Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85:6
We recently had a revival at our church…. a revival! ….. ten services over five days and does our land need revival in the worst way.
The latest NBC News poll finds that 71% of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Just 22% say we’re on the right track. Those are deeply concerning figures. Every year our country is becoming less religious, more specifically less Christian. Every year, not coincidentally, we lose more freedom. Our founding fathers predicted this. They said only a moral and virtuous people could remain free.
A related trend is that fewer Americans are biblically literate. At America’s founding, we were probably the most biblically literate society in the history of the world. But now, if the Bible is mentioned at all in our culture, it’s usually to condemn or mock it.
Every year, we become more diverse, and we become more divided. Diversity can be good, if everyone agrees on the same set of fundamental values. But when diversity extends even to differences on fundamental beliefs on life and death, liberty and values, tribalism grows as there are fewer basic issues to unite us and Americans grow further apart.
There’s more, of course – the breakdown of the family, the coarsening of our culture, the decline of respect for law enforcement. But without the revival of faith, the renewal of Judeo-Christian values and a recommitment to basic morality, we will continue in the wrong direction.
The answer to America’s problems is a spiritual one. We need to pray for our country like never before. And we need to reach out to a lost world with the gospel like never before. We need more people hearing about who Jesus is and what He promises. We need to get back to the true God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to be born in the manger, to die on the cross, and to rise from the dead three days later. We need a spiritual awakening.
Charles Finney, who was part of one of America’s great revivals, said, “Revival is nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God.” A.W. Tozer defined revival as, “That which changes the moral climate of a community.”
That is the kind of revival we need. Not just an emotional experience and not just a tingle down the backbone. We need to see God work, because our nation needs it like never before.
So let’s pray for God to do a great work of revival in our country, but let’s do our part. The root of the problem is that people are separated from God. And the way to change a culture is to invade it. It is to go out where people don’t typically hear the gospel, enter their world, and tell them about Jesus Christ.
Will you help lead a revival in our land?
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
There are any number of compliments I would like said at my funeral, “He was faithful, humble, godly, kind, thoughtful, compassionate, generous… and the list could easily continue.” But there is one compliment, maybe more than any of the others, I hope will be said of me: He was the same person at home as he was in public. In some regards, I can think of no higher praise to offer a person. Be the same in public when people were watching, and at home when no one was watching. The Minimalist
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Have you noticed in the past 12-18 months the number of reports dealing with mental health problems people are facing? The virus has not only taken a toll on us physically and affected our economy and politics, but also impacted us emotionally and psychologically.
One survey showed that 51% of young adults say they feel down, depressed, or hopeless. Another survey found that 40% of all Americans have reported some mental health issues related to the pandemic. And 11% had considered suicide.
If you simply google “hopelessness” you will find an incredible amount of material relating to discouragement, depression, and despondency. Furthermore, pastors, preachers, and church leaders relate how the pandemic has not only affected church attendance, but the overall ministry of the church. The Preacher’s Word
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We can avoid tragic mistakes by:
1. Always allowing God’s Word to guide our decisions.
2. Never make a decision until you have first sought God’s guidance through prayer. Dan Shock
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
If you want to influence someone for Christ, show them God’s Love before you show them the Ten Commandments. Dwight Short
Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. Billy Graham
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” THOMAS A. EDISON
We can try to be the change we wish to see, or we can ask Jesus to change us into changed people he uses to change the world. Jim Denison
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Anne Frank
It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship.” HENRY WARD BEECHER
The secret of your strength lies in your commitment to Jesus Christ. Florida Marketplace Ministry
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. Albert Einstein
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Arthur Ashe