Living Proof Live

October 25-26, 2013, I attended the Beth Moore Living Proof Live conference in Springfield, IL, with my mom, aunt, and sister-in-law.

 

I love the way Beth Moore teaches.  She always is able to simplify scripture in ways that give me new insight I had never had before.  This weekend was no different.  The theme for this conference was "A Reach Beyond the Breach," the life of John Mark.  She talked about how John Mark and Barnabas were cousins, which I didn't realize, and that he went on Paul's first missionary journey, but then left for no explainable reason.  

 

Beth Moore refers to him as "Quitter Boy" for the rest of the weekend.  Later on, Paul and Barnabas argue about whether or not to let John Mark come with them again.   A breach has been made between Paul and Barnabas because of John Mark.  A few years later though, something has happened (that we are never made aware of)  that has repaired John Mark's relationship with Paul, and when Paul is writing while under house arrest, John Mark is listed as his coworker.  Paul is later martyred, and in Peter's letters he mentions John Mark as son.  John Mark would go on to write the Gospel of Mark.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main points that Beth Moore highlighted over the course of the weekend were:

1.  We can't keep riding on the coat tail of somebody else's faith. 

2.  We don't always thrive in the spot where we're so special.    (We don't realize how special we are to Jesus because we're so busy trying to be so special to people.)

3.  We will all fail, but the question becomes  "will we fail well"?

4.  To have a comeback we actually have to come back.

5.  Integrity refuses to enlist loyalty on the side of it's offense.   (Where loyalty reflects lovelessness, it is never noble.)

6.  Pressing in with Christ, our relational pattern can completely change.

7.  Those around us are reading the gospel according to us.   (What are they reading?  Hope or hopelessness?  Negativity or uplifting?

 

 

 

A few things that stuck out to me as I was listening and taking notes:

-We need to help mend the breach between people, not help widen it.  When we hear others talking negatively about others, we need to stop it and not add to it.  Especially within the body of believers in Christ, we are to  be united. 

-Peter and Mark got along so well because they were both former failures.  God used them both to do incredible things, but if they both would have just given up, God may not have used them the way He did.  The question is WHAT DO YOU LET JESUS DO WITH YOU NOW?

I feel like God had me go to this conference to hear two things.  One, I need to stop widening the breach between me and my husband.  When I want to nitpick, nag, or say something unkind, I need to stop it and concentrate on speech and behavior that will close the breach.

Also, Beth Moore talked about the people that were home praying for Peter's release from prison, that when Peter came to the door they didn't believe it and said it had to be an angel.  How often am I like that?  Feeling like my prayers will never be answered?  The second thing I needed to hear was that I need to stop acting like the people that were praying for Peter that really didn't believe their prayers could be answered.  I need to pray for things and expect God to answer because He is ABLE. 

2 Timothy 3: 1-9  But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, trecharous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God---having a form of godliness but denying its power.  HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM!    (This is scripture I highlighted in my notes which almost gives me chills because you see how all of these things are true in our current society.)

By Lisa Powell