I’ve been reading all the posts, but haven’t had time to comment.
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ INC }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

You guys are really making me think! (about the note taking situation!)

Good post, Saint Canary!

Atlanta is a good team…  ya gotta be loyal to your own… 

All of the “Your Story” posts are under the tab “Your Story” at the top of the main page. 

As far as the Cardinals…  I really wanted to see Warner win it, as I think this could possibly be his last year in football.  But the Steelers pulled it out, and I’m happy for them…  they earned it!    I still wish my Dolphins had been there, but there’s always next year! 

And this,
“So maybe we are speaking of two different types of anger – justifiable anger at injustice and the enemy, and selfish anger that comes when we don’t get our way or are impatient with God, etc.”

I am thankful, too!

I was once a huge Pharisee.  The Lord, in His absolute mercy, opened my eyes one day. I had been crying out to Him for months, asking if this was all there was to my Christian experience. I was so dissatisfied.  My soul was drowning.  I was HUNGRY.

The Lord met me on that day, and revealed to me what a Pharisee I was.  In His day on earth, I would have been one of the men (though I am female) standing on the temple steps, condemning Him.  Now, by His grace, I am His disciple, willing to follow wherever He leads.

If Jesus could lead me out of my legalism, He can lead anyone out.

I missed this, but sort of replied to it anyway over on the other thread.

Yes, yes and yes!  I completely agree with you.  The gospel message–that’s exactly where it’s at, where SGM has gone all wrong.

Thanks for such a concise rendering of the gospel according to Saint Paul.  We have to pray for the Big Guys eyes to be opened.  Only God can do it.  He can use us, yes, but His Spirit has to work in their hearts. You know, I’ve been “fed” more in the last couple of weeks at the blogs and by digging into the Word myself.  I’m so thankful that God’s working here.

Bree

Just another thought – you aren’t a sinner when God looks at you.  He only sees a saint, because of what Jesus did for you.  I think we should all begin calling ourselves “saints” because that is how we are spoken of in the NT.  It would be more profitable for our souls to stop thinking so much about sin, and think more on Jesus, His goodness, His joy, His great love for us.  Wouldn’t that just make us love Him more?  However, the legalists fear preaching this too much because they think we will all move into license.  They fear loosing control of us. So they keep us under the old law.  What they fail to understand is that grace will keep us from continually sinning.  Where the law is preached, sin will abound!  Where grace is taught, we only love Jesus more.  If it causes someone to move into license, then he was never of Christ in the first place!  This all makes so much sense to my tweety brain.  Why don’t these Big Guys understand?

There is a verse that says, “In your anger, do not sin”.   We can also assume that, when Jesus was throwing the money changers out of the temple, he was pretty mad at how they were taking advantage of His sheep.  I’m sure He wasn’t calling the Pharisees “white-washed tombs” in a non-angry, sing-song voice.  Then there is Paul, who tells the legalists to emasculate themselves, or calls them dogs (that is in Phillipians).  There is a reason for anger, but not for our own selfish ends, I think.  Sometimes, if  I am battling a weakness in my life, like fear, anger at the enemy of my soul makes me fight to think God’s way.  If I am angry because one of my kids broke a lamp, that is not a justifiable anger.  If I yell at them, in my anger, I have sinned.

So maybe we are speaking of two different types of anger – justifiable anger at injustice and the enemy, and selfish anger that comes when we don’t get our way or are impatient with God, etc.  Does that make sense?

I thought Arizona was going to beat the Stealers!  That come-back was amazing.  If only Warner hadn’t thrown an interception when the Cardinals were on the 1 yard line.  I’ll bet he is kicking himself today…ah well, another football season gone by.  Now what will we do on Sunday afternoons?  My hubby is getting me into UFC.  Maybe we will have to watch the taped ones.  My whole fam comes together for football, and most of them like UFC.  I still reserve my opinion, especially when the blood starts spurting…bleh.

I just read your comment about you being the cat with feathers hanging out of your mouth.  Hee-hee – you add so much color to this blog!  I love your wit. 
Bree,
I did read your response this morning.  Stopped blogging to watch the big game.  Yes, I look forward to more talk on legalism.  SGM denies that they walk in it.  Just look at the fruit.  That’s how you can tell if the leaven is there.
I’m glad you haven’t run into the same sort of troubles in your church as we have.  You can read my story on survivors, because I don’t know where the “my story” section went to, here.  The one I wrote for the Refuge is a little more in depth.
You seem to have a soft heart.  It is good that you are open to see if what you read here is true.  Maybe you are in one of the SG churches that hasn’t been as effected by the doctrine and  polity of the Big Guys.  All we really want is for SG members to consider that what we post just might be true.  It seems like you are here to do just that.  If, in turn, you see something posted that is not a fact, or just doesn’t jive with what you’ve seen, we want to hear!  When people drive by and throw their bombs (like, this is gossip!), it is hard to reason with them.  I think you sound like a reasonable person.  Please feel free to ask your questions, or give your comments.  We are here to learn, as well.

Bree, welcome to the Refuge!

Thanks for calling me out on that.  I had my reservations after I’d written that comment–that particular line.  My husband shared with me yesterday something he read in Lou Priolo’s book–he’s recommended by SGM, isn’t he?  Well, sorry if that makes him a put off, but I’ll just explain what my husband said.  He told me that Priolo says anger is a God-given emotion, given to destroy something.  And that he cited Eph. 4:26 as a command to be angry.  He also talks in the book about sinful anger.  But the point partly being *what is it we’re to destroy.*  I’m probably not making sense.  But here’s that verse in The Message.  Again, sorry if you don’t like that translation.

“Go ahead and be angry.  You do well to be angry–but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge.  And don’t stay angry.  Don’t go to bed angry.  Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”

So I think the defintion of “anger” comes into this discussion, don’t you?  If it’s vengeful, sinful, long-lasting anger, well, that’s wrong.  But getting angry for the right reasons is not a sin.  And although maybe not exactly a “command,” as it’s included in the passage, it is understood that being angry is definitely not wrong.

I didn’t do your suggested study.  I am familiar with lots of passages on anger because it can be a struggle for me, with my kids.  I’m not trying to defend that kind of anger.  I am defending the anger that lots of us have for the attrocities cited on this site as well as survivor.  That anger should be used to destroy something–I peronally think it’s the bad (legalistic) teaching of the gospel at SGM.

Thanks again.  I welcome your input.  No need of for a hard hat.  : )

One more point.  My normal SGM understanding of anger left no room for any of it because it always came back to motive.  Well, since I’m a sinner, the motives rarely pure.  Could I ever have righteous anger like Christ?  Well, no, I can’t be perfect.  So I think this way of understanding it that I mention here (not as a command, per se) and as seen in The Message is more spot on.

Complete agreement with you–sola scriptura.

Bree

I know, I know…  we are just a couple of slackers!  Heh!

(And to think that I watched the whole game and Arizona didn’t win…  :sigh:  Although it was a great game and I am happy for the Steelers …  it would have been better if my beloved Dolphins had made it…  maybe next year…) 

I am so glad you are here!

Be sure to do some major study on that Ephesians verse, (which is a quote from Ps 4:4) especially on the verb often translated “be angry,” spending time on the specific verb tense used, and then search Scripture carefully before saying that we are ‘commanded to be angry.’  That is pretty strong language.  I know we are commanded to put away anger.   I would welcome verses from God that command me to be angry, that’s for sure.  I love being angry.  It is exhilarating.

If you do a word study on anger and being angry, it is pretty one sided.

Go ahead, I have my helmet on, throw them rocks.

But do a study, first. James 1:20 is a good place to start.

I am not pulling the SGM you can’t ever be angry card…but we have all agreed that the Bible is our source for godliness and for instruction in righteousness.  I was pretty amazed eight years ago when I went to God’s word, planning to defend my anger and right to be angry, and could come up with squat doodle–except to come coming alongside Jesus when his Bride is being abused (the temple incident, his rebuke to the disciples about the kids, etc.)  Much of the emotion over Noel and Esther and other stories are just that.

Sola Scriptura!

Let me get this straight.  You were watching the game and not sitting quietly in front of your screen waiting with baited breath to moderate our comments?  What the heck?