Hopkins Chapel
A
Holy God Can
Only Be a Holy God.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:8-10
There will be no person in heaven that
got there by their own merit. The
salvation that got them there was a
gift. God offers His grace, and we
receive it by faith.
Baptism, church membership, keeping the
Law, or taking communion will not get
you into heaven. Neither will teaching,
preaching, visiting the sick, and
feeding the hungry will get you before God.
We only receive salvation by placing
our faith in what Jesus did for us
on the cross.
If we could go to heaven on our good
works or on our merit, God would have
to lower His standards to our level. My
friends, that is not going to happen.
A holy God can only be a holy God.
We would be bragging of all we did to
get us there. Would you like heaven to
be filled with what God hates?
He hates pride and Lucifer got
kicked out of heaven for that.
And we would be too.
Salvation is God's gift.
You can not work for it or earn a gift.
All you can do with a gift is receive
it or reject it.
Salvation is free to sinners, but it
cost Jesus His life. He became sin for
you, my friend.
What are you going to do with His gift?
God bless,
Gerald English
Who told you?
Kids are some of the funniest people I
know. Every single day I have a
conversation with a kid at work or at
church and I end up laughing with them
about something. This may be because I
am a big kid and tend to get along with
them as if I were their age. Kids can
provide some of the most wonderful
blessings in your life as they grow up.
One reason that they are so funny is
that they are so inquisitive, and they
are always learning. Sometimes they are
learning a new sport, new words, new
jokes, or even new things that they
might be good at. It is especially
rewarding when you are able to see them
enjoy something new for the first time,
them watching their first NBA game, or
them scoring their first goal, or making
their first good grade on a test. It is
especially rewarding when they let you
in on their excitement; running to you
not being able to contain the joy of
their good news. However, one of the
most heartbreaking things to watch is a
when a child learns about shame. As we
grow up, or at least as I have grown up,
I have ignored the shame that has
existed. It has become something to cope
with and not something that needs to be
taken away. We learn cover it up. We put
calluses around it so that we do not
have to deal with it and we conjure
feeble attempts to protect ourselves
against it. In other cases we are
overtaken by our shame and we compensate
for our shame by indulging ourselves in
vices in order to numb the shame we
experience. We are familiar with guilt,
with right and wrong. Sometimes shame
comes from this, but shame is different
in that it can come from something else.
It can come from a lie someone else has
told us, or one we have told ourselves.
Shame puts us in bondage, limits us, and
inhibits us from becoming our full
selves. One story in particular from
working with kids plays itself out when
I think of this. Every little girl wears
their pretty little dress that their
mother picks out for them. They are so
excited because that day they are
beautiful. However, sometime during that
day they are lied to and I have found
them in a corner hiding. Crying. I go up
to them to make sure that they are ok;
to make sure they are not hurt. My first
thought is that they fell down and
scraped their knee or that someone has
hit them or pushed them down. Often it
is far worse, they have learned about
shame. They have been fed a lie, that
they are not beautiful, that they are
ugly, plain, dirty, stupid, rejected.
That she is not loved, that she is
somehow repulsive, that she is unwanted.
It is in those moments that I find
myself at a loss for words. It is at
these moments that I am let in on their
pain. What can I say? Someone has just
taught this young girl shame. We all
have known shame, the feeling of being
reproachful and unwanted, rejected. Who
told us? Who told you that you are
unlovable, not beautiful? Who told you
that you are not masculine enough, that
you cry too much? Who told you that you
can never be the woman your sister was,
that are not girlie enough, or that you
are too girlie? Who told you that you
would never be wanted or desired by
another? Who told you that you could
never have dreams, that you are a
failure? Who told you that you would
never amount to anything? Who told you
that you are not good enough for first
class, that you are dirty, that you are
ugly? Who told you about shame? Who told
you…? God asks this question to His
first children after they were lied to.
Adam and Eve ate the fruit and ran in
hopes to flee from the face of God and
embrace the sepulcher of shame. They
realized that they were naked. When God
found them the first thing that he said
was not condescending, or condemning. It
was a question. Who told you that you
were naked? At that moment shame entered
into humanity and stole our affirmation
from our Creator. It stole our value and
made us feel reproachful, unlovable. We
now need someone to take our shame. We
need someone to give us a new identity,
to tell us a greater truth about
ourselves than we have been told so far.
We need a Shame Thief. One who has come
to steal back shame and its vices. One
who will absorb our reproachfulness in
order that we might have acceptance,
value. Someone to tell us we are loved.
If I were ready for when this little
girl let me in on her shame I would ask
her, who told you? I would tell them
that someone has lied to them. That the
lie that they were told is not the truth
they should believe. I would tell them
of one who accepts them, who loves them.
I would tell them that someone has come
to take their shame, and has told them
that they are beautiful.
Posted by Tyler English
Article
Presented by
Charles Odom
What Love means to a 4-8 year old . .
...
'When my grandmother got arthritis, she
couldn't bend over and paint her
toenails anymore. So my grandfather
does it for her all the time, even when
his hands got arthritis too.
That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
'When someone loves you, the
way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is
safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4
'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and
a boy puts on shaving cologne and they
go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
'Love is when you go out to eat and give
somebody most of your French fries
without making them give you any
of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6
'Love is what makes you smile
when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4
'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for
my daddy and she takes a sip before
giving it to him, to make sure the
taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7
'Love is when you kiss all the time.
Then when you get tired of kissing, you
still want to be together and you talk
more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.
They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8
'Love is what's in the room with you at
Christmas if you stop opening presents
and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
'If you want to learn to love
better, you should start with
a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million
more Nikka's on this planet)
'Love is when you tell a guy you like
his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
'Love is like a little old woman
and a little old man who are
still friends even after they
know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6
'During my piano recital, I was on a
stage and I was scared. I looked at all
the people watching me and saw my daddy
waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that.
I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to
sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6
'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy
the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5
'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly
and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7
'Love is when your puppy licks your face
even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4
'I know my older sister loves me because
she gives me all her old clothes and has
to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4
'When you love somebody, your eyelashes
go up and down and little stars come out
of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy
on the toilet and she doesn't
think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6
'You really shouldn't say 'I love you'
unless you mean it. But if you mean it,
you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8
And the final one
The winner was a four year old child
whose next door neighbor was an elderly
gentleman who had recently lost his
wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy
went into the old gentleman's yard,
climbed onto his lap, and just sat
there.
When his Mother asked what he had said
to the neighbor, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
When there is nothing left but God, that
is when you find out that God is all you
need. Take 60 seconds and give this a
shot! All you do is simply say the
following small prayer for all your
friends.
Heavenly Father, please bless all my
friends in whatever it is that You know
they may be needing this day! And may
their life be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as he/she seeks to
have a closer relationship with You.
Amen.
Charles Odom
An
Article from
Pastor
Richard Walker
THE GLORY
OF THE CROSS
Has anyone noticed that today it is
quite common to hear sermons on the
subjects of how to be financially
successful or how to be healthy, wealthy
and wise or similar topics? Has anyone
noticed that today much of “contemporary
Christian” music seems to focus on
personal needs and personal desires?
Recently, I attended an event at a
church where the music leaders led in
singing what was labeled as
“contemporary Christian praise”.
However, in all of the songs sung there
was only one mention of the name Jesus
and no mention that I recall of the
cross or shed blood of Jesus Christ. I
have even read comments by some who are
looked upon as Christian leaders saying
that churches may even need to remove
the cross if we are going to be able to
reach certain people in our society
today.
On the other hand, the father of the
Reformation, Martin Luther, wrote that
“no word in the Bible can be understood
apart from the Cross.” In Galatians
6:14, Paul writes, “May it never that I
should glory (boast or brag) except in
the Cross.” Lots of people glory (boast)
in wealth, possessions, social status,
fame, education, talents, positions in
their church, or personal
accomplishment. Paul reminds us in First
Corinthians 1:29 that “no flesh should
glory in (God’s) presence.” Jeremiah
9:23 says, “Let not the wise man glory
in his wisdom, let not the mighty man
glory in his might, nor let the rich man
glory in his riches.”
Everything Christians are and everything
we have somehow is tied to the love of
God through Christ who died on the
Cross. R. C. Sproul is right when he
says, “What God esteems we despise, and
what is enticing to us is repugnant to
Him. To search for glory in the cross of
Christ is turn the values of man upside
down.” So why is it that the Cross does
that so many turn away from its glory?
For one thing, the Cross condemns the
flesh (human effort, human
accomplishment). Paul was dealing with
legalists of his day who “desire to make
a good showing in the flesh” (Galatians
6:12). Let me mentioned some things from
Galatians 6:11-18 which the Cross
condemns.
It condemns “bragging” or boasting in
self. Recently, I saw a truck with one
of those “vanity” plates on the front
bumper. Maybe not, but it appeared to me
that the owner was bragging about what
he gives to church. The plate had these
words on it: “Faithful Tither.” Another
thing the Cross condemns is
“compromising.” Like these legalists in
Paul’s day, many today appear to want a
popular religion which compromises the
truth of Scripture in order to be
“politically correct.”. Also, the Cross
condemns being “hypocritical”. Like the
Pharisees Jesus spoke of in Matthew
23:3, “they say and do not.” How many
times have we ever been guilty?
In verse 14, Paul says that “the world
has been crucified to me and I to the
world.” The Cross crucifies the world.
In other words, the Cross takes away the
power of the world to control our
thinking and living. The world is dead
to me and “I to the world.” In other
words, the believer’s desires and
interests are not the things of the
world anymore.
Lastly, the Cross creates a new creation
(v. 15). This is why we boast and glory
in the Cross. It was the Cross that made
the difference in Paul’s life. As one
old song says, “The old rugged cross
made the difference!” Second Corinthians
5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation: old things
have passed away; behold, all things
have become new.” Once it is understood
why Jesus Christ endured the Cross, we
have a new life, a new mindset, a new
purpose, the new power of Christ within
us, and a new eternal destination. It’s
because of Christ taking upon himself
the condemnation of sin and the judgment
of God on the cross that man can be made
a new creation.
No wonder the true believer boast or
glories in the Cross. R. C. Sproul puts
it this way, “The cross is the pride and
joy of the new creation. It’s the
present you show off first when friends
come over Christmas afternoon.”
Men cannot change the terms of
salvation, but they can refuse the terms
of salvation. Paul came to know the
Person of the Cross, gloried in the
Power of the Cross and realized the
Purpose of the Cross in creating a new
person. I pray that the Cross has made a
difference in your life too!
Pastor Richard Walker, Retired
