Secret Church

"We have denounced God's sovereignty, dishonored God's holiness, despised God's righteousness, disregarded God's wrath and denied His love. Our minds are blinded, our emotions are disordered, our bodies are defiled, and our relationships are broken. We are slaves to sin, dominated by Satan, lovers of darkness, children of wrath, morally evil, sinfully sick, and spiritually dead... And we want what's fair?" -Secret Church '12, Study Guide pg. 191

 "Do you really want nothing but totally effective, instantaneous justice? Then go to hell." - D.A. Carson

Tonight I went to Secret Church. It was from 7 pm until 2 am. This event was to identify with brothers and sisters around the globe that are persecuted for believing in Christ. It was a night of studying the Word, drawing near to God, and learning about how our suffering is ultimately used for His glory, not ours.

The first two quotes are really, really important. These two things... They show who we are, and who God is. God, in His Word, is described as sovereign, holy, righteous, loving, perfect, and just. We, as stated in that quote, are anything but. We take everything God proves himself to be and throw it in His face. We defile it, and make cheap, twisted versions of His glory. Yet, when we experience hard times and suffering, we look at God and say, "That's not fair!" "If there really was a God, we wouldn't have to suffer," we say. "If there was a good God, famine, poverty, disease, and death wouldn't exist in the world," we say. This, friends, is a LIE. I believe in the God of the Bible. I believe this God is who he says He is. I believe that His standard of perfection is something I can never reach on my own. I believe that, on my own, I am forever separated from the love and mercy and grace of God. I believe that were God to give out the justice I say I yearn for, I would be sent straight to hell. No hope, no love, no mercy.

I am a sinner, and I would be going straight to hell.

HOWEVER.

I praise my God, now and forever, because He is a merciful God. He doesn't give me the justice I deserve. He doesn't give me what I think I want. He doesn't give me what I ask for. Instead, God sends a man by the name of Jesus Christ. He sends a Savior to die on a cross. He sent a man who took my sins, my shame, the portion of wrath that God had for me, and took it all on himself, so that I may have the mercy of God. God sent his own son to die for me. God gave Himself so that I might have fellowship with Him.

God is so merciful that He doesn't give us what we ask for. Instead, he gives us a way to know Him and His fullness.

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOR!

Thanks, Logan.

Tonight, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my good friend Logan.

For those of you that don't know Logan, he's awesome. Since the day I met him, he has impressed me with the love he has for God. He is always real with people, and is truly one of the nicest people I have ever met. His love for God seems to motivate everything he does. Tonight, Logan spoke on John 21, and how God refines us through tough times. He also shared something he's been through (which I won't share on this blog. Not my story to tell.) and how God made him stronger through it, which was a big encouragement.

So, Logan, just wanted to give you a shout out and tell you what an amazing friend you are, and how blessed I feel to have a man of God like you in my life.  He's gonna do big things through you, man. Be prepared for that.

Free, Accepted, and Loved

This past weekend has been a WOW, GOD! weekend. There are moments when things make sense like they never have before, and this weekend was one of those. I have something exciting to share:

I got saved Friday night.

Yeah. For those of you that know me, you may be thinking, "Wait, what? You're a Christian already." Yeah, that's what I thought too. God absolutely got a hold on my heart and moved me. What I learned when praying this weekend, was that you need to be ready to hear from God when you ask for it, because He answers. Expect God to move when you ask. Friday night, before the message, I pray that God would rock my world. Oh, man. He totally did. So, on Friday night, our speaker, Matt Orth, spoke on David and Goliath. He read 1 Samuel 17:1-24, 31-47. He spoke about David and Goliath in a way that I had never heard. The thing that stuck with me the most was this verse: "He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry." Some background on this verse: In verse 16, the Bible says that Goliath would come out and taunt the armies of God, twice a day. So eighty times, the armies of God would put on their armor, and shout the battle cry... and then they would run away. No, really. Verse 24 says that the armies of God ran away. I've always heard the interpretation that Jesus is our champion, David, and that Satan is Goliath, and that, as sinners, we are the armies of God, shaking in the background. I heard this in a new way Friday night. As the armies of God, most of us know the battle cry. As Matt said, we know the answers to the questions in Sunday School. "Is Jesus the Son of God?" "YES!" "Is Jesus holy?" YES!" We have a head knowledge of God, but we don't trust God enough to come through for us, just like the Israelites. We cry out, declaring the glory of God, but we don't trust him enough to do so. 

That hurt. Guys, this is really hard to listen to, and even harder to be convicted of. God moved my heart, and flipped it upside down. He is so incredible! 

I just can't explain how overjoyed I am tonight to be filled with the presence of God, and to be able to praise him with all my heart.
I'm looking forward to the future, and getting ready for something big, 'cause it's coming.