Servants of Mary

so you must believe there are more then one god too... because thats what Paul said.

And what did Paul say? That there is heis theos.

heis: "sole and primary, allowing subordinate participation"

Do we participate in the nature of God as Christians? What does Scripture say?

"by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4)

Christianity is a religion of participation. God created to share his glory. We partake in the nature of God. We partake in the one mediatorship of Jesus Christ. We become sons in the Son. We are Christians in the Christ. We die with Christ in baptism. Our life is not our own, but a participation in the life of Christ.

 

Hi Carson, I see a flaw in your A,B,C examples. It really, to me looks like this

Us - Jesus - God

If I ask you to pray for me it looks like this:

Carson
Brian - Jesus - God.

If I would ask Mary to pray for me it would look like this:

Carson
Brian - God - Jesus
Mary

You see Carson you can join with me in participating in my salvation (or even growth) but no one but Jesus can come inbetween Me and God. His blood was shed alone. (I know we agree on that)

My example seems to stay truer to the scriptual text then yours does. Others can "participate" in anothers salvation without being in a role where they "mediate".

In Christ,
Brian

 

I appreciate the post, and your search for understanding of what is quoted, but I believe you are not looking at this as clearly as you could be.

You state:

"You just quoted that Jesus "has taken away the sins of the world". He didn't need Mary's help to do that then and He doesn't need it today."

Thus, according to this statement, everyone is going to be saved. Why? Because did not God use Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to write the Holy Gospels, so that you have a means to come to know God and have a relationship with Him? I believe you will answer YES. Without revelation, we cannot know Jesus Christ. And God delivered this to us through human men. Did He have to? No, of course not. But He did. Thus, we come to salvation because of Christ's sacrifice, but the many and various people have helped apply it to our daily lives.

Thus, Mary played an important role in salvation history, and as Catholics, we believe that, as she brought Jesus Christ, our salvation, into the world by giving birth to Him, she has rightly "brought salvation to us." It is an honorary vocation for her, one bestowed on her by the One, True God, and not of herself. THAT is Catholic belief. Anything else, contrary to that, is not (or is not being taken into that context).

Again, many people, by the grace of God, BRING God's love to us, by sharing His Word and Sacraments. This does not diminish the power of God, but shows His benevolence on allowing us to participate in His plan for salvation.

God bless,

Grant

 

God bless you for your honesty and integrity! I have to say I've never enjoyed disagreeing with anyone more than you, Brian. You always make discussions a pleasant experience.

Alas, my studies will continue into August, because of summer school. Yech.

God bless you again,

Grant

 

"without ceasing ask her to help them to rise from sin" it says... FYI Mary cannot help anyone to rinse from sin</font>[/QUOTE]Rakka, I appreciate the response, but the FYI does not move this dialouge at all. You are welcome to hold that opinion, but it does not affect me, because it is not the Truth, nor have you even provided Scriptural evidence that others cannot help us to rise from sin. I thought that was the whole point of community, to help each other in times of need, which includes, rising from sin.

it does not clearly show her subordinance... did you misread it, misunderstand it, or are you lying?</font>[/QUOTE]Dear brother, you tell me that it does not show her subordinance, and yet you do not explain why. You simply put the fault on me and insinuate that I am a liar. This is not dialouge, and I won't repsond if you won't be charitable. Please back up what you say, as that is what I tried to do by explaining that the whole purpose of Mary is to lead us to Jesus, i.e., the Gospel.

boo hoo... your repetitive whining and thinly veiled insults are pretty funny but not to constructive...</font>[/QUOTE]I wasn't whining or insulting. I was stating a fact. "The Rosary" was referred to as "a doctrine." This is in no way true. This has been explained countless times, and yet it continues to pop up. It is simple: the Rosary is a devotion, not a doctrine. If we cannot agree on this, then, as I said, those people will never be able to understand loftier theological concepts, not because of intelligence, but because they simply do not want to.

I was not arguing, nor was that my argument. Please stop misrepresenting me and making me out to be some sort of bad guy. I apologize if you were insulted, but you are not handling that situation very well, if that is the case. Please PM me if you have a problem with what I wrote on a personal level.

God bless,

Grant

 

so your interpretation of this verse is, that there are more then one god and more then one mediator? is that correct?

No. It's that creatures participate in Christ's sole mediatorship and God's sole divine nature. It's a Protestant assumption under nominalistic philosophical categories that precludes participation.

Catholics say that saints in heaven participate in Christ's mediatorship just as the saints on earth participate in Christ's mediatorship. We don't create a dichotomy between heaven and earth. We see a continuation between what happens on earth with what happens in heaven. When we get to heaven, we are still partaking of the divine nature and of the mediatorship of Jesus Christ.

And this is the vision of John the Seer in his Apocalypsis: "the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5:8)

[ June 04, 2003, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]

 

If I ask you to pray for me it looks like this:

Carson
Brian - Jesus - God.

If you ask me to pray for you, then I am going to Jesus for you. Hence:

Brian --&gt; Carson --&gt; Jesus

You came to me and I go to Jesus.

That's the stark, blind, and true reality of Christian intercession.

If I would ask Mary to pray for me it would look like this:

Carson
Brian - God - Jesus
Mary

You completely lost me with the above example. Especially because Mary never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever..... approaches God except through the mediatorship of her son, Jesus Christ.

My example seems to stay truer to the scriptual text then yours does. Others can "participate" in anothers salvation without being in a role where they "mediate".

Unless, of course, if this Christian is participating in the mediation of Christ.

 

Carson, I made a big oops. The second example should have been:

Carson
Brian -&gt; Jesus -&gt; God
Mary

I did not mean to put God before Jesus - Yikes!!

The point above is that we mortals are clumped together. When I ask you to pray for me Carson, you are JOINING me in prayer, not steping out as an island of your own off between me(the mainland) and God(the land being traveled to). Neither of us can get off the mainland, Mary either for that matter. Jesus is alone on the island. Me, you and Mary in this example are on the mainland holding hands praying together and worshiping together. we look out to the sea and there is Jesus arms stretched out standing on an island (all alone with a blood stained cross behind him). In the distance we see the father on the throne.

Carson, that is the picture that I see from what the Bible teaches. Sorry about my confusing mistake. God bless you!!


Grant, Man take the summer off and have some fun. I thought only "computer guys" went to summer school in college

In Christ,
Brian

 

When I ask you to pray for me Carson, you are JOINING me in prayer

No, I'm not praying with you.

I'm praying for you. You are the object of my prayer. In your diagram, you remain the subject alongside me, but in reality, you become the object of the prayer, not the subject in prayer. Your proposition of cosubjectivity is untenable.

When you are the object of my prayer, I am a go-between. I am a mediator - and there is no getting around that fact - irregardless of how uncomfortable it sounds.

 

Carson Weber,

You said that all of the doctrines that have been added to the church are there, and that the Bible was not meant to be a catechism.

We only include in our catechism what can be, for the most part, found in the Bible. Drawing from extra-Biblical material formulated in the minds of spiritual people is forbidden in our circles of the church. If this were warranted all pastors could come up with some new, legitimate idea that would be added to our belief system.

I strongly believe in the Trinity but I don't think that a new convert to Christianity has to believe in the holy Trinity to be saved. Believing in Jesus with all of one's heart will bring that person into eternal life now and into His Presence in the future. [John 3:16; Acts 16:31]

To my way of thinking your explanation 'of meat on Friday' was a 'white wash' as to how the papal authority has changed some vitally important rules in the church. If it was a sin to eat meat decades ago, our Lord has not changed His mind in connect with what is sin and not sin.

You said that as you have studied that you believe the Roman Catholic Church is top-heavy in Biblical explanation. If this is true then I would like you to explain all of the extra-Biblical doctrines that I referred to previously, as to where they are documented in either the Old or New Testaments.

I don't know why you would ask me to explain Catholic doctrine like the co-redemptrix of Mary, when we Protestants don't adhere to this concept. I do, however, know enough that it is antithetical to holy Scripture. Mary is not sitting in Heaven at the Father's right hand interceding for our souls, nor is any dead saint. The purpose of the saint entering Heaven is not to be 'errand men or women' but to honor, praise and glorify the Godhead for all eternity. The nearest that we get to this belief is to note that angels are 'ministering spirits to those who are the heirs of salvation.' [Hebrews 1:14] Apparently, they bring God's Providence into our lives.

In our view of the Scriptures there is no Biblical explanation of the co-redemptrix of Mary that is elevated to us in the Bible. This concept, then, is without foundation or spiritual basis.

You said that you did not want my opionion but the teaching of the Catholic church about the co-redemptrix of Mary. I have not studied the teaching of the expositors of such a doctrine from Catholic scholars. I did, however, briefly study this idea in our text books. Neither have I given you my opinion as to what this may mean to me or as you offer up this concept.

St. Augustine, your noteable theologian and to even some Protestants, a great theologian, never even studied the Greek alphabet, yet alone, to interpret the Greek New Testament Scripture. I will concede that he did know Latin, but this never was a helpful tool in bringing him to perfectly understood teaching coming from Jesus.

When I stand before God is will not be before the papal chair nor Jesus mother, but before Jesus Christ alone. [John 5:22 b] Jesus will be my Mediator and Advocate/Attorney before the Father God. [John 14:6; I John 2:1]

If God wanted the Hebrew writer to say that Jesus and Mary were co-Mediators, he would have written that in His Word. But, instead he wrote, 'And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant . . . ' [Hebrews 12:24a]

If God desired to tell us that there are more than one intercessor for us frail saints, He would have bonified this for us in the Scripture. In fact, what Jesus is saying to us through the Hebrew writer is, 'Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, {and I say it respectfully, not Mary] seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.' {meaning saints on earth} These two Scriptures out of Hebrews makes a co-Redemptrix of Mary irreconcilable with God's mandate of truth to His people.

As a side-bar when I had a church in Doylestown, Ohio I used to watch three Roman Catholic priest who still offered the Latin Mass in their churches. I found that I agreed with much of what they said, example, about abortion, than some of my liberal colleagues in the Protestant ministry. I believe they were out of Steubenville, Ohio.

 

Carson writes:

""In your diagram, you remain the subject alongside me, but in reality, you become the object of the prayer, not the subject in prayer.""


Carson, there is no difference in subject or object because you have NO POWER (of your own of course)

I am going to have to quote Martin Luther to make my point.

ML said "We are beggars, it is true".

We are begging God together and that is all we can do. We cannot step in to bat for eachother for to do that the other puts down the bat. Whoever is praying for me stands in the batters box with me, they do not step in front of me to hit the ball. We swing together, begging to God that we make contact with the ball.

Carson, now keep the language simple in your next post, a-a-a not for me but there may be others, yea thats it, there may be others who can't follow all those big words you use

In Christ,
Brian

 

The Bible never speaks of 'servants of Mary' unless I missed something. It does, however, speak of 'servants of the most high God,' [Acts 16:17] 'servants of Jesus Christ' [Philippians 1:1] 'His servants . . . [Revelation 1:1] ' . . . His servants the prophets' [Revelation 10:7d] 'His servants shall serve Him' [Revelation 22:3] 'His servants' [Revelation 22:6c]

In short, the forum title "The Servants of Mary" is a misnomer.

Ray Berrian, Th.D.

 

Ray, what Carson was pointing out in the eating meat example is not that the eating of the meat is a sin but that the Church, at one time, required us not to eat meat and if we did eat meat, the sin was one of disobedience. In a similar way, if I tell my son to clean his room and he deliberately refuses, his sin is not because his room is not clean, it is because he disobeyed me. The Church as our spiritual leader on earth, has the power to loose and to bind. She has the power to set rules for her children, and we, as her children, are obliged to obey her. And just as I can decide that my son no longer needs to clean his room before he goes out to play, the Church can decide that we no longer need to abstain from meat.

In Christ,
Catholic Dad
Learner

 

If he (Brian) is the object of your prayer, then you are committing idolatry. God is the object of all prayer. Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Our Father, who art in Heaven..." The object of their (and our) prayers is always God, no exceptions.
Mary cannot help you interceed. There is no need to go to Mary. Mary is dead. Like every other person who has died, Mary died. She is dead. A dead person can do nothing. Mary died and awaits the resurrection just like all others.
Some time ago Bob Ryan gave some good information about this. Praying to the dead is the sin of necromancy--a sin that is strongly condemned in the Scriptures; a sin that recieved the sentence of death in the Old Testament. Praying to Mary is the equivalent of necromancy.
DHK

 

Hi Ray,

To my way of thinking your explanation 'of meat on Friday' was a 'white wash' as to how the papal authority has changed some vitally important rules in the church.

Hardly. It's a simple explanation of a simple fact. The Church's communal penitential practice is a discipline like whether to use red or white vestments in our liturgies. Like whether to celebrate Easter on this date or that date. Like whether to have our Sunday services at 9 AM or 11 AM.

Therefore, this discipline may be altered and changed. It's a matter of practicing what we believe - not what we believe.

If this is true then I would like you to explain all of the extra-Biblical doctrines that I referred to previously, as to where they are documented in either the Old or New Testaments.

Please read Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating; in this text, you will find the Biblical basis behind each Catholic doctrine.

I don't know why you would ask me to explain Catholic doctrine like the co-redemptrix of Mary

It's pretty simple. I'm asking to see whether you even know what it means. Can you simply tell me the substance of what you're criticizing?

Mary is not sitting in Heaven at the Father's right hand interceding for our souls, nor is any saint.

It is clear from Revelation 5:8 that the saints in heaven do actively intercede for us. We are explicitly told by John that the incense they offer to God are the prayers of the saints. Prayers are not physical things and cannot be physically offered to God. Thus the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God mentally. In other words, they are interceding.

In our view of the Scriptures there is no Biblical explanation of the co-redemptrix of Mary that is elevated to us in the Bible. This concept, then, is without foundation or spiritual basis.

Well, what does this doctrine mean to begin with? And what is the Catholic's response regarding the Scriptural foundation?

If you cannot answer these two simple questions, then why are you so presumptuous in your conclusions?

I have not studied the teaching of the expositors of such a doctrine from Catholic scholars.

You don't have to. Just tell me what it means and where we get it from Scripture. That's pretty simple.

When I stand before God ... Jesus will be my Mediator and Advocate/Attorney before the Father God.

And I would have to agree wholeheartedly with you.

If God desired to tell us that there are more than one intercessor for us frail saints, He would have bonified this for us in the Scripture.

He did. See my response above.

 

Hi Brian,

Carson, there is no difference in subject or object because you have NO POWER (of your own of course)

Yes, I do have power. I have the power to pray. And, when I am performing this action of mental intercession, it is not you performing this action. It is I, the only subject. And, when I do this, you are the object (purpose, aim, content) of my prayer. You are not the person praying. You are the one being prayed for.

And, when I pray for you, I am serving as a mediator between God and you. I go before God, in prayer, on your behalf.

You are the first non-Catholic I have come across who denies this simple, obvious, straightforward truth, and I find it rather ridiculous that you're still arguing your point.

We are begging God together and that is all we can do.

Of course I'm begging God. That's the purpose of prayers of intercession. This isn't a point of dispute.

 

CHAP. 6 SLEEP OF THE DEAD


If the soul is not immortal, just what does happen when someone dies? Let us examine the scriptures to see what they say about this important subject.

Eccl 9:5-10 5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

According to Solomon, the wisest man on earth, the dead know not anything. All of their feelings, emotions, and knowledge are perished. For all intentional purposes then, they basically do not exist, which is what death is, none existence. The bible however, refers to the dead in a more politically correct way, if you will, one that is easier for us to accept. The bible refers to the dead as being asleep from one end of it to the other. This is a fit description, since sleep is a state of unconsciousness. A person that is sleeping has no awareness at all of what is going on in the world around them, nor are they able to participate in anything in the world around them. Yet sleep ends, when they are awakened.

Job 14:10-15 10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

Job referred to the dead as sleeping. He even referred to the resurrection, when the Lord would call forth those in the grave. The change he speaks of in verse fourteen is no doubt the change from mortal to immortal at Christ's second coming.

Dan 12:1-2 1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel also spoke of the dead as asleep. Verse two is unquestionably a reference to the resurrection at the second coming.

Ps 13:3 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

David also referred to death as a sleep. All through the old testament those who died were referred to as sleeping with their fathers. The same terminology is used in the new testament, and even by Christ himself on both occasions when raising the dead.

Luke 8:52-56 52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.
53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

John 11:11-15 11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

Jesus did not say that either of the people he raised from the dead were in heaven, or hell, but simply that they were asleep. Notice what Martha said to Jesus when he went to her and Mary to raise their brother from the grave.

John 11:20-25 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Martha understood that the those who sleep in the grave will be called forth from the grave in the last day at the resurrection. Jesus told her, " I am the resurrection, and the life " and then proceeded to prove it by raising her brother, who had been in the tomb for four days. This same thing Jesus will do again for all those who have died in him, when he returns again. Observe the following.

1Thes 4:13-18 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

In the above scriptures concerning the resurrection, the apostle Paul refers to the dead as sleeping three times. In the previous chapter we quoted some other verses from Paul’s writings that also addressed the resurrection, the dead are referred to as sleeping in these verses also. As previously stated, in order to establish a biblical doctrine, the scriptures must be considered in their entirety. Anyone can take just a few verses, and make them say whatever they wish. Although there are a few verses that seem to suggest that the dead are conscious, the overwhelming weight of scriptural evidence from one end of the bible to the other is to the contrary. These few verses are being misunderstood, and miss applied.

It is of course a doctrine of the church of Rome, that the dead go to heaven, hell, or purgatory at death. The writer will not even waste any time addressing the false doctrine of purgatory. However, by teaching that the saints are alive and in heaven now, the church of Rome again separates humanity from Christ. Those who accept her teachings, pray to certain of the Saints, Mary in particular. By praying to the dead, these deluded souls have been separated from the only one who can hear and answer their prayers, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ alone who mediates between man and God the Father in his sanctuary in heaven. The bible condemns communication with the dead for a very good reason. As already pointed out, the dead know not anything. This being the case, those who think they are communicating with the dead, must really be communicating with someone else. That someone else is certainly not God, for he condemns the act. To be sure, Satan and his angles will answer as the dead to those wishing to communicate with the dead, whenever God himself allows it.

Lev 19:31 31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 20:6 6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Deut 18:10-12 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

1 Chr 10:13-14 13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;
14 And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

One of the reasons God allowed Saul to be killed, and turned his kingdom over to David, was because he sought communication with the dead. It is obvious from this incident, that one who seeks communication with the dead, is not seeking communication with God. Nor is it God who answers the prayers of one who prays to the dead. Since the Devil is the father of this lie, that is the immortality of the soul, it is only right, that if anyone, he should answer those who accept this lie by seeking communication with the dead.

Isa 8:19-20 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

The present Pope believes that Mary saved his life when an attempt was made to assassinate him years ago. He leans heavily upon her intercession for his church, and humanity as a whole. Mary is dead, she knows not anything, and is incapable of doing anything for anybody. Millions of Roman Catholics around the world are praying to dead people that cannot help them in any way. They should be praying to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to save to the uttermost, all who call upon his name. Sadly, they have been taught to rely upon others. No doubt, Satan himself will and does do all he can to support this lie, for he is the father of it.

Bye for now. Y. b. in C. Keith

 

CatholicDad,

I understand your explanation. In our churches refraining from eating {fasting} is not enshrined in a law and practice of the church but is the option of the believer as he or she is directed by God's prompting.

The Lord reminds us in Isaiah 58:6 that fasting is not only 'afflicting the soul' {not eating} but it is 'loosing bands of wickedness' {removing any hiddden and persons sins} 'removing a heavy burden . . . ' It is spiritually uplifting when we remove a burden from the shoulders of someone near to us. Also, Isaiah says, 'it is letting the oppressed go free.' When we are opened to other people, especially other brethren in the faith, they will tell us what is really bothering them in their lives. In this way we can be a conduit by which others vent their souls. And lastly Isaiah says, it is 'breaking every yoke.' A yoke was unpleasant to the oxen and sometimes we have a yoke on our shoulders that we can offer up to God because He has said, 'Come unto Me, all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' The oxbow was used in Biblical times and comes from the Hebrew word, {mowtah/motaw}. He will remove the yoke when we fast and encourages us in I Peter 5:7 where He says, 'Casting all your care on Him for He cares for you.' The Greek word, 'casting' {epirrhipantes} is in the aorist active tense, suggesting that at some point we begin casting and we are encouraged to keep on casting our anxiety on Him.' What a promise!