☕️ Coffee, 💨 Cannabis, & ⛪️ Kirk. • Romans 7:21-8:1 • Prepare the Way: Celebrating Christ’s Victory • Dr. Bryan Pain, FBC Duncan

And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

Mark 8:29, ESV

🌞 Gooood morning! I hope this post finds you well, whenever you may be. We are in my most favourite book of the Bible today – Romans vv. 7:21-8:1. I am brewing Tribute from Starbucks (don’t ask, I was desperate), and enjoying 🍃 Blue Guava Gelato, a strain that is smooth & such a lovely purple. On that note, let’s get going!💨

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to G-d through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of G-d with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 7:21-8:1, ESV

18.February.24 Full Service

☕️ Coffee, 💨 Cannabis, & ⛪️ Kirk • Prepare the Way: Celebrating the Victory of the Cross • Col. 2: 6-7; 13-14 • Dr. Bryan Pain

Helloooo there! Bonjour! {J’ai travaillé sur mon français tous les jours, mais je ne vais pas vous ennuyer avec ça.} We (Christians) are in the home stretch after the holidays, but onto Easter. Bryan is focusing on the cross today… in Colossians 2: 6-7, 13-14.

Full service, First Baptist Church Duncan, Oklahoma; Dr. Bryan Pain, pastor.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:6-7; 13-14

We can take for granted that everyone we see around us on the daily, knows who Jesus is & can (at the very least) agree that he existed, was a teacher, & died by order of the Romans of crucifixion. All of that is history & can be corroborated by reading the Roman records of the day as well as Jewish scholars & their well maintained records.

• The cross cannot be explained by those who hold to Jesus as [merely] a teacher.
  Was Jesus’ life just a good, moral example of a way to live? Was his death a good, moral example of a way to die? [I would like to know your thoughts on this.]
  
• There is no one who can escape the inevitability of the cross.
  Every single person will face the Lord G-d one day. (Hebrews 9:27) Often we think about sinners as ‘those people,’ Hitler, Stalin, the ‘bad guys’… but sinners are all around us, as well as in the mirror.
  
• There is no amount of rule-keeping that will get you right with G-d.
  We must realize that our friends, whom we have known for months, years, or even decades, and who are exceptional people, are spiritually dead if they are not in Christ.
  A person could never lie, walk the narrow path, give to charity, or give everything away… but if they have not accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour?
  
  They are spiritually dead.
  
• It’s the cross of Jesus alone that can remove the guilt of your sin.
  Our Lord G-d gave his Son to die a horrific death, for all sin, for all time… and he did. An incredible transaction!
  The President did indeed forgive debts, much like the earliest Christians. If you are uncertain about that, please look into Deuteronomy 15 & Matthew 18, or you can read an article here.
  

Prepare the Way by: Stephen Stookey https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/stephen-stookey

• Everyone comes to the cross empty-handed.
  -Just as you received Christ, walk with him.
• You will never mature beyond your need for the cross.
  We need G-d in every moment, to be ROOTED, BUILT-UP, & ESTABLISHED in the faith, abounding in thanksgiving.
  When I was very young in my walk with Christ, I had Psalm 143 posted up on my bathroom mirror.
  

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Deliver me from mine enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my G-d! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Psalm 143: 8-10

• Gratitude is the defining mark of a maturing follower of Jesus.
  Gratitude helps us see what we have is what we need, and more, because our Lord gives abundantly. Being grateful actually makes me a happier person.
  
  G-d bless you today; I hope this finds you well & offers comfort.
  Talk Soon,
  Cecelia✌🏻🌊 💙

the Empty Cup

There is an emptiness within me right now.  My chest literally feels the loss.  I have started several blogs, only to be distracted and never to finish.  This is one.  I had half a sentence written.  I wish I could explain where this is coming from and why it takes but a thought to bring tears to my eyes.  Could this simply be loneliness?  I confess to being a very lonely person. Most of my life has been spent within friend-family groups; friends that become so close that they are more like family. At  my age you find friends either at work, church, through some gathering or club…etc.  I work from home.  Well, I work from Starbucks.

For my daughter’s well-being, we decided to put her in a summer Tae Kwon Do camp along with Fit Girls.  I will begin with the latter.  Fit Girls is a nutrition/reading/running program that Sarah Bush (local hospital) sponsors with the Mattoon Public Library.  It is an interesting combination.  Twice a week the group gets together at the Mattoon Public Library, first to discuss the pages they were to read from the chosen book.  This summer it is a book about a girl that lost a leg, but continued to do her favorite thing, which was running.

They also have a folder of worksheets concerning nutrition that they work on together.  This is about portion sizes, processed food vs. natural, etc. After their “class” they start running!  They are training for the 5K in Mattoon’s Run for the Bagel on July 23rd.  I love watching my baby girl work her butt off to do something that makes her so proud.  At the end of the session they always have some kind of healthy snack to share with the girls, just to give them an idea.

I believe we have decided (by we, I mean Bekah,) that she will go to Tae Kwon Do every day of the week if possible.  Right now she goes Tues./Thurs./Fri., 8am to 4pm.  It is not simply Tae Kwon Do.  OH no… they do a lot of different things including, but not limited to, games like kickball, dodgeball, etc.; they go to the park, swimming, crafts, some down time with movies (usually during lunch)… it is just an awesome camp.

How did I get here?  OH yeah, loneliness.  Well, I do not have my kiddo during the summer.  We still do things at night, on weekends, etc.  But we are not together all the time (which is a good thing, THAT we have learned).  What do I do?  Well, when she is at camp I am at Starbucks, it is just my place.  There has been a lot of turnover, obviously, in a college town.  Many of the barista’s have graduated and gone home, or to their new homes with their new jobs.  New people come in, and we “learn” each other.  

A friend, Nate, will be moving about 90 miles away to live & work a while… before he goes back home to Michigan.  I cannot really explain how much Bek & I will miss him.  He’s not just a friend, we steal his dog (Stanley) every once in a while to fulfill our need for a dog.  Now I’m not sure what we are going to do.  Much is changing.  Yet another good friend, Stevie, is now graduated and engaged!  Not sure if she and her fiancé are sticking around here, or if they have bigger, better things ahead.  Another friend, Chazz, finally came back from Cleveland.  Her (now husband) had a job there for six months; it was just too long to be apart.  So she transferred to a Sbux up there.  She came home married & pregnant!  It is so exciting.

I have adopted these people as my friends (whether they want to be, or not) and my family.  That does not mean that they spend any of their own time with me.  Stevie and Nate are the exceptions to that, but everyone else, it seems we are contained to this building.  That makes me sad.  It’s not like I have a lot of time to do things with them outside of work.  Maybe that is just an excuse.  I’m the middle-aged, single mom… most of these people are babies (early 20s).  Why on earth would they want to spend any time with me?  HA! 

So, why don’t I have a ton of friends from church?  Well, I do have friends from church, but none that want to do anything with me.  Once again, I’m the middle-aged, single mom.  I just do not fit.  I should be married, then I would fit.  I feel so alone.  I shouldn’t be expressing these feelings; I was taught to hold it all in.  You know, keep a good face on.  I do that with my pain; it is just too difficult to try to hide this pain too.

Just so you know, I am reading helpful books, digging deeper into the Word, and praying my heart out.  Currently my cup is empty and I am trying so very hard to fill it.  I know that I cannot do it on my own; I need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help me fill my heart.  I do not doubt the sovereignty of God, therefore I know that this will not last forever.  I need to learn from it and move on to the next season.  I’m going to go back to one of the books I’m reading…haha, there are several.  This particular one is telling me that my singleness is a gift.  If I did not have a child I would completely agree; I would be able to do many things for the Kingdom.  As it is, I’m a mom.  Prayers appreciated…I’m a mess.

I hope & pray that all is well in your lives.  Praying for a friend that lost a family member recently in a motorcycle accident.  If you need prayers, just ask.  I certainly am not afraid of asking!  God bless.

~Cecelia