Revival!

“He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end ...” – Matthew 13:37-39

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“Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” – Psalm 85:6

“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” – Psalm 80:19

“Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Praise the LORD with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully, and shout for joy.” – Psalm 33:1-3

Tonight, I started singing in my shower. A subject has arisen in my college group and has been coming up rather often – revival. What is a revival in the context of our culture? Well, my personal response was that a revival is when people seek out God and the truth again, and when they truly love both. But a friend of mine said that she believed a revival is when God pours out His spirit onto someone. This makes sense. We can’t do anything good without Him. Heck, we can’t even seek Him without Him. So perhaps my answer included the symptoms of God pouring His spirit onto someone. And when we love Him and love truth, amazing things start to happen in our personal lives. That spreads to our communities, states, countries, and even the world. The church has surrendered many responsibilities today. What people used to bring to the church leaders to help solve they now take to courts and leave God out. But leaving God out is literally leaving out the Source of all that is good. So that leaves us like a dry desert in need of His as our oasis.

“The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the LORD,

the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts,

‘Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you.’

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

The burning sand will become a pool,

the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.” – Isaiah 35:1-7

Still not convinced?

“See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me,

the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.” – Isaiah 43:19-21

The Christians are asleep in the United States. I know this is not a problem isolated to us. But we are largely walking in the flesh instead of the Spirit. I truly believe we need to ask God for another Great Awakening, and a Revival like we have never seen before.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21

It was not only the Pilgrims, but also the Founding Fathers of the United States of America who sought God in the creation of this great nation. Even those who did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ largely honored Him, and the country has been blessed as a result. But notice that the more God is pushed away in our families and our country, the more our ethics start degrading. These same Founders – from the Pilgrims to the Patriots – would have rolled over in their graves if they could see where we are today as Christians and as a nation.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people he chose for his inheritance.

From heaven the LORD looks down

and sees all mankind;

from his dwelling place he watches

all who live on earth—

he who forms the hearts of all,

who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army;

no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

to deliver them from death

and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,

even as we put our hope in you.” – Psalm 33:12-22

Revival starts in us personally, because our relationship with God is personal. But when we share this with our family, He changes our family. And all the families combine into a community. The community becomes a county, and then a state, and then a nation, and then the world. So, we ought to be praying for revival. And, as I began doing in my shower tonight, praising God and seeking revival through music. I want to invite every person to sing these on behalf of themselves, their families, their churches, their states, and their nations. Our prayers have power. I have done a devotional on this as well, and may add more. So, sing these by yourself in the shower. Sing them as a family and as a church. Sing them as you read this devotional. But, either way, I invite you to sing along and mean it.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD. “Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

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Prepare and Pray

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 Today, the world is in great turmoil. All is changing, and every country is going to be affected by it. Many are strapped for cash right now-- families are losing their homes, struggling to put food on the table, and fighting off debt. We should start preparing right now.  Food prices are rising, and will likely skyrocket. About a year ago, my Mom approached me and said something to the effect of "I'm pretty sure God has been telling me to prepare, and that I should store away food because hard times are coming." I was slightly skeptical at first, but as I was watching Glenn Beck about a week ago, he closed his show with something like "Be prepared. Hard times are coming. My family and I have been storing food since last year, and we purchased a year's worth of food." And a friend of mine, who has zero interest in politics, began to tell me five years ago (before we knew any of this was happening) that her school began a study on End Times. Among the things that were said to happen before Jesus returns is a global government with a global currency, much like what a man named George Soros is pushing today. We have the opportunity to reach for Jesus and make something great of our country again by restoring it to its roots, or we can abandom Him and crash much like Rome. But this time, the stakes are even higher-- this time, it's the world.

Many families have been stressing about meals and money, mine included. I have decided to promote an idea I've had: To sit down once a week with a provisional devotional. I am supposing it will look something like what is below here, and I hope you will consider using it:

Read: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -- Matthew 6:26-34
Pray: "Thank You, God, for providing for us this last week. You have fulfilled your promises to us. We will put our trust in You again this week. We will give what You ask us to give and trust You to provide what we need. Please give us each day our daily bread, and show us how we may help others seek You as well. Help us to be responsible stewards of what You provide for us. We ask that You will help us learn to trust You as we should with all our needs and desires. We thank You and we love You. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen."
Read: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28

Please pray for your country, and pray for the world around us. Pray for the love of Jesus to reach every person, and for each person to reach out to Him. Ask for a revival to spread like a wildfire, and an awakening to remind us that He exists and of who He is. The Bible says we will be "transformed by the renewing of (our) mind(s)." -- Romans 12:2. We need to be reminded of Jesus.

God bless!

Edit: Food Storage Guide

The Light of the World

 What does it mean to be the light of the world? When a little girl cowers in fear beneath her covers in the middle of the night, she is imagining all the evil things that could be hiding in the dark. The dark hides evil things, be they evil deeds of those who manage to keep them secret, or the evil intentions of someone waiting to ambush another, or the truth when its covered up by another, or the unsung misery of an abused woman, or the evil within the heart of her abuser.
 The sun is a small percentage of God's light. The darkness is banished and whatever lies within, be it good or evil, is revealed. Often times, the evil will scatter and find some dark corner to cower in fear. But with light, the truth is exposed-- whatever it may be. Light banishes the fears of the little girl, exposes the evil within hearts, and reveals the beauty all around.
We live in a fallen world with dark places. Some cities and towns are like caves, dark and saturated in treachery and witchcraft. Sometimes Christians see this darkness as overpowering, but imagine a candle in a cave. No matter how small it is, the light consumes the darkness. Even that small flickering flame spreads throughout the cave.
I remember in driver's ed hearing that all the grime one a person's headlights can block up to 95% of the illumination. So what does that mean for us? When we let sin creep into our lives like a disease, we cannot shine the light of God as well as we should. We need to ask Jesus to clean us off so that we can shine for all men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." -- Matthew 6:14-16

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