The Chaplain’s Corner
Jesus wants you to want Him. Won't you
let Him into your heart?
THE
WAY OF REVIVAL
By Sue Curran, pastor of
Revival is a supernatural fire. The
two elements that work together to bring and maintain it are prayer and
repentance-always. Sometimes men have spent weeks and months in prayer for
revival, perhaps meeting together on a set day each week. But unless there comes a work of repentance in their hearts, they are not
prepared for revival.
God's way of revival is delineated in 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 will forgive
their sin and heal their land" (NKJV).
This verse summarizes the entire revival principle. The key words and phrases
are:
My people-Revival begins with God's people crying out to Him.
Humble themselves-Pride conceals our great need. The humility of changing our
lifestyles in order to pray reveals the desperateness of our need.
Pray-Actually pour out our hearts before God. He is waiting for us to ask Him.
Seek My face-This is not only speaking but also
waiting on God, listening for His voice. "He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Seeking implies an extended
searching.
Turn from their wicked ways-Repentance comes as we humble ourselves in prayer.
The Holy Spirit convicts the heart that presents itself in humility.
God comes to a people prepared for Him. He will be grieved and go away if
provision is not made for His welcome through prayer and repentance. It has
been said of the Welsh people, who experienced a tremendous revival in the
early 1900s, that they possessed "the wail of a soul"-a continuous
cry for revival. They placed religious pursuits above all else.
John the Baptist came crying, "Prepare the way of the Lord" (Matt.
3:3). He was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3-8. This Scripture completes
the picture of preparation. It is a work of humbling and repentance that can
come only through prayer.
Revival historians call the year 1858-1859 the "Annus
Mirabulus"-Year of Miracles. The countries of
Dwight Moody, Andrew Murray and William Booth received their great impetus at
this time. The Salvation Army was born, and Hudson Taylor's China Inland
Mission reported an increase in conversions of 25 percent.
It began with one man who called a few other businessmen together for prayer on
their lunch hour in
"Another Wave Rolls In" by Frank Bartleman
gives a studied account of the prayer effort which made the way for the Azusa
Street Revival at the turn of the 20th century. Bartleman
kept in touch with Evan Roberts, who was leading revival in
In
For God to bring revival, He must come to hearts that are prepared (see Mal.
3:1). We put ourselves in the place of preparation through prayer. The Holy
Spirit then does the work that brings cleansing and repentance. A revived
people can thus pray for a revival movement. "If my people...will
pray..." (NIV). Prayer prepares the heart for
revival, and continuing in prayer preserves the move of God. Prayer is to
revival as fuel is to the flame.
Today, let's get in line with God's way of revival and begin to pray as we've
never prayed before. Let's humble ourselves before Him, repent and look to Him
to heal our land. We need the fire of revival to burn unhindered in our midst.
Adapted from "The Praying Church" by Sue Curran,
copyright 1987, 2001. Published by Creation House
Press.
“And
He will raise you up on eagles’ wings,
Bear
you on the breath of dawn,
Make
you to shine like the sun,
And
hold you in the palm of His hand.”
~African
Song
“But
those who hope in the Lord
will renew their
strength.
They
will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not
grow weary,
they will walk and not be
faint.”
~Isaiah
40:31 (NIV)
John
“Then some of
his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying to us,
"A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while,
and you will see me'; and "Because I am going to the Father'?"
John
The passengers on
the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white
cane made her way carefully up the steps.
She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the
seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he’d told her was empty. Then she’s settled in, placed her briefcase
on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Susan, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been
rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness,
anger, frustration and self-pity.
Once a fiercely
independent woman, Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to
become a powerless helpless burden on everyone around her. “How could this have happened to me?” she
would plead, her heart knotted with anger.
But no matter how much she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the
painful truth her sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over Susan’s once
optimistic spirit. Just getting through
each day was an exercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all she had to cling to was her husband
Bob. Bob was an Army officer and he
loved Susan with all of his heart.
When she first
lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his
wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent
again. Bob’s military background had
trained him well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet he knew this was
the most difficult battle he would ever face.
Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get
there? She used to take the bus, but was
now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Bov volunteered to
drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the
city. At first, this comforted Susan and
fulfilled Bob’s need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about
performing the slightest task. Soon,
however Bob realized that this arrangement wasn’t working. It was hectic, and costly. Susan is going to have to start taking the
bus again, he admitted to himself. But
just the thought of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How would she react?
Just as Bob
predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. “I’m blind!” she responded bitterly. “How am I supposed to know where I’m
going? I feel like you’re abandoning
me.” Bob’s heart broke to hear these
words, but he knew what had to be done.
He promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus
with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Bob, military uniform
and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other
senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt
to her new environment. He helped her
befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat. He made her laugh, even on those not-so-good
days when she would trip exiting the bus, or drop her briefcase. Each morning they made the journey, and Bob
would take a cab back to his office.
Although this
routine was even more costly and exhausting than the previous one, Bob knew it
was only a matter of time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her
own. He believed in her, in the Susan he
used to know before she’d lost her sight, who wasn’t afraid of any challenge
and who would never, ever quit.
Finally, Susan
decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left
she threw her arms around Bob, her temporary bus riding companion, her husband,
and her best friend. Her eyes filled
with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time,
they went their separate ways. Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday … Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan
had never felt better. She was doing
it! She was going to work all by
herself!
On Friday morning,
Susan took the bus to work as usual. As
she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, an unfamiliar bus driver said,
“Boy, I sure envy you.” Susan wasn’t
sure if the driver was speaking to her or not.
After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who has struggled
just to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, “Why do you
say that you envy me?” The driver
responded, “It must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you
are.”
Susan had no idea
what the driver was talking about, and asked again, “What do you mean?”
The driver
answered, “You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman
in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you
get off the bus. He makes sure you cross
the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little
salute and walks away. You are one lucky
lady.”
Tears of happiness
poured down Susan’s cheeks. For although she didn’t see him, she had always felt Bob’s
presence. She was lucky, so
lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn’t
need to see to believe the gift of love that can bring light where there had
been darkness.
God watches over
us in just the same way. We may not know
He is present, but He is. We may not be
able to see His face, but He is there nonetheless!
Be blessed in this
thought. God Loves You
even when you are not looking. God
believes in you, even when you can’t (or choose not to) believe in Him.
A STRUGGLING SAINT
by Mary Alice Kelly
“For I do not understand my own actions---I am
baffled, bewildered. I do not
practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe
(which my moral instinct condemns).
Romans
Perhaps the most vivid
description of the contest with sin which goes on in the life of the believer
is found in Romans 7:15-25. In verses 15
and 16, Paul describes the problem.
“For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for
I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I
hate. But if I do the very thing I do
not wish to do, I agree with the law, confessing that it is good.” Romans 7:15-16 (NAS)
Notice that there is
only one player in these two verses—the “I,” mentioned nine times. Notice also that this person has a good
heart, he agrees with the law of God.
But this good-hearted Christian has a behavior problem. He knows what he should be doing but, for some
reason, he can’t do it. He agrees with
God but ends up doing the very things he hates.
Verses 17-21 uncover
the reason for this behavior problem:
“But I can't help myself, because it
is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through
and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I
turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it
anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one
doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I
inevitably do what is wrong. Romans
7:17-21 (TLB)
Do these verses say that I am no
good, that I am evil, or that I am sin? Absolutely not. They
say that I have something dwelling in me which is no
good, evil, and sinful, but it’s not me.
If I have a sliver in my finger, I could say that I have something in me
which is no good.
But it’s not me who’s no good.
I’m not the sliver. The sliver
which is stuck in my finger is no good.
I am not sin and I am not a sinner.
I am a saint struggling with sin which causes me to do what I don’t want
to do.
Romans
“Do not
let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give
in to its sinful desires.” Romans
Sin will reign if we use our bodies
as instruments of unrighteousness.
“Do not let any part of your body become a tool of
wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to
God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a
tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”
Romans
This is a Great story about Life
There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He
loved the 4th wife the
most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He
took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. He also loved
the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to
show
off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear
that she might run away with some other men. He too, loved his 2nd
wife.
She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the
merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he
always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and
tide
him through difficult times. Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very
loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his
wealth
and business as well as taking care of the household.
However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she
loved
him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. One day, the merchant fell
ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of
his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But
when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!" Thus, he asked the 4th
wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and
showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me
and
keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another
word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The
sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all
my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm
going to
remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold. He
then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've
always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you
follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this
time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you
to
your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant
was
devastated.
Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you.
I'll follow you
no matter where you go."
The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny,
almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the
merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I
could have !"
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives ....... The
4th wife is our
body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look
good, it'll never leave with us when we die. Our 3rd wife ?
Our
possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others. The
2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been
there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up
to
the grave.
The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of
material wealth and sensual pleasure. Guess what ? It
is actually the
only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to
cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our
deathbed to lament.
COMMUNITY BIBLE STUDY
WHEN: THURSDAY MORNINGS @
WHERE:
TEACHER: MARY ALICE KELLY