Expound on the Gospel: "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:3-5
a. Natural - my abilities, talents, assets. b. Spiritual - my spiritual gifts, my ministry. 2. Self-aggrandizement – “Don’t I look good/great?” a. Natural - my looks, my importance. b. Spiritual - my position in the church. 3. Self-attention – “Listen to me!” a. Natural - my understanding and viewpoint. b. Spiritual - my Biblical and theological knowledge. 4. Self-justification – “I am right!” a. Natural - my way is the right way. b. Spiritual - our doctrine and polity is right. 5. Self-sufficiency – “I can do it!” a. Natural - my abilities, my leadership. b. Spiritual - our programs will make it happen. 6. Self-aspiration – “Let me win!” a. Natural - competitive spirit; one-up-manship. b. Spiritual - our statistics will prove us successful. 7. Self-seeking – “Give me mine!” a. Natural - my rights; what I deserve. b. Spiritual - our political rights and physical edifice. 8. Self-exaltation – “Praise me!” a. Natural - my credit, glory, commendation. b. Spiritual - our procedures and success.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
What a read at her memorial on February 11, 2017: What if today
I could talk to my Mom even for a few moments? What would I say? I could write
a novel of all of the ways she was so special to me and to so many others. Perhaps
I would give her highlights in a letter, a love letter.
Dear
Mama...aka Gramie,
How can I
even begin to jot down a few examples of what a wonderful person you were
throughout all of our lives? I thought I
would start from my earliest childhood memories.
First of
all, thank you for your tenderness. You were an angel to me in times of
sickness. I remember even at your young age you were so maternal with your
velvety smooth hands massaging my back and stroking my hair when I would be
aching with fever. Your comfort didn't stop with your children. Your
compassionate care-giving was there for anyone who was in their last days of
life. You're were always to be counted
on for love and comfort.
Thank you
for the music. I never told you how much I was in awe of your raw talent. You
were an artist in every sense of the word. From my earliest childhood, the rooms were
filled with beautiful singing and acoustic guitars. I remember all of us kids twirling around you
and singing our hearts out to "Long Tail Cat", "Return to Pooh
Corner", "Jesus Loves Me", and "Jesus Loves the Little
Children". You had an incredible musical ear that becomes more obvious
everyday that I did not inherit. I suppose I envied that a little, yet I was so
proud that I had a mom who had a rich sounding voice like a blend of Karen
Carpenter and Anne Murray, but prettier. You also had an amazing gift of
harmonizing with any singer in a way that made a dreadful rendition of
"Happy Birthday" sound heavenly.
Thank you
for the fun. Some of my best childhood memories of you were jumping in our
hippie mobile, blasting 70's tunes, and singing "Granny's in the
Cellar" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" along the Oregon
countryside. I always knew you were cleaning when the Doobie Brothers and Eagle
songs were blasting. I even had neighbors that would ask me to turn it down and
I would reply, "I'll tell my mom to turn it down". To this day I love
to clean my house to loud music.
You had the
best laugh of anyone I've ever known. For such a meek lady, you had a fantastic
sense of humor, even if at times it was at other's expense. Example; when I
would be getting ready in front of a mirror and putting my makeup on, you would sneak up behind me with a "BLAH" while tickling my ribs. Another example of your shenanigans is when the
internet just came out. One by one, a victim of yours would be led to the
computer room to watch a "pretty nature" video only to have a
frightening ghoul jump out. You probably
ran the dial up for an hour and a half just to scare the ghost out of us just
so you can laugh to tears.
Thank you
for the food. I have so many memories of devouring your cooking. You use to
make my favorite birthday dinner of chicken fried round steak, mashed potatoes
with country gravy, and fried okra which you got from your mother's Oklahoman
roots. I never quite perfected that dish. My love for cooking came from you. You
showed love in such a tangible way by giving a care package for anyone who was
sick, injured, or just need cheering up. You would spend hours cutting
vegetables to the perfect size and season a dish flawlessly without a recipe.
It was evident with every bite that so much loving care was put in your meals.
Thank you
for being the coolest Gramie ever. You were not the kind of grandma that knit
sweaters and baked cookies. Oh no. You were a gamer, so that made you a rock
star in my boys' book. They'll always have memories of being allowed to stay up
past midnight, eating junk food, watching Disney movies, and playing video
games with you. They'll also have nostalgia for the rest of their lives of your
hugs and kisses and simply talking to them.
Thank you
for extending your love to your daughter and son in-laws. You were never a
meddler and kept a healthy distance, yet you treated them like they were your
own children. I know for my husband, it was like losing his own mother again.
He loved you so. You also showed that same love and devotion to your brother,
sisters, nieces and nephews by being a good friend and being there in times of
crisis. Also, your love for music lives on, instilling your passion to your
nephews by teaching them how to play the guitar.
Thank you
for being such a wonderful example of a devoted wife to Dad. Your love for each
other was undeniable to even strangers. You and Dad would looked at each other
adoringly every day, and were so affectionate with each other in all your 49
years of marriage. You two were a spot
on characterization of soul mates. When he came home from a hard day of work,
you would, much to our annoyance, tell
us kids to "scram" and leave you two alone to talk. I didn't realize
until I grew up what a model that was for marriage.
Thank you
for being my dear friend. I took for granted that you were always there for me.
I will miss hearing your sweet voice and the urge to call you when something insignificant
happens in my life will never go away, and I really don't want it to. I want
that nostalgic ache to be a constant reminder for the rest of my life of how
wonderful and unique you were. Out of all the moms in the whole wide
world, I thank God I got you.
Thank you
for your unconditional love. I will always remember you as that sweet tender
angel. I will always love you...ever so. Thank you Mama.
Your
ever-loving daughter,
Niecie Just a side note: My mother had me when she was only 17. She had a natural ability with music, mainly the guitar. She never used sheet music and relied on her ear. After much practice, I remember her excitingly summoning us kids when we were very small to be her audience. She played this many times over the years with the same difficult fret changes and long 7 cords. She sang it beautifully too. This a more recent recording of the song that was originally recorded in the early 70's, Return to Pooh Corner.
In the comments are below this article I wrote: I use to hyper-self examine myself for much of my Christian life until I understood the doctrine of imputation. Now my heckles go up a little during communion when we're asked to "Come to the table with a clean heart". Did anyone think this through? "The heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it." As soon as communion is over we're thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch. Admit it. Self righteousness is a sin in of itself. It is the realization of our sin in contrast of Christ's death and depending on His grace, otherwise we're missing the point. This is an excellent article by the Gospel Coalition about The Hyper Examined Life.
"Do I feel that I could not contribute even one perfect thought, much less one solitary perfect action to the stores of the Redeemer’s merit? Nevertheless, He bids me come, and come I will. He is a great giver; I can only be a receiver, and my utter lack of all goodness fits me to receive from him, since the emptier the vessel the more it can receive. If I could help him there would be no need for him to work a miracle on my account, but since I can bring nothing whatsoever, I need his miraculous power. As I see him feeding hungry souls I will join in with the rest and partake of the fruit of his compassion." Charles Spurgeon
Jesus had little trouble reaching the harlots, the thieves, robbers, criminals, outcasts, and sinners of society, including the tax collectors and the extortionists, but He had an almost impossible time reaching the religious, self-righteous, moral people who were under the illusion and self-deception that because of their goodness, everything was OK between them and God. They recognized no sin, so they needed no Savior. That is always the danger of morality. Morality creates an illusion of safety when in fact the person who is moral may be in the greatest danger of all.
Listening to this sermon (here) really helped me understand how abusers think and the physiological harm they heap on their victims over a period of years. This is also very helpful as to why a few women I've met throughout the years seemed to be off emotionally. They have been in a POW camp for crying out loud!!
In an earlier post I mentioned a friend of mine who endured many years of abuse from a man who was brought up in a church. She recently fled that abuser, yet he still attends that church (of course she had to leave).
Every pastor needs to hear this important message. We must understand the mentality of the worst kind of wolf that often harbor in churches and deceives many with their charm, fake repentance and counterfeit spirituality.
Here is a little spoiler of how victims and church leaders should take nothing less than a Paulific repentant transformation from alleged abusers: "Finding out that you're a verbal abuser/controller is a bit like falling down the rabbit hole. Your entire reality is shaken to the core to find out your relationships are broken, and that those around are frightened of you; that something is horribly wrong with the way that you view and communicate with the world. It is a very scary and life changing event. That is the spirit of fear...that is the Holy Spirit at work. It is the trauma of seeing ourselves as we really are; condemned before God."
I've been listening to a sermon series by Jeff Crippen of Christ Reformation Church on domestic violence and other abuses. "Before we can deal with an abuser we have to get these logs out of our eyes...lots of them." "The Christian church has not done a good job in helping the victims of abuse. In fact we harbor abusive people. Why is that? This is suppose to be the pillar and support of truth." Series HERE.
What is legalism? It is a reliance upon human works for any kind of justification before God. Is confession relying on your works? How about believing in your heart? How do we know we've believed enough? This sermon revisits and puts in to proper context of verses that has been misused since the days of Finney. "Many have led people to Christ using the "Romans Road" approach, but what few realize is that we often give people a legalistic approach to Christ through this method. We should be careful not to give someone another act to perform for salvation; but rather, we give people the Gospel and the confession and belief will accompany it as God implants the Word into their heart." Steven Bratton on Romans 10: 6-11. Sermon HERE Related Articles: Do Romans 10:9-10 or Romans 10:13 Teach "The Sinner's Prayer"
Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord And discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:3-6
When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.
Isaiah 51:1
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Matthew 13:16-17
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with [b]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12.
" The key-note of this angelic gospel is joy—
"I bring unto you good tidings of great joy....
The joy which this first gospel preacher spoke of was no mean one, for he said, "I bring you good tidings"—that alone were joy: and not good tidings of joy only, but "good tidings of great joy." Every word is emphatic, as if to show that the gospel is above all things intended to promote, and will most abundantly create the greatest possible joy in the human heart wherever it is received....
Rejoice, ye who feel that ye are lost; your Saviour comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer ye who are in prison, for he comes to set you free.
Ye who are famished and ready to die, Rejoice that he has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and he has come to be the bread of life to your souls.
Rejoice, O sinners, everywhere for the restorer of the castaways, the Saviour of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, ye saints, for he is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and he is the sure prefecter of such as he preserves. Jesus is no partial Saviour, beginning a work and not concluding it; but, restoring and upholding, he also prefects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before his Father's throne.
Rejoice aloud all ye people, let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Saviour who is mighty to save is born among you.....
I say, then, to you who would know the only true peace and lasting joy, come ye to the babe of Bethlehem, in after days the Man of Sorrows, the substitutionary sacrifice for sinners.
Come, ye little children, ye boys and girls, come ye; for he also was a boy. "The holy child Jesus" is the children's Saviour, and saith still, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not."
Come hither, ye maidens,ye who are still in the morning of your beauty, and, like Mary, rejoice in God your Saviour. The virgin bore him on her bosom, so come ye and bear him in your hearts,saying, "Unto us a child is born, onto us a son is given."
And you, ye men in the plenitude of your strength, remember how Joseph cared for him, and watched with reverent solicitude his tender years; be you to his cause as a Father and a helper; sanctify your strength to his service.
And ye women advanced in years, ye matrons and widows, come like Anna and bless the Lord that you have seen the salvation of Israel, and ye hoar heads, who like Simeon are ready to depart, come ye and take the Saviour in your arms, adoring him as your Saviour and your all.
Ye shepherds, ye simple hearted, ye who toil for your daily bread, come and adore the Saviour; and stand not back ye wise men, ye who know by experience and who by meditation peer into deep truth, come ye, and like the sages of the East bow low before his presence, and make it your honor to pay honor to Christ the Lord.
... May all in this house, through the rich grace of God, be led to do the same, and may they all be thine, great Son of God, in the day of thine appearing, for thy love's sake. Amen." ~ Charles Spurgeon
Excerpts fromCharles Spurgeon’s sermon “Joy Born At Bethlehem”
Delivered on December 24th, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle
