More awesome teachings on being a Titus 2 Woman April 24, 2008

In 2007 Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. hosted the Women’s Conference 2007 on Titus 2 Talks for Women. Captiol Hill is the church of Mark Dever, author of the book 7 Marks of a Healthy Church, which Louis recently took our church through. Some of the topics from the conference include “Living Without Fear”, “Women Who Display Redemption”, “Made in the Image of God: Female”, “Helper Supporter” and many more. One of the speakers was Noel Piper, wife of John Piper and author of one of the books we have been reading in Titus 2, “Faithful Women and Their Extrodinary God”. In one of Noel’s sessions she goes into more detail about the women that are in the book. I encourage you to take some time and listen to some of these sessions. Just click here

Few ideas as to how/when to listen to audio

1. If you are at work and can put in headphones or if you have a private office this can be a simple way to work and listen. If someone walks in the room just pause the audio and start back when you have time.

2. At home with kids, while they are napping would be a great time to listen to sermons and messages. Or while you are doing house work… you can stay busy and being fed awesome Truth

3. If you drive a lot, instead of listening to the radio, you can download the audios to your itunes and put it on your ipod or you can burn the audio to a CD and put it in your car CD player.

Just a few ideas… there is so much great audio on the Internet. For example, every Tuesday John Piper’s sermon from their Sunday services are on the Desiring God website. If you do not have Internet access please let me know and I would love to burn you a CD of sermons or teachings.

Live Mightily,

Megan Gale

Guarding Our Little Girls April 22, 2008

When I read about this children’s book I was astounded. Josh Harris posted about the book on his website and offers some great feedback on what our response as Christians and mothers should be towards a book of this content. Basically, A plastic surgeon has written a children’s book about mothers having tummy tucks, nose jobs and etc. Please click the link below to read more about it.

http://www.joshharris.com/2008/04/mommys_got_a_brand_new_belly.php

This article so fits in with something the Lord showed me on Sunday. After Jared’s sermon, I shared with Don briefly some ideas in regards to raising our children. One thing that the Lord struck me with is being aware of my struggles and not passing them on to my children especially the ones that are rooted deep. For example, if we have a little girl I do not want our daughter to think that she has to have make-up on or her hair done to be able to go out in public. And the list can go on with other examples. The Lord is showing us ways and developing ideas as to help protect our children. I know I must teach and be an example to our children to what it means by having Christ as my identity, not beauty. Please share any thoughts or experiences you have gone through.

Live Mightily,
Megan Gale

Together for the Gospel April 18, 2008

Good Afternoon!

I wanted to let you know that you could listen to all the messages at the Together for the Gospel conference that happened this past week. This is the conference that some of the leaders of our church attended. Amazing teaching happened. I encourage you to listen to some of the messages.

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Resources/T4G.aspx

Love you all

Live Mightily,

Megan Gale

9 Encouragements to Evangelize April 16, 2008

Hi Ladies,
Below are 9 encouragements to evangelize by John Piper, he recently shared these with his church. I know this is an area that I always need growth in. I love the Lord so much, but what is my love if there is no action behind it. Of course that is where evangelism comes in Here is the link to the sermon if you are interested in listening to it. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/2723_Im_Sending_You_to_Open_Their_Eyes/

Live Mightily,
Megan Gale

1) God uses clay pots (2 Cor 4:7).
“Now the encouragement is this: “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” Jars of clay is a reference to us. We are the jars of clay. That is, compared to the treasure that is in us, we are clay. We are not gold. The gospel is gold. We are not silver. The news about Christ is silver. We are not bronze. The power of Christ is bronze. This means that if you feel average or below average in your fitness to share the gospel treasure, you are closer to the truth that someone who feels powerful and wise and self-sufficient. Paul wants us to realize that we are clay pots. Not gold or silver or crystal. He wants us to realize that from the most sophisticated to the most average, we are all clay pots when it comes to containing and sharing the gospel. It is so valuable and so powerful that any thought of its container being something special is foolish. … Be encouraged, ordinary Christian. You are appointed, precisely in your ordinariness, for the greatest work in the world: showing the Treasure of Christ.”

2) Get resources to share (tracts, books, CDs, etc.).
“The point is: Think this way. Think: Wherever I can I want to commend Christ. I want to tell the story that God uses to give people life. Put them in your pocket, your purse, your briefcase, your car (John Sather said he carries a box of resources in his car). And pray every day, Lord, make me a saving blessing today to someone.”

3) Know that God may use many influences.
“Keep in mind that what you say to someone about Jesus may be supplemented by a half dozen others that God is providentially lining up to speak to this person as God pursues him for salvation. You may feel your word was wasted. It is never wasted (1 Corinthians 15:58). Your word may be the beginning of the influences. Or the final decisive word that God uses to bring a person to faith. Speak your word. The smallest word about Christ is not wasted.”

4) Be a lavish giver.
“Be known as a generous person, not a stingy person. Jesus said, “Lend, expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35). Combine this reputation with giving books, if you know someone is a reader. Give a Christian book that cost you seven or ten or fifteen dollars. Tell them what it meant to you and that you would love to talk about it some time. If you don’t know the person, ask for their permission to give them a book that meant a lot to you. … Be lavish in giving away Bibles and portions of the Bible.”

5) Find people interesting.
“Be encouraged that simply finding people interesting and caring about them is a beautiful pathway into their heart. Evangelism gets a bad reputation when we are not really interested in people and don’t seem to care about them. People really are interesting. The person you are talking to is an amazing creation of God with a thousand interesting experiences. Very few people are interested in them. If you really find their story interesting, and care about them, they may open up to you and want to hear your story—Christ’s story.”

6) Invite people to church. [While this isn't a stand alone thing always, it can be sometimes. I was saved
because someone pressed me to come to church with them.]
“In your relationships, invite people to church even before they are Christians. Some of the sheer strangeness of what it means to be a Christian can be overcome by a growing familiarity with how we sing and talk and relate in church. And the preaching of the word of God has a unique power.”

7) Fill the city with Gospel teaching.
“When the apostles were put on trial in Jerusalem the high priest said, “You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching” (Acts 5:28). That is what I dream for the churches of the Twin Cities. If all the Christians were talking about Christ, and giving out literature about Christ, and sending emails about Christ, and inviting people to church for Christ, and being lavishly generous to others for Christ, then someone might say, “Those Christians have filled the Twin Cities with their teaching. May it be so.”

Use your giftings.
“We are all in this together, but some are gifted one way and some another. Find where you fit and stoke the flames of your effectiveness there. Grow in every area, but don’t paralyze yourself because you are not like someone else. God made you and means to use you in evangelism.”

9) Read books on evangelism. Piper lists three great books: Will Metzger, Tell the Truth; Mark Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism; J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. If you can afford to, get these books. They’re excellent for instruction, encouragement, and ideas. I have read Tell the Truth and it points out some excellent things on evangelism… let me know if you would like to borrow it!

What Do You Call God? April 15, 2008

What do you call God?
“Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes.” –Daniel 4:25
In the book of Daniel, Daniel often refers to God as “Most High.” I would like to suggest that we tend to refer to God with the name that most defines our understanding of Him.

Daniel was a Jew that had been taken from his home and his Jewish culture and forced to serve a foreign king, the king of Babylon. He was required to become a part of Babylon’s culture, traditions, and belief system. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, wanted the strongest and brightest Jewish young men to serve him and contribute to the greatness of his kingdom.

Babylon, like all the other leading nations during this time, followed many gods. Because of this, when Nebuchadnezzar saw that Daniel’s God was successful, he would praise his God as being strong and mighty. But he would not necessarily surrender to the truth that God is the ONLY strong and mighty God.

Interestingly, Daniel keeps referring to his God as “Most High.” “Most High” is one of the many names of God found in the Bible. It explains that God is literally the Most High. He will not allow anyone or anything to raise itself above Him. A perfect example of this is seen in Isaiah 14:12-15 which describes satan’s attempt to put himself above God. Verse 15, explains that God’s response was to bring satan “down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.”

David knew that this was who his God was… the Most High, Because of that, it didn’t matter what the culture he was immersed in said about his God. He clung to the truth of what the scriptures called his God. He clung to the truth that God was Most High and that all the other false gods around him would never reign supreme like his God. Because he clung to the truth that God was Most High, he most often used the name Most High, to refer to his God. Which leads me to the question: What do you call God?

Do you most often refer to Him as Father, Lord, or God? Or do you even maybe refer to Him as Abba, Adonai, or Elohim? Spend some time reflecting on what you call your God. Think about your prayer time, your conversations with believers, and your conversations with unbelievers. Ask God to show you what your names for Him say about your relationship with Him.

Read Daniel 4:28-37. Look at how God brought even King Nebuchadnezzar to a place of believing God is Most High.

~ Monica Brenton

Titus 2 Tuesday April 14, 2008

Please forgive me for not having any new info up here the past week. Not to make excuses, but life has been crazy as I am sure everyone reading this is use to in their own lives. No promises, but looks like this week the blog will be back in action especially considering we know have Internet access! Below is a recap of last week at Titus 2 Tuesday.

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Titus 2 Tuesday was full of strong truth taught by the women of the church. As I am sitting here remembering the Scripture (Titus 2:3-5) and the practical applications that were given, I am brought to a place where I know the Lord has so much to teach me. As I sat and listened to each woman on Tuesday, the Lord brought this question to my mind: Am I allowing Him to use the women in my life around me to teach me and if so how? I fear I didn’t have that great of a response to the Lord’s question. I was challenged for the Lord to make me more teachable, by Him and others around me.

So, what does it mean to be teachable? I do not have the definition down, but what comes to mind is being humble, realizing the need for growth and having a spirit of submission. Of course none of these come naturally, so that is why we must keep our hearts close to the Lord and loving Him above all else.

Also, in being teachable I thought about the uniqueness of each person/woman in our church and how we each have something remarkable that the Lord has taught us. Whether we have walked with the Lord 2 years or 42 years. Let us share those experiences with one another! Helping and coming alongside each other in our walks with the Lord! If you do not spend time with many women in the church or even if you do I encourage you this week to plan a lunch, afternoon or evening date with a woman in the church. Let’s always be ready to learn and teach each other the good works the Lord is doing in our lives.

Quick Recap of Titus 2 Tuesday

Jessica Hart lead the teaching from Titus 2:3-5. Reminding the women of the command for the older women to teach the younger women.

Chris Driver followed with a practical application to love your husbands and children.

Monica shared on being self-controlled and encouraged us to keep our walls of self-control secure and rooted in the Lord.

Amanda showed what the Lord has taught her about purity and how it is such a treasured part of her life.

Please share any thoughts or notes from the this past week at Titus 2. It is always a blessings to gather with the women of Centerpoint.

Live Mightily,

Megan Gale

Prayer, Reminders, and Word of Encouragement April 7, 2008

Good morning. I wanted to post a few things to be in prayer about… there are many more… but here are 3 for our church family.

Allison and Mike Barker and their family with the passing of Allison’s mother, Barb Cerny. Mrs. Cerny was a faithful woman of the Lord and we rejoice that she is now in the presense of our wonderful Maker, please continue to be in prayer for the Cerny/Barker family.

Also, Sunday morning Jen and Tim Coleman welcomed their baby boy Andrew Ellis Coleman into the world. Please be in prayer for Jen’s recovery as well as Andrew he is having trouble breathing. In Jen’s last email she updated everyone that he is in the neonatal intensive care unit, but things looks very optimistic that the problems will be cleared up quickly.

April 18th at Buckhead, Louis and Monica Brenton will be having a fundraiser for their little girl Hannah Grace. They are having the fundraiser for the adoption of a little girl from China. Please be in prayer about all the details of the event as well as the Lord providing the money that they need.

Reminder- Titus 2 Tuesday is this Tuesday night at 6pm at the home of Chris Driver~ if you need more information please contact Monica Brenton or post a comment here!

Live Mightily,

Megan Gale

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Here is some awesome Truth that Clara Kent wanted to share:

Psalm 90:12-

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

– A heart of wisdom. We may gain a heart of wisdom if we number our days. If we can see past today, past ourselves, to the big picture, to what will remain, to Christ. If we can look at ourselves in relation to Christ, then we may gain a heart of wisdom. We are but a breath, a fading moment, a withering flower, our days can be numbered. But, Jesus, our Lord! Oh! Glory be to Christ! He does not grow weary or tired! He does not change! He does not fade! He is steadfast and faithful! He will never fail! The riches of his grace are without number!

When we see that, when we see who Christ is, when we are humbled at HIS throne, at HIS cross, then, and only then, will we have a heart of wisdom. Why? Because Christ is our wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Oh the riches of the word of God! Oh it is a treasure to be prized!

~Clara Kent

Update on African Village April 4, 2008

We have some news about the African village that needed a boat. (please see below post) Don contacted a few mission organizations in Africa seeing if they could help deliver the boat if we were able to purchase one. Also, it’s a Zulu village on the Tugela River, for those of you that want to look on a map. Here is the email response:

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Dear Mr. Gale.

I am Mark Hatfield and am the area director for Baptist Global Response for Sub-Saharan Africa. Baptist Global Response (BGR) is a new Southern Baptist international relief and development organization and a partner with the IMB in the area of human needs ministries. I received your note copied below from the IMB’s CESA region and appreciate your concern for the children of this village.

Wade Coker the IMB’s strategy facilitator for that part of South Africa researched the possibilities of assisting this village and found that the South Africa government has already began the construction of a bridge. I have copied in the press release as an attachment to this note.

We want to thank you for your concern for these people. We know God will bless you as you look for ways to serve Him through holistic ministry.

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The press release stated that bridge construction has begun as of April 3rd. It will take 15 months to complete the bridge and will create more job opportunities for the community as well as a safer route for the children to go to school.

Praise the Lord! Please be in prayer for this village, for the construction to go smoothly and that the people will see God’s grace and love through this building project.

Live Mightily,

Megan Gale

His Ways are Higher Than Our Ways April 3, 2008

“But praise, God has got a plan and understanding isn’t my place.”—Sanctus Real

About a month ago I had ridiculous drama in my life. Now, as I’m sure most of you do, I hate drama. I had a distinctly different reaction this time though. This time the drama (which involved me and was about me) sent me straight to the Lord. That week was massive confusion for me. It seemed that even though I was seeking after the Lord and doing His will, things just weren’t going my way and got worse. It all came crashing down a few days later and while most of it is resolved, there are still wounds that need to heal. My motto that week was, “It doesn’t matter what happens. As long as God is glorified and I am drawn closer to Him, then that is all I need.” I don’t understand what God did, is doing and will do with that situation, but I know He’s in control of it. The sovereignty of God is amazingly freeing.
When you know deep down in your heart that God is in control, you don’t have to worry. You don’t have to stress over it, fret and bite your nails. All you have to do is keep your eyes focused on Him and He’ll take care of the rest. It allows you to hope and believe that your God is a god who loves you and works all things out for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) It allows you to dream bigger. Jeremiah 29:11-14 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” Isaiah 55:8-9 also states, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” So while I consistently have to fight my flesh for this, I will choose to rest in the knowledge that my Heavenly Father, who loves me more than I can understand, has it all in control. I pray that you will feel the amazing freedom that comes from letting Him have control.

~ Rachel Watson

Building a Solid Wall~ Jen Snyder April 1, 2008

As I thought about what to write, I was thinking on the topic for the Titus 2 retreat weekend – Oaks of Righteousness. When I think of oak trees, I think of something very strong and very solid – something that is not easily swayed. So, I was thinking, what can I share that would encourage my sisters to be solid and not easily swayed? Then it hit me; I should share something that I know a lot about – self-control. I know so much about self-control, not because I am the most self-controlled person that you will ever meet, but quite the opposite. I have struggled with self-control and discipline throughout most, if not all, of my walk with God. Because I have struggled with this so much, God has spoken to me on this topic quite frequently! So, the following is just a bit of what God has shown me.

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
Proverbs 25:28 (ESV)

Without some background information, this verse may not mean as much to us today as it did to the people who first heard it. After all, our modern cities do not really have walls, so we may not understand the implications of being “without walls”. But to ancient cities, a wall around a city was everything. Attacks were not uncommon during this time and a wall around a city was its main defense against those attacks. In fact, the very meaning of the Hebrew word for “city” (‘iyr) means “a place guarded by waking or watching”. So, if a city was not guarded, it was not doing what it was meant to do. For example, in Nehemiah (1:3; 2:17), when the Israelites have finally returned to Jerusalem after Babylon has basically destroyed their city and held them captive for years, the author says that the people who live there are in disgrace because the wall is still broken down and they have not rebuilt it. So, we can gather that if we do not have self-control, then we are not guarded; we are disgraced; we have lost one of our main defenses.

But what exactly is self-control? According to Webster’s Dictionary, self-control means “to exercise power over oneself; to restrain oneself; to govern oneself”. The Hebrew word used in this verse (ma ‘tsar) means “restraint; control”. We can further understand the meaning of this word based on its use in Scripture. Several authors, including Paul (in Titus and I and II Timothy), use the word to mean resisting temptation. We see that self-control is “restraining” ourselves from our desires, passions, emotions, environment, etc. Essentially, we are making our “flesh” submissive to a higher Authority and reason, rather than allowing ourselves to act on its every whim.

Now that we understand some of the background information of this verse – the importance of a wall, what self-control is and what exactly it is that we are controlling – we are more equipped to grasp the implications and see how it applies to our own lives. Throughout the past several years, God has really used this particular verse in my life and shown me several important concepts from it. I have already implied one – without self-control we leave ourselves vulnerable for attack. Satan knows our weaknesses and WILL attack where we are vulnerable – where we lack self-control. Another lesson that I have learned from this verse is that when we lack self-control, then temptation inevitably leads to sin. Please don’t misunderstand me – I am not saying that temptation equals sin! After all, Jesus was tempted, yet was without sin! What I am saying is that if we do not possess at least some self-control to resist temptation, then as soon as we are tempted, we will sin. Without a defense, there is really no chance of winning the battle. One commentary that I read described it this way: “when [the man who lacks self-control is] provoked… all that is good goes out and forsakes him; all that is evil breaks in… anger leads to murder; lust leads to adultery…” and so on. True, this is a bit extreme, but it is what would happen if we had NO self-control. The third thing that God has spoken to me is that without self-control, there will be no peace in our lives. Without my defense in place, I will lose battle after battle and never have rest. Now, this is not to say that it will be a piece of cake even when we possess self-control – it won’t! But at least with self-control I can rest in the fact that my defense is rooted in God and I WILL put up a fight! This leads to the last and most important thing that God has shown me. Our self-control can only come from God! I tried for years to “get my act together” but always failed. I was trying with my power, or lack thereof and it simply was not good enough. I have found that when I rely upon God for strength to build up my self-control, I am much more successful!

As I wrap up, I just want to challenge you to look at your life and look at it truthfully. As women we are specifically called to have self-control. In Titus 2:4-5 (ESV), Paul tells the older women to “train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure… that the word of God may not be reviled.” Further if we look at the Proverbs 31 woman it is easy to see that she is a woman who possess self-control. She is constantly working, caring for her family as well as others in the community. A woman would have to have self-control and discipline to accomplish that! So I encourage you to examine your own “walls” and see if there are any cracks or even whole chunks missing. Ask God how you can strengthen your “wall” and then be open to what He tells you. In my life, God told me to do some hard things – control what food goes into my body, give up my sleep-in time to go to Early Prayer, regulate how much time I spend in front of the television – just to name a few! However, even though it has been hard I have felt the peace of having my defense strengthened and firmly rooted in God. So, look to God, lean on Him and be strong!

Jen Snyder