It was late afternoon Saturday. The sun was soon to make its descent. With a baseball glove in hand and my eager eight year old son ready to play catch, suddenly with excitement my husband comes outside, let’s go to the Carolina football game! I was tired and prepared already for rest, after all I was throwing the baseball in my pajama pants 😃. I wrestled with the thought of going. I desired more family time yet my body was ready to chill. My oldest exclaimed, let’s go! After not much more persuasion, my youngest son eventually leaves the glove, the ball, and myself standing in my pajamas outside in the driveway. It did not take me long to rally myself up, grab some shorts, sweatshirt and leave with a heart of gratitude. We simply all wanted to be together as a family. My oldest son hugs me and says come on mom I’ll help you. He even helps me take the dog out to expedite the process and probably before I change my mind!
An adventure awaited I knew not of. I had not been to Chapel Hill in quite some time. Actually I had not been since I last saw my aunt in ICU for brain surgery who did eventually go home to heaven and my friend who battled and overcame breast cancer. In fact, we actually went back together at a later time after reconnecting to pray for a mutual friend who was battling cancer too. She fought hard and is too home in heaven. The memories were strong and somber. I even recalled when my youngest son and I walked across the glassed windowed bridge over the roadway where we were parked here again today. I remember being full of faith as we walked the halls of the hospital praying for everyone to be healed and the hospital to be completely emptied out! Yes, I do believe this is possible because the name of Jesus and the power of His blood and broken body gives us authority to pray and see healing! With God, ALL things are possible.
Today’s adventure was different. Daddy God was about to show me something NEW. As I took inventory of the familiarity of the college town, I also took note of all the life. Young college aged kids laughing, excited and rallying together for the football game. It was not long before we reached closer to the stadium the apparent riff raff and hollering of young kids stirring one another up from intoxication. This is just normal college life and a fun football game right? As we proceeded inside I couldn’t help but notice all of God’s daughters. They were beautiful and wide eyed young girls, yet many were in revealing clothing with tummies and bottoms hanging out. The world has cleverly taught us what sells and has trained our youth how to provocatively dress to receive every form of attention even if in an ungodly way. I thought, I wonder how many of these young ladies know how much they are loved by their Father God? I wonder if they knew this form of dress was not of the Kingdom of light and the many are defiled by it. No judgement, simple observation of the times and what we as a culture have accepted as the norm. As we proceeded to our seats and entered into the actual stadium I was amazed at the level of excitement. So much expressiveness from clapping, to singing, to dancing and screaming. Could it be that one day we could fill our football stadiums with hearts after Jesus? Daughters dressed in royalty bringing glory to their Father? Shouts of jubilee and thanksgiving to our King intoxicated instead by Holy Spirit!
I left feeling burdened. Where did we miss it God? The world has conformed us instead of the Word transforming us. We have believed a lie. We say, this is what young college aged kids do. You know they got to sow their oats and get all that out of them. How did it get in them? What is it that needs to get out? Immorality! We the church, our leaders, both the natural and spiritual fathers / mothers have morally and cowardly failed our children. We have been indoctrinated by culture, fearful of man and bound ourselves by the lust of the flesh and the allure of the world. We stopped praying, we stopped preaching and absolutely stopped living the gospel. We go to church but WE ARE NOT THE CHURCH.
You see I used to be that girl too. I sold out to the world’s standard and was blind. Never had I truly seen how lost we are as a nation by attending a football game until this day. Daddy God impressed upon me. You have revival eyes. We are not only ripe, we are DESPERATE for revival. We are going to lose not only our adult children, but our young children. We are so easily entertained and contaminated simply by attending a college football game. Our children will have no chance of even seeing, much less experiencing the gospel for we the church are compromised. We have an entire generation of young kids growing up without God and being conformed to the patterns of this world. The spirit of lust and perversion is saturating the minds of our children (first with the adults) and darkening our understanding and ability to see the light and therefore forfeit the light of God to shine within us. We are rebellious, disobedient and puffed up with pride. The destiny of our nation resides in our children and our responsibility to keep God alive within them. We gave up our inheritance for a bowl of the world’s filthy soup. The experience of this time at the game was just one example of an unrepentant and lost world waiting for the church to turn from her wicked ways, repent and ARISE. I wonder what you would see and how you would live differently if you saw with revival eyes?
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 ESV
Ashley Shuell, Journalist for Jesus 👸🇺🇸
A.R.I.S.E from ash 