Get on the horse

In the news today we hear of a big name evangelist getting caught. He is no different than you and I only his sin draws media attention. Can you imagine if Entertainment Tonight got access to your thought life? Somehow the world has put Christians on a pedastil that we are exempt from sin. We still face the same temptations as everyone else, in fact the same as Jesus did. How we overcome them depends on how much time we have spent being in the presence of God. We have been studying the importance of solitude. In today's crazy busy world we have very little time for true solitude. The generation being raised today finds it even harder than the last one. They have a ton of things to keep their attention distracted ie, ipods, video games, internet, text messages. It's hard for these kids to be alone with their thoughts. It's painful because than they have to look at their hurts so it's easier to drown them out. But God wants to quiet our souls and give us rest. When he exposes secret sins, such as this evangelist, he does it out of love. He's not looking down his nose at any of us. To him drug use, pornography, adultery are the same as unbelief, pride, rebellion. God's heart is to forgive sinners, which we all are. The ground at the cross is level. King David says it the best. Here is a man after God's own heart. Yet he sinned. For those of you who don't know; David had an affair with his best friend's wife, even got her pregnant and than had the husband killed thinking he wouldn't be found out. But God saw it, no sin is done in secret. Here is what David writes to us after God forgave him: Oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement.

God told me today that he wants us to minister from our broken-ness not our busi-ness. He is raising up an army to battle against the evil forces with freedom that is won from turning our brokeness over to him. You maybe feeling that God could never love you because you aren't worthy of his love. You know the secret sins you have been hiding from the world and you tell yourself you aren't worthy of a Holy God. But you are so wrong. For one thing they aren't hidden from him and yet he still longs to love you. He gave me this illustration today: it would be like if Mike walked into Maelyn's orphanage and said I'm here to take you home and give you a family that will love you but she wouldn't allow herself to believe it (unbelief), tells herself she isn't worthy to be loved and refuses to come with us and chooses to stay there. She would miss out on knowing the love of a father and family. God told me that this is what it is like for him. He comes to each one of us, through Jesus dying on the cross for our past, present and future sins. But we reject his love because of our unbelief, or pride, or secret sins. We had a time yesterday in class where we individually acknowledged aloud that Jesus is Lord of our life. We were to walk over to this huge wooden cross in our tent. People were running to it and shouting at the top of their lungs that Jesus is Lord. Others were at the foot of it sobbing. But some couldn't do it. They sat in their seats refusing the decision. One girl had a word from God found in Revelations (the last book of the bible) Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse standing there. Its rider was named Faithul and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.
This will be the final showdown between God and the evil force on earth. God is raising up that army, it is comprised of broken, sinful people that have come to him to receive his love and forgiveness. It is the repentant evangelist, the drug addict, the porn addict, the prostitute, the mom who baked brownies but gossiped about everyone in town; the ground is level at the cross.

My heart broke yesterday for the few in class that wouldn't make the decision. I wanted to shout to them "Get on the horse! Don't let us leave you behind!" Allow me to shout at you right now "Don't let pride, unbelief, resentment, unforgiveness, hardened heart, the excuse of christian hypocrites, or whatever it is stop you from climbing up on that horse with me. Please get on, don't let us leave you behind! Hell is being left behind.