February 15, 2019 – Click here to listen
Have you ever wished that you could get a fresh start in life? Have you ever thought, that if you could only relive your life knowing what you know now, that there would be no limit to your achievements? I’ve thought and said that many times.
If you crave a “fresh” start, one would assume your current life might be stale or in some cases rotten. What would you do different to make it fresh? If you feel you are in a rut perhaps what is needed is revival. Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. I sometimes think of my walk with God in terms of a fire. Some fires roar and some sputter and barely flicker. When my spiritual walk wanes, it is like an ember scarcely glowing and on the verge of dying. It is times like these when a good “dose of the Ghost” is needed to stir the embers of my soul back to a roaring fire again. The Holy Spirit can build a roaring fire out of ashes and I welcome that in my life and pray for it.
I suppose this awakening could be called revival and it is something God supernaturally does, and we must pray for it. I pray that God will revive my heart and bring me back to the excitement I had when I first received Christ and wanted to tell everyone on the planet about God’s grace and mercy. I want to live by His word, obey His principles and renew my life with His goodness. I’m ready for my fresh start and I want to hit the ground running.
I have never heard of revival where repentance was not a key factor. I often repent for paying too much attention to that which is worthless and in this old world the choices for worthless are unlimited. Much to my dismay the traps of this world too often snare me and prevent me from serving my true purpose. Only God can release me and put me back on the right road again. I earnestly pray that He will help me to avoid the pitfalls and snares and if I happen to get ensnared anyway, He will release me from Satan’s grip.
America needs an awakening too. There are times in human history when God has intervened, when Jesus in his grace has instructed the Holy Spirit to step in during a very dark time, a time when there was a moral breakdown, and brought about a spiritual awakening. It wasn’t orchestrated. It wasn’t a campaign planned by people. It was a work of God where He poured out His spirit. That is what we need in America today, another Great Awakening to deal with the moral breakdown of this country.
What can we do? Pray for God to send His Holy Spirit to bring revival to God’s people like the world has never seen. Revive us again O Lord that Your people may rejoice!
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!