Praying for Revival

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So many self-righteous, self-assured, self-confident people and churches in the world today.  One thing that really has watered down the Gospel ministry of Jesus Christ is the lack of men, qualified, proved out, with both experience and training.  Training was good enough for Luther, Calvin, Graham, Moody, Spurgeon but not good enough for American pulpits today.

I just finished reading an article about "Settling to Qualify".  The article spoke about how many churches today qualify the unqualified.  They promote the "good ole boy" or they call friends, relatives and families, to leadership positions within the church.  Really, where is a separation of church and state.  Is that not what politics does also.  In the history of the American church, there has not been a time greater when so many filled the pulpits without experience, without education, without a clear calling and without being "men".  As a result across the board in all denominations, giving is down, attendance is down, baptisms are down, membership rolls are slowly decreasing.

Why?  Too many Dr. Tickle Me Fell Goods flashing their bleached out teeth speaking a motivational message.  Oh, they call it preaching, but friend if the Gospel is not presented then it is not worth hearing.  A message with more attention given to the mood:  music is king in the contemporary church, followed by lights and effects, drama's, interpretive dance and then if there is time... a 10-20 minute message to fluff you up and make you feel good, "just like cotton candy"!

We need revival in our lives, the lives of our families and our churches if we are going to impact this world for Jesus Christ.  It begins with you and perhaps a Mississippi Squirrel!

What's On Your Mind ~ Job 3:26

"I cannot relax or be still; I have no rest, for trouble comes."  Most of our troubles come from our lack of silence or rather being still before the Lord.  Do you spend too much of your day "doing" rather than "being".  Friend have you forgotten science calls us "Human Beings" and to that end they are correct.  However we prefer to be "Human Doings".  Our life is so complicated with static, noise and stuff at times it is hard to make ends meet when we burn the candle at both ends. 

Much like the ends of a candle, we to will burn up!.  My challenge for you today is simple.   Enjoy the day, relax and bask in the glory of the Lord and draw into the commands from the Almighty.  Everything else will still be there waiting.  Give yourself a 5 minutes, 10, 30 or rest of the day vacation to enjoy the beauty God has afforded to you!

Unity - John 17:22

Without a doubt, the most discouraging aspect of any opportunity is "division".  There are naysayers, complainers, procrastinators as well as those individuals who go along because that's what they do.  However, none of this address' the issue of Unity.  How many different Christian denominations do we have in the world today?  Ever stop and wonder why?  "One God, One Lord, One Savior, One Jesus Christ...why so many divisions?


We are asked to participate in initiatives and opportunities that we are not sure about or not sold on.  Someone will say, "this is the direction we should go, God showed me".  Then everyone else, as not to be left out or have their faith questioned jumps on board.  Lets not forget the lesson in Peter's choice to replace Judas.  The Lord Jesus never came to Peter and said, "Get twelve again...find a replacement"  NO rather Peter and the other 10 felt they needed a replacement to once again have twelve.  Instead of fasting and prayer, they drew lots.  A God-fearing man who was Martyred for his beliefs was chosen, but was He really the Lord's choice to reach the Gentiles?  Ever hear of a guy named Paul!

I believe the problem with business, with politics, with the Church, with organizations has a simple solution:  Unity.  Jesus Said, "I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one."  How many times are we in unison...even our family suffers for husbands and wives are not together!

Heroes in Rubber and Blue - Psalm 46

When these heroes rushed in on 9-11 to aid and come to the rescue there was no invitation given.  On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 8:46am, Tower #1 was struck by a Muslim hijacked plane.  Instantly and without a second thought fireman and policeman rushed to the aid of thousands.  While evacuating them,at approx 9:03am, another group of Muslims flew another plane into tower #2.  Immediately more of New York's finest were on the move.

The Mayor called for prayer, the President of the United States called for National Prayer and led such prayer for the Nation he serves.  Within an hour and a half both towers had collapsed as a Nation was in shock.  Congress prayed, schools prayed, communities prayed all the while these brave men and women of the New York Fire Dept and the New York Police Dept rushed into burning, collapsing buildings to save lives and many lost their own.  

Now the current mayor of NY, says their is not enough room for First Responders?  What about the thousand who came afterwards to help provide hope, assurance, cleanup and search for loved ones?  No room for them (at the Inn)...  This mayor has already banned clergy from attending or praying and now will ban the heroes from returning to the scene of a vicious and unprovoked Muslim attack against America.  I wonder if there will be room for our Muslim President and all of his flunkies, "Queen Nancy" & "Prince Harry"?  How many other politicians will politicize a solemn occasion in American history!

Above all else, Mayor Bloomberg (perhaps the anti-christ) has banned the One who was there and who aided everyone on this fateful day, the Lord Jesus Christ.  "God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas," (Psalm 46:1-2)

Wrong Attitudes - Numbers 14:40

"After punishment is pronounced, now they want to go...just like you and I after the options run out, we do what we are supposed to anyways in attempts to elude punishment" - Dr. Jerry Vines.

In passing , they admitted their sin. We have all heard and or made those type confessions before the Lord. "I did, but... everyone else is doing it; no one else knows; look at what they did to me. Too often we believe the consequences of our disobedience should be behind us. We presume that God's blessing will go with us, even though we have not surrendered to His authority. I am sure you have heard, "resist the devil and he will flee", but that is only half the verse. We often fail to read the whole verse and are therefore defeated before we begin. "Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." The extent of our submission to God will determine the extent of our ability to resist the devil. 

 

Faith is always the one indefensible ingredient in applying the promises of God. We can never take the promises of God for granted. We must be wholly yielded to God in every aspect and turn of our lives. Do not deceive yourself into thinking that one heroic act will erase the lack of faith or sin you brought into your life. This often leaves you defenseless in mortal combat with the devil.

 

 

Quake -- Rattle and Roll

“Count your many blessings,” the old song says, “name them one by one.” It seems the “common blessings” of life—family, friends, home, health—are the most frequently overlooked. It helps to realize that no blessing is just for the moment…it’s forever. Today, for many people living on the East Coast, they were counting alright. As the earth shook and their lives went into spin cycle. How many thought about the blessings they have? Namely, they don't live in Japan or San Fran where these little disturbances are a fact of life! Blessings “keep,” and when difficult times come, we can remember the ways God has blessed us in the past, being confident He will do the same in the future.

One man who understood this truth wrote a letter to a teacher who had taken special interest in him years before. This was her reply: “Dear Johnnie: I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I’m in my 80’s and live alone in a small room, lonely like the last leaf of summer, lingering behind. You’ll be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years, and yours is the first note of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a cold, blue morning, and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.” He got so excited by her reply that he wrote another letter of thanks, this one to a friend some distance away who had lost his wife. He received this letter in return: “Dear John: Your letter was so beautiful, so real, that as I sat reading it in my den, tears fell from my eyes—tears of gratitude. Then, before I realized what I was doing I rose from my chair and called her name to show it to her, forgetting for a moment that she was gone. You will never know how much your letter has warmed my spirit; I have been walking about in the glow of it all day long.” How long has it been since you have shown appreciation for the common blessings in your life? You have carried them in your heart for years. Isn’t it time thanksgiving for them spilled out and blessed someone else? It could all end in an instant... our life, your life the life of a friend or loved one, could be radically changed or ended! What will you do? What do you need to do know? The wake-up call to the East coast is simple:

"For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains."~ Mark 13:8 Friends we have been having birth pains for a few decades. These things are coming more rapidly and with more frequency, much like labor. The Apostles, said shortly, in a little... we must just continue to run our race and speak the name of Jesus with all we meet. Dark times are just ahead!

The Short Cut

Do you know how God pursues those who run from Him? He pursues them with purpose, and with provision, and with unbending love. The tiny book of Hosea is a mini-pageant of God’s pursuing love played on the stage of human life. 

 

In it, Gomer leaves her good husband Hosea and goes her own way, taking other lovers and shaming the faithful man she married. But he doesn’t write her off or cut her loose. In fact, even when she is with other men, he is concerned for her welfare, and reckoning for her good. When Gomer sets up housekeeping with another man, Hosea seeks him out and gives him wool and flax and bread, saying, “Give her these, she’ll need them.” So the man does, and takes credit for them himself, receiving the gratitude and affection that should have been Hosea’s. God’s love is like that, isn’t it? 

 

He keeps on loving you and keeps on loving me, even when we say “God, I’ve had enough,” and run from Him! We flee as far and as fast as we can, then stop to catch our breath and think we’ve out-distanced Him. But then there’s a quiet word or a gentle touch, and God is near again. We say, “Lord, how did you find me here?” and He replies, “My child, I knew a short-cut.” Pursuing love is not deterred by our weak protests. Love always knows a short cut. At the annual meeting of the Conservative Baptists of Virginia, I heard Dr. Jerry Falwell deliver this message, wow...it was certainly one of the most dramatic and powerful messages I have ever heard!