Iron Sharpens Iron Conference

Last weekend our family went to Dubuque, IA to Emmaus Bible College for a conference called “Iron Sharpens Iron.” This year’s topic was “Quest for Holiness.” The speakers were great, and it was a really profitable time. I was encouraged and challenged!

The fellowship time in the dining hall was one of the highlights. Seeing old friends again and meeting new…here Sarah is talking with some new friends from the Dominican Republic.

We enjoyed meeting Alex Strauch and appreciated his great messages on Rom 6-8. We carry many of his books in our bookstore, including Biblical Eldership, a well-known book on church leadership which we feel is important. We are so grateful for the many ways he has strengthened the body of Christ.

Here are some tidbits from a session by Mark Stevenson on the sin of idolatry:

-The human heart is an idol-making factory, and anything we love more than God is an idol.

-Even good things, such as a clean house, can be an idol if we are placing it above the Lord in our affections.

-Your affections can be determined by what you do in your solitude — where your mind goes in your spare thoughts, what you delight to think about as you fall asleep.

-Just as in Romans 1 they “exchanged the truth of God for a lie,” so sin is exchanging the glory of God for lesser things.

-False gods lose their hold on our hearts only when we are captivated with Christ.

-It’s by beholding Jesus that we are changed. (2 Cor 3:18) We become like what we worship.

-When we fall at Jesus’ feet in surrender and worship, we gradually begin to understand what Paul meant when he spoke of how much he valued Christ: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…” (1 Cor 3:7-8)

-May we see how much we have been forgiven and how desperate we are for His mercy. And may we relish in Christ’s love, which is greater, stronger, deeper, and infinitely more satisfying than any earthly pursuit. May we give Him the worship He deserves!