The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
If you've listened to the song I have posted at the top of my blog, there is a lyric that completely describes the purpose of my writings:
" I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to..."
My purpose in this blog has always been to speak my opinions but more importantly to share my ups and downs of my life, and how I deal with them. I'm certain not everyone who reads my blog agrees with my outlook. Some of you may see my approach as "preaching" to you what you should or shouldn't do. I couldn't disagree with you more. Each and every one of my posts are written out of a desire to speak to you what the Lord has spoken to me about situations in MY life. Things that I haven't quite figured out yet. Things that I still struggle with. By posting a blog, I'm not just trying to encourage you, but encourage myself to type out what the Lord is telling me in my heart. It helps to solidify the message when it goes from my heart, to my head, to my fingers. I'm going to be careful about this particular post as I know it comes in midst of a lot of hurt and pain for everyone involved, but I feel it's necessary.
As most of you now know, the pastor of our former church (Oakleaf) released a confession this past Sunday. If you haven't heard, or seen the letter, it can be found here ("My Sin"). I won't go into details of his letter so in order to understand my blog, you need to read his letter first. There have been many blogs, posts, etc. concerning this confession. I'm not sure what their motives are behind publishing these things. Whether for purpose of gossip, bashing, or anything in between, that is not my purpose.
In every mistake we make in life, there is an opportunity for inward searching. Maybe we made the mistake, maybe it was a friend who slipped up or maybe a person in the spotlight who fell into sin. No matter who the "sinner" is, it shouldn't be a time for gossip or condemnation. It should be an opportunity for introspect:"Wow. If someone of such stature could fall into that temptation, could I?" It is not our responsibility to figure out motives, reasons or purpose in someone committing sin. It's our job (as fellow Christians) to help them find a way out. Yes, there is pain in midst of sin. Yes, there is anger. There are questions that run through your mind. There are "why's" and "why not's" that will go unanswered. That is a fact of life and everyone will handle their emotions differently. Some will be outraged, slandering the person caught in sin. Some will become bitter at the thought of such scandals. Some will become empathetic because they've been in their shoes. No matter how you handle this, among other situations, I pray you take it as an opportunity to search your heart. This pastor is a human, fully capable of falling into sin. Unfortunately, due to his title of position, this scandal is upgraded quite a bit in people's minds. It's more serious than if the girl next door had committed the same sin. I understand that. I also understand that as a pastor, he was held to a higher standard than the girl next door. Nevertheless, he is still human. He is still able to fall.
No matter what your opinion of this man, he believed in Jesus. He led many people to the Lord and I believe once restoration is complete, he will lead even more down the path to meet Jesus. He is a righteous man in God's eyes because he is made righteous through the blood of Jesus that he confesses to believe in. God is close to him right now. He is beginning the healing process as we speak. I can promise you that if he is seeking God, Michael is in the midst of experiencing some very intimate moments with God. He can use ANYTHING to bring people to Him. I am anticipating God doing an amazing work through this man and his testimony. Keep watching! People will come out of the woodwork with their mistakes.
That's how God works. When you make a mistake, you have a choice. Turn to God, or turn away. This pastor has confessed his wrong doing, and made a choice to turn to God for restoration.
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Acts 3:9
God's word, and his promises are true. When Michael made the choice of repentance, God began the times of refreshing. It may take a while to recover from the consequences. It may take a miracle for healing to begin in that family. My heart and prayers go out to everyone involved (spouses, children, etc). But, how easily we forget that our God is a God of RESTORATION. It may take months, years, or decades for the church, the families, and our community to heal from this. It may feel at times, especially to those at Oakleaf who are struggling to stay afloat amid the stones being thrown, that the world will overtake you but remember the words of Jesus: " In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
I'm taking this opportunity to realize how easily I can fall into sin. It's helping me to guard myself, and my heart, even more. It's caused me to dig deeper into God's word, hiding even more of it in my heart. It's caused me to dedicate more of my day, and my time, in prayer for these families. This pastor's confession has caused me to draw even closer to the Lord. I pray it does the same for you. I pray you can put your stones down long enough to remember your shortcomings....that Christ died for this pastor at the same time, and for the same reason, He died for you.
“When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God's generous grace.” -Erwin W. Lutzer
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