Refuge
by Colton White
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
(Psalm 5:11 ESV)
Recently I spent two days in Dallas at a conference called Refuge, at first I was skeptical about going for a couple reasons:
1. This semester has been crazy busy, between working, school, and Easter Pageant it seems that I have no free time. The past few days have been spent trying to catch up on everything that I left behind when I left for Dalllas.
2. Being in a room full of 500+ youth minister just did not sound like a grand ol’ time for me. Most of them wear jorts and either have a Mohawk or mullet for a hairdo, oh, or they are bald. Needless to say I wouldn’t fit in.
However, I sucked it up, and for the first time in a long I think I can honestly say that I feel the Lord presence in my life. For me, usually when I think of communion with God, I think love through pain. By that I mean, this short time period that I have claimed myself “Christian”, God has taught me his love through events. Rather it’s been tumor, accidents, divorce or death, I have seen his love through pain. Don’t get me wrong I am thankful for those times in my life when he has stripped away all that I have so that I can solely see Him.
For the first time in a long time the gospel is real to me. David Platt gave the most simple but complicated message I have ever heard. For the first time in a long time, I felt dirty and holy at the same time. As I thought about the gravity of who I am at the core (sinful) and the sanctification that came through Christ death, the gospel, all of a sudden, was very real to me.
He just listed four points that he used to sum up the Gospel:
1. We have an imcomprehensible great God
2.We are a sinfully depraved people
3.We have a scandously merciful God
4. We have an urgent mission
For the sake of not writing a ridiculously long post I won’t go into description on all the points, but here is a quote that Platt ended with.
“God does not need us; He lets us into His mission because he loves us”
