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
1 comment:
Wow - Christine, that is so powerful to watch our mind and what we are pondering! oh I cant wait to hear part 2!
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