College Life Things to Do

A Time To Grow

During March 14-16, PCC held its annual Bible Conference. We enjoyed hearing from excellent men of God. The speakers were Dr. Clyde Box, Dr. Shane Lewis, Dr. Marc Monte, and Dr. Joel Mullenix.

Three of Dr. Monte’s messages contrasted Calvinism and the Biblical view of the sovereignty of God, the extent of the atonement, and the depravity of man. No matter what opinion or quote he read, he constantly took us back to the Bible and asked, “What does the Bible teach?” I like the statement he made when discussing the depravity of man: “God initiates salvation not by driving us but rather drawing us to Himself,” because I remember feeling Him draw me to Himself when I accepted Christ.

In his last message, Dr. Monte showed us from Scripture that is okay to ask God “Why?” When asking, we must remember to have reverence for God and be looking for His presence. We need to have hope because we know there is an answer and that things will get better. He said, “When walking through the valley, look for God’s fingerprints because they are in every area of our lives.”

Dr. Box spoke about how Jesus drank the bitterness of the vinegar, therefore, taking the sting out of death because He loves us. He challenged us to save a man, save a woman, and save a child—not from physical death but spiritual death. By saving a man, a woman, and a child, we can save the whole world. In his third message, he spoke about man being wounded by Satan, sin, and society. God placed us here on earth to care for the wounded and lead them to Jesus.

His last message was about the fragrances of God the Son found in Psalm 45:8. Myrrh speaks of His sweetness, aloes speak of the bitterness of His suffering, and cassia speaks of His healing power.

One way to summarize the theme of Dr. Box’s sermons is, “JESUS!” According to Dr. Box, “To destroy His name you would have to destroy all the Christians and Bibles, and even then, the rocks, mountains, and birds would cry out—you can never get rid of His name!”

Dr. Lewis spoke on how to get wisdom. Wisdom helps us understand good from better and better from best. We need to understand that God is the only One who gives wisdom—He gives it very carefully and very caringly. Dr. Lewis also admonished us to remember whose we are—we are all the children of God. We have all the rights that come with being a child of God.

I think the one statement that sums up Bible Conference 2012 was by Dr. Mullenix: “Remember to keep your eyes on heaven, otherwise all we will see is the dirt of this world.” Whether we are asking why, speaking of Jesus, getting wisdom, or remembering who we are, when things get tough this statement should remind us that this earth is not our final home—Jesus is coming for us!

1
The thoughts and opinions expressed in Life in the Nest are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Pensacola Christian College.
Avatar photo

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Thank you!