Sorry it took me so long to get Part 2 posted. I encourage you to go to the New Attitude website and listen to the messages. Click on 2008 Conference on the left of the page.
continued from part 1................I want to give myself to the Word and I want to Labor to know him. Labor means work. Our generation is the most biblically ignorant in history. Piper asked us not to waste our life by being lazy. He told us that we must die to the notion that we don’t have to work hard or think hard in order to obtain spiritual progress. He encouraged us to use our brains. The Lord will give us understanding in everything. He said that there is such thing as regressive sanctification. You must keep swimming in the river (the world and its influences). If you stop, you will go backwards. We cannot make progress in our spiritual life until we are confident that God is 100 percent on our side. He freely gives us all things. He is not against us no matter the circumstance or event. We must fight to believe this, not to make it true. We must fight to see glory when there is doubt. In order to fight, we must be people of the Word so we can pull out our swords and stick our feelings with God’s promises. This requires memorization which I have already started with my family. I am motivated to make God and His Word my passion because I am deserving of judgment and wrath, but instead get life and breath and every good thing because God sent his son to die in my place for all my sins so I could be completely forgiven. I have been adopted into God’s family and am a child of God. I am no longer a slave but a son and if a son than an heir.
This conference came at the perfect time for me. God is so good and kind. I pray that from here forward I will never read my Bible the same way again. I want it to be my joy and the delight of my heart.
6.16.2008
6.11.2008
Na and friends...........
Over Memorial Day Weekend, we were in Louisville, KY for the New Attitude Conference. This is an annual conference that exists to help Christians believe, live, and represent the truth with humility (humble orthodoxy). It is grounded in the churches of Sovereign Grace Ministries. The goal is to equip people and point them back to their own local church communities.
This year's theme verse was Jeremiah 15:16. We spent 4 days examining the Bible and its implications on our lives. I am going to share with you my testimony from Na. But, before I do so, I want to tell you who we went with. God has been so kind to bless my husband and me with incredible friends that love the Lord and seek to glorify Him in all they do. Most attend our church and all are single - funny, huh? These people have become some of our dearest friends. They teach us by their example what it means to live a life passionate for the Lord Jesus Christ. Their trust in the Lord's sovereignty and wisdom for their lives is one to be commended. We are motivated by each of them and thank God for their friendship which we don't deserve. Thank you guys for loving us! We pray that the Lord will continue to grow our friendship and we look forward with anticipation to the times to come. Prov 17:17 "A friend loves at all times"
Now for the 1st part of my testimony.........I'll post the rest tomorrow.
You know how the Lord sometimes uses other people’s circumstances to change you? That is what happened to me before Na. The Lord began to show me, in a way I didn’t expect, what it meant to TALK to myself about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He’s accomplished for us at the cross instead of LISTENING to myself and my constantly changing feelings and circumstances. Often times, I was allowing my feelings to guide my thinking and, therefore, would react sinfully to situations in my life. I was definitely giving, to my children in particular, a distorted perception of God through my ungodly responses. CJ said that we need to question, rebuke, and challenge our souls when they are in turmoil. Most of the time our unhappiness comes from listening to ourselves instead of talking to ourselves. We have an internal ceaseless conversation with ourselves everyday. We have to learn to talk truth to ourselves and it requires effort. Our troubled souls will not be immediately cooperative; they need continuous addressing with the Truth. It requires repetition and perseverance. In order to practice this, I have to be feeding my soul every day which is something I have never consistently done. The Lord has kindly been convicting me of this since the beginning of the year. I use the word feeding because Josh Harris said we eat what we trust, what is healthy, good, and nurturing. I get really excited about my food and my desire is to have this same excitement for God’s Word. I was really awakened when he told us the story of Jahoiakim. Jahoiakim burned God’s Word. Josh said this is something none of us would do, but isn’t it in a sense what we are doing when we ignore it – when we don’t read it? It is encouraging to know, as Josh reminded us, that God will meet us right where we are. His Word speaks perfectly even when we aren’t doing perfect. He will draw near to us if we draw near to Him. Eric Simmons said if we love Him, we will love His Word. He asked – Do you look for yourself in the scriptures? I am not sure if I do this, but I think I can sometimes get overwhelmed with all the things I am not doing right. I learned that the Bible is a story of all God did for us not a list of “to-do’s” for God. This was so good for me to hear. It is all about Him not me. As Paul said to Timothy, I need to keep learning, believing, and studying, no matter the battle, not only because it is a command, but also so I can be equipped to help others, to defend my faith, to train my children and to mortify sin in my own life. It is not about me and my selfish ambitions. God’s Word reveals Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers................ to be continued
Christine
This year's theme verse was Jeremiah 15:16. We spent 4 days examining the Bible and its implications on our lives. I am going to share with you my testimony from Na. But, before I do so, I want to tell you who we went with. God has been so kind to bless my husband and me with incredible friends that love the Lord and seek to glorify Him in all they do. Most attend our church and all are single - funny, huh? These people have become some of our dearest friends. They teach us by their example what it means to live a life passionate for the Lord Jesus Christ. Their trust in the Lord's sovereignty and wisdom for their lives is one to be commended. We are motivated by each of them and thank God for their friendship which we don't deserve. Thank you guys for loving us! We pray that the Lord will continue to grow our friendship and we look forward with anticipation to the times to come. Prov 17:17 "A friend loves at all times"
Now for the 1st part of my testimony.........I'll post the rest tomorrow.
You know how the Lord sometimes uses other people’s circumstances to change you? That is what happened to me before Na. The Lord began to show me, in a way I didn’t expect, what it meant to TALK to myself about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He’s accomplished for us at the cross instead of LISTENING to myself and my constantly changing feelings and circumstances. Often times, I was allowing my feelings to guide my thinking and, therefore, would react sinfully to situations in my life. I was definitely giving, to my children in particular, a distorted perception of God through my ungodly responses. CJ said that we need to question, rebuke, and challenge our souls when they are in turmoil. Most of the time our unhappiness comes from listening to ourselves instead of talking to ourselves. We have an internal ceaseless conversation with ourselves everyday. We have to learn to talk truth to ourselves and it requires effort. Our troubled souls will not be immediately cooperative; they need continuous addressing with the Truth. It requires repetition and perseverance. In order to practice this, I have to be feeding my soul every day which is something I have never consistently done. The Lord has kindly been convicting me of this since the beginning of the year. I use the word feeding because Josh Harris said we eat what we trust, what is healthy, good, and nurturing. I get really excited about my food and my desire is to have this same excitement for God’s Word. I was really awakened when he told us the story of Jahoiakim. Jahoiakim burned God’s Word. Josh said this is something none of us would do, but isn’t it in a sense what we are doing when we ignore it – when we don’t read it? It is encouraging to know, as Josh reminded us, that God will meet us right where we are. His Word speaks perfectly even when we aren’t doing perfect. He will draw near to us if we draw near to Him. Eric Simmons said if we love Him, we will love His Word. He asked – Do you look for yourself in the scriptures? I am not sure if I do this, but I think I can sometimes get overwhelmed with all the things I am not doing right. I learned that the Bible is a story of all God did for us not a list of “to-do’s” for God. This was so good for me to hear. It is all about Him not me. As Paul said to Timothy, I need to keep learning, believing, and studying, no matter the battle, not only because it is a command, but also so I can be equipped to help others, to defend my faith, to train my children and to mortify sin in my own life. It is not about me and my selfish ambitions. God’s Word reveals Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers................ to be continued
Christine
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