Content at Home

So we made it through the three days of excellent teaching from the T4G guys! We had a WONDERFUL time and are so very grateful for being able to attend. We were blessed in so many ways this week! There is so much we learned and are still trying to digest, plus we are seeking to learn how to implement it in our lives. Since Kyle is not an "official pastor" and I am not an "official pastor's wife" we are talking of ways that we can take what we learned and apply it in our own ministry context. It should not be hard because the Gospel applies to all contexts! :-)


As we ate lunch yesterday after the conference at a great sub place, Jimmy John's, with our friends from Texas, one friend asked each of us what one thing from the conference were we planning on putting into action in our lives when we returned home. As I listened to the other guys talk and reflected on the various messages that I really enjoyed, I realized that I really had two things, that in some way wrap up into one.


Thabiti Anyabwile preached an excellent session on "How Wrongly 'Engaging the Culture' Adjusts the Gospel." He pointed out that so many pastors and churches are now seeking to "engage the culture" and draw people in by becoming more like them. Yet he reminded us that we are not to be taken captive by the world but are to be captivated by Jesus Christ. In our day and age, everyone is defined by the culture they live in. Each country, state, community, etc... has their own "culture" that everyone knows them by. One excellent question he asked was: "If we are all defined by our culture, then what does it mean for us to be apart of God's people?" How does being apart of God's people define us before the world? Then he said this: "Christianity is multi-ethnic but it is not multi-cultural!" Wow! I was really captured by this comment! As the people of God, He has called us from every tribe and nation, so we are multi-ethnic. Yet, He calls us to all conform to the image of His Son... this produces a Christian culture in that we are all to be apart of. Thabiti pointed out that in the NT Paul writes to the church, not the culture. He sought to transform people by the cross and for them to become like Christ. It was through this gospel transformation that people could then make cultural judgments based on truth. In our churches, many people do not realize that they are captivated by the world and not Christ. They say they are living for Christ but really their lives show something completely different! 


So the first half of my application from this week is to be careful how I walk. I want to be completely captivated by Christ and not allow all of the worldly goods to distract me from my purpose here on earth.


This brings me to the second half.  We had the privilege of hearing Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Dallas, Texas come and speak about what God has been doing in his life. On Thanksgiving day, just a few months ago, he suddenly had a seizure right in front of his children. Rushing him to the hospital,  his family found out that he had a tumor on his brain. They got him in for surgery that next week to remove part of his frontal lobe. He has been undergoing chemo treatments since. He was told that a person his age could live for about 2-3 years depending on everything. (Now, I don't know about ya'll, but if I was just told that I possibly had 2-3 years left to live, I would be doing some drastic rethinking of how I spend my time and energy!) Yet, through God's grace, Matt has continued to trust the Lord and continued to preach and teach and literally live before a nation of people who are watching him online as he lives out his faith and trust in God! After Matt talked for a few minutes he ended in praying. As he prayed, he lifted up each of his young children before the Lord asking that God would draw their hearts to Him and that if he died that his children's hearts would not be hardened towards God because of that. He also prayed for his wife. (I lost it! I was totally crying during this prayer, hurting for his wife, who was there listening to all of this.) He said that his wife had so much faith and trust in God that she was even encouraging him to continue his ministry and not holding him back or trying to keep him home while sick. 


After Matt finished, C.J. Mahaney got up and taught on suffering and how pastors should prepare their congregations for suffering before it happens! He gave a list of book recommendations to read and have as resources for people. Then after C.J. finished, all of the T4G guys (Mohler, Dever, MacArthur, Piper, Duncan, Anyabwile, Mahaney) stood up with Chandler on stage and John Piper prayed for him, asking God to heal him, if that is His will, and to give Matt grace and peace. I was still crying and there were many grown men wiping their eyes at the end of the prayer. Afterwards, all 7,000 men and women stood up and sang "It Is Well." You should have heard the humility and gusto that this song was sung with. This verse in particular caused me to weep for Chandler and his family:


"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul." 


As C.J. Mahaney stated about a dear friend of his who is dying, he has joy in his trial because he knows that his greatest need was already met on the cross through Jesus Christ. No earthly need will ever equal that of forgiveness and saving grace bestowed from God, our Father. 


After hearing this message and being reminded that our lives here on earth are not guaranteed, I was quickly convicted about how I spend my time, thoughts, and energy throughout the day. So for my goal in applying what I have learned this week, first off I desire to release worldly expectations and desires for myself and be focused solely on Christ and the gospel. Secondly, I plan to use my time more wisely, making the most of my brief stay here on earth as I seek to live out the gospel in my marriage, home, church, and community. Now I understand this is a tall order and that I cannot do this alone in my flesh. However, I seek to be obedient to the gospel call that God has placed on my life in calling me as His child. 


My first plan of action is to begin cultivating my time with God even more. Not only in the scripture I study but in the books that I read, my goal is to understand the doctrine of the cross and my need of grace more fully. One of the free books I got this week was "Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I believe and Why It Matters" by Joshua Harris. I have started with this book and plan to read "Big Truth for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God" by Bruce Ware. This is a book focused on teaching children about the big truths of God. I bought it to help us teach our Baby Roland about God, but know that it will benefit me as well! There will be many other things that I will be seeking to do as I seek to "declutter" my life from worldly priorities and seek to focus on God, but I am encouraged that I can take these things step by step. 


Here are the videos from the two sessions I have just talked about. Take time to listen to these sessions. They are so good! Be patient and give them time to buffer or else it'll be choppy. Click play and after it begins, click pause to let it buffer. 


T4G 2010 -- Session 4 -- Thabiti Anyabwile from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


T4G 2010 -- Special Session -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

We just got home from our first day of the Together for the Gospel conference. It's been fabulous! I'm not going to write much now because it's 11:00pm and I need sleep. But I did want to leave you with a couple pictures!

Here's my stack of free books from just tonight. Kyle has an identical stack! We've been so blessed so far!

Titles include:
The Holiness of God - R.C. Sproul
The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation - Michael Reeves
It is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement - Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence
The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline - Jonathan Leeman
He Is Not Silent - Al Mohler
Proclaiming A Cross-Centered Theology - T4G Guys
The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything - Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
ESV Study Bible

Our first conference as "The Roland Family" and residence of Kentucky! :-)

This week, Kyle and I have the wonderful privilege of attending the Together for the Gospel conference here in Louisville, Kentucky. Our apartment is just a few miles from the convention center and we are so excited about being able to attend and hear these great leaders and theologians who are coming to bring the Word of God to us!

The main speakers are Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, and Al Mohler, along with Thabiti Anyabwile, John MacArthur, John Piper, and R.C. Sproul. We have the special honor of hearing Matt Chandler as well, pastor of the Village Church in Dallas, Texas.

Breakout sessions will be held one afternoon with various speakers. Kyle and I will be attending Josh Harris' session: Dug Down Deep: Helping Others Build Their Lives on Christ-Centered Doctrine.

Check out this video about Josh Harris' new book: Dug Down Deep.

We are super excited that we have friends coming in town for this conference as well from Kyle's church in Georgia and my church in Texas. We can't wait to see them and hopefully get a chance to hang out with them some!

I'm hoping to update throughout the week on here, but we'll see how busy we stay. Please pray that my nausea stays at bay during these sessions. As I drove to work nauseous this morning I began to pray that God  would keep the nausea away at least through this week!

Check out this site for some fun T4G videos.

Lastly, here is a video of some T4G participants from a couple years ago:

Eight years ago our nation was brought to a sudden standstill as the TV displayed to us devastating news:


We watched in horror as not one but two planes hit the twin towers, then one hit the pentagon.

We then watched live footage of people jumping from windows to their deaths rather than being burned alive. We watched as people swarmed from New York City to run to safety, fearing that another attack was coming.

Then the two towers crumbled to the ground. The world was silent as they watched.

Rescue teams came in from miles around to help save the lives of people trapped under rubbish and debris.

Some people were given grace to be able to walk away unhurt.

Over the next few days the resounding question that everyone was asking was:

WHY?

This is the question that all mankind find themselves asking during difficult times. It's not an easy question to answer from the human perspective. We want to make sense of situations, know the reasoning behind things, know what it's going to affect, and simply why it had to happen?

Even this morning, a dear friend and co-worker of mine found her 20+ son dead in their home. I'm sure today she is wondering, "Why, Lord?" and seeking answers for the unknown.

Yet, there is hope for the Christian during these times of desperate questions and emotions! When we look at the Cross of Christ and realize that we all deserve death because of our sins and that it is only because of the blood of the perfect Lamb of God that we have life eternally, we realize that instead of asking why, we can rest in the perfect knowledge of God and his ordaining of these earthly tragedies. Death is not hidden from God. He ordains every little detail of life... and death.

Now, you may say "but how can God allow bad things to happen to good people?" yet is that really a proper, biblical question? God is 100% pure. Now, if He is pure, how can He interact with an impure people? This is where the beauty of the Gospel is so marvelous! God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

We need a mediator to go between us and God, one who is pure, spotless, and holy. "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:21-24

Christ came to this earth to be the redeemer and mediator for us! He took our sins on His perfect, sinless body, then took them to the cross and died in our place.

You see, we should not be asking, "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" but rather "why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?." Brothers and sisters, we do not deserve anything good! It is only by the pure mercy and blood of Christ that we receive good. God has lavished us with countless blessings that we, in our sinful state, have no claim to. But through Christ, once He is Lord of our hearts, we now enter into a state of redemptive grace where God shows us a goodness and kindness that unrepentant man knows nothing of. Then, when tragedies come, we can know for sure that God has allowed this to happen for a purpose, that His will will be accomplished, and that He is still our great God.

God's character never changes. No matter the circumstances that change around us, God will always be good.

Recently, I've been reading a wonderful marriage book called "Love that Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace." It was written by Gary and Betsy Ricuicci. Gary has been a Pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland since 1977.

One chapter is specifically written by Betsy to the wives. The whole book has been amazing so far, but this chapter was such a great reminder to me of God's sovereignty in marriage and His sovereignty in designing me to be the helpmeet of Kyle. Even though, as you grow closer as one, and you begin to see all the imperfections of both the husband and wife, you do not have to hold those against your partner.

Betsy states: "I can only be truly grateful for the efforts of an imperfect husband if I'm truly grateful to God for the undeserved favor he extended to me in my salvation and continues to extend each day, despite my overwhelming imperfections." (pg. 54) As women, we can relate. It's so easy for us to look at the imperfections of our husbands and dwell on them, instead of focusing on everything that he does well and on the grace that God has extended to us as women, in need of much grace!

"An excellent wife is a woman endeavoring by God's grace to give her utmost to the great call of being a faithful and godly wife - and God gives grace where he intends to reveal grace. It's about serving in humility, with a focus on God's glory, according to our gifts. It's about being committed to serving and growing and changing in these areas and being a helper to our husbands, not about having attained some particular level.... The wife who lives with biblical wisdom toward her husband will, by the enabling grace of God, exhibit love, respect, and submission toward her husband and will serve him according to her gifts." (pgs. 64-65)

Being a godly wife is no different from being a godly woman. It's all about focusing of the Lord, allowing Him to sustain us as we seek to follow Him in serving others (specifically our husbands), living in obedience to Him, and living our lives in a way that brings honor and glory to His name.
So even if you're single and reading this post, you can still be cultivating these traits of a godly woman. No matter our age, status in life, or the field of ministry that God has called us to, we can honor and glorify Him by living our lives in obedience to His revealed will for us as women as seen in Scripture.

I'm a little over halfway through the book and have been so encouraged, yet also convicted. There is always work to be done in a marriage and it's only by God's grace that we can cultivate and sustain a God-glorifying marriage that reflects the beauty and passion of God.

Along with introducing this book to you I wanted to give a shout out to a couple new CDs that Sovereign Grace Ministries has released. I have many of their CDs and I always get excited when they release a new one! The songwriters do such an amazing job with intertwining scripture based lyrics and beautiful melodies. The Lord has really used many of their songs to spur me on to greater faith, trust, and reliance upon Him. I hope that their music will be uplifting to you as well!

Their new kids CD, To Be Like Jesus, was released in June. I have their first CD entitled Awesome God which I have enjoyed listening to. I can't wait to order this new CD. I look forward to introducing my own children to this music one day! What could be better than teaching your children truths about God through music? I'm not a big fan of a lot of the current children's music that is sold in our Christian stores. Even though children are young, it is never to early to be teaching them truth... not ingraining in their minds simple songs that reflect on man... I want my children to sing of our Savior!



Tomorrow the newest CD Sons and Daughters will be released at the WorshipGod Conference in Maryland. I was able to attend the WorshipGod Conference in 2006 and have deeply desired to go back ever since but have been unable to make it yet. I hope that maybe next year Kyle and I can go together!

Last year, at New Attitude (now Next), C.J. Mahaney made an announcement at the end of the conference that he wanted SG to produce a CD that focused on God as our Father. He called for all the songwriters to begin working on songs with that theme. They have done it... with this CD.

Earlier this month GirlTalk wrote a post about The Gospel for Busy Moms. However, what they have to say can apply to all of us. They have some great tips and resources listed on their post.

Be sure to check out their link for Gospel Scriptures.

Enjoy!