timothy 3:16 – Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Prayer Requests – Community Prayer for 2024

Christian Topics/Series Covered
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Video Playlist: Christian Questions, Topics, False Teachers, Insights 
Video Playlist: New Christian Believer 
Video Playlist: Understanding False Teachings
Video Playlist: Sermons To Grow From
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