On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. Then the leaders of the Levites … called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Nehemiah 9:1-5

Any move of God begins with the conviction of sin. It’s like clearing the deck before God can begin something new. So the people, well aware of how their sin had put them in their current predicament, began the day by showing up dressed in burlap with dust on their heads and empty stomachs as a sign of humiliation, repentance and a willingness to do whatever might be necessary to get right with God. Then they stood for three hours and heard the word of the Lord read in the Book of the Law of Moses — three hours of which, they would have been convicted of their sins, because hearing what God expected of them would have only pointed out how much they had missed the mark. When you live outside the word of God for a long time, you live in the justifications and rationalizations of your own mind for what you know intuitively to be wrong, but you won’t admit to it. Hearing the word cuts through all that and renders us all sinners in need of a savior.

Then for three more hours they confessed their sins. Finally the priests call out to the people, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for He lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Confession is always followed by praise. We have met the Lord; we have met the truth about ourselves; we have agreed we are sinners, and we are still alive to give praise and thanks to Him for His forgiveness and His acceptance of us.

Humbling ourselves before the Lord reduces us to grace. We realize over and over again that we are hopeless without His mercy which forgives us of our sin and wraps us in His grace — His undeserved favor. We cannot fathom this love; we can only receive it, and praise Him from a state of complete astonishment.

It’s timely that this should come up now, as a MemberPartner only recently challenged me to spend extended time on my knees before the Lord with the word in front of me and a commitment to pray and listen. And I must say, that when I have done this, confession has been an important part of this experience, and I have gotten back on my feet feeling lighter and more aware of God’s amazing love for me.

Two of our greatest fears are that we are not enough for our challenges, and that we are not loved. Pouring our heart out to the Lord convinces us that we are loved as we become aware of His great mercy and undeserved forgiveness, and in reuniting with Him in this direct way, we are reminded that we are enough precisely because He lives in us.

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We have a new term around here: we call it “aging-out.” It’s not hard to figure what this means; it’s pretty self-explanatory. It occurs when someone assumes that because they are of a certain age, they are out of the game. They have aged-out. Aging-out can occur to anyone at any age who for whatever reason feels they are out of the game.

Well, I hereby declare aging-out unacceptable. We will have none of that here at the Catch.

We are moving up to the next level and our MemberPartners are leading the way, and they asked me to implore you to join them. Our MemberPartners are the lifeblood of this organization — the sustainers of this ministry. One of the surest ways of guaranteeing you don’t ever age-out at any age, is by becoming a MemberPartner. Your regular investment as a MemberPartner will multiply boots on the ground in 143 countries, it will bring in more people requesting prayer and receiving counseling, it will put out a beacon of hope for those in darkness, and significantly affect the lives of thousands.

In addition, we are committing ourselves to equipping the next generation for their own frontier. Those who have witnessed or been influenced by the Jesus Movement are reigniting the spirit of that Movement by putting a charge into the Millennials to follow Christ, and we are doing it one relationship at a time.

We know you share in this passion.

So we are adding MemberPartners today and I am asking you to join them. Don’t age-out, age-in. Whatever age you thought you were, you are younger than that now. Go for it. The most significant time in your life was not some time ago, it is right now. Click here to become a MemberPartner now.