Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to take criticism from someone that you know loves you. The same comment is looked upon as agressive and agitating if it comes from someone that you consider an enemy or not on your side.
Spiritual service for the Kingdom of God is the same. How we are perceived by those with whom we come in contact with will be directly related to the love that is in our heart.
I was reading in Ephesians the other day, the fourth chapter, verses 11 - 15, they read, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ."
It caught my attention, but I was a little puzzled at what I thought it was trying to say to me. So, I cheated a little and looked to see what John MacArthur had to say.
"Evangelism is most effective when the truth is spoken in love. This is possible only with a spiritually mature believer who is thoroughly equipped in sound doctrine. Without maturity, the truth can be cold and love little more than sentimentality." John MacArthur
I remember when I was a new Christian. I was enthusiastic, I wanted to share with everyone and I couldn't understand why everyone I talked to didn't respond as I had. Now I see that most of what I shared was not out of love for the person I was talking to or even pure love of God. I think I had an attitude of accomplishment, a pride of knowledge attained and salvation gained. So, my revelations of man's sinful nature and total dependence on God came off as cold and my love fairly unbelieveable.
As I grew in the knowledge of God, I learned that the things that needed to be shared were best shared in the light of a relationship. I matured into the revelations of Ephesians and I'm continually learning and striving to give reign to the love inside me which is Christ, the love that will speak truth through my life.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
How Many Plagues?
How many plagues must we endure before, like Pharaoh, our sinful nature agrees to let God’s people go?
I was reading the account of God’s deliverance of Israel from the Land of Egypt in Exodus 4-12 and it struck me that we keep ourselves captive in sin and suffer the plagues that call for the release of God’s children. We experience illness, depression, poverty, neglect – all those things that sin has brought into our lives because we refuse to put aside those things and let the new creature inside of us go free!
Like Moses preaching to the Pharaoh, the prophet Isaiah speaks of our deliverer in the 61st chapter and we find Jesus, In Luke 4:18,19, leaving no doubt that He, The Christ, has come to bring us out of our bondage.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…” Isaiah 61:1,2
When we accept our deliverer, as with the people of Israel in Egypt, there is always a testing of the faith (no straw for our bricks), but we are called to keep the faith as God strengthens His people and equips us to throw off our captor and live free from the “sin that so easily ensnares us.” (Hebrews 12:1).
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside very weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
There are sins that most all of us find easy to avoid, no problem to refuse, but within each of us is imperfection, a chink in our armor. We all have places in our life where Pharaoh says, “I will not let your people go.” In each of us, our sinful nature will try to harden our hearts and hold us in sin although our desire and our profession has been a death to sin.
In these recesses of our soul, there will be consequences, plagues to soften those hard hearts and, many times, as our hearts respond and look to God, the plagues may be removed. Hebrews 12 tells us to look to Jesus, the giver, the sustainer and the finisher of our faith, for our endurance. Paul also tells us in Hebrews that we have a responsibility to one another.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” Hebrews 3:12,13
Pharaoh, after several plagues, began to try and deal with Moses. He wanted to let part of the people go, then all the people, but no livestock, always trying to withhold something from God. God said no to Pharaoh and was unwilling to deal. It was to be God’s way or no way. God does not desire to “deal” with us either. We are not allowed to hold on to the things that we desire, but that sin against God. God says the gift of Jesus is free, but we must give up the sin that He died for; we must repent of those things that bring sorrow to God and turn away from them. Refusing to do so separates us from Him and sets us in a position to reap what we sow.
It is a choice that we must make.
“This day I call heaven and earth as witness against you that I have set before you life and death; blessings and curses. Now, chose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life.” Deut. 30:17-20
God is our life. All else brings the worst plague of all, death. The good news comes from and in the gift of Jesus. We read in John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly.”
Jesus came as the fulfillment of God’s promise to save us from our sinful nature, the nature that plagues our flesh during our days here in the wilderness and we see in Jeremiah 29:11-13 that our salvation and our abundant life here on earth was not an afterthought, but always held in trust for the children of God.
“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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seed me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…..”and I will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Will you soften your hard heart or will you live in your plagues and wonder at those who live in the “land of Goshen”? (Exodus 8:22) “And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people.”
I was reading the account of God’s deliverance of Israel from the Land of Egypt in Exodus 4-12 and it struck me that we keep ourselves captive in sin and suffer the plagues that call for the release of God’s children. We experience illness, depression, poverty, neglect – all those things that sin has brought into our lives because we refuse to put aside those things and let the new creature inside of us go free!
Like Moses preaching to the Pharaoh, the prophet Isaiah speaks of our deliverer in the 61st chapter and we find Jesus, In Luke 4:18,19, leaving no doubt that He, The Christ, has come to bring us out of our bondage.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…” Isaiah 61:1,2
When we accept our deliverer, as with the people of Israel in Egypt, there is always a testing of the faith (no straw for our bricks), but we are called to keep the faith as God strengthens His people and equips us to throw off our captor and live free from the “sin that so easily ensnares us.” (Hebrews 12:1).
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside very weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
There are sins that most all of us find easy to avoid, no problem to refuse, but within each of us is imperfection, a chink in our armor. We all have places in our life where Pharaoh says, “I will not let your people go.” In each of us, our sinful nature will try to harden our hearts and hold us in sin although our desire and our profession has been a death to sin.
In these recesses of our soul, there will be consequences, plagues to soften those hard hearts and, many times, as our hearts respond and look to God, the plagues may be removed. Hebrews 12 tells us to look to Jesus, the giver, the sustainer and the finisher of our faith, for our endurance. Paul also tells us in Hebrews that we have a responsibility to one another.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” Hebrews 3:12,13
Pharaoh, after several plagues, began to try and deal with Moses. He wanted to let part of the people go, then all the people, but no livestock, always trying to withhold something from God. God said no to Pharaoh and was unwilling to deal. It was to be God’s way or no way. God does not desire to “deal” with us either. We are not allowed to hold on to the things that we desire, but that sin against God. God says the gift of Jesus is free, but we must give up the sin that He died for; we must repent of those things that bring sorrow to God and turn away from them. Refusing to do so separates us from Him and sets us in a position to reap what we sow.
It is a choice that we must make.
“This day I call heaven and earth as witness against you that I have set before you life and death; blessings and curses. Now, chose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life.” Deut. 30:17-20
God is our life. All else brings the worst plague of all, death. The good news comes from and in the gift of Jesus. We read in John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly.”
Jesus came as the fulfillment of God’s promise to save us from our sinful nature, the nature that plagues our flesh during our days here in the wilderness and we see in Jeremiah 29:11-13 that our salvation and our abundant life here on earth was not an afterthought, but always held in trust for the children of God.
“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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seed me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…..”and I will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Will you soften your hard heart or will you live in your plagues and wonder at those who live in the “land of Goshen”? (Exodus 8:22) “And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people.”
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
"Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord; So what wisdom do they have?"
It is time that God's remnant of true believers in this country stand up as the Jeremiahs of this generation. In the Eighth chapter of Jeremiah, we here the prophet lament that wisdom (the fear of the Lord brings it) is gone. People (in general) have rejected the word of the Lord. We complain that things are getting worse by the day, killers are getting younger, the morals of this country are in decay and we wonder why!
The Bible tells us that there is "nothing new under the sun" and the answers to our questions about our current conditions are as old as the tales told of Israel's rejection of God's Word and direction in the Old Testament and the solution to our present calamity is the same. We must repent and return to God with a humbleness and genuineness that will bring mercy from our creator.
In a daily devotional I am doing, I was taken by a reprint of Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day on March 30, 1863. See the entire speech at the following link: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/fast.htm In this proclamation, the wording (passed by the senate) claims recognition of "the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations."
Lincoln's proclamation goes on to claim "it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord."
It goes on to acknowledge that we are subject to punishment and chastisement. Lincoln puts forth that "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But, we have forgotten God."
How much clearer can it be stated!
I was bowled over and proud that my country had once been willing to admit it's sins, to publicly, and supported by its government, repent and ask God for forgiveness. I was proud to live in a country where a President would try to lead his country back to God, back from the brink of judgement.
As I shared this proclamation with a Sister in Christ, she stated: "We have a national day of prayer." I thought that I had remembered such, but I couldn't remember exactly what had been proclaimed and I was curious how much our society had changed in its willingness to stand, so I looked up this years proclamation signed by the Governor of Tennessee. See the full proclamation at the link: http://media1.ssiwt.com/ndptf/state_pdfs/2007/2007%20TN%20Proclamation.pdf
Believe me, if you linked to the one from 1863 and read it, this one's a breeze. There is no repentance mentioned. We admit no transgressions or miss direction of our loyalty to our creator, but we do ask for wisdom, knowledge and understanding. We do not acknowledge the possibility of punishment or chastisement, but we do emphasize being united with everyone.
I was appalled at the political correctness of the document and the comparison of the two should give anyone interested a perfect outline of what is wrong with our society today. In truth, I think our penchant for acceptance has allowed our relationship with God (as a nation) to not only lapse into neglect, but move into blasphemy that will, without repentance, bring judgement and correction from a merciful, but just God.
The Bible tells us that there is "nothing new under the sun" and the answers to our questions about our current conditions are as old as the tales told of Israel's rejection of God's Word and direction in the Old Testament and the solution to our present calamity is the same. We must repent and return to God with a humbleness and genuineness that will bring mercy from our creator.
In a daily devotional I am doing, I was taken by a reprint of Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day on March 30, 1863. See the entire speech at the following link: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/fast.htm In this proclamation, the wording (passed by the senate) claims recognition of "the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations."
Lincoln's proclamation goes on to claim "it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord."
It goes on to acknowledge that we are subject to punishment and chastisement. Lincoln puts forth that "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But, we have forgotten God."
How much clearer can it be stated!
I was bowled over and proud that my country had once been willing to admit it's sins, to publicly, and supported by its government, repent and ask God for forgiveness. I was proud to live in a country where a President would try to lead his country back to God, back from the brink of judgement.
As I shared this proclamation with a Sister in Christ, she stated: "We have a national day of prayer." I thought that I had remembered such, but I couldn't remember exactly what had been proclaimed and I was curious how much our society had changed in its willingness to stand, so I looked up this years proclamation signed by the Governor of Tennessee. See the full proclamation at the link: http://media1.ssiwt.com/ndptf/state_pdfs/2007/2007%20TN%20Proclamation.pdf
Believe me, if you linked to the one from 1863 and read it, this one's a breeze. There is no repentance mentioned. We admit no transgressions or miss direction of our loyalty to our creator, but we do ask for wisdom, knowledge and understanding. We do not acknowledge the possibility of punishment or chastisement, but we do emphasize being united with everyone.
I was appalled at the political correctness of the document and the comparison of the two should give anyone interested a perfect outline of what is wrong with our society today. In truth, I think our penchant for acceptance has allowed our relationship with God (as a nation) to not only lapse into neglect, but move into blasphemy that will, without repentance, bring judgement and correction from a merciful, but just God.
CIRCUMSTANCES
Circumstances are never so bad that they are beyond God's help. We need never to despair because we belong to a loving God. We never know what good He will bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation.
- Commentary from the LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE
Joyce Campbell
November 14,2007Monday, November 5, 2007
This Ain't My Final Destination
I thank the Lord that this place is not my final resting place, but only my journey through the desert to the Promised Land.
With Paul, I say: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil 1:21 It's not that I am striving to go, but the peace I keep comes from the knowledge that neither my destination nor my rewards are here on earth.
There has been an old song haunting my memory for a year or so, now, and I found it, performed wonderfully, tonight. The lyrics are as follows:
Wayfaring Stranger
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
There's no sickness, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go
(Chorus)
Yes I'm going over Jordan
Just going, no more to roam
Only going over Jordan
Just a-going to my home
I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my way is rough and steep
But golden fields lie out before me
Where all the saints their vigils keep
(Chorus)
I'm going there to meet my [father/mother/brother sister etc]
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just a-going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I want to wear a crown of glory
When I get home to that bright land
I want to shout Salvation's story
In concert with that blood-washed band
(Chorus)
I'm going there to see my Saviour
To sing His praise for evermore
I'm just-a going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I'll soon be free from earthly trials
This body rests in the orchard's yard
I'll drop this cross of self-denial
And go singing home to God
I've attached a YouTube video of the song from Selah. Pretty Awsome stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0edb9O9wPOY
With Paul, I say: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil 1:21 It's not that I am striving to go, but the peace I keep comes from the knowledge that neither my destination nor my rewards are here on earth.
There has been an old song haunting my memory for a year or so, now, and I found it, performed wonderfully, tonight. The lyrics are as follows:
Wayfaring Stranger
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
There's no sickness, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go
(Chorus)
Yes I'm going over Jordan
Just going, no more to roam
Only going over Jordan
Just a-going to my home
I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my way is rough and steep
But golden fields lie out before me
Where all the saints their vigils keep
(Chorus)
I'm going there to meet my [father/mother/brother sister etc]
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just a-going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I want to wear a crown of glory
When I get home to that bright land
I want to shout Salvation's story
In concert with that blood-washed band
(Chorus)
I'm going there to see my Saviour
To sing His praise for evermore
I'm just-a going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I'll soon be free from earthly trials
This body rests in the orchard's yard
I'll drop this cross of self-denial
And go singing home to God
I've attached a YouTube video of the song from Selah. Pretty Awsome stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0edb9O9wPOY
Monday, October 29, 2007
Cling Even Closer In Prosperity and Blessing
As much as I hate to admit it and as much as I am determined, with God's help, to change it, I have found over the years that it's easier to be close to God during the bad times. Health problems (personally or with family and friends), money problems, relationship problems...you name the problem, but they all eventually bring us closer to the God we claim as Lord and Savior.
"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your god, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is mulitiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God." (Deut. 8:11-14)
Does He know His creation or what?
For the last four or five years, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me on this issue. I was raised to believe in God and had my own conversion experience at 13. For a time, I studied hard and, to go with my new faith, I developed new head knowledge. A lot like Peter in the Bible, however, Satan asked for me, "to sift me like wheat" and the world easily distracted me from God's plan for my life.
When things got rough, I would return to God. I would repent, ask God to forgive me and, for a time, be back on the path God set for me. After the storms passed, though, I always seemed to tell God I had a handle on things and would let Him know when I needed Him again.
As I was very hard headed, it took years of doing the same thing and expecting different results for the Lord to reach me, for much of the head knowledge I had acquired in previous years to become heart knowledge and part of my faith.
I try, more and more each day, to listen to God. I say "try" to listen because I know that He speaks to me even when I choose not to listen. But, more than ever, I want to hear from God and more importantly, I want to be immediately obedient. "Here I am, Lord!" God has been good to me. I've seen Him work through me and I hunger for that relationship more each day.
God said in Genesis that He would not strive with man forever. My prayer for me and for you and especially for the lost among my friends, family and enemies is that He'll strive with us just a little longer and that my life will be so adjusted to His will that it will make a difference in someone elses life. I vow not to forget the Lord my God and, with His help, observe the things He has commanded.
It's amazing how many conversations are created just in a day of meeting new customers when I give God credit for the business I have when I am asked: "So, how's business?"
"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your god, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is mulitiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God." (Deut. 8:11-14)
Does He know His creation or what?
For the last four or five years, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me on this issue. I was raised to believe in God and had my own conversion experience at 13. For a time, I studied hard and, to go with my new faith, I developed new head knowledge. A lot like Peter in the Bible, however, Satan asked for me, "to sift me like wheat" and the world easily distracted me from God's plan for my life.
When things got rough, I would return to God. I would repent, ask God to forgive me and, for a time, be back on the path God set for me. After the storms passed, though, I always seemed to tell God I had a handle on things and would let Him know when I needed Him again.
As I was very hard headed, it took years of doing the same thing and expecting different results for the Lord to reach me, for much of the head knowledge I had acquired in previous years to become heart knowledge and part of my faith.
I try, more and more each day, to listen to God. I say "try" to listen because I know that He speaks to me even when I choose not to listen. But, more than ever, I want to hear from God and more importantly, I want to be immediately obedient. "Here I am, Lord!" God has been good to me. I've seen Him work through me and I hunger for that relationship more each day.
God said in Genesis that He would not strive with man forever. My prayer for me and for you and especially for the lost among my friends, family and enemies is that He'll strive with us just a little longer and that my life will be so adjusted to His will that it will make a difference in someone elses life. I vow not to forget the Lord my God and, with His help, observe the things He has commanded.
It's amazing how many conversations are created just in a day of meeting new customers when I give God credit for the business I have when I am asked: "So, how's business?"
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Do Our Actions Say We Want Revival?
The Lord moved me a year or so ago to pray for a spiritual revival, both personally and within our church and community. And, that is what I have done. After a time of praying, God asked me if I knew what was required for a spiritual revival and, at first thought, I wasn't sure.
A devotional I was using led me to Psalms 85 and I began to see and understand some things. The first of these is that God has not moved away from us; He has not created the deadness that requires revival. We have turned away from God and into ourselves, causing a chasm between creation and creator. In my life, I have seen it happen by degrees. My grandmother used to say that once you tell one lie, it becomes easier to tell the next and so on. That is the principal of sin and separation from God.
What, then, is the first step towards revival?
Verse 9 of the 85th Psalm says, "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him." At first this took me back to the fire and brimstone preachers that tried to scare the hell out of me, but as I thought about it, the fear is different than that of horrible uncertainty. Our "fear" of God is simply an acknowledgement that He is our creator and sustainer of life. We admit that it is He who gives and He who takes away.
The sin that we allow to dull our spiritual self convinces us that we have some power over our well being; some ability of our own to determine our future. Not only does this opinion of our abilities cause God to turn His face from us, but, I think, it gives us a spirit of defeat, a spirit that lacks hope and direction and is in dire need of revival. As we fail, time and time again, what light can we see in our future.
So, the first step to revival is fear of a just and almighty God. We must turn from ourselves and back to God. This return involves repentance and a return to obedience, both applied with more than a pinch of humility! We must return to the Word of God for our direction and guidance. Our revival depends on righteousness and our righteousness is in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 85:13 reads, "Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway." How many times have we read and been taught of Jesus as the way, the truth and the light. No one, we are told, will come to the Father without the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life on earth showed the path that we should follow and His power that is within us will allow us to walk that path.
Revival starts within each of us and will spread to those whom we love. We are called to love not only those who love us, but especially those who don't. Let's us change our lives, our spirituality, and see what God can do with that!
A devotional I was using led me to Psalms 85 and I began to see and understand some things. The first of these is that God has not moved away from us; He has not created the deadness that requires revival. We have turned away from God and into ourselves, causing a chasm between creation and creator. In my life, I have seen it happen by degrees. My grandmother used to say that once you tell one lie, it becomes easier to tell the next and so on. That is the principal of sin and separation from God.
What, then, is the first step towards revival?
Verse 9 of the 85th Psalm says, "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him." At first this took me back to the fire and brimstone preachers that tried to scare the hell out of me, but as I thought about it, the fear is different than that of horrible uncertainty. Our "fear" of God is simply an acknowledgement that He is our creator and sustainer of life. We admit that it is He who gives and He who takes away.
The sin that we allow to dull our spiritual self convinces us that we have some power over our well being; some ability of our own to determine our future. Not only does this opinion of our abilities cause God to turn His face from us, but, I think, it gives us a spirit of defeat, a spirit that lacks hope and direction and is in dire need of revival. As we fail, time and time again, what light can we see in our future.
So, the first step to revival is fear of a just and almighty God. We must turn from ourselves and back to God. This return involves repentance and a return to obedience, both applied with more than a pinch of humility! We must return to the Word of God for our direction and guidance. Our revival depends on righteousness and our righteousness is in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 85:13 reads, "Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway." How many times have we read and been taught of Jesus as the way, the truth and the light. No one, we are told, will come to the Father without the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life on earth showed the path that we should follow and His power that is within us will allow us to walk that path.
Revival starts within each of us and will spread to those whom we love. We are called to love not only those who love us, but especially those who don't. Let's us change our lives, our spirituality, and see what God can do with that!
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